Campus Culture Committee
Welcome Back Dons!
Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year! We hope you and your family had a wonderful, restful summer. As we begin a new school year, we are excited to welcome back our returning students and extend a warm welcome to those who are joining the Acalanes community for the first time.
At Acalanes, we believe every student, family, and staff member deserves to feel seen, valued, respected, and connected. We invite you to join us in helping make our campus a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging every time they walk through our doors.
The Acalanes Parent Club Campus Culture Committee (CCC) works to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across our school community. Through partnerships with students, staff, and families, we support opportunities for learning, meaningful conversations, parent education, and community building.
Stop by our table during DONS Day or email us at diversityandinclusion@acalanesparentsclub.com . We’d love to have you join us!
August Important Dates
- Wednesday, Aug 12 - International Youth Day: Recognized annually by the United Nations, International Youth Day celebrates the contributions of young people while bringing attention to issues affecting youth around the world. It reminds us that young people are leaders, innovators, and changemakers whose voices are essential in building stronger communities.
- Wednesday, Aug 26 - Women's Equality Day: Women's Equality Day commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted many women the right to vote in 1920. The day celebrates the ongoing pursuit of gender equity and recognizes the many contributions women have made—and continue to make—to our communities and society.
2026-2027 Meeting Schedule
6:30–7:30pm
- Monday, Sept 21 – In-Person Meeting
- Monday, Dec 14 – Parent Wellness Workshop (In Person) with Patrick Turner
- Monday, Jan 11 – Virtual Meeting
- May – CCC Year-End Retreat (In Person – Date TBD)
Whether you're attending for the first time or returning as a longtime volunteer, all families are welcome! We hope you'll join us as we continue building a connected, inclusive, and welcoming Acalanes community.
Acalanes is a No Hate Zone
At Acalanes, we are committed to maintaining a campus where every student feels safe, respected, and valued. If your student experiences or witnesses an incident involving hate or bias, please encourage them to use the Bias Incident Reporting Tool (BIRT) Bias Incident Reporting Tool (BIRT) available on the Acalanes High School website.
👉 Submit a BIRT Report Here » Reporting helps our school respond appropriately and continue fostering a culture of belonging for all.
Thank you for partnering with us to create a school community where every student can thrive. We look forward to an exciting year of learning, connection, and community with all of our DONS families!
You Are Influential to Your Children and Your Community – Stand Up to Hate
In addition to producing events that help us connect, learn and grow, the DEI committee is also here to support parents. As we head into United Against Hate Week across Lamorinda, it feels like a good time to take a pause from our regular style of communication and acknowledge that the work is heavy and sometimes slow to yield results. We encourage you to keep going and to reach out if you need support. Try to approach equity work in a way that brings results, such as opening up a discussion with your kid(s). Our parent community is making a difference and our work is valuable.
Hate crimes occur right out in the open. Over the last few years, violent Anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise here and nationwide. Last month, Ye issued strong anti-seminitic statements that were intended to be divisive and harmful. These are just a few examples of hate speech and hate crimes taking place in our nation. In order to effectively fight structural racism and discrimination we have to have purposeful conversations with our communities and with our children. Did your family talk about what Ye said or discuss increased assaults on Asian Americans in our area? Perhaps your family talked about how those behaviors circulated on social media and maybe even how it showed up in your daily lives?
While often difficult to corral your kid for another “important” discussion (yep, we get the teen eye rolls, too) we feel it is vital that you make time to talk about discrimination and acts of hate this week. An easy way to open up a conversation might be to simply ask if your student knows that the City of Lafayette observes a United Against Hate Week. You don’t need to supply all the content – it isn’t a lecture, just start the discussion. Our kids are intelligent and thoughtful. You can be honest that you find these conversations challenging, deep, difficult, confusing, frustrating and fill in the blank. It is tough but ok to be in discomfort for a few minutes. Those sticky, tricky moments are where people may find the most growth.
We encourage you to keep building community and celebrating our individuality. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
About Campus Cultural Committee
The APC is committed to working with our Acalanes parent and student community as well as our staff and our school and district administration to promote a positive school climate at Acalanes that encourages a culture of inclusivity and belonging for all. It is not enough to denounce acts of racism, we must also work to challenge ourselves and our students to be anti-racist every day. The scope of this committee will encompass the full spectrum of diversity including gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and mental and physical ability.
OUR VISION
Our vision is a positive school climate in which all members of our school community feel welcome regardless of their differences and in which students feel empowered to enter the world as engaged and active global citizens.
OUR MISSION
We are dedicated to identifying, implementing, and supporting a strategic approach to building an empowered school community that celebrates diversity and actively opposes discrimination of race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of one’s identity.
OUR GOALS
- Create a safe and healing space for our school community to communicate with one another within the scope of DEI (social issues, identity, current events, school culture)
- Facilitate parent educational opportunities for DEI
- Support and promote cultural events organized by Acalanes and its students
- Partner with Acalanes and District Administration to support and advance school and district efforts
