Newsletter for Diversity and Inclusivity at RDS
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September 12, 2008
For several years, RDS has been working to make our school a more diverse community, looking at issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economics. To this end we have also strived to make diversity more meaningful to all of us through a broad range of activities, workshops, readings, and conversations. We have done much, and there is still more to do.
It was with this in mind that in October 2007 the School contracted with Francie Kendall, a nationally-known consultant in the fields of organizational change and diversity, to lead the School through a Climate Survey* based on a key phrase from our mission statement: “intimate, diverse community.” The survey was conducted last spring, and on September 23rd Francie will present the findings to faculty and staff at an afternoon meeting and to RDS families and community members at 7:00 p.m. in the Lower School Multi-Purpose Room. (Childcare is available at no charge.) The next piece of Francie’s work with RDS is to assist us in creating a Diversity Strategic Plan that she will help us implement and monitor.
The School continues to move forward in our work on diversity in other areas. We are going into our second year of sponsoring a SEED group on campus for faculty and staff. We are reviewing our grievance procedures (faculty/staff and parents) with an eye towards creating a process that is more inclusive and accessible to all our various stakeholders. The Board of Trustees is discussing the creation of its own Diversity Committee. This year, the social studies curriculum is due for review and included in this analysis will be a more systematic approach to bias awareness.
The nature of most schools is that there is a dominant culture that creates norms of which it is unaware. When, however, you are not part of the dominant culture, these unconscious norms at times become painfully clear, and further become a part of the daily terrain one must navigate. Part of our work therefore, is for all of us to better understand, as precisely as possible, what comprises the dominant culture at RDS. And throughout, we must retain and indeed build on our diversity. To do this and to become truly inclusive, we must create improved organizational structures and cultures. That is, it’s much more than just asking for trust and faith, it’s building in systems that allow trust and faith to grow. Many of the specifics on this growth will emerge from the findings of the Climate Survey.
The purpose, therefore, of the Climate Survey is to help us all see and acknowledge that barriers to real inclusion from all diverse experiences do exist at RDS. But to stop there would be a huge mistake. Instead, the task is to support those diverse and inclusive aspects of RDS culture and to assess and change those aspects that keep RDS from becoming the school we want to be. This is the path RDS is on.
This work is both essential and exciting, and just another reason why I am proud to be a member of our RDS community.
Mike
*For the details of the Climate Survey process see the Friday Folder written on February 29, 2008.
