On February 2, Head of School Maura Farrell, Director of Middle School Melissa Moniz, and SophiaCorps member Diamond Rivera ’12 presented at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools’ Virtual Educating Girls Symposium, Building Inclusive, Anti-Racist School Communities.
Their presentation, entitled “Reflecting Wisdom in the Girls – Designing Around Lived Experience,” shared how Sophia Academy designs our educational approach to reflect and celebrate each student’s identity. The workshop used programs and practices built at Sophia Academy, such as SophiaCorps, to exemplify this immersive strategy.
Ms. Farrell and Mrs. Moniz guided attendees to consider students’ contexts (racial backgrounds, neighborhoods, family life, gender, educational histories, etc.) as the initial step before designing any curricula or lessons. They guided participants through the ‘Who before What?’ framework, focusing on students’ contexts and acknowledging each girls’ inner wisdom in order to create an educational space that is relevant, engaging, and joyful for all students.
Mrs. Moniz impressed the impact this makes on a girl’s middle school education:
“With her at the center, she is encouraged to challenge what she reads, hears, and sees, she is given the tools to express herself in ways that fits her. And she discovers and embraces her unique gifts, alongside her Sophia sisters. She recognizes that she is valuable and worthy of relationships where she will uplift, and she will be uplifted as well.
There is no joy like the joy one feels when one becomes aware of and finds strength in the color of her skin and the roots of her hair.”
Ms. Rivera shared her experience at Sophia, citing the difference she experienced when she transitioned into 5th grade at Sophia Academy. She shared how the comfort and freedom of recognizing shared life experiences with both peers and teachers allowed her to find comfort in her own experience at its core: “It was because of the enrichment happening at Sophia and the relentless efforts about caring about the girl as an individual, more than as a number, that had me ready to bust out of the Sophia bubble and do so well [after 8th grade].”
The presentation challenged participants to consider further incorporation of social justice materials that support and empower young women of color, leaning into challenging issues of racism, sexism, and poverty.
Finally, they presented on Sophia Academy’s new SophiaCorps program to encourage attendees to consider their schools’ impact upon the wider world. Recognizing the challenges of their own communities, how can their missions be widened beyond their four walls? For Sophia, that was recognizing the need for more teachers of color in Rhode Island, providing students with the opportunity to learn from educators who understand their lived experience and connect to their cultural strengths and beliefs.
