Parent Engagement & Beyond

Additionally, Mertz met with the Oak Grove School Board, spoke directly with staff and faculty, and offered two opportunities for parents to connect with him. During these parent engagement sessions, he explained some of the discussions that had taken place in the classroom, talked about non-violent communication tools, and engaged parents through song and movement. By relating his work to the teachings of our founder J. Krishnamurti, Mertz was able to inspire parents to step out of their comfort zone and reflect on their own understanding of the meaning of responsibility and social justice.

And finally, members of the DEIB committee hosted movie screenings on four mornings and on two evenings around topics of social justice. Films included Pride, the story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners’ strike in 1984; Selma, a chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s epic march from Selma to Montgomery; Who We Are, a Chronicle of Racism in America; Temple Grandin, a biopic of a woman with autism who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry; and End of the Line, the Women of Standing Rock, the story of the indigenous women who established a peaceful camp in protest of the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction that desecrated ancient burial sites.

Theme Week was a rich and diverse exploration of Oak Grove School’s annual theme of the Wholeness of Responsibility through the lens of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.