Campus Culture Committee
Acalanes Parent Club – Campus Culture Committee (CCC) Update
As we continue the 2025–2026 school year, the Campus Culture Committee (CCC) is focused on building a stronger parent support system for all student groups on campus. We’re also working closely with staff on issues that impact our students.
Join Us - APC Campus Culture Committee (CCC) Meeting
Monday, November 17 | 6:00pm
Acalanes Library
Please join the Acalanes Campus Culture Committee for the second session in our 3-part “Wellness for Parents” series. This session will focus on strategies to support our own wellness and the wellness of our students. As we move closer to the end of the semester—with finals, senior applications, and holiday stress—this is an important time to come together as a community to share ideas, resources, and encouragement.
Campus Culture Committee – November Highlights & Upcoming Events
- All Month: National Native American Heritage Month
- Nov 11: Veterans Day
- Nov 13–19: Transgender Awareness Week
- Nov 16: Dumplings for Good Fundraiser (4:00-6:00pm) – Lafayette United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 955 Moraga Road, Lafayette
- Nov 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR)
- Nov 27: Thanksgiving
- Nov 28: Native American Heritage Day
Transgender Awareness Week & Day of Remembrance
Transgender Awareness Week, observed Nov 13-19, is a week dedicated to raising visibility and awareness for the transgender community through education and advocacy.
It leads into Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) on Nov 20, founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was tragically killed in 1998. The day honors transgender individuals lost to violence and stands as a reminder of the ongoing need for compassion, understanding, and action.
Join Us Monthly! (In-Person & Virtual Meetings)
Meeting Schedule | 6:00–7:30pm
- Nov 17 – In-Person (Library, 6-8pm): Part 2 of the Wellness Workshop Series
- Dec – No Meeting
- Jan 12 – Virtual
- Feb 9 – In-Person
- Mar 16 – Virtual
- Apr 20 – In-Person (Final Meeting)
- May – No Meeting
diversityandinclusion@acalanes
Reminder: Acalanes is a No Hate Zone
If your student experiences hate or bias, please encourage them to use the Bias Incident Reporting Tool (BIRT) available on the AHS website.
Submit a BIRT Report Here »
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
