Middle School Common Ground

August 2025

Dear Middle School Parents

This is Gordon’s eighteenth year offering Common Ground, an affinity group for students of color. This group provides a safe space to explore racial identity development through a variety of activities. Students reflect on who they are and how they live out their racial group membership. Many students have described Common Ground meetings as an essential part of their Gordon experience.

The National Association of Independent Schools defines “students of color” as ones who identify as Black and African American, Latinx and Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and two or more races.

If you, your child, or your family identify as people of color, we encourage you to look into both Common Ground and the Parents of Students of Color group. If you, your child, or your family do not identify as people of color, we encourage you to recognize the value of this experience for children of color and to support Common Ground as an essential part of Gordon’s mission for equity and racial diversity. Additionally, Facing Whiteness: the Antiracism Working Group for White Parents has been a useful resource for white families to support students with understanding the benefits of affinity spaces for people of color.

The structure for Middle School Common Ground includes lunch meetings once during each eight-day rotation, as well as evening meetings during Parents of Students of Color gatherings and parent education evenings. Our first POSOC gathering of the year will be a social meet and greet at Gordon on September 9th from 5:30 - 6:30. Students are welcome to join for pizza, snacks and to connect with each other!

The schedule for the year is

Thursday, October 16th 6:30-8:00pm
Thursday, December 4th 5:30-7:30pm
Thursday, January 29th 6:00-7:30pm
Thursday, April 16th 6:30-8:00pm
Thursday, May 7th 6:30-8:00pm

There will be more information to come from our Middle School Common Ground Coordinator, Afiya Samuel.

There are also other opportunities for students to be together during the year. We participate in Association of Independent Schools of New England events that students are encouraged to attend. One of these will be February 7th, in Weston, Massachusetts. Gordon pays for registration and provides transportation and supervision for these events. Information will be sent regarding these opportunities as it becomes available.

Please be in touch with me or with any of the facilitators if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Matthew Boyd
Middle School Director