The Road Ahead
Windward’s DEIB initiative continues to make strides from a programmatic standpoint. This past Summer, members of Windward’s Faculty and Staff attended the National Diversity Practitioners Institute facilitated by the Glasgow Group. The NDPI is one of the leading workshops on how to integrate DEIB work into Independent Schools and create a culture where belonging matters.
Strategic Plan
Building on Phase One of Windward’s DEIB Strategic Plan goal of collaborating with strategic partners to understand the depth and breadth of the work ahead, the team has partnered with Dr. Liza Talusan, PhD, Educator, facilitator, and strategic change partner for organizations, corporations, leadership teams, and schools. She led the DEI team in Affinity Space Facilitator Training in early August. Dr. Talusan has more than 25 year of experience in the K-12 sector and is an engaging facilitator in conversations about diversity, anti-racism, bias, privilege and power and creates environments that allow for people to discuss these difficult topics openly.
Admissions
For the upcoming Admissions season, Windward has made it its mission to have its DEIB team and Admissions team work closely together to ensure that the Windward student body reflects the racial and cultural diversity of the Greater Los Angeles area and the world.
AFFINITY GROUPS AND OPEN SPACES
The DEIB team also plans to use affinity groups, open spaces, faculty collaboration time, parent coffees, and alumni meetings to amplify voices and create places of belonging, and to partner with all members of the community to ensure that community members feel seen and heard.
Open spaces are “opt-in” affinity spaces that occur once a month during seminar or community time. An affinity group provides a “brave space” in which its students and adults can explore issues of shared identity and experience and are afforded the opportunity to affirm their emotional and intellectual responses to being part of a distinct subset of the larger Windward community. These groups are an important tool for reducing the sense of isolation, discomfort, and marginalization many children and adults can feel even in the most progressive school communities.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
From annual community events such as Tales at the Table, to speaker series, guest workshops, and more, the DEIB Team is always looking for opportunities to engage, connect, support, and celebrate the many cultures and backgrounds that make the Windward community so special.
DEIB DEFINED
A central focus of the team for this year is to ensure that the Windward community has a firm grasp of what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion means at Windward.
The team defines DIVERSITY as who we are. It is the acknowledgement and recognition of the myriad of ways we exist and show up in our community and in the world.
The team defines EQUITY as making sure that people have what they need to fully participate in school life and reach their greatest potential.
The team defines INCLUSION as taking every individual’s experience and identity into account in striving to create an environment in which all are honored, seen, feel safe, supported, and affirmed.
The team defines BELONGING as providing a space where each community member feels that they can bring 100% of their authentic self to the table at all times.
The team acknowledges that this work is ongoing and has adopted an “open door policy,” inviting all community members to partake in this important initiative throughout this school year and in the years to come.