Task Force Work
Head of School Dr. Gerald L. Boarman established a task
force in late fall 2010 to analyze and address issues of diversity on the
Bullis campus. The following is an overview of the Task Force’s work since that
date:
- Co-chairs were named: Sara Romeyn (Upper School Social Studies teacher), Joanne
Szadkowski (Director of Institutional Advancement) and Bryan Whitford (Upper
School Spanish teacher and advisor for student club, Diversity Awareness at
Bullis).
- Approximately 25 staff members joined the task
force, representing all divisions, and a variety of offices and departments
(i.e. Lower School, Middle School, Upper School, facilities, business office,
admissions).
- The Diversity Task Force has held bi-monthly
meetings throughout 2011.
- Major activities/accomplishments:
- Comprehensive
survey of all staff to identify their “lived experience” at Bullis and their
work on the campus supporting diversity
- Collaboration
with Eric Siegel, who serves as Diversity chair of the Parent Association, and
with Talia Fox, who is creating a parents group related to diversity
- Diversity
training (from GDS) for our task force and administrative team
- Significant
professional development opportunities for task force members: five members went to a week-long
workshop through the Equity Collaborative at GDS, and eight staff members
attended the People of Color Conference in Philadelphia in December 2011.
- Planned
and executed a full-day professional development training on diversity for the
entire staff (August 26, 2011) and a half-day training (January 3,
2012) to address issues of gender and racial privilege.
- Selected
and distributed a summer reading packet on diversity for all staff.
- Membership
in EastEd, a local collaborative of diversity practitioners at area independent
schools, and attendance at monthly meetings. We will host the January session.
Goals going forward:
- Examine
our curriculum, and move from a celebratory approach to diversity to a
transformative approach.
- Develop
new approaches to identifying and recruiting faculty of color. Attend area hiring fairs for faculty of
color.
- Develop
an office related to diversity best-practices.
- Identify
and support a group of student leaders who will take a significant role in
campus diversity work and work collaboratively with adult diversity leadership.
Diversity & Equity Task Force