A Passion for Increasing School Diversity Through Charter Schools
I had the privilege of photographing Sonia C. Park , Executive Director of Diverse Charter Schools Coalition. She shared her passion for increasing diversity in public schools through the charter school movement.
“For 7 years, I have been the Executive Director of Diverse Charter Schools Coalition. Our non-profit organization was founded 10 years ago. The reason the work we do is so important to me is because it is the idealized version of integrated schools. This year we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, (May 17, 1954) when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregating public schools was unconstitutional. That decision began a move to integrate public schools which gives any child within a given community equal access to their local public school. Before 1954, that wasn’t the case.
One of our data points is this startling fact, American public schools are more segregated now than in the 1980s! Communities have increasing stratification & schools are often tied to housing segregation or inherited policymaking.
The Coalition is a member-based organization collectively 255 schools across the country, representing over 100,000 children. Charters are brick-and-mortar schools providing public education to the community & are run by individual non-profit boards.
We are expanding the movement of diverse schools by seeding new schools' growth through our fellowship program & by inviting existing schools into the membership. We explain the power of diversity in schools, the same power that exists in diverse companies reflecting broader understanding.
My advice to younger people is, don’t feel like you are locked into one career for your life. My son is 19 years old. People ask him what he is going to be & do for the rest of his life. My husband & I told him he doesn’t need to decide yet but rather follow his interests. Few people know at 18 what they will still be doing 40 years later. You don’t have to know what you are going to be for the rest of your life because things change.
I didn’t like my headshots on the company website. My hair looked like I was wearing a helmet. I wanted my picture to look more like me now. I’ve let my hair grow in gray. I met Alissa through my friend, Veronica Brooks-Uy. I saw her updated pictures on LinkedIn & loved that she wasn’t made to look different from who she was. Her skin looked great. She was glowing. I wanted that.
It was the small things that made the shoot comfortable. The music was great. It was fun. I appreciated that Alissa was honest in a good way. I showed her a shirt & she said she didn’t think it would be best, but we could try.
She let me take the lead in choosing the headshot. I’ve had a photographer choose my picture, but since it’s mine, I wanted to pick. Alissa let me choose.
My pictures weren’t just well done, they look like who I am. I’ve received compliments from people saying, ‘I love your updated pictures.’ I agree, saying, ‘I do too!’”