Our Mission: The mission of the Office of Equity and Inclusion is to serve as an educational resource, rooted in inclusive excellence. We invite the entire community to engage academically and socially with identity development, intersectionality, intergroup relations, and justice in order to achieve a unifying consciousness for the common good. Guided by our Ignatian Values, the OEI envisions Loyola High School students, families, staff, faculty, and administration taking advantage of the rich diverse fabric of the school by embracing and grappling with issues of equity, inclusion, and social justice.
Our Role: Provide direct student support with regard to the mission of this office. Also, advise, provide recommendations, and support our adult community (administration/leadership, faculty, & staff) as it pertains to student support.
Our Approach: Relational – rooted in cura personalis & deep listening (norms, healing circle, etc.)
Committed to anti-racism & anti-bias (restorative justice, reconciliation, trauma-informed practices, etc.); Transparent communication with relational supports; Loyola adult: support by the department chair/direct supervisor; Loyola student & parent/guardian: support by counselor/club moderator/peer; Empower students and their voices (via the Grad-at-Grad values and Universal Apostolic Preferences– UAPs)
Words Matter
Every year at Loyola, we host a DEIB series called Words Matter, which revolves around a theme. Created by the Loyola’s Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) in collaboration with The Marlborough School and Immaculate Heart High School, Words Matter is intended to provide a dedicated space, designed to listen to one another’s experiences and conversations around the power of words on race and gender. We often create activities, conversations, and moments of introspection so that students can build upon that new-found knowledge when they return to their respective schools. In this way, Words Matter pushes students to lead from within first, then move toward working for justice beyond the classroom, the school, or even the events we host.
Continuing from last year, creating & building the beloved community will be the theme of this year’s Words Matter. This year, we want to see this manifest through praxis, that is…hands-on work with the community. Our November session will attempt to inspire while training students to lead. The January and March sessions will both put the students in front of younger students, as they lead their own restorative practice workshop.
REGISTER HERE FOR NOVEMBER’S EVENT
C.U.B. Fest
C.U.B. Fest is our cultural day celebrating our shared stories, history, rituals, & joy, sponsored by the Affinity Clubs of Loyola High School. This day will feature food, games, conversations, and cultural information, all expressing the rich heritage and lives that makeup Loyola High School. The Student Life Office supports each participating club by providing the means to purchase supplies, food, etc., for this event.* The C.U.B. Fest always takes place in Hayden Circle during lunch. Expect a week of prayer to also accompany the week and not just the day. If there is an opportunity for your club to celebrate LGBTQIA+ and/or AAPI leaders who represent or have worked within your respective affinity identity, please share at your table along with the festivities!
Any questions, please come see Mr. Brown or Mrs. Collins-Pardo in the Office of Equity and Inclusion, or Mr. Walter in the Student Center!
HBCU College Fair Night
HBCU College Fair Night for SoCal Catholic & Independent Schools
HBCU College Fair Night generally occurs every September. For the last three years, Loyola has been a host for many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from across the country in hopes of accomplishing the following:
- Increase specific college services to our current African American & BIPOC families.
- Promote better sense of belonging for and from our African American students.
- Address the Jesuit Reparations Project Goals.
- HBCUs connect our Ignatian values with the values of HBCU’s.
- Increase the number of African American applicants to both Loyola and HBCUs.
For the past three years, 15-20 HBCU representatives and several SoCal Catholic & Independent schools have attended, and we look forward to growing the program, so that we can provide the same service for other Catholic and independent schools. A special THANK YOU to the schools of Los Angeles Independent Schools College Counselors (LAISCC) for sponsoring many of the HBCUs who attended our recent event in September.
MLK Beloved Community
“Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites…the aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957
At Loyola, we Celebrate MLK Day as a day to observe community building, companionship & kinship, and Peace through some or all of the following:
- Service work
- A community walk
- Conversations
- Hear motivational speeches by community leaders and artists
We bring our Loyola family together with the Pico Union Community at the Resource Fair for families (share some food and fun).
