Dear Latin Community,

When we launched our Strategic Design in the fall of 2019 our newly articulated vision included the goal of making learning personal, inclusive and inquiry-based for every student. In addition, initiatives related to making the Latin experience more equitable and our community more diverse were woven throughout the plan. Our goal was--and still is--to build on our solid foundation of work in this area and evolve our approach to align with our goals to make Latin the school we want it and need it to be for students. Our implementation of our plan began in earnest by defining diversity, equity and inclusion for Latin, which provided a shared vision for the work ahead.

The events of 2020 compelled us to make our priorities related to diversity, equity and inclusion more specific and more urgent. Last fall, informed by feedback from students, families, faculty, staff and alumni, we articulated specific goals and action steps in five key areas: representation, accountability, inclusion, professional development and education and curriculum. These were informed by the climate assessment conducted in winter of 2020, the annual survey, the Survivors of Latin Instagram page and the Demanding Accountability student group.

We invite you to view the 2020-21 Report Highlights below, which serves as an update on progress toward these goals.

Sincerely,

Randall Dunn
Head of School

Eleannor Maajid

Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

2020-21 Report Highlights

We would be remiss if we did not mention the impact the pandemic had on our ongoing work. The pandemic, the resulting quarantine, and the structure of the school year did not allow for the typical community building upon which our work is based. As a result of the very difficult circumstances, while we created and began to work on the institutional DEI goals, we acknowledge that we still have a great deal of work to do. This year we focused on determining which metrics will help us gauge our progress on the goals.

Colleagues set specific DEI goals for themselves, and we created all-school DEI meetings to allow colleagues time to discuss and reflect on their goals. This focus allowed us to gauge individual and collective movement.

While the 2020-21 school year presented Latin with some unique challenges, it also afforded us wonderful opportunities, especially around our diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Guided by our goals, the DEI team partnered with core constituencies to advance the mission. The collective desire and work to keep DEI front and center is a reflection of the communal buy-in and commitment to making Latin a school for all. Like all parts of the school, the DEI team had to adjust to the atypical school year by striking a balance between furthering our DEI goals and meeting constituents where they were (professionally and emotionally).

Any story about this year's DEI work has to start with the creation of the Survivors of Latin Instagram account and reactions to it. The account brought into broad relief the long-standing issues that community members faced, and are still facing, that prevented them from feeling a sense of belonging. Spurred by these actions, we developed a transparent protocol to address incidents of bias. The students formed a group, Demanding Accountability (DA), to hold the school accountable to address overarching claims made on Survivors of Latin and partner with the school to develop student-centered solutions to some of the problems raised by community members. Fortunately, the school's strategic initiatives already laid out the actions needed to address demands by DA; specifically, accountability, hiring and retention, and changes to the curriculum.

Progress on DEI Goals

No list of accomplishments will be exhaustive; so, the list we provide below highlights the work we did around specific goals.

Representation

Implicit bias training for hiring committees during lower school and upper school director searches
Our continued focus on representation led to the hiring of several BIPOC faculty/staff
Leveraged new DEI-focused resources for hiring faculty and staff of color

Accountability

Implemented Incidents of Bias Protocol in MS & US
Programming for students about discriminatory language
Researched Restorative Justice Practices and how to implement them into the Latin community

Inclusion

Adjusted annual survey to better capture feedback about the lived experience at Latin from underrepresented groups
Provided funding for transportation for US students during pandemic

Professional Development/Education

All school faculty/staff DEI professional development opportunities during after school meetings
Educational opportunities for parents/guardians and board: mini-race course, book chats, presentations, Latin Learning Together, FAN speakers
Senior Administration Team worked together with DEI team on professional development to continue to become an anti-racist institution

Curriculum

Curriculum Coordinator position hired
DEI curricular chat for community members
Hate speech policy in US English department