What is Many Voices, One Community Day?
This once historic Middle School monument has been forgotten since before Covid began, but eighth-grade teachers Erin Timmer and Josh Goodstein have restarted the program and feel that it is on its way to being a huge success.
Erin Timmer, a middle school social studies teacher, began Many Voices, One Community Day (MVOC) alongside current head of middle school Mark Smith, in 2017, after learning about a former high school service day mirroring similar topics.
Timmer says that “during the 2016 school year, we trained a group of 7th and 8th grade ‘diversity facilitators’ to run group discussions, lead activities, and debrief sessions around race, gender, ability, social class, and other identifiers. Once the group was comfortable leading these sessions, we created MVOC to allow them to bring these topics to the rest of the middle school in a day-long workshop format, run by students.”
Middle school science teacher Josh Goodstein began a similar day while teaching at his previous school, Greene Street Friends.
The event, which was once titled “Stay Woke Day,” followed a similar format. Its strongest feature was an emphasis on student advocacy.
Goodstein highlights that this day specifically allows “eighth graders to take some leadership in sharing about some aspects of their identity.”
Identity, a core foundation that Middle School students have been experiencing through their time in Conscious Communities, along with identity exploration in class, is a crucial part of “Many Voices One Community Day.”
Gwinny Taylor ‘30 said that Many Voices One Community Day is “a day where the 8th graders are working with the younger students to help them learn about different aspects of culture.”
This exciting day is not only a leadership opportunity, but a fantastic way to allow middle school students to rise as leaders and create learning opportunities for other students that may not always be available to them.
During the day, eighth graders have worked in groups to create meaningful activities for their younger peers, encouraging other middle schoolers to educate themselves and learn about cultures and factors of identity that may not be a mirror to their own.
Taylor said, “My friends and I are doing a presentation on the history of women’s clothing: specifically, the evolution of women’s swimwear.”
But their project is one of many, Sydney Hirsch ‘30 is working to “[talk] about stereotypes,” and in her lesson is debriefing Nike’s classic “Run like a girl” commercial, which targets stereotypes about young girls in athletics.
The eighth graders will present these projects to small groups of younger middle schoolers, working to not only convey their goals, but practice leadership in the community.
Taylor says that “[she] likes[s] that it is a chance for the 8th graders to experience leadership and work with the younger peers.”
Taylor is not the only student who feels that this leadership is exciting. In fact, most eighth graders feel that this day is a community builder and a way for the eighth graders to completely take on their role as the leaders of the middle school.
Zoe Goldstein ‘30 says that Many Voices, One Community Day brings people together [so that] everyone can experience representation.”
The workshops will appear over a short period of the day, but the Middle School students will engage in various activities, further exploring their identity, including a division-wide movie, which was chosen by the eighth graders alongside various discussion questions.
The eighth graders will also help lead a Middle School MFW, allowing a safe space for students to speak and express their reflections on the day.
Finally, the entire division will participate in a “Where I Am From” poetry workshop, applying the identity-based learning skills they gained from the day into poetry about their culture, family, and personal values.
Timmer says that “This year’s MVOC is structured similarly to the previous ones. One big difference this year is that the group running all parts of the day is the entire 8th grade, who have been working all year in grade-level conscious communities on leadership and facilitation.”
Overall, Many Voices, One Community Day is on its way to be not only an engaging leadership opportunity for eighth graders, but an activity-packed day for the full middle school.
As Timmer says, “It will be a really powerful and impactful day for the middle school, and I hope that it empowers the 8th graders to see their power and influence at work as they move into upper school.”
baeleigh • May 5, 2026 at 12:04 pm
When I was in eighth grade, I remember doing the planning for this project; however, we never actually ended up presenting anything to anyone. I think it was just to see whether or not it was something they could bring back last year, and I’m glad it was something they were able to organize this year. The community days at AFS have always been entertaining; we’ve always left with stories to tell and new memories. They are also a great way of making new connections and friends because they have been open to bringing outsiders in. Another group community activity I’ve always appreciated was conscious communities, because being around people with the same or similar experiences as you and hearing their perspective on it was always comforting, and changed my view on many different things. It was also always a great way to learn new things about identity and what it means.
Amaya Goodwin • Apr 28, 2026 at 9:24 am
Although I’ve attended AFS through both lower, middle, and upper school, I didn’t get to experience this tradition when I was in middle school due to COVID. However, I think that many voices day is an amazing construct that helps students develop leadership and advocacy skills, which is a crucial skill to have, especially for the eighth graders. As they prepare to enter the upper school, those skills that they demonstrate well benefit them greatly, considering that our upper school is built on student leadership and advocacy.
Nalani • Apr 27, 2026 at 9:57 am
As someone who has been going to AFS for a while and has a younger sibling in middle school, I was very interested in learning about the bringing back of many voices day. This is a wonderful opportunity for 8th graders to step into leadership positions and practice being stewards of the community as they engage the rest of the middle school. It also is a great chance for them to learn more about maturity and prepare them for high school. They learn to be leaders not just in the AFS community but can bring that demeanor out into the world.
jah • Apr 26, 2026 at 3:41 pm
I just started at this school this year, so this was one of my first times seeing “Many Voices, One Community Day”. It was really fun to see 8th graders acting like teachers and helping us learn about the different cultures and other important things, like race and gender. Even though I’m still new, I can see that our school is tight-knit and friendly without using phones.
Lauren Washington • Apr 21, 2026 at 11:38 am
As a student who has been at AFS for 9 years I have an experienced a day similar to this in middle school. While I was there, we used conscious communities time to discuss topics such as race, gender, and sexuality. This was helpful because it made these topics less taboo to talk about in a school setting. However, my experience of community day changed over the years due to my age. Specifically, during my senior year, I felt like community day did not feel the same because we are already a close-knit community and a cell phone free environment. I think connections last longer and are stronger when they are made naturally whether that’s on a sports team, during a socratic seminar, or during lunchtime.