Living Our Mission: Anti-Racist Programs & Practices at Buckley

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LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


DEAR BUCKLEY COMMUNITY, This year, institutions and organizations across the country have had a reckoning with racial injustice—and Buckley is no different. We know we can do better. We must do better. Some of you chose Buckley because of its mission’s commitment to equity and inclusion; some of you may have been attracted to Isabelle Buckley’s founding Four-Fold Plan, which includes “Moral Education.” The fact remains: our dedication to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is rock-solid and enduring. It is fundamental to who we are as a school and a community. There are multiple layers and stages to any deep institutional or cultural change. We can add a certain book to a history class, and that will tweak perspectives and spark great conversations, but it’s only one piece of a bigger puzzle. This plan is rooted in our mission and it covers it all— book titles and courses we’re proud to teach; grading and class placement practices we need to review; prospective students we are eager to meet, welcome, nurture, and protect. Institutional change is not an overnight matter. Nevertheless, we are launching full speed ahead, and will be unrelenting in our commitment to expanding our DEI initiatives and integrating them even more deeply into our curriculum, our staff development and training, and our recruitment and admissions process. We have set ambitious targets for improvement. And we will hold ourselves accountable for results. Thank you to all those who have shown their love for Buckley in recent months by coming to us with open hearts, open minds, and compassionate questions. Let’s strengthen our relationships by continuing the conversation. For this work, we’ll need everyone’s voice.

Alona Scott Head of School


BUCKLEY’S MISSION STATEMENT The Buckley School is a dynamic, nurturing learning community committed to equity and inclusion. Our innovative teachers and challenging programs inspire creativity, courage, and collaboration. By promoting a balanced development of mind, body, and character, we encourage each student to find joy and meaning in life and make an impact in the world.


THE OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Assistant Head of School: Lolli Lucas Director of DEI: Ralinda Watts Assistant Director of DEI: Chuck Neddermeyer Upper School Coordinator, DEI: Anthony Gaskins Lower School Coordinators: Cydney Junius, Sabine Abadou In development: a DEI Task Force, comprised of volunteer faculty and staff, in order to extend leadership and ownership from the DEI office to the whole community.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


THE OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION STUDENT CLUBS

STUDENT AFFINITY GROUPS

FAMILY AFFINITY GROUPS

Lower School Culture Clubs Middle School Diversity Club Upper School Diversity Club Black Student Union

Asian/Pacific Islander Affinity Diaspora (Black Affinity) Latinos Unidos (Latinx Affinity) LAMBDA (LGBTQ+ Affinity) Middle Eastern Affinity In development: Anti-Bias White Affinity

Asian Family Network Gay Family Network Heritage Families Latinx Family Network

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


OVERVIEW Offered to faculty/staff and families June–August 2020. Also required of all fac/staff twice a month throughout the year.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Once approved by union and communicated to all faculty/staff, will be implemented immediately.

PARENT EDUCATION

Programs over the summer and throughout the year through Parents’ Association and Buckley At Home.

ANTI-BIAS REPORTING

Process of evaluation will begin in first department chair meeting of the year, with the goal of completing before course registration for 2021–22 school begins.

Alumni and DEI Office will continue to meet on a regular basis to schedule events for alumni throughout the year.

GRADING AND COURSE PLACEMENT

ALUMNI RELATIONS

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Completed, in progress and ongoing. Quarterly curriculum reviews conducted by department chairs and Lower School division head, in collaboration with the DEI Office.

FACULTY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT

Evaluations system will be overhauled to ensure greater accountability for DEI initiatives. Process to be concluded by July 2021.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


NEW ANTI-BIAS REPORTING SYSTEM Displays of bias are acts of discrimination or harassment against a member of the community based on perception of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability or veteran status. Something does not need to rise to the level of a hate crime in order to constitute an act of bias. All students, faculty, staff, and admin will have access to a form on a Resource Board on MyBUCKLEY through which they can share experiences of bias. Reports may be submitted either by name or anonymously.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


NEW ANTI-BIAS REPORTING SYSTEM Once a form is submitted: • Middle/Upper School Dean of Students or Lower School Head follows up to get any additional information. • An appointed administrator will also follow-up with any others involved. • Division Head, Assistant Head, and Head of School are copied on all submissions. • Parents are notified if deemed appropriate. In addition to providing on-going and open access to the above reporting tool, the senior administration, in partnership with the DEI Office, will administer a survey of student and family experiences on campus.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Summer read for all faculty and staff: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness, by Michelle Alexander, an historical examination of systemic racism, police brutality, and incarceration. Follow-up discussion required of all faculty and staff. Recommended additional reading and watching (a sampling): White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein I am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oleo 13th Just Mercy Da Five Bloods

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Faculty, staff, and admin will participate in required, regular, and on-going professional development. Each faculty member will attend at least two internal or external sessions per month on topics including implicit/explicit bias, anti-bias, anti-racism, privilege, intersectionality, equity, stereotype threat, systemic oppression, culturally responsive teaching practices, and microaggressions. The Board of Trustees and Alumni Engagement Board will receive training in governing with antiracist practices.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


GRADING AND COURSE PLACEMENT Upper School department chairs will review policies for student admittance to Advanced Placement and honors classes ensuring a fair and just process and considering any systemic barriers to enrollment. All divisional administrators and department chairs will audit grading practices in classes and ensure equity.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM LOWER SCHOOL • Grow and develop the Sharing Our Stories program, where children and adults share identity stories at weekly assemblies. • Read aloud sessions will be devoted to issues related to identity, social justice, and anti racism in all K–5 classes. • Visual arts program emphasizes human stories to include topics related to equity, social justice, and anti-racism. • Fourth grade curriculum focuses on immigration stories in California that contributed to the beauty and wonder of our state. • Fifth grade U.S. History class introduces new Harcourt Program promoting diverse voices and histories.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM MIDDLE SCHOOL • Sixth grade introduces new writing class: “The Insight, Empathy and Uplift Project (IEU)” to help students build the skills they need to find their voice, foster social-emotional health, and be an active global citizen. • Seventh grade history adopts Stamped by Kendi and Reynolds to complete Herstory and units in environmentalism as they explore Latin America and colonial Africa. • Eighth grade revamps U.S. History to be told through the lens of marginalized voices.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM UPPER SCHOOL • All Middle and Upper School students will attend DEI Symposia focused on issues of race, class, religion, sexuality, and gender. • All ninth graders take the course, Intersections of Identity. • Social Justice offered to all juniors and seniors. • All Upper School history classes are being reviewed to incorporate expanded points of view. • U.S. History will include The 1619 Project. • All Middle and Upper School world language classes will study the music of social justice movements in the target language. • K–12 music classes will expand the study of composers and musicians of diverse backgrounds.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM A SAMPLING OF DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE BOOKS: LOWER SCHOOL: The Youngest Marchers by Cynthia Levinson Yo Soy Muslim by Mark Gonzales The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh Suki’s Kimono by Chieri Uegaki and Stephane Jorisch Little Leaders Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora Dreamers by Yuyi Morales Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal Thunder Boy, Jr. by Sherman Alexie Once Upon a World Cinderella by Sandra Equihua I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings

MIDDLE SCHOOL TITLES: Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson New Kid by Jerry Craft Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Night by Elie Wiesel A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry UPPER SCHOOL TITLES: Exit West by Mohsin Hamad Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Homegoing by Yaa Gasi Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work, by Tiffany Jewell

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


FACULTY/STAFF ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT • The Assistant Head of School and division heads will revise the faculty and staff evaluation system for greater accountability in order to create an equitable and inclusive experience for all in the Buckley community, especially students of color. • The Director of DEI, division heads, and dean of students will examine the disciplinary and restorative justice process to address acts of racism and bigotry and to make recommendations to the AHOS for improvements.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


FACULTY/STAFF ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT • Review mentoring program for new faculty and staff and revise with an eye to more frequent check-ins and social opportunities. • Encourage and sponsor new faculty of color membership in the Southern California People of Color in Independent Schools Conference (SoCal POCIS) and attendance at the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference (NAIS’s POCC). • Connect faculty with the chair of Heritage Families. • Connect faculty with Private School Village, an organization designed to support Black families enrolled in independent schools.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


ADMISSIONS • During the coming school year our goal is to design a legal approach to intentionally diversifying the racial composition of our student body. • The Admission Office will continue outreach to Black, Latinx, and Asian communities as well as to other under-represented groups. • Last year, the Admission Office participated in 18 recruitment events and fairs to meet prospective students of color, including KIPP, PSV, and LACER. • Continued partnerships with the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs, Young Eisner Scholars, and A Better Chance. • In the last two years the Board of Trustees has increased total funding for Financial Aid by 40 percent, comprising 17% of the total operating budget.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


FACULTY RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION • The Assistant Head of School (AHOS), Human Resources Office, division heads, and the DEI Office will cast an even wider net for any open positions and actively recruit from job fairs and agencies that specialize in applicants of color, such as Strategenius, and Nemnet. • The Head of School, Human Resources, and DEI offices will continue to train division and department heads and faculty on best hiring practices and take steps to mitigate implicit bias.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


STUDENT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION • Conduct empathy interviews and check-ins with families of color throughout the year. • Continue to build relationships with and support the Heritage Families and other family affinity groups. • Continue to retain a consultant to conduct exit interviews with families who withdraw prior to graduation or who do not accept offers of admission.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT • A representative of the Alumni Engagement Board will participate on the DEI Committee of the Board of Trustees. • The Alumni Office, in partnership with the Office of DEI, will inform and involve alumni more comprehensively and frequently about the school’s DEI efforts. • The offices of the Head of School, Advancement/ Communications, and DEI will support and engage with Black Alumni Network on a regular basis. • Continued review of the Alumni Engagement Board’s governance structure.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT • “Alumni in Conversation” event designed to hear and respond to alumni concerns • Plan “Intersections of Identity: Alumni Edition” for early in the school year. • Keep form open for sharing stories about attending Buckley regarding safety and inclusivity. Every parent or alum who submitted a form has been contacted as follow-up by either the Head of School, Assistant Head, or Director of Alumni Relations.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


PARENT/GUARDIAN EDUCATION • Buckley At Home Summer Series: Intersections of Identity: Parent Edition; Activate: Poetry as a Catalyst for Change; March: Discussion of John Lewis; Exit West book discussion • “How to Raise Anti-Racist Kids in a Racist Society”: three divisional sessions offered by the DEI Office. • The DEI Office families provided parents with an antiracist book list for each division. • Support of Private School Village for Black families enrolled In independent school. • DEI training for the Parents’ Association Executive Board and Room Reps.

LIVING OUR MISSION: ANTI-RACIST PROGRAMS & PRACTICES AT BUCKLEY


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