OUR VISION
To be a community that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion so that it permeates our institutional culture, guides our actions, and is reflected in our students’ and employees’ lived experiences.
To be the community where diversity, equity, inclusion and restorative justice involve engaging multiple perspectives, critically challenging assumptions, and taking empathetic, informed and responsible action in our school, our partnerships and in the world.
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Actions completed include:
Goal 1
Increasing DEI awareness, understanding and action for all constituent groups through leadership, governance, communications, enrolment management and human resources practices by recruiting two new board members from the BIPOC community and providing regular training and updates to the Board of Governors; providing two Inclusive Leadership workshops for members of the Senior Leadership Team, School Management Team, and Instructional Leaders; creating new and continuing financial assistance programs for racialized minorities; establishing a new DEI website and profiling DEI topics in our communications; revising HR interview and job postings to prioritize inclusion; and reflecting gender diversity in written communications and Admissions workshops.
Goal 2
Developing an organizational culture that encourages advocacy, anti-racism and anti-discrimination and values the lived experiences of community members by establishing a DEI Working Group and Year 2 priorities; engaging our community in conversation about DEI at listening circles, student groups and clubs, Advisor sessions, and community circles; and launching NameCoach (name and pronoun recording software) for employees and students.
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YEAR 1 REPORT CARD
Goal 3
Building employee capacity and leadership through continued learning opportunities to foster classroom and school operational practices that are rooted in anti-racism and anti-discrimination education with a speaker series addressing anti-racism, anti-discrimination, social action, privilege, and allyship; hosting four employee-led anti-racism book clubs and four all-employee learning opportunities; department and division work on anti-racism, gender and sexuality, and Indigenous relations; employees attended local and international conferences on a range of topics (i.e. affinity groups, anti-oppression, pluralism and anti-racism); and updates to the Student Code of Conduct and Boarding Handbook to include a DEI focus.
Goal 4
Building student capacity for advocacy, dialogue and anti-racism leadership across the school by providing new student leadership DEI training and support; establishing the Diversity Council; implementing an anonymous discrimination reporting tool; and supporting student-led co-curricular opportunities, networks and youth conferences.
Goal 5
Developing metrics, collecting data and reporting findings that inform DEI priorities by enlisting third-party firm Anima Leadership to conduct a DEI audit of Branksome Hall, featuring surveys and focus groups with key stakeholder groups. Our Principal and Head of DEI continue to report progress to the Board, SLT, MT and student-led Diversity Council.
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“Branksome Hall has been on a journey this past year. Thinking about, discussing and questioning our personal stances on systemic racism is itself a form of talking, writing and fighting back, as an institution. It’s not literally ‘fighting back,’ it’s a more intellectual pursuit and it’s different for each person.”
Izza Tahir, Researcher, Branksome Hall’s Chandaria Research Centre
As part of their studies for Black History Month this year, Grade 8 students Emma Croxall (Kamala Harris) and Lilly Pottow (Barack Obama) learned concepts such as colour and unity by exploring their ‘icon of choice’ in paper collage.
DEI Audit Update
“Since February, Anima Leadership has engaged approximately 50% of Grade 12 students and 80% of employees in surveys exploring their population characteristics and experiences. Other initiatives undertaken as part of the DEI Audit include focus groups and individual consultations with all constituent groups.
Employee focus groups conducted include BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+ and Open to All. We’ll also continue workshops, as well as departmental DEI reviews in Human Resources, Communications, Marketing and Branding, and Admissions. In the fall, we will embark on student experience surveys and focus groups with students, parents and alum. The audit and reporting is now expected to be completed by April 2022.”
Actions currently in progress include:
● Development of a recruitment plan for BIPOC students.
● Review of existing policies and employee protocols from a DEI lens.
● Embed DEI as a priority in department agendas and operations, focusing on organizational culture.
● Curriculum reviews underway in Junior, Middle, and Senior schools.
● Assessment of student groups and their mandates through the lens of DEI.
● Measure changes in the student experience of diversity, equity and inclusion through feedback events and tools.
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Shakil Choudhury and James Beaton, Anima Leadership
“Branksome is not perfect and still has a lot of work to do to address issues within the policies and procedures of the school. This means all members of the community have to do their part to take an intersectional approach to unlearn internal biases, educate themselves on different forms of discrimination, take action within and outside the school community and truly dedicate themselves to creating a better Branksome for all.”
Maria Muiruri, Branksome Hall Student and Diversity Council, Student Life Representative
Actions to be completed and added:
● Update Board Governance policies and bylaws.
● Advance Branksome’s data collection, reporting and evidence-based management by sharing audit findings with all constituents, sharing audit results on DEI website, and working with auditors to develop data-driven insights on DEI progress.
● Support employee-led groups, including the BH BIPOC Employee Affinity Space.
● Increase student communications and involvement in DEI developments at the school.
● Offer parent education opportunities.
Branksome’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is an ongoing strategic priority that will evolve as we learn and grow. We know that being better is only possible with the continued engagement, dedication and contributions of so many of our community members.
YEAR 2 ACTION PLAN
“My daughter is in the Junior School, entering Grade 4, and has a long runway at the school, and I think it will be great for her to understand that her dad is involved in the school and also has a voice in terms of the future strategic direction of the school and the organization. It’s a global world and the school certainly embraces that, and so I think I can bring something from my own experiences, my own travels and my family’s blended heritage.”
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Kurankye Sekyi-Otu, Branksome Parent and incoming member of the Board of Governors, who recently joined Principal Jurjevich in conversation, along with CK PURKS Hoffler’80, also joining the Board.
BRANKSOME ANNOUNCES DEI WORKING GROUP
In May, we announced the membership of Branksome’s first DEI Working Group. Its mandate is to meet regularly to support the strategic development of DEI initiatives and planning for the school, by bringing perspective to the interpretation of data and developing institutional recommendations, which will be approved by the Principal and the Senior Leadership Team. Dr. Mira Gambhir co-chairs the DEI Working Group, along with Amanda Kennedy, Deputy Principal of Branksome Hall. The group also consists of 13 other members from across the Branksome community, including 11 employee volunteers, and two alum representatives. The employee members include faculty and staff in Human Resources, Boarding, Student Support and the IT Department. The two alum members have experience with issues related to DEI. “These members will bring both their professional and personal perspectives and apply a school-wide lens to the scope and progress of our Year 1 school-wide action plan and multi-year commitments,” said Dr. Gambhir.
The DEI Working Group is made up of the following 15 members:
● Dr. Mira Gambhir, Head, Research & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
● Amanda Kennedy, Deputy Principal
● Allison Campbell-Rogers, Senior and Middle School Individuals and Society Teacher, Integrated and Design Technology Teacher
● Christie DesRoches, Senior and Middle School Mathematics Teacher
● Mary Fiore, Junior School Math Coordinator
● Kate Hebdon, Assistant Head, Student Experience, 11 & 12
● Sabba Khokhar, Associate Director, Human Resources
● Alan Lee, Manager, Support Services
● Kelly Longmore, Director, Boarding
● Carolyn Mak, Lead Social Worker
● Jordan Small, Diploma Program Core Coordinator, Senior & Middle School English Teacher
● Jill Strimas, Instructional Leader, English, ESL & International Languages
● Karen Whitaker, Senior and Middle School English Teacher
● Monique MILLER’07, Alum representative
● Tiffany RAMSUBICK’04, Alum representative
Find out more.
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“For me, above everything else, being anti-racist is rooted in a love for humankind.”
Jordan Small, Diploma Program Core Coordinator, English Teacher and DEI Working Group member
14 Number of speakers we’ve heard from in the 2020-21 school year
4 school-wide book clubs held
More than As of June 2021,
890 students and employees have access to NameCoach software
$500,000 raised in scholarships for the BIPOC community
“Frances and I strongly believe that the world can become a better place through education and opportunity. Our hope is that this scholarship will enable a young person to accomplish their goals, and be supported as they develop their voice, perspectives and leadership.”
Tim Price, a grandparent, Foundation Board trustee, former member of the Board of Governors and past parent, who together with his wife Frances, recently created a scholarship in support of an Indigenous student at Branksome.
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QUICK FACTS
Speakers featured at Branksome Hall whom we’ve heard from in the 2020-21 school year:
Shelley Charles, Ojibwe Anishinaabe Elder and Dean, Indigenous Education and Engagement, Humber College
Maria Muiruri, Branksome Hall student and Diversity Council, Student Life Representative
Michael Etherington, Indigenous relations and partnerships consultant, Manager of ReconciliACTIONs with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
Saadia Faruqi, Pakistani-American author
CK PURKS Hoffler’80, Attorney and president, U.S. National Bar Association
Mariko Uda, Writer, illustrator, civil engineer
Nadia L. Hohn, Toronto author and teacher
Joshua Watkis, Poet and educator
Carlotta Walls LaNier, Civil rights activist and author
Esie Mensah, Renowned choreographer
Torie WILLIAMS’17, Past-president of the Black Students’ Network at McGill University
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Tanya Talaga, Anishinaabe Canadian journalist and author
Nicole West-Burns, Equity educator and consultant, NWB Consulting
Ruth Ohi, Toronto author and illustrator
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“This is an important moment in the history of Branksome Hall. At this time, it is important to recognize the duality of the circumstances. This is an important and noteworthy moment, and one that also sheds light on all the progress to be made.”
Monique MILLER’07
© Branksome Hall 2021
