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COMMITMENT TO EQUITY

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY

Coyote Central strives to lead with equity in everything we do. We acknowledge that our communities have been adversely affected by longstanding white supremacy and privilege, creating barriers in access to creative opportunities for low-income communities, immigrant and refugee communities, and communities of color. We aim to dismantle these barriers by engaging diverse voices in our decision-making processes and continually pursuing new knowledge about equity.

We start with a racial equity lens but also address inequity in income, gender identity, culture, language, ability, and any other oppressions that our communities might experience.

Our efforts to date include:

  • implementing a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to prioritize student voice across the organization

  • supporting an Equity & Inclusion Task Force (EITF) made up of students, parents, teaching artists, board, and staff

  • working with a DEI consultant to examine and reimagine our hiring practices, organizational structure, and decision-making processes

  • conducting talkback sessions and surveys with students and parents to amplify community voice

  • adjusting our registration process to reserve spots for harder-to-reach populations

  • establishing a Pronouns Policy to ensure that people of all gender identities are affirmed and respected

  • diversifying our teaching artists, staff, and board members to reflect the diverse identities of our students

  • providing trainings for our teaching artists on racial equity, micro-aggressions, conflict resolution, restorative justice, gender pronouns, and strategies for supporting youth with different needs

  • facilitating translation services for students, families, and Teaching Artists as needed and able

We will continue to approach our equity work with respect, humility, and accountability, and with an organization-wide commitment to doing better. There is still much more work to do.