At Arlington Career Center, teachers and students are able to work with one another to create numerous clubs and programs in order to diversify and acknowledge the many kinds of students in APS. The Equity Team aims to respect and value the diversity of Arlington students, regardless of their background. Their research works towards identifying educational malpractice based on racial bias and discrimination, and instead accomplish and equal and equitable learning environment for every student.
One of the largest initiatives for ACC is No Place For Hate, a program targeting bias and improving school climates in over 1,800 schools in the country. ACC has adopted the teachings to promote tolerance and have students join together to say no to hate. Having been developed by the Education Department of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), it upholds the standard for all students to be able to learn in a safe and equitable environment.
In 2022, the student led demonstration was mc’ed by Joseph Sparks, ACC senior, involved the student body to join in on inclusivity and working together to ACC being a learning environment everyone is included in. Half the school listened and wrote their signatures on the board in the picture presented below, including their promise to better themselves and others in education.
The program is ran by Monica Lozano Caldera, Lisa Lee, Arlene Whitlock and Mindee Laumann at ACC, and their rooms can be found in the Counselor’s Suite and 105B for more information or wanting to participate in the many events conducted to aim at discriminatory and biased conversations in education.