About MCRC@ADVIS

Mission Statement

The Philadelphia Area Multicultural Resource Center (MCRC) is one of the seven regional centers founded by the National Association of Independent Schools to serve the independent school community as a repository of material and human resources dedicated to the promotion of increased diversity in the school curriculum, faculty, and student body. Our goal is to enrich our schools through increased knowledge, awareness, and understanding of diverse cultures and diverse perspectives within our own culture by addressing such issues as racism, sexism, economic and social inequity, and prejudice in all forms, violent and subtle.

As diversity in America grows, our awareness and understanding of it must keep pace. Each day, Americans are presented with challenges and opportunities for living together in the most diverse nation on earth.  The mandate for multicultural education is clear and strong. An inclusive curriculum greatly enriches the intellectual and cultural life of our society.  In a world where over two-thirds of the population consists of people of color, all students need to have an understanding of this world in which they live.

The autonomy of the independent school community gives us the potential to move forward with important curricular initiatives. The Center has helped independent schools move deliberately and directly toward more inclusive curricula and stands ready to assist faculty and staff, administrators and board members, parents, and students in furthering their educations. The goals of the MCRC include:

• Develop workshops, conferences, and seminars.

• Promotes increased diversity in school communities

• Serve as a model of inter-school collaboration on diversity

• Act as a “village square” where ideas and information are exchanged and where kinships among colleagues are formed.