31 minute read
On Genesee Ave
EDUCATION
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Reopening School Amid covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted lives and industries across the globe. Schools, including La Jolla Country Day School, all had to adapt significantly. Now, morning temperature checks, mask wearing, remaining in a cohort, and keeping distance from others are commonplace on campus.
Throughout the turmoil and uncertainty, the LJCDS community came together to navigate one of the most challenging times in the school’s 90-plus-year history. “Torreys Together” became a common phrase as the community quickly pivoted and prioritized all that was in the students’ best interest.
“The pandemic was not the catalyst to create a community; rather, it provided the time for us to appreciate the community that we have,” shares Gary Krahn, Ph.D., head of school. “The heart of a community is made up of the care, rapport and connection that we have for one another.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges that on-campus learning is essential to the long-term well-being of children. With this in mind, the students’ academic, social and emotional well-being were at the core of all decision-making.
After successfully transitioning to e-learning in spring 2020, LJCDS began the 2020–2021 academic year online until the school received approval from the state and San Diego County to open. The Early Childhood Center (students ages 3–4) began learning on campus in August. Later in September and October, LJCDS welcomed back a few grades at a time, starting with the youngest students in the Lower School and gradually increasing the density of the age 3–Grade 12 campus. E-learning remained an option for families.
Pillars of Safety
Five pillars of safety guided the reopening of campus: hygiene, distancing, face coverings, screening and culture. The school made significant investments—more than $2 million—in health and safety precautions, including a COVID-19 testing program, increased cleaning and sanitation, added faculty/staff support, outdoor classroom setups, facility upgrades, technology updates and more. In addition, the launch of a Community Support Fund and dedicated greatest-need dollars from the annual Country Day Fund supported families financially impacted by COVID-19.
Krahn and the board of trustees’ COVID-19 task force continually stayed informed of new developments and research to provide safe adjustments and refinements to enhance the learning experience. “We won’t have 100 percent of the information or even enough time to make critical decisions, as information is evolving so rapidly,” says Krahn. “However, intellectual and ideological diversity provide an effective compass during COVID-19. Our task force, partners at UC San Diego and community members helped lead us forward.”
Learning Together and Embracing Challenges
With so much uncertainty and newness, the school not only leaned on science-based research but also feedback from members of the community to continually refine its processes and protocols. “We were constantly asking questions, knowing all decisions and actions were about improving and enhancing,” says Colleen O’Boyle, assistant head of school for academic affairs. “You have to be vulnerable and be open to feedback. If we’re just building experiences without getting feedback, it doesn’t work.”
The newly reimagined covid-19 school experience was tested and challenged. Teachers were learning how to manage both in-person and online learners as well as protocol enforcements. Wi-Fi connectivity was tested to its capacity to handle the indoor/outdoor, online and hybrid models. San Diego experienced several heat waves in late summer and early fall, which added challenges for outdoor learning. The initially planned model of 30 minutes of learning indoors and 30 minutes of learning outdoors proved to be too disruptive. Therefore, indoor learning increased to 45 minutes with added indoor airflow procedures, including monitoring carbon dioxide levels in classrooms and strategic fan placements for proper air circulation.
Initially, the cohort model—small groups of students who stay together throughout the school day for safety and contact-tracing purposes—restricted the number of in-person classes offered to students in the Middle School and Upper School, due to many mixing cohorts. The school expanded the cohort model and invested in technology to effectively conduct contact tracing should a community member test positive for COVID-19.
Despite the many challenges, mistakes were deemed as learning opportunities to doing what was best for students. “You become a whole as you collect all the pieces,” shares Danice VonFeldt, Middle School humanities educator. “We are a collection of many amazing people. The leadership allowed us to really embrace what it means to be a community and to bring it forward. We’re not in a silo; the leaders listen and value opinions and feedback from everyone.”
By creating and embracing new norms, the school could successfully and safely conduct on-campus learning for the long term while the disease exists in the community. “There are over 200 virus species that are known to infect humans, and we can assume there will be more in the future,” shares Krahn. “We know we have control over how we react, adapt and take action with COVID-19 and all viruses. We must use science and wisdom to learn to safely live with
them.” —TIFFANY TRUONG
WELLNESS & DIGNITY
The Science of Emotion and Dignity
Before she considered a career in education, RENNA WOLFE studied neuroplasticity, the science of how the brain changes and adapts to learn new information. “I’ve always been very interested in how humans learn. That’s been the core of my deepest passions,” says Wolfe. “I’ve pursued the subject from a scientific angle, and now I pursue it as an educator.”
As the AP Biology teacher, Wolfe believes strongly in the continued pursuit of knowledge, to better herself and to be the best teacher possible for her students. For over a year, in addition to her courseload, Wolfe has been dedicated to investigating the social-emotional side of learning. She has conducted research into the science of empathy, gratitude and compassion. “There is a host of social-emotional skills that have a huge influence on learning,” explains Wolfe. “For example, stress is a tremendous barrier to learning. Childhood used to be more sheltered from that stress. But in today’s world, kids have access to more information than ever before, and that puts an enormous amount of stress on them. That stress and anxiety manifests
itself at school, and kids are sometimes more likely to open up to teachers than at home.”
Wolfe believes that schools should have more consideration for the social-emotional aspects of life and has given talks on the science of empathy, happiness and stress to LJCDS’s leadership and wellness teams. “Understanding how these social-emotional factors impact one’s ability to learn and thrive and grow is so important,” says Wolfe. “I see few things as more important than that.”
Wolfe also sees her work as an appropriate complement to the dignity model, a core value of the school. “The dignity model provides a road map for understanding your own internal world and how that world impacts how you treat others,” explains Wolfe. Never content to maintain the status quo, Wolfe is constantly exploring how she can honor the dignity of others as well as maintain her own dignity: “It’s important to achieve a balance of doing both, drawing the right boundaries for yourself while still honoring the dignity of others.”
Recently, Wolfe has taken the research she’s done in the fields of well-being, empathy and stress and tried to connect it to the dignity model. “I’m working to make the model more tangible and more useful, to turn it into a tool kit for behavior,” shares Wolfe. “I want to be an example of how to educate people about the dignity model from a scientific perspective.” —MICHELLE CHOATE
STUDENT POEM Inner Peace
Cienna Beard ’22 Open, endless blue sky surrounds me. White clouds swirl inside of me, Pouring out of my mind into empty space. I am flying through the sky, Soaring above everything and everyone. I float to the rhythm of the wind, Creating a kind of song in my head, Where dreams I have and hopes I carry Weave together to form notes of memories. The song keeps changing, First it is soft and gentle And then it is loud and strong. I drift higher and higher, Until I reach the highest cloud. From this place, I can see all things in the universe, Past and present swirl together, And for a moment, just a moment, I feel a ray of pure joy shining on me. All worries and needless thoughts Are steadily swept away. Day slowly turns into night, The sun bids farewell for a while, The stars keep the moon company, And all is quiet and good. And I hold onto the light inside of me, It has always been there. Some days it fades but it always returns to me. I keep it in my heart, It glows hopefully, It helps me see in the dark. I am excited for the new day that will come. I am different, but that is okay. I feel misunderstood, but right now that does not bother me. I will love myself, and then I will spread the love. I am ready to live, I am ready to laugh, I am ready to dance to my own song. I look down at the world and I smile, Because I know that I am happy.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION
Engaging in Antiracist Work
In 2020, amid the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, many truths have been illuminated. One is that neutrality about racial issues perpetuates the status quo and supports racist ideology.
Both public and private schools, composed of a primarily white and educated workforce, play a critical role in standing against racism and injustices.
“In my own experience, many educators are comfortable being looked at as curators of culture in their institutions and intellectuals who drive initiatives toward diversity,” shares Rafael Eaton, head librarian. “But they don’t see themselves tackling the systemic troubles that roil beneath the institution’s facade.”
In summer 2020, LJCDS began a number of initiatives to kick-start formal conversations around race and to discover each individual’s stance on the subject. The faculty and staff leaned into learning or unlearning assumptions about systemic racism.
A voluntary group of faculty, staff and administrators underwent the Justice in June curriculum—an online learning plan that provides a starting place for individuals seeking to become better allies. For 10, 25 or 45 minutes a day, for one month, individuals committed to reviewing and studying curated materials. Group Zoom meetings led by Eaton served as an opportunity for individuals to begin to interrogate their roles in society and process their new (and uncomfortable) awareness about the reality of Black experiences in our nation.
To continue the school’s commitment to building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community, LJCDS selected How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, for the all-school faculty/staff summer reading. Throughout fall and winter 2020, employees across all departments and divisions participated in guided bimonthly discussions in small groups to reflect on Kendi’s perspective of race. Topics included biological racism/ antiracism, cultural racism/antiracism, ethnic racism/antiracism, bodily racism/antiracism, powerless defense and capitalism’s role in perpetuating racism.
Kendi’s book serves as an introduction to key concepts to unite the community with a common language. This powerful first step allowed faculty and staff to lean into difficult conversations, embrace diversity and create a sense of inclusion and belonging in the community.
“Education is a part of it, but not the cure, and this is why we have chosen to focus on education with our leadership, faculty and staff first,” shares Eaton. “We are the ones who can institute change at a policy level. Our accountability practice is a long overdue step on the way to this overhaul of a preexisting structure, and one that we are excited (and, of course, a mite nervous) to begin.”
—TIFFANY TRUONG
2020–2021 SPEAKER SERIES GUESTS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Carol Wells
Activists, Artists & Sisters Founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics August 2020
Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Moral Reckoning Author, journalist and associate director for the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at the University of Southern California September 2020
Lynne Thompson
Finding Your Particular Voice: Resistance, Persistence and Anti-Racism Author, poet and former director of the Employee and Labor Relations Center at the University of California, Los Angeles October 2020
Natalie Gillard
Factuality, the Game Creator and facilitator of an interactive experience that simulates structural inequality in America from the vantage point of someone with a different identity/background than their own October 2020
Jody David Armour
Race, Rap, and Redemption Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California November 2020
“I needed to forsake my orientation to antiracist research and education. I had to forsake the suasionist bred into me, of researching and educating for the sake of changing minds. I had to start researching and educating to change policy. The former strategy produces a public scholar. The latter produces public scholarship.”
Excerpt from How to Be an Antiracist
By Ibram X. Kendi
RETIREMENT
Leaving Legacies
Four beloved employees retired from La Jolla Country Day School and leave behind a lasting impact and legacy of dedication, kindness and passion.
Mark Marcus
Assistant Head of School for Operations Joined ljcds in 1985
Mark Marcus retired after an impressive 35-year career at LJCDS. Marcus joined LJCDS in 1985 and held positions ranging from business manager to assistant head of school, and finally, assistant head of school for operations. As a business manager, Marcus oversaw finance, operations, security, tuition assistance, human resources and staff members. He has been essential in helping LJCDS operations run smoothly.
“Mark is a tremendous leader, a man who was willing to serve the La Jolla Country Day School community and always put the needs of LJCDS first,” says Terri Bamford, LJCDS women’s basketball head coach. “He is trustworthy, bluntly honest and a strong, compassionate leader.”
Marcus played a vital role in creating the campus that exists today. He oversaw the building and construction of the Early Childhood Center, Lower School, Middle School, Visual Arts and Science Center, lunch pavilion, athletic fields and Smith Gymnasium. Additionally, he managed the redesigns and renovations of the old gym into a 329-seat Four Flowers Theater, Lower School, Upper School, library, administration building and countless other improvements over the years.
The students came first in all strategic decisions to improve the learning experience. “[Marcus has] unimpeachable integrity, total commitment to act in the best interests of the kids, and an ability to cut through pretension and tell it like it is,” recalls John Finch, the Middle School director from 1995–2001.
Marcus is notorious for his witty jokes and sarcasm at LJCDS. “My most notable memory of Mr. Marcus is probably when he left his security office with all the cameras to come into the gym to tell me to stop missing so many [basketball] shots from the wing,” shares Kelsey Plum ’13, a professional basketball player for the WNBA.
Praised by his colleagues and alumni as loyal, hardworking and honest, Marcus inspires greatness in everyone he meets. “Mr. Marcus embodies so many of the qualities that make LJCDS such a special place. He leads by example and has the unique ability to make you feel heard, appreciated and cared for,” says Chris Nicolaou ’99 P ’33 ’35. “He has always been there for students, faculty, parents and alumni, and his presence has served as a comforting source of stability over the years. His laid-back attitude, sense of humor and work ethic are magnetic.”
Over a 41-year-long career at LJCDS, totaling approximately 7,380 school days, or 36,900 hours, Richard Nelson has impacted thousands of students with his wit and dedication to Middle School history.
“Richard has inspired more students in his years teaching at LJCDS than he or anyone else can even imagine,” shares Betsy McCallum, Middle School math educator.
Nelson began his career at LJCDS in the fall of 1979. While completing his teaching credential, he visited his favorite professor at UC San Diego and was informed about an opening in the Middle School history department at LJCDS. He applied and has been a celebrated educator in the community ever since.
Richard Nelson
“Richard is on the Mount Rushmore of La Jolla Country Day School master teachers,” says Brian Murphy, director of financial assistance and enrollment management and former head of Middle School. “He is the gold standard when I think of the Middle School educators I have had the opportunity to call colleagues. As great as Richard is as an educator, he is an even better human being.”
Nelson is known to his colleagues and students alike as witty, passionate and dedicated. Alumni remember him starting his class in the front of the room with a golf swing. Colleagues remember his jokes. “My best memories of Richard will always be his ability to lighten the mood of a meeting or faculty lounge conversation with a well-timed (or poorly timed) pun,” shares Nate Heppner, Middle School English educator.
He is known to put the students before everything else, while still holding teaching and education in the highest regard. “Richard’s impact on LJCDS cannot be overstated. He has been a tremendous advocate for humanities and the importance of a well-rounded scholar,” explains Ian Han ’10. “While I may not still, 16 or some years later, remember all of the Egyptian pharaohs, I do remember the spark for curiosity and love for education that classes like Mr. Nelson’s ignited.”
Nelson’s zest for teaching will be missed perhaps most of all. “He made history much more fun and relatable than a set of facts,” recalls Jorian Polis Schutz ’01. “He felt more like a friend and fellow sojourner than a teacher or authority. He impacted us all because he shared his enthusiasm with us. For me, it definitely caught on. I’ve been loving and studying history ever since.”
Meiling Hager
A pillar in the Lower School, Meiling Hager has graciously served the youngest students, their families and the faculty at LJCDS as the Lower School administrative assistant for 30 years.
“Meiling is extraordinarily kind, and she has the biggest, brightest smile. She knows every Lower School student and family by name,” Susan Nordenger, assistant head of school for community engagement, emphasized. “She has touched the lives of every Lower School student, parent, faculty and staff for 30 years—imagine that impact.”
Hager first began working in education at the Taipei American School while she attended college at night. After her husband retired, they moved back to the United States. Hager began her career at the school in 1991 as the Lower School secretary, later taking on the title of Lower School administrative assistant.
“Meiling is the face who welcomes all in the Lower School office. She is the calm voice that answers the many and varied questions the parents, students and faculty have,” says Maria Curtis, director of the Early Childhood Center and extended-day program. “She supports our students in any way that she is needed. Mornings were busy, but there was always time made for the students who brought in the attendance slips. She’d take time to ask their name and help them with their manners when greeting others.”
Not only was Hager the Lower School administrative assistant but she also taught Mandarin after school for about five years and Chinese brush painting and calligraphy in Grades 2 and 4 during their China unit.
“She loved introducing her favorite Chinese folk arts and Chinese food to her students,” says Curtis. “She loves the connections she has made with the community when she has had the opportunity to share her culture, native language, cooking and traditions. Even though it was a lot of preparation to create an after-school Mandarin program for students of different ages and grade levels, she loved creating lessons for them and felt so proud of their accomplishments.”
Both parents and faculty alike appreciated Hager for her care and warm support. “As a Country Day parent or as an educator, I’m not sure in which capacity I—and my whole family—have appreciated Ms. Hager more,” explained Jonathan Shulman, Upper School history educator and Center for Excellence in Citizenship director. “The warmth and empathy she brought every day to the Lower School pervades far across campus to the benefit of all. I can’t tell you how much we’ll miss her.”
On Genesee Ave…
Jerry Fleischhacker
Upper School History Educator, Head Coach of Men’s Soccer Joined ljcds in 1991
Known as “Coach Fly” to generations of LJCDS alumni, Jerry Fleischhacker is one of LJCDS’s biggest fans. He has been a beloved men’s soccer head coach and Upper School history educator for 29 years.
Fleischhacker is a legendary soccer coach. With 364 wins, he is the winningest soccer coach in school history and has never missed a game over 29 seasons of coaching. “I’ve played soccer my whole life and had many coaches, but none like Fly,” shares Diego Rovira ’00. “He cared so much about the players and the team. It was never about winning (though he liked winning); it was all about the journey in helping us grow up and become better people.”
Fleischhacker joined LJCDS in 1991 as the men’s varsity soccer coach and chair of the history department. “Fly approaches every situation with a grounded enthusiasm—realistic, yet always pushing for the best,” explains Zack Wolfenzon ’09. “Everyone who’s taken a class with Fly comes out a better student. Everyone who’s played for Fly comes out a better soccer player. Everyone who’s had a chance to know Fly is ever grateful to have him as a coach, teacher, mentor and friend.”
As a teacher-coach, Fleischhacker served as a mentor and friend to decades of students. From sparking spirited debates to hosting the popular annual alumni soccer game, he is an LJCDS legend.
Fleischhacker also hosted the annual “Fly’s Four on Four,” a soccer tournament open to LJCDS students, families, friends and alumni in which all proceeds went to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF)—an organization that works to empower individuals with physical challenges through sport. Introduced to this foundation through alumnus Danny Gabriel ’92, Fleischhacker raised considerable funds and awareness for CAF through his event.
“Mr. Fly is one of those mentors you’re so lucky to get at a place like LJCDS,” shares Dennis Roth ’10. “In the classroom or out on the field, he challenges you by giving you the power to determine what type of student, athlete or person you want to be. I know that type of guidance was so helpful for me as I transitioned to college and beyond.”
Mr. Fleischhacker is a proud father of two lifers, Ben ’07 and Alex ’10, who attended LJCDS for 15 years each. —HANNAH JACOBS
ACADEMICS
Understanding the Present Through the Eyes of the Past
Tyler Hales has always believed that there is more to the study of history than memorizing dates and neatly summarizing major events. For Hales, who comes from a family of history teachers, what’s most important about teaching history is analyzing historical events and their impact on people, and exploring how people shape events.
“It is also critical to shine a light on the people who aren’t talked about in mainstream history and to give a voice to those people,” Hales says. He strives to open his students’ eyes to the rest of the world, to get them to take off their “American goggles” and look for covert prejudice and biases, and to use history as a way to understand the present better.
As an educator of U.S. history post–Civil War, Hales works with the eighth-grade team and the administration to evaluate the curriculum. “Three years ago, the team switched from a linear study of events to a thematic approach,” he shares. “We came up with five main themes—civics, social justice, immigration, innovation and foreign relations—and within them try to teach a historical component and connect that component to the events and attitudes of today.”
Although his becoming a teacher seemed predestined, Hales attended Colby College in Maine with no preconceived notions about his future career. But during the spring of his freshman year, he took an education course with a service-learning component in a second-grade classroom. “Within a few weeks, I realized where my future was,” says Hales. “I really enjoyed working with the kids.”
During the 1970s, his father had taught at LJCDS, so when Hales moved from his home state, Massachusetts, to San Diego, his father recommended he check out the school. Hales joined the Torrey team in 2006 as a junior varsity baseball coach. He currently serves as head coach of the football team. Off the field, he was hired as a third-grade teacher, then taught fifth grade before assuming his position as the eighth-grade history teacher and history department chair.
Be it destiny or serendipity, Hales is clearly where he is meant to be, doing what he was always meant to be doing. “For me, teaching has always been about caring for students and treating them fairly,” he says. “I felt like I had a lot of teachers who looked out for me, who got to know me and helped me grow. It shaped me and the way I try to approach things to this day.”
—MICHELLE CHOATE
PERSPECTIVE
Black Lives Matter
Look to the right. Look to the left. Look behind you and in front. Name one difference between all of the people in front. If you are pausing to think only of differences, you are wrong. We all bleed red. We are all born from mothers. And we are all part of one race, the human race. However, the sad thing is that some people don’t realize this.
They see us as white, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American. They see us as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist or Hindu. And sadly, this mindset is what takes the lives of Black people at the hands of police or even at the hands of other people. And that is what happened to Mr. George Floyd.
There comes a certain age when Black men aren’t seen as cute or normal, or as children or young men, and we turn into threats in the eyes of many. We are threats when we are walking down the street, when we are driving, when we are playing sports, when we are shopping, sleeping or even gardening.
Recently, I had been stopped by the police as I was walking down Alga Road in Carlsbad. A woman from the neighborhood had called them on me. I spent 20 minutes talking to the police. I was asked a string of questions about my nonexistent criminal record, drug history, tattoos and scars. I felt like those questions dehumanized me, but I rolled with them because the police were kind in their approach. They let me go after my name was cleared, but I couldn’t stop feeling like a criminal. That moment itself made me look into more incidents and looking at what could’ve happened. I could’ve been a George Floyd… I could’ve been another Amaurie Johnson, arrested for no reason.
George Floyd was in handcuffs and was restrained. He had claustrophobia, but even then, that didn’t stop that cop, Derek Chauvin, from slamming him to the ground and landing his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes.
In a way, I saw myself in him. Whether we like it or not, this easily could’ve been any of us. We are all connected to Mr. George Floyd in some way. He was a husband, father, brother, uncle, son, friend, and the most important thing of all, he was human. He was a life that was lost for no reason at all.
What I’d like to leave you with is a call to action. Racism is taught at home. We must wipe out racism to save lives. It starts at home. No baby is born racist. It starts at home. It doesn’t start with the police; it starts with parents. It starts at home.
—CARSON WALKER ’23
A version of this speech was given at the Black Lives Matter protest in Encinitas, California.
“I had been stopped by the police as I was walking down Alga Road in Carlsbad. A woman from the neighborhood had called them on me. … I was asked a string of questions about my nonexistent criminal record, drug history, tattoos and scars. I felt like those questions dehumanized me. … They let me go after my name was cleared, but I couldn’t stop feeling like a criminal.”
STUDENT POEM Strands
Walter Chen ’21 The stitcher examines her work. From her spool, once more, she unwinds a strand. It snakes around her needle.
It begins. Gently guiding it, she deftly weaves it on a path only she sees. Threading through her work, the strand hugs those it crosses paths with, All the while running parallel with strands it will never see. In its dance, it encounters thousands of strings. Some with whom it entwines. Others, a brush, And occasionally, a deflection bounds it in a new direction, Strung along by the needle. Once entwined in the sea of threads, Snip. Stepping away to examine the full tapestry, The stitcher is pleased with the addition. Another. From her spool, once more, she unwinds a strand.
The strand, ignorant to its role, Deems itself insignificant. Blind to notice how deliberately interwoven its journey is. Blind to see how it reinforces others with its stitches. Blind to see the universal woven display it is part of. Blind to its purpose it questions why, expecting an answer. Why? Its path, already woven, Unyielding. Unrelenting Unchanging. It only knows the threads it touches. But isn’t it enough already?
“Strands” earned first place in the 2020 Amy Marie Watkins poetry competition. The annual contest honors Amy Marie Watkins, an LJCDS student, poet, actress and musician who tragically died in a car accident in 1987 at 17. Jennifer Coburn, a USA Today bestselling author of six novels and a contributor to four literary anthologies, served as the 2020 judge.
DEI COMMITTEE MEMBERS (from left to right): 1 Yuriko Anton P’21 ’28, chair, trustee 2 Margaret Cargioli P’30 3 Maisha Cobb P’23 4 Jarik Conrad P’29 ’32 5 Russ Holmes, trustee 6 Amy Glass Mischler P’27 ’30, trustee 7 Jennifer O’Brien P’23 ’25, trustee 8 Micah Parzen P’26, trustee 9 Sheenoo Sharma P’22
Lorri Sulpizio P’21 ’23 ’26 ’29, trustee
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION
Commitment at the Board Level
The La Jolla Country Day School Board of Trustees established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee in 2020–2021 to further the school’s commitment to building a more inclusive community.
In the 2019–2020 academic year, LJCDS underwent a yearlong formal review and audit of its climate and culture. Faculty, staff, students, parents and alumni participated in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM) as well as listening sessions with consultant Jarik Conrad, Ed.D., P’29 ’32, senior director of human insights and HCM evangelism at Ultimate Kronos Group. The reports from both initiatives allow the school to establish the next steps and strategic goals for DEI, including developing a board-level DEI committee.
As a strategic guide for the school, the board is committed to ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion are woven into board-level conversations and decisions as core values. “We are in a unique position to partner with the administration and hold those leaders accountable for taking steps to improve our school climate,” says Board of Trustees President Lucy Smith Conroy ’90 P ’24 ’25 ’35. “The board must evaluate the ways our current decisions, financial allocations and strategic initiatives may or may not create a more equitable institution for our families; no decision has a neutral outcome. In addition to looking for ways to make our school more equitable and inclusive, we have also been working to build a board and a set of committees that are more representative of our school community.”
Q&A WITH COMMITTEE CHAIR YURIKO ANTON
What is the board’s role in supporting DEI and creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community?
Our faculty have been engaged and passionate for years in this area, with many initiatives in place. As a board committee, our role is to be strategic and long-term as we think on a DEI strategy. We aim to support the head of school, leadership team and faculty to promote (and improve) inclusivity, multiculturalism and diversity. Our committee’s role is to view our school from a big-picture standpoint. We will observe each component of the school’s diversity work and ensure we allocate resources and time to these efforts.
Why is it important to establish a standing committee?
Establishing a new committee at the trustee level demonstrates a stronger commitment of our school to dedicate even more energy to this work at a leadership level.
Why is this work important to you?
Diversity, equity and inclusion have always been deeply important to me. Being biracial and bicultural, I have always wrestled with my own identity and my need to feel included, valued and heard. Born and raised in Japan until age 7, and being mixed race, I didn’t always feel like I belonged.
This work is so important to me not only because I have experienced challenges based on some of my own identities but because I truly care for our students and their well-being and sense of worth. I want them to feel included, heard and valued, no matter their background or perspective. I want them to feel like they belong at LJCDS.
What is your hope for this committee?
My hope is for all of our constituents—faculty, staff and families— to feel valued. Living this work is constant, and it is essential to embed it into every aspect of our school. I hope that our committee will help effect positive change with regards to multiculturalism and inclusivity at LJCDS.
Tell us more about equity and inclusion.
As we grow our diversity in our community, we need to ensure that this diverse environment functions well so that we all thrive. That is the equitable and inclusive part of this work. We must create an environment where everyone feels welcome, safe and heard, and feels like they belong. This requires action, change in policy and change in behaviors.
What do you foresee as a challenge?
There will be moments of stumbling, and it will be uncomfortable. This is the discomfort that comes with challenging conversations, but that is where the magic of growth can happen. And when growth happens, we can shift our culture in a positive direction.
What is the makeup of the committee members?
Our diverse inaugural committee consists of seven trustees, including the board president (a non-voting member) and four non-trustees, which include parents, a non-parent, businesspeople and business owners, authors, leaders in academia, people of color, experts in marketing, DEI consultants/facilitators, Ph.D.s, immigrants, attorneys, a human rights advocate, a theater director and producer, and a trailblazing museum director, to name a few of the identities we have on board. —TIFFANY TRUONG
COMMITTEE STRATEGIC DUTIES:
1. Advise the head of school and the leadership team to promote an inclusive and diverse community as mandated by our DEI committee mission statement.
2. Recommend policies and structures that promote empathy, dignity and trust in the community among all constituents, including students, families, faculty, staff and alumni. 3. Articulate strategic goals and objectives at the beginning of each academic year and regularly evaluate progress throughout the year. 4. Assist school leadership in surveying and managing accreditation goals related to DEI.
5. Recruit a diverse group of individuals (trustees and non-trustees) to serve on the committee.
6. Establish dialogue among all board committees to coordinate overlapping efforts and incorporate the DEI perspective into all work of the board. 7. Ensure that resources are allocated toward DEI initiatives in collaboration with the Finance Committee. 8. Support admission, where necessary, in the strategic recruitment of a diverse student body. 9. Develop and implement an ongoing trustee training program to promote fluency in diversity, equity and inclusivity. 10. Ensure that strategic planning (short-, medium- and long-term) for the school always incorporates and reflects an advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
