OUR AFFIRMATIONS AND VISION
*We are a small group of multiracial families and educators committed to centering the safety, integrity, joy and freedom of Black children and children of the African diaspora.
*We are guided by a Black/African-centered worldview that affirms everyone’s humanity.
*We understand Black liberation and the liberation of LGBTQIA+ people are deeply connected, and that the lives of LGBTQIA+ people will be affirmed in our curriculum and community.
*We believe that the value of human beings is not based on their income or wealth.
*We celebrate the many languages of people with African ancestors. We do not believe any language is more important than any other, and we work to have as many languages spoken and used in our programs.
*We believe in creating thriving, loving and fair communities committed to liberation.
About the teaching and learning environments we are creating
WHAT IS OUR MISSION?
The Freedom Finders Collective will be an educational space that centers the safety, integrity, joy and freedom of Black children and children of the African diaspora ages 0-10.
HOW WE ARE UNIQUE FROM OTHER TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN VERMONT?
*We believe joy, play, curiosity and adventure are some of the most important parts of learning; Black children and children of the African Diaspora deserve joy and wonder.
*We will explicitly teach about how racism and other forms of violence were invented and how they have been resisted.
*Each student will participate each day in child-led exploration. Each child will have individual projects they are working on that will be led by their interests and inquiries.
*We will use principles of restorative practices and transformative justice to respond to behaviors that often are responded to with punishment.
*We offer programming outside of school hours, as well as a one day a week full school day programming for students age 3-10.
*A super majority of educators and direct care staff at Freedom Finders will be people who identify as Black or of the African diaspora.
For more information about our philosophy and how we understand our context, please see our Concept Paper.