Ancient Census: Who are we?

In the spring of 2022, the Miss Porter’s School Office of Alumnae and Development (A&D) conducted in partnership with The Inclusion Firm a census survey that asked Ancients to share their demographic and identity information. More than 1,700 Ancients from a wide range of class years responded.

“In 2019, Miss Porter’s School adopted a community call to action that committed us to building a school community rooted in the inherent worth and dignity of each member,” said Chief Advancement Officer Christine Pina. “With the knowledge we gained from this census, we can better support the lived experience of our graduates and be more inclusive of and welcoming to Ancients of all identities and backgrounds.”

While we achieved an impressive 33.5 percent response rate, the census will remain open indefinitely with the hope that we continue to capture responses and more fully represent our Ancient community. Our long-term goals are to ensure the census can be used to identify trends and make inferences about the Ancient population.

Diversity among Ancient respondents has notably increased across various measures, particularly in the past five decades. Significant growth is evident in people of color and LGBTQ+ identification, particularly since the 1980s. Notable increases include tripled counts of Black and/or African American respondents from the 1980s to the 2000s, as well as tripled counts of Asian and/or Asian American respondents. While the number of Latine Ancients more than tripled from the 1970s to the 1990s, it dipped in the 2000s and 2010s. The number of American Indian or Alaska

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Native Ancients peaked in the 1980s, while the number of Pacific Islander Ancients peaked in the 1990s. Additionally, LGBTQ+ Ancient respondents quadrupled in number between the 1980s and 2000s and continued their growth into the 2010s, accounting for 8.3 percent of all survey respondents.

Among the requests for event accommodations, a virtual event offering emerged as the most requested, making up 27 percent of all accommodation requests. A significant portion (84 percent) of these respondents had attended events within the last five years, suggesting a high level of engagement.

FROM A WIDE RANGE OF CLASS YEARS RESPONDED 45

84%

HAD ATTENDED EVENTS WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS

Based on previous data, it is believed that many more Ancients identifying as people of color did not respond to the survey than those who did. The A&D Office will individually contact Ancients of color to discuss the census and better understand their experiences as a student or alumna. “We want to learn more about what might impact their engagement,” said Cicely Upham, director of alumnae and parent engagement.

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