DEIABJ: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, Belonging, and Justice


​Land Acknowledgment
Mulberry Waldorf School is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat peoples. Today, this place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, to learn and unlearn, create, play, make music, and connect with nature in this vibrant neighbourhood and the nearby natural spaces and waterways. We are striving to develop respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities in the Greater Kingston Area and beyond. Mulberry Waldorf School is committed to listening, learning, and taking part in 
the Truth and Reconciliation journey. 

Faculty and Staff Statement of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, Belonging, and Justice: 

We are listening. We are learning. We are open to change. 
Waldorf Schools Honour And Embrace Human Diversity And Dignity. Waldorf schools celebrate the diversity of humankind. Faculty, staff, and board pursue a path of human dignity and equity in organizational, leadership, and pedagogical realms. Schools are engaged in understanding and addressing the current and historical roots of inequity. These endeavors are of spiritual, moral, and educational importance and are rooted in Waldorf education’s founding vision, which included addressing contemporary social struggles within the context of the life of the school. ​
Mulberry Waldorf School’s Code is:
Respect ourselves, respect others, and respect the environment.
We show our respect through inclusion, kindness, and responsibility. We welcome and recognize the value of including a diversity of cultures, abilities, and life stories.
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Faculty and Staff are actively engaged in the ongoing evaluation of curricular content, teaching practices, and school policies to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, belonging, and justice. Through curriculum, classroom resources, activities, images, festivals and celebrations, Faculty and Staff actively work to provide a “mirror” for each student and family so they see themselves reflected in the classroom and school. Faculty and Staff also actively work to provide students with “windows” into unfamiliar subjects, and histories and lived experiences different from their own, and which may not be met in our small community.
  We aim to cultivate freedom in thinking, healthy emotional development, and the compassion and imagination for our students to be active citizens of the world.
​– from Mulberry Waldorf School Mission
School programs such as the Mulberry Care Tree and the Student Social Action Committee support a healthy school environment both proactively and when issues arise. They provide a foundation for student success by addressing the needs of the individual and the class community.
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We strive to make our programming financially accessible to the Kingston community by offering tuition adjustment and sibling and staff discounts. We are a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on the dedicated volunteerism/service of our staff and parent community to offer our robust and exceptional educational experience.

We acknowledge that our school building is not physically accessible to all people. If you need help to access our building due to mobility challenges or equipment needs (e.g., a stroller), please call ahead of your visit (613-542-0669) and/or use our front door intercom to ask for help. We will do our best to meet your needs and welcome you into our space.

Working towards true diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice requires continuous effort. We dream of a world where students, families, faculty, and staff are welcomed, feel heard and valued, and have a strong sense of belonging. We invite all members of our community to join us in our commitment to creating a supportive environment where human diversity can flourish.
“Beloved community is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world.” ~ bell hooks
Rudolf Steiner
The founder of the first Waldorf School, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), was an artist, scientist, philosopher, and spiritual researcher. Through his work, he contributed many important insights and practical applications in the fields of medicine, farming, and education. Rudolf Steiner addressed questions of individuality, race, ethics, and religion among his talks and writings in the early 20th century. We acknowledge and recognize that some of the lectures and passages characterizing race and other group identities are deeply offensive. The negative views of race and religions in these passages are unacceptable and do not inform Waldorf education or any aspect of the work at Mulberry Waldorf School. Our aim is to establish a community that reflects Steiner’s Social Motto:
“The healthy social life is only found when, in the mirror of each human soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the community, the virtue of each one is living.” ~Rudolf Steiner
Mulberry DEIABJ Working Group
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, Belonging, and Justice Working Group (DEIABJ WG) is a team of faculty and staff members, board members, and parents who wish to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the operations of Mulberry Waldorf School. Their mandate is to perform regular reviews of the school’s operations to determine if the school is meeting the agreed upon DEIABJ Guiding Principles, and if not, provide ideas and suggestions for how to improve processes and policies. In addition, they provide feedback to the Board and Staff through the lens of equity and inclusion, prior to decision-making, about current items being discussed in Board and Staff meetings. The DEIABJ WG also receives questions, concerns and feedback from parents, staff, students, and board members and brings them to DEIABJ WG meetings to discuss and form recommendations.

The DEIABJ Working Group invites you to send us topics, questions, feedback, and concerns to be researched and discussed through an DEIABJ lens via the Chair, Jenny Taylor ([email protected]). We will respond with ideas and suggestions to support DEIABJ in our school operations. 

Interested in joining the DEIABJ Working Group? Please contact Jenny Taylor.
Other Resources: