At another school, a lead teacher facilitates his lower school’s faculty of color affinity group, which meets bimonthly. The group often talks about the lack of formal cross-cultural competency training. He wants to get feedback and insight from the entire community in order to make a case for a full-time senior administrator who can help develop training and programs to support staff.
A head of school is dealing with the fallout from a racial incident involving a group of students. The school community is on edge and needs space to candidly air grievances. The head has a sense of what the school needs—more processes for dealing with conflicts among students—but he decides others must be invited to share their perspectives before any formal actions are taken.
As NAIS’s coordinator of Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM), I regularly meet with independent schools across the country that share these kinds of stories. Some schools are just beginning to look closely at DEI practices; others have entrenched institutional roles and structures. There are many reasons to pause during the process of creating diverse and inclusive communities in order to gather information about a school’s strengths in this area, dream new possibilities, and design the actions that will lead to progress. I believe that every school exists on a continuum of potential. Here’s how I guide schools through this work.
Through Their Eyes
In the past 10 years, more than 100 schools have used AIM to help them see their school climate more clearly. AIM consists of two parts: a survey and a self-assessment. The AIM site coordinator, usually the director of diversity or other upper administrator, plays a pivotal role in preparing, planning, and implementing both assessments and ensuring optimal engagement. The Online Climate Survey is typically the first step.To affirm the initiatives and practices that support DEI work, schools must invite feedback from the whole community. An easy way to do this is with the 15- to 20-minute survey that asks various constituents—from students to trustees—to respond to a series of prompts. Divided into two sections, the survey focuses on personal characteristics and attitudes and experiences. Participants rate affirmative statements on a five-point scale. A student might be asked to respond to the following statement: It is easy for people like me to be accepted here. A trustee might rate the following: The board holds the administration of the school accountable for diversity and multicultural initiatives. And a parent/guardian, the following: This school maintains the same academic standards for all students.
The Data and Analysis for School Leadership (DASL) team customizes the questions for each school based on the constituent groups being surveyed; analyzes the data captured during the survey period, which typically lasts a few weeks; and creates an executive summary and report. The report is organized according to several themes—being respected and empowered; feeling safe and comfortable; being supported and affirmed; belonging; and having contributions valued.
Gaining Perspective
The Online Climate Survey provides schools with facts, and some schools stop here. Others move forward to the next phase: interpretation. Based on findings outlined in the summary report, a school can decide what key topics—from school governance to student life and community involvement—to more deeply explore with targeted constituents, including school leadership, administration, faculty and staff, current and former students, parents, and trustees.The School Self-Assessment solicits qualitative feedback from these constituents who meet in discovery committees for varying lengths of time. One school created three discovery committees that met for two consecutive Saturdays. One committee, made up of current and former students, discussed the following: How does the school facilitate positive student relationships across differences? How does the school follow and share with the school community the post-graduation achievements and notable events of graduates, particularly those from marginalized groups?
Another committee of trustees, school leaders, and administrators explored the following: Does the school’s mission support the diversity program/initiative? How? Describe the school’s strategies for promoting school-wide understanding of DEI and/or multiculturalism. How have these strategies best served the school?
Through the School Self-Assessment, schools can discover opportunities that will lead to advancement and connect key learning to strategic planning. One school remarked that the self-assessment helped them to clarify the role the board plays in advancing DEI practices. During this phase of AIM, I continue to work closely with the site coordinator, who shares a report on the committee work with the school community.