Bias Prevention and Diversity Awareness

Bias Prevention and Diversity Training Program:

Introduction:

Far too many students in our schools have to confront bias, discrimination, and prejudice on a daily basis. Often, students are targets of racism, homophobia, ageism, sexism, and other hurtful manifestations of hate. The consequences can be devastating on individuals, schools, and communities. Bias in its many forms threatens the safety of school environments.

CMI is highly committed to helping schools become accepting communities that value and appreciate diversity. Eleven years ago, CMI trainer Judith Springer helped start the Anytown, NJ program (now Lead For Diversity) and has also served as director of this highly-successful anti-bias youth leadership training. CMI has also helped many schools develop and strengthen peer programs designed to promote diversity appreciation and combat bias, prejudice, and racism. CMI anti-bias training programs focus on developing self-awareness in students, often leading to the realization that bias and racism really hurt. We help students learn to identify biased attitudes (their own and others) and explore strategies for dealing effectively with prejudice. Our goal is to help students become leaders in their schools, empowering them to create a more accepting, equitable environment.

Training Description:

In this model, CMI trains a select group of student leaders and adult advisors who are interested in bias prevention and diversity awareness. This team of student leaders and adult advisors receive in-depth diversity and leadership training from CMI trainers and will serve as the core diversity awareness team in the school. Typically, the initial training of the core team occurs over the course of a multiple-day retreat. During this retreat, the training focuses on:

• Fostering a sense of community within the group
• Building communication and emotional intelligence skills
• Developing empathy and self-awareness
• Increasing individual diversity awareness

The training program is based on a carefully designed sequence of experiential learning activities. The initial activities help students meet each other and feel more comfortable together. In addition, CMI facilitators help the students design their own group norms to create a safe and supportive group culture. As the training progresses, the students:

• Learn about communication skills such as active listening by participating in “game-like” initiatives
• Cultivate trust and team problem-solving skills
• Learn a problem solving model that encourages brainstorming and cooperation and then apply this model to several group challenges

As group trust and safety grows, the training increasingly focuses on self-awareness, issues of racial and ethnic identity, and empathy building. The training culminates in the development of student action-plans to help promote acceptance and awareness in their school. Often, groups decide to share what they have learned with a larger segment of the school body.

To that end, CMI trainers lead several days of follow-up training that focus on helping the trained core team design and implement a one-day training for an additional group of interested students. The follow-up trainings continue to develop self-awareness and group unity, while also introducing and practicing group facilitation skills. In this way, the core team learns how to conduct a one-day bias prevention/diversity awareness program for other students. The core team develops into a skilled training group that can serve as a continual resource within the school community. CMI staff helps oversee and facilitate the actual turn-key training, helping to ensure a positive, impactful experience for everyone involved.