You Belong at Lafayette!

The HSA Belonging Committee works to achieve inclusive excellence in the Lafayette
community, empowering families to build a sense of belonging by sharing information and
providing experiences that allow everyone to show up and be valued as their authentic selves.
The HSA is committed to helping create an environment at Lafayette that is safe, supportive,
and welcoming to all students, parents, and caregivers.

Throughout the school year, the HSA Belonging Committee hosts opportunities for families to
connect and learn about issues that help us create a welcoming environment, such as anti-
racism, physical and neurodiversity, gender identity, and more. Below is a sample of activities:

● Trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Join other families
on a trip to the museum! This event helps to foster learning and inclusivity,
demonstrating the history and culture of a critical part of the Lafayette community.
● “How to talk to your kids about …” information sessions. These virtual sessions provide
information to parents about topics that are important to promoting Belonging (such as
racism, disabilities, etc.), and which may also be challenging for parents to have easy
access to information to share with their kids.
● DEI Media Club. The media club organizes community events around books and movies
to foster discussions about diversity and inclusion. Recent events have included a
discussion of the podcast Scene on Radio: Seeing White; a discussion with Native
American book author and TedTalk speaker Mark Charles; a discussion about the movie
Ruby Bridges; a discussion of the book Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for
Racial Equity, by Lafayette parent Laura Meckler.
● American Sign Language (ASL) Club and “Signing Town” Night. The ASL Club hosts a
Signing Town evening, open to the entire community, where ASL club members facilitate
interactive stations meant to promote learning about sign language and how to
communicate without using voices.
● Lafayette Hello Greeter Program. Parent volunteers are available on scheduled
mornings during drop-off to offer a quick “hello” or answer questions about Lafayette.
The goal of this activity is to help everyone feel like they belong and that they have easy
access to information. They can be spotted in their bright yellow shirts!
● You Belong at Lafayette! Booth. The committee hosts a booth at Lafayette’s annual Fall
Festival, which showcases how everyone in the community belongs at Lafayette! Join Us!

Membership in the HSA Belonging Committee is open to all Lafayette parents and caregivers!
To learn more about the committee, please contact belonging@lafayettehsa.org.
How can you promote a sense of Belonging at Lafayette?

1. Be conscious when you’re making invitations to playdates, birthday parties, and
extracurricular activities. Try to step out of auto-pilot when organizing social
events. Parents and caregivers have tremendous influence over the extent to which all
children at Lafayette feel welcome. Be the parent who makes sure there is not a child in
the class who is consistently not invited to activities outside of school. Be the parent who
asks about dietary restrictions to support children with allergies, or the parent who asks
about accommodations so everyone can fully participate. Being inclusive with your
extracurricular activities helps expand your kid’s social circle and supports a welcoming
community!

2. Greet someone new at school pickup, drop-off, or any school event. Learn a new
person’s name. Join the Lafayette Hello Greeter Program!  Make every student and
parent/guardian at our school feel welcome.

● If the opportunity arises, take the chance to make new families aware of the
Directory app, and make sure they understand that this is one of the keys to making
sure their child is included socially.

3. Talk to your children about race and diversity. Wondering where to start? Reading
books with your child can help start and continue conversations about race and diversity.

Here are some resources:

● Reading and RESilience: Parent Tip Tool: Choosing and Using Books to Discuss
Race and Ethnicity
● Anti-Defamation League: Books Matter: ADL’s online bibliography of recommended
children’s and young adult books about bias, bullying, diversity and social justice.
● PBS Being a Good Neighbor: Talking About Race with Kids 
● American Psychological Association: Inclusive Language Guidelines 

Have a resource we should list here? Let us know!