*BLACK AFFINITY* Maury Elementary Community Listening Session

What is the goal of the listening sessions? The listening sessions are being offered by a parent-led working group seeking to advance equity at Maury Elementary School. As a first step, the group is seeking direct input from Maury parents, guardians, and caregivers about the current sense of community and belonging. Listening sessions will last about 90 minutes, and include a maximum of 10 participants during each session. Participants will be asked to only attend one (1) session to ensure that all participants have time to provide insights into their experiences and hopes for the Maury community. Feedback will be compiled, distilled into themes, and presented in a report to interested community members and school leadership at Maury Elementary. Participant names will not be included in the report.

What will happen during the listening session? Each session will be led by Keiana Mayfield, MSW. Keiana is currently a doctoral candidate in The Pennsylvania State University’s Human Development and Families Studies Program. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin in 2015. During each session, she will ask participants a number of open-ended questions about their experiences of belonging at Maury Elementary. To create spaces for genuine discussion and feedback from families of color, several Black-affinity sessions will be offered.

Will my feedback be confidential? The listening sessions will take place via Zoom, and will be in a small group format (you will receive a direct invitation for the session you choose). In order for participants to be candid, we ask that all participants honor the ground rule that what is said in session remains within the group and is not shared. Please note that sessions will be recorded by Keiana solely to aid in the creation of the report; no one other than Keiana will have access to the recorded sessions and they will be deleted once the report has been completed. Again, participant names will not be included in the report.

Can participating in a listening session really make a difference? We believe it can make a huge difference, both to the individual and the Maury community at large! Participation in the listening sessions may help you feel more connected to the Maury community, providing you an opportunity to provide feedback you may not have had occasion to share. Attending a listening session will provide you with a sense that your insights and concerns are being heard; it also gives you an opportunity to hear from others.

Overall, the listening sessions will provide insights into ways that the Maury community could be more robust and inclusive, and may pave the way for future work at the school level. This has the potential to improve community-level feelings of belonging, which we hope will improve family-school partnerships as well as interpersonal relations among community members.

If you have any questions or concerns about these listening sessions, please reach out to Keiana Mayfield at: kmayfield@psu.edu.