Making the Circle Bigger

By Ben Weinberg, Headmaster, American School of Madrid

I grew up in one of the most racially segregated cities in the United States at a time of cultural and societal change and challenge. The Class of 1976 at University City High School, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri reflected the shifts and the challenges. U. City was the only integrated school district in St. Louis . For us as students it was a reality for which there were no lesson plans or units of study. No one taught us about diversity. At that time the textbooks had not kept pace with the changes in American society. While my classmates and I remember struggles and difficult times none of us would have had it any other way.

When my high school classmates share memories on the Class of ‘76 Facebook page, the theme of our differences being our strengths comes up again and again. Other schools and other districts across the US were fractured in those years. Protests arose against bussing. Words such as “local control” and “community” became weaponized and pitted one group against another. But, somehow, we learned to live, learn and grow not just with each other but from each other and because of each other. Our parents then as parents now made an excellent school and a diverse community top priorities. Then as now, no school is perfect. The point then as now was to be moving in the right direction. To be moving towards a learning environment where students learn not only the concepts of compassion, empathy, fairness, respect, integrity, equity, but develop the perseverance and strength of character to take them from concepts to realities.

I have forgotten many of my High School lessons, but this one never faded. And I draw often on the lessons of those days and about diversity being a source of both pride and strength, and belonging, not being a location but a cherished common ground.

I was reminded of those lessons recently as I met with students in the Class of 2024 in my annual exit interviews last spring. One theme comes up time and again with students who have been at the American School of Madrid for 15 years and those who just joined in their senior year. I asked them about the highlights of their time at ASM. Consistently they say, “the people”, “being able to talk to anyone”, “the feeling of belonging”, “how welcoming it is”. One student captured this sentiment perfectly. She said, “When I joined the school, people made the circle bigger so there was room for me. Later, when others joined, we made the circle bigger so there was room for them.”

This is the essence of inclusion. There are many ways to dress up the concept, but said plainly and directly, this is what an inclusive community does. This ethos is simple to state yet less easy to instill and develop. One can try and measure the degree of inclusivity by counting the number of learning support teachers, or social and emotional counselors and certainly they play a critical role in making inclusion meaningful and effective from a staffing perspective. One can detail student support team structures and analyze student performance data and highlight student outcomes. Schools bring in speakers and host workshops and book study groups for students and parents. But it is possible to have great academic outcomes, be fully staffed and fill handbooks with efficient systems and not have that other quality that may be hard to measure but you can feel it from the first moment. Belonging. That’s the essence of inclusiveness. It is a goal one does not cross off the list but a way of being one constantly strives toward. Here at ASM it is integrated into our expectations and into the lessons in the curriculum. It is embedded in our school systems and structures. It is the open structure of our early childhood program and the independence and opportunity we give elementary students during Outdoor Play and Learning and the multi-purpose block in the Upper School schedule where students learn to manage time. It is all that and it is school administrators standing out front, rain or shine to welcome students to a new day. It is in the ethos of care and kindness, the mantra that underpins all our messaging. Ultimately, it is about making bigger circles. Come visit us, in the morning before school, during multi-purpose time, during lunch time or after school. Come see for yourself. We are proud of those circles, proud to make the space so they grow bigger and bigger each day.