Diversity Initiative

Q300’s Diversity in Admissions Initiative was established to create

Opportunity, Access, and Awareness.

Initiative: Q300 prioritizes 40% of incoming kindergarten seats to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and/or currently reside in:

• citywide section 8 housing
• citywide NYCHA
• citywide temporary housing

Goal of Diversity Initiative:

The goal of our initiative is to increase underrepresented populations in our school. We are committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that our school community does everything possible to live our value of inclusion. By increasing the diversity of our school population, we hope to:

• Build the Community: Having children from various backgrounds, races, religions, ethnicities, socio-economic status, etc. will help students develop an understanding of the perspectives of children from different backgrounds and recognize and celebrate these differences. This will bring about open-mindedness, promote empathy, reduce prejudice and be a truer representation of our city’s demographics.
• Provide Equal Access: All children who meet the admissions criteria will have access to specialized instruction, enrichment opportunities and culturally responsive curricula, which will help students build confidence.
• Facilitate the Process of Learning Overall: One reason for seeking out and acknowledging cultural differences among students is the idea that learning involves transfer of information from prior knowledge and experiences. This also connects with the ideas of the culturally responsive-sustaining education model which is defined as “education being grounded in a cultural view of learning and human development in which multiple expressions of diversity (e.g., race, social class, gender, language, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, ability) are recognized and regarded as assets for teaching and learning.”

To work toward achieving these objectives, Q300 has formed a Diversity Committee chaired by a member of the school community which focuses on areas such as outreach, school culture, providing resources and embedding culturally sustaining experiences into teaching and learning.

Diversity Initiative

Over the past three years our School Leadership Team (SLT) and Diversity Committee have engaged in ongoing discussions about diversifying our student body. Members agree that this is an important issue and are committed to continuing our diversity initiative in admissions to prioritize 40% of Kindergarten seats (which equates to approximately 20 seats) for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and/or currently reside in citywide section 8 housing, citywide NYCHA, and citywide temporary housing.

Outreach Efforts:

Over the past three years our School Leadership Team (SLT) and Diversity Committee have engaged in ongoing discussions about diversifying our student body. Members agree that this is an important issue and are committed to continuing our diversity initiative in admissions to prioritize 40% of Kindergarten seats (which equates to approximately 20 seats) for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and/or currently reside in citywide section 8 housing, citywide NYCHA, and citywide temporary housing.

As a community, we have and will continue to:

• Advertise and Promote Q300: Create and distribute flyers about our school, attend School Fairs to promote Q300, and host open houses for prospective families. -Share information through UFT leaders, Parent Coordinator, PTA, and District groups -Share information about enrollment and admissions on the School website, Google Sites, and weekly principal emails
• Outreach: Working with the Diversity Committee and all stakeholders in the community, we work together to get in touch with contacts to spread the word about the admissions process, share information about deadlines to apply and help reach the goals established in this initiative. For example, reaching out to NYCHA and working with them to ensure families know about how to apply to our school. Connect with Universal Pre-K and daycare centers to ensure all Pre-K families know how to apply to Q300, and make information available to ALL families -- with a focus on those in our targeted populations through:

  • School visits
  • Park visits
  • Flyers
  • Distribution of brochures
  • Videos ○ Informational tables
  • Coordination and partnership with local officials and civic organizations to help disseminate information regarding G&T schools
  • Provide access to families to apply if they need a computer, they can come to our school or if they need help filling out the form, we’ll have staff members available to assist.
  • Offering translation services, if needed to complete an application online or ask questions about our school.

In-school Supports

● Social Emotional Learning Curriculum:

• Sanford Harmony Curriculum
• Responsive Classroom

  ■ Morning Meeting (students begin the day by greeting one another and participating in an activity. This sets the tone and mood for the day)

  ■ Calming Corners (students take breaks when they’re feeling “off” and want some alone time to reflect on their actions or their feelings

• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) We teach our students to ASPIRE (Accountability, Safety, Participation, Inclusion, Responsibility, and Empathy) throughout the community
• Diversity calendar lessons are shared with teachers and staff. The SEL team works together to create a monthly focus and shares lessons with teachers to incorporate in their classroom.
• Advisory: an opportunity for students to build community with their homeroom teachers and classmates

● Professional Development

• Development of social emotional standards for all staff
• Training in racial justice and cultural literacy.

● Access to Social Worker and Guidance Counselors

• Weekly check-ins
• SEL lessons
• Provide interventions and supports

● Enrichment Opportunities

• Opportunities to join Art, Dance, Music, Architecture, Theater and Chess classes with the help and support of PTA funding.

● Cooperative Learning

• Community Helpers (volunteer program for students to help in the school community) ties into our core values teaching children about responsibility
• Small Group/Group Work (students work collaboratively with peers to complete tasks and projects)
• Book Clubs (students work in groups reading a shared book on their level to drive their learning and book discussions)
• Explorations (students explore play with their classmates using blocks and other tools)
• Talent Show (focus on our students' interests and talents by showcasing their talents)
• Cultural celebrations
• Having diverse public speakers representing each culture when possible
• School spirit days such as "Rep Your Culture Day"

● Teacher Assistants

• TAs work with teachers to support daily instruction and nurture a supportive environment in the classroom.

● Access to Culturally Responsive Literature

• integrate research-developed and teacher-selected materials that validate and consider students’ cultural, linguistic, and racial identities.

● Plan Future Diversity Conversations/Focus Groups: With the Diversity Committee, PTA co-presidents, and SLT, plan to organize additional focus groups to gain insight into multiple experiences at Q300, and to give families who are underrepresented at Q300 an opportunity to share their experiences and, in turn, open up a broader conversation of what supports are needed for current students and incoming students.