BOARD ADOPTED PLAN

The Conga Kids executive team and board of directors are deeply committed to honoring the diverse roots and cultural realities of the social dances taught in our program. In addition, we are committed to providing equitable dance education through subsidized funding to new and existing school partners. Recognizing the inequity of access to dance education, a service provided to only 1% of Los Angeles County’s youth, Conga Kids values and strives toward equitable programmatic expansion.

BOARD ADOPTED POLICY & PLAN

DIVERSITY

The Conga Kids executive team and board of directors are committed to honoring the diverse roots and cultural realities of the social dances taught in our core curricula. Social dances like Rumba, Salsa, Charleston, and Hip Hop have the power to build community, break down social barriers, and celebrate the multi-cultural composition of the students in Southern California. We strive to reflect the diversity of Los Angeles County through the composition of our board, administrative and programs staff.

EQUITY

• Funding – Conga Kids strives to provide equitable opportunities for school partners to participate through subsidized and reduced rates of tuition. In addition, we have developed a sliding scale model for Title 1 schools and discounted rates for schools with larger student populations. 

• Implementation & Methodology – The intrinsic nature of social dance gives students opportunities to identify and participate in a process that treats everyone with fairness and respect. 

• In response to the COVID-crisis, Conga Kids pivoted to a distance-learning platform in order to meet the continued needs of our school partners and their communities for equitable access to arts education.

• Our program requires that all 5th graders in our partnering schools participate together, creating a safe and fair space for all students, including differently-abled and special day students. 

• As Of the 21/22 school year, Conga Kids eliminated gender role identification and “lead-and-follow” in our social dance lessons, creating space for students and faculty of all genders to feel safe and included during our residencies. As an organization committed to creating a safe space for all students to access dance education, Conga Kids is committed to refining and reevaluating our curriculum in order to be fully inclusive of our transgender and non-binary student participants.

Conga Kids’ commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion aligns with our mission of promoting social-emotional wellness through social dance, by:

1. Hiring staff and artists on the basis of expertise and experience, regardless of educational credentials, in order to ensure that diverse voices are heard in every aspect of our organization’s leadership and strategic growth

2. Providing opportunity for our board, executive and artistic staff to deepen our understanding of anti-racist organizational practices surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion

3. Exploring and developing strategies to provide increased access to differently-abled students

4. Building partnerships with schools in economically disadvantaged communities that are underserved by arts providers

Our executive leadership and board will review and refine our diversity, equity, and inclusion statement, policy, and plan on an annual basis, and refine our organizations bylaws and policies to reflect these priorities.