O U R AC T I O N P L A N F O R R A C I A L E Q U I T Y:
TRACKING OUR PROGRESS MAKING STRIDES IN THE AREA OF LISTENING & LEARNING IN OUR ACTION PLAN for Racial Equity, published in July 2020, Pace Academy committed to “eradicating racism and its legacy, and to dismantling any racial hierarchies within our school community.” To accomplish these goals, foster true racial equity and ensure that every community member feels supported, valued and safe, we have since embarked on an examination of institutional practices, policies and procedures—and have begun to implement meaningful changes. The Board of Trustees, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer JOANNE BROWN and Director of Student Life DR. TROY BAKER are working alongside dedicated students, faculty, staff, administrators, parents and alumni to ensure that the action items detailed in the plan come to fruition. The plan focuses on six areas: Teaching & Curriculum, Our Community, Listening & Learning, Our People, Joining Our Community and Our Pledge. In each issue of this magazine, we report on strides made in one of these areas. Up next? Listening & Learning.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ON OUR PROGRESS IS AVAILABLE AT www.paceacademy.org/diversity-inclusion.
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ll members of our community must have the capacity to engage in a manner that demonstrates fluency and strong capabilities to address matters of race, diversity, equity and inclusion,” the plan states. Therefore, our goal in the area of Listening & Learning is to establish cultural competence and an antiracist culture among all school leadership, faculty, staff and students through continued training, professional development and education in antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion. Work began prior to the start of the school year when all faculty, staff and administrators kicked off pre-planning week with mandatory professional development. Programming included a facilitated panel during which Black alumni shared their experiences as Pace students; Journey to Allyship with Dr. Damon Williams, who provided tools for effective allyship while sharing the national and historical context of race; and division-specific faculty workshops on engaging in difficult conversations, understanding racial trauma and implementing the Action Plan for Racial Equity in age-appropriate ways. Racial affinity group meetings allowed time for
processing, discussion and reflection. “Our pre-planning programming really set the tone for the school year,” Brown reports. “It meant that each and every member of our faculty and staff was better prepared to have proactive conversations around racial equity—and our students immediately felt the difference.” Faculty and staff have continued to take part in robust training and programming throughout the year. Teachers and administrators attended the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference; participated in programming through the National Center for Civil and Human Rights; and tuned in to Building AntiRacist Organizations, a series offered by the INDEX schools consortium and hosted by Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Uche Amaechi. As part of the ongoing implementation of the plan, Brown and the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) team have also engaged with parents. They kicked off the year in front of the Parents Club Board and partnered with the leaders of Community of Change, a parent group dedicated to fostering authentic, respectful and honest dialogue about everything from race and gender to religion and politics, to create spaces for listening and learning. “We want to establish expectations for parent involvement in supporting an antiracist culture and to foster a deep understanding of community standards,” Brown says. To that end, she and Baker hosted DEI Conversations & Coffee— virtually, of course—for parents in each division and used the time to expound
Members of the Upper School PABD (Pace Academy Board of Diversity) with Joanne Brown and Omar López Thismón.
