Equity & Accountability

Lick-Wilmerding High School strives to cultivate a diverse, collaborative community of students and adults that is rooted in empathy, equity, respect, humility, and accountability. We commit to uphold the tenets of anti-racism and to interrupt all forms of interpersonal and institutional bias and discrimination. We aspire to create safe​,​ joyful spaces for learning where everyone ​brings their whole selves, feel​s​ known and heard, lift​s​ each other up, and engage​s​ in all aspects of life at LWHS and beyond.

List of 2 items.

  • What do we mean by Diversity, Equity & Inclusion?

    Diversity
    The wide range of human characteristics used to mark and identify individuals and group identities. These characteristics include, but are not limited to ethnicity, race, national origin, age, personality, sexual orientation, gender, class, religion, ability, and language. The term is used for shorthand for visual and quantifiable statuses.
    (The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology: LE-M)

    Equity
    Ensuring that people have what they need to fully participate in school life and reach their full potential. Equity is not equality.

    Inclusion
    Authentically brings traditionally excluded individuals or groups into processes, activities, decisions, and policymaking. 
    (Crossroads Charlotte Individual Initiative Scorecard for Organizations Scorecard Overview)

  • Purpose

    The Equity and Accountability webpage was made in collaboration with student leadership and exists to foster transparency and accountability on the part of the school and keep students, and especially Students of Color and other marginalized community members informed concerning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work at LWHS. This webpage is a culmination of current DEI initiatives from all circles of our community and reflects current work being done to ensure the safety, equity, and inclusion of our school community as a whole. 

    Many of these initiatives are ongoing and are constantly being improved upon by various members of the LWHS community. As these initiatives grow and change, this webpage and its contents will be updated to reflect these changes. 

    At the core of this website are DEI values. Beyond the students and FacStaff directly involved in the Inclusion Team, it is our intention that all LWHS community members are involved in our work. Whether it be by suggesting changes in policies, proposing new policies, or offering general feedback, we encourage all of LWHS to reach out and join forces with us to build a stronger community.

Recent Communications

Student Leadership Communications

Current Initiatives

List of 6 items.

  • Assaultive Language Policy

    Students of Color have shared widely the need for more accountability for those who use racial epithets and other identity-targeting slurs on campus.

    This includes, but is not limited to the extending of consequences, opportunities for learning, and relationship repair. Dean Kate Wiley handed off the process of designing our Assaultive Language Policy to our Student Body Co-Presidents, Journey '21 and Jeremy '21, as well as our Student Inclusion Chair, Primo '21, who have been working diligently on a draft with the Restorative Practices Group, which will be ready for review come sometime before the end of the 2020–21 school year.

  • BSUFN & LUFN Coffees with the Head

    We launched our first of six “Coffees w/ the Head'' this past month, a series of intentional conversations between family affinity spaces and Eric Temple, our Head of School. We started with the Black Student Union Family Network (BSUFN) and will alternate with the Latinos Unidos Family Network (LUFN) for the rest of the academic year.

    Moving forward, the Coffees will expand to include the other family affinity networks but we wanted to give priority to groups that historically have had less access to our Head of School. In our first meeting, the BSUFN asked for an update on the DEI initiatives that were launched in response to the anonymous poster presented to Eric and the administration last year, as well as aired their concerns about the Black@LWHS page.

    Check back here, or contact Dean of Adult Equity & Inclusion Dee Johnson for future events.

    Next Events:
    Thu, Feb 4 | 9–10am | BSUFN Coffee with Eric Temple

  • Ethnic Studies

    Another ask from students was that the school explore Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement. The ask is in direct response to the limited engagement that students have with non-White histories beyond deficit narratives in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Similarly, students shared the need to have White people in our community face their histories in order for us to engage in authentic conversations of healing and accountability.

    Director of Student Inclusion Naomi Fierro, in collaboration with our Student Inclusion Chair, Primo '21, launched a working group and thus far we have been researching and discussing models of implementation for an Ethnic Studies curriculum including curriculum development and teacher professional learning. The group has reached out to the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Mateo Unified School Districts, and has interviewed personnel from these institutions about rollout timelines in their respective districts, planning, grading, and resourcing. Currently all the information gathered is being synthesized with the intention of putting together a proposal. 

  • Gender Inclusive School Policy

    Class of 2020 senior exit interviews and pulse survey data indicated that a more targeted look at gender in our community is needed. This includes, but is not limited to: examining intersectional gender bias in STEM courses, the experience of athletes, trans and non-binary inclusivity—naming, pronouns, social transition, and overnight trip policies.

    The Student Body Presidents, the Student Inclusion Chair, and the Dean of Adult Equity & Inclusion Dee Johnson have been working to schedule interviews across departments and teams to get a better understanding of practices already in place as a diagnostic for our school’s gender inclusivity. Following this process, the group will recommend best practices, suggest resources and support for community members. The end goal  is to have a policy that lives alongside our student and employee handbooks. It is important to note that all recommendations and strategies are in alignment with California Education Code Laws on Gender and Sexual Minority Inclusivity at K-12 schools.

  • Heritage/Hxstory Month Celebrations

    The Student Inclusion Team is pleased to announce a formal process for requesting institutional support for students who wish to celebrate their Heritage Month or Hxstory Month! This is a direct response to the poster left for our administration by students of color in Jan 2020, and the specific ask to directly support student leaders of color.

    You can find the Proposal form, Frequently Asked Questions, and living Calendar on the Student Resource Board, the Center Blog, and linked in the Center Instagram link tree. If you have any questions, please reach out to Director of Student Inclusion Naomi Fierro or Primo '21, Student Inclusion Chair. 

  • Restorative Practices

    Restorative Practices (RP): The Restorative Practices Working Group has been working diligently for the past year to create a process through which, as a community, we will be able to address harm, build better, more honest relationships, and attend to our collective healing. Watch the video
    Read More

Student & Community Programming

List of 4 items.

  • Curriculum

    • Teachers work together to be practitioners of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Critical Race Theory as a pedagogical framework for teaching. Teachers apply the methodologies of Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond.
    • Teachers engage critically in their own work and seek guidance from Onward: Daily Activities to Cultivate your Emotional Resilience and Thrive by Elena Aguilar
    • Courses that challenge the canon and center the narrative of BIPOC are at the heart of the English and History curriculums.
    • Habits of Mind—Imagine, Inquire, Collaborate, Persist and Reflect—which are overarching skills to help students navigate the challenges of the 21st Century.
    Read More

  • Inclusion Picnics

    Inclusion picnics are hosted by the school during the fall semester to foster relationships among incoming and returning families who share cultural or geographic backgrounds. Families gather to relax in a local park, connect with other families, and enjoy games and good food. Look for details in the weekly e-Tiger or contact Dean of Adult Equity & Inclusion Dee Johnson for more information and volunteer opportunities.

  • Sam Mihara Day of Justice

    Every spring the entire LWHS community participates in an in-house conference that explores identity, privilege, and oppression planned by students who have attended the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference, the White Privilege Conference or the Creating Change Conference. 

    Workshops are led by faculty, staff, students and local facilitators or activists. Past session topics have included microaggressions, how ideas about gender impact politics, different belief systems, orientalism, and rap as activism, to name a few. While it can be challenging to explore the cycle of oppression, the Sam Mihara Day of Justice ultimately aims to inspire compassion and a commitment to equity within all LWHS community members.

  • Student Conferences

    Every year students are invited to participate in any of the below conferences. There may be additional offerings depending on the year.

    NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC)
    • Dec 1–4, 2020 | Online
    White Privilege Conference
    • Apr 7–11, 2021 | Mesa, AZ
    Creating Change Conference
    • Queering Racial Justice Pre-Conference Sessions | Oct 10, 2020
    • Still Loving & Learning & Liberating Together | Jan 2021

Adult Accountability

List of 2 items.

  • Board of Trustees

    Committee Co-Chairs: Mika Varma and Jack Chin

    The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee works to educate the Board of Trustees and to ensure that the Board and its committees adopt best practices around diversity, equity and inclusion. The Committee is charged with benchmarking the school’s DEI efforts and partnering with the Head of School to fully realize the DEI goals of the Strategic Plan.
    • The Committee provides best practices guidelines for committee chairs.
    • The Committee creates and maintains a DEI dashboard to provide data to the Head of School and Board of Trustees around the effectiveness of the school’s DEI related programs. 
    • The Committee meets at least six times per year

  • Equity & Inclusion Round Table

    The LWHS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Roundtable convenes to unpack institutional challenges requiring the collective power and coordinated efforts of the entire school community. We are dedicated to listening and responding to the needs and feelings of the LWHS community, centering the most vulnerable.

    Student Inclusion Chairs
    Primo Lagaso Goldberg ('21)
    Jeremy Lum ('21)
    Journey Moore-Prewitt ('21)
    Parent Association Vice Presidents of Inclusion
    Yvonne Perez-Sallaberry
    Beth Weise
    Board of Trustees Inclusion Chairs
    Mika Varma
    Jack Chin
    Director of Student Inclusion
    Naomi Fierro
    Dean of Adult Equity & Inclusion
    Dee Johnson
    Head of School
    Eric Temple

Adult Leadership

List of 2 members.

  • Photo of Naomi Fierro

    Naomi Fierro 

    Director of Student Inclusion
  • Photo of Dee Johnson

    Dee Johnson 

    Dean of Adult Equity and Inclusion



Lick-Wilmerding High School

755 Ocean Avenue | San Francisco, CA 94112 | 415.333.4021
A private school with public purpose, Lick-Wilmerding High School develops the head, heart, and hands of highly motivated students from all walks of life, inspiring them to become lifelong learners who contribute to the world with confidence and compassion.