Appendix: A Guide for Branksome Hall― Recommendations from Anima Leadership

Anima Leadership has provided recommendations in their final report to support the advancement of DEI outcomes for Branksome Hall as an institution. Anima and Branksome Hall recognize that while implementing every consideration here may not be feasible, the recommendations offer guidance for conversation and decision-making. DEI is an ongoing journey of organizational improvement, requiring the gathering of feedback from internal stakeholders, making choices about how to advance in multiple areas, and keeping abreast of emerging external trends. Organizational leaders and teams, in partnership with student, parent/guardian, employee and alum representatives, will consider these recommendations and determine which will be taken up and prioritized in order to inform short, medium and longterm strategic goals, as well as future aspirations.

For readability, we have followed Anima’s guidance in grouping recommendations based on the experience or organizational system they intend to impact, and in a few cases have shortened or rephrased individual recommendations. As you know, we have not been waiting for these results to make progress on our DEI goals. To that end, the highlighted recommendations in bold and italics are already in progress, many of which were initiated on a parallel path to the DEI Audit. In determining which items to start working on, we prioritized high-impact choices that could bring about significant changes to our system, would build upon existing strengths and opportunities for growth, and enrich our programming. Other recommendations will take more time and require further internal consultation or are dependent on other priorities.

We invite you to join our community engagement sessions to learn more about the priorities that are already underway or have been identified as part of our short-term goals. Many organizations will benefit from seeing these recommended actions as independent schools across Canada strive to make systemic change. We encourage others to join us in taking action.

Student And Alum Experience Recommendations

BRANKSOME HALL AS A DEI LEADER IN THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL SECTOR

• Sustain ongoing efforts to prioritize DEI within the school culture.

• Continue to support the work of the Branksome Hall DEI Working Group and develop an accountability framework to achieve DEI goals.

• Reinforce the importance of bystander intervention skills and prevention strategies through training and development for adults to nurture psychological safety at school, especially for minoritized students.

THE COMPLEXITIES OF LIVED-EXPERIENCE AND DEI EXPERTISE

• Establish a DEI training program that covers key content areas and practical skill development including but not limited to: brave conversations; recognizing and interrupting microaggressions; bystander intervention training; psychological safety training; racial justice literacy; trans and queer justice literacy; and critical orientations to (dis)ability.

• Within DEI training and development, offer a focus on markers of social privilege and allyship directed at those who embody dominant identities.

• Earmark funds for DEI training that individual departments can integrate into their overall annual plans for professional development in discipline-specific ways that will cultivate subject-matter expertise.

• Build DEI subject-matter expertise into faculty professional development plans.

• Engage a DEI subject-matter expert to work with the marketing and communications team in a consulting, part-time or full-time capacity.

LOW-TRUST ENVIRONMENT NURTURED BY DEI INEXPERIENCE

• Develop a transparent accountability framework to achieve DEI goals and share it with stakeholders, including students, families and employees. Incorporate feedback from stakeholders in both the development of an accountability structure as well as review processes to monitor progress.

• Support leaders in further developing skills in selfawareness, emotional intelligence, brave conversations, authentic feedback as well as DEI knowledge and skills (as per previous training and development recommendations).

• Support all employees, especially leaders, in anticipating cynicism, critical feedback and potential backlash, and build mitigation strategies into the development of all DEI initiatives.

Mental Wellness Considered Distinct From Dei

• Consider ways to enhance the representation of BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ individuals in the counseling positions.

• Build DEI principles into the strategic direction of mental health services.

• Mandate guidance counselors and school social workers to have advanced DEI training.

• Increase programming support for issues of eating distress/disorder.

• Address skin tone, body hair, and physical ability in body image campaigns and programming.

• Offer students resources for how to address systemic forms of discrimination as part of an overall mental wellness strategy.

The Need For Further Integration Of The Boarding And Day Student Communities

• Facilitate regular social events between boarding students and day students throughout the year.

• Match boarding students with day students for a full-year peer-to-peer support program.

• Host academic and cocurricular events within boarding school spaces.

Opportunities For Dei Within Alum Community

• Solicit further feedback from alums on topics of interest and event types of interest to mobilize a larger number of participants.

• Align the strategic direction of the Alumnae Association with the broader strategic direction of Branksome Hall when it comes to DEI.

• Actively promote BIPOC scholarship funds to alums, with opportunities to contribute to expand such scholarship opportunities.

ANTI-BLACK RACISM AND THE BLACK STUDENT EXPERIENCE

• Develop a strategy to tackle anti-Black racism with a transparent accountability framework to support Black students.

• Address anti-Black racism by offering specific training for educators and support staff on the nature and manifestation of anti-Black racism.

• Commit to hiring more Black-identifying teachers and support staff.

• Establish effective mechanisms for recognizing the achievements of Black students.

• Provide support to Black students at Branksome to combat racism, navigate complaint processes, identify barriers to success and access appropriate resources (e.g., scholarships, networking, mentoring).

• Continue to encourage and provide material support to student groups, like the Black Student Union, and give them a space to connect and build community within Branksome Hall.

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND REDEFINING THE “BRANKSOME GIRL”

• Anima’s recommendation is to initiate a multi-stakeholder analysis to create a vision of Branksome Hall in the year 2042. Within such a process is the answer to define the Branksome student—will it be the same as today or different?

Correlation Between Social Privilege And Feelings Of Belonging

• Clarify which equity issues will be prioritized for future planning, as part of the multi-stakeholder analysis and future visioning process. Having a solid sense of the limits of the community’s vision for its future demographic profile will inform the scope of recommendations that are deemed appropriate.

Organizational Audit Recommendations

Inclusive Admissions

• Develop an accessibility strategy for marketing and communications to ensure the broadest spectrum of applicants feel welcome, including translation supports for materials and sessions.

• Develop an equity strategy to encourage applicants from minoritized backgrounds. This may include, but is not limited to, collecting demographic information, considering a weighted application process that prioritizes applicants from historically excluded groups, and building partnerships with diverse feeder schools.

• Develop a communication strategy to increase the transparency of and access to our admissions processes, including: the criteria used for a successful applicant; the number of openings available at grade levels; the assessment process and requirements; how waitlists and declines are managed; our approach for keeping families together (legacy); and how we support and onboard new families.

• Provide a clear rationale for selection questions and share them beforehand with applicants.

• Translate selection questions into multiple languages.

• Offer translation services to applicants who require them, ensuring that consistency and quality of communication are not a barrier.

• Invest in professional development to expand knowledge of implicit bias and applicable mitigation strategies (particularly relating to the admissions process). This includes reviewing the practice of including photos in the application phase and using a bias filter to determine its necessity.

• Create a process for collecting voluntary demographic data during the application process and consider how to use this information to better understand the needs of applicants during the interview stage.

• Review current selections rubrics and processes using a bias-free filter to ensure selection decisions consider the broadest spectrum of applicants fairly, with specific attention to hidden barriers related to race/ ethnicity, culture, language, socioeconomic class and applicants from outside Canada.

• Specify whether decisions made during the interview and selection stages are based on the ten attributes of the IB Learner Profile or alternate sources. Share the rationale behind their use to provide transparency for both decision makers and applicant families.

• Review the admissions process for early years to determine whether more inclusive options might better reflect the developmental stages of young children, offering another possible pathway to diversify the student body.

• Develop department-specific statements that express a commitment to the school’s DEI vision and specify priorities and accountability measures to be shared publicly at all stages of the admissions process, including the current and desired state of DEI at the school.

• Provide the Admissions team with DEI training and clear direction as to how to apply learning to their roles and responsibilities. This can include during collaborative work, interview processes and decision making about applicants.

• Develop a short-term strategy to enlist people with diverse identities to support the Admissions team in their decision-making process related to student selection, using internal or external sources.

• Develop a broader, long-term HR strategy to diversify its employee base, including within the Admissions team, to reflect the diversity of the city of Toronto.

• Create a one-document summary of onboarding procedures that is easily accessible via multiple languages and channels, including the student handbook.

• Invite and welcome conversations on sensitive topics such as race, learning disabilities and equity-based needs to better support inclusion for minoritized groups during the interview and onboarding processes.

• Develop transition programs for minoritized students that include school-parent/ guardians partnerships to enhance student success.

Inclusive Recruitment

• Develop a diversity recruitment strategy that identifies populations for priority hiring.

• Collect volunteer demographic data annually on applicants, shortlisted candidates, and new hires.

• Regularly conduct workforce analysis to track workforce and demographic trends in the City of Toronto and, if possible, within the independent school sector.

• Engage in community outreach and partnerships with community organizations to strengthen external relationships, particularly in communities that are underrepresented in the Branksome Hall community.

• Create a diversity recruitment strategy that is explicit in its goal of establishing a diverse recruitment pool that reflects the internal and external community, also sharing the strategy with the organization and community to solicit feedback and suggestions for improvements.

• Communicate regularly with employees about internal DEI initiatives, hiring processes and changes to ensure transparency.

• Use innovative internships, mentoring and workplace bridging programs to increase candidate pool(s) and outreach, including to postsecondary and high school students.

• Include institutional vision, mission and values, a statement of adherence to OHRC policies and any equity statements aligned with the organization.

• Use best practice guidelines consistently including, but not limited to, division of time and tasks, physical effort abilities, willingness to be trained in DEI skills, accommodations, time off, overtime and benefits.

• Include the salary band in all job descriptions, new and existing (particularly non-teaching positions) and regularly audit pay rates to ensure they meet market standards.

• Ensure managers and employees are trained in understanding the policies, procedures and rights regarding the discussion of salary in the workplace during and beyond the job offer.

• Review required duties for positions, as well as supervision protocols, to ensure employees are not exceeding outlined tasks without a transparent process in place for changes and exceptional circumstances.

• Ensure job postings both align with job descriptions and list salary bands consistently.

• Clearly state vision/mission/values alongside adherence to the OHRC, available accommodations and any equity statements the organization wishes to add.

• Give thought to mandatory educational requirements for jobs and expand the relevant experience section to include transferable skills from other sectors.

• Adopt a system that anonymizes candidates’ personal information during the initial application process.

• Advertise in affinity networks, professional associations, and educational organizations with an equity focus and in alternative educational programs.

• Expand the current list of advertising venues and maintain an updated directory.

• Regularly update Branksome’s job posting site to reflect the diversity of the workforce by featuring images of current employees.

Inclusive Selection

• Select CVs/resumés using multiple factors and a clearly defined process for every stage of decision making to address bias.

• Develop a system that anonymizes the personal information of candidates on a CV/ resumé.

• Develop a CV/resumé scoring matrix to ensure consistent assessment incorporating bias mitigation strategies.

• Analyze CV/resumé using a panel that reflects the diversity of the community.

• Use an interview panel that reflects the community and train panelists in communication skills, implicit bias, emotional intelligence and bias-free assessment tools.

• Require interview panels to evaluate and debrief recent interviews, using any training received to innovate and bring new inclusive approaches to interviewing.

• Create bias-free assessment tools to use throughout the interview process, including an interview grading matrix that ensures consistency and reduces bias, and reference check that include DEI-based questions.

• Ensure that interview invitations inform applicants that accommodations are available and that all materials are available in accessible formats.

• Prioritize DEI skill-testing and scenario-based questions in all interviews, specifically about working with a diverse team and student body.

• Offer applicants interview questions before the start of the interview to allow them an opportunity to consider their responses.

• Develop a standardized question bank for each position category, that allows for customization of questions to address the unique experiences, skills and needs of individual candidates.

• Regularly review new hire selections to assess demographic hiring trends, including an analysis of competition files.

• Be more transparent in the selection process to better support the demographic needs of the organization in selection decisions.

• Keep applications on file for 18 months, as candidates currently have 12 months to file a complaint (Note: Branksome Hall currently keeps applications on file for 24 months).

Inclusive Retention

• Deliver onboarding as a long-term process (up to six months), with continued touchpoints between Human Resources and new employees in a formalized manner.

• Regularly invite feedback to improve employee introduction/integration.

• Ensure more in-depth DEI content is integrated during onboarding, in alignment with overall organizational goals and delivered by a diverse team whenever possible.

• Provide the Human Resources department with specialized DEI training relevant to their responsibilities to make the onboarding process more inclusive.

• Develop a strategy to upgrade accessibility options across all facilities.

• Revise accommodation policies to include a wider variety of accessibility options that also consider the cultural context (e.g., supporting employees of Islamic faith in accessing private space for prayer time), nurturing an organizational culture that promotes and normalizes accommodation practices.

• Engage with key stakeholders frequently, via school communications, meetings and training sessions, to assess accommodation and accessibility needs. Update stakeholders regularly on how the school is meeting these needs.

• Enhance the existing conflict management policy and strategy to include, but not be limited to: providing ongoing training to leaders and employees on topics related to brave conversations, DEI, and emotional intelligence; naming conflict management norms to increase transparency and broaden institutional capacity for different cultural and individual communication styles; creating a formal feedback process about conflict resolution and complaints to ensure improvements; using onboarding and professional development time to openly model scenarios for benefit of faculty and staff; supporting managers’ and leaders’ ability to listen, validate and encourage employees to discuss DEI issues; creating an explicit policy about supporting employee and parent conflict management.

• Support from leadership to nurture diverse networks and mentoring opportunities for employees by learning to become more comfortable having conversations related to identity in group and individual settings.

• Promote diverse networking opportunities available to faculty and staff.

• Link DEI goals to mentoring and networking opportunities.

• Create an ERG policy and Terms of Reference to establish purpose, objectives and guidelines for group formation and assignment of an executive-level sponsor.

• Openly encourage participation in ERGs during onboarding and throughout the school year.

• Actively encourage leadership to consult and coordinate with ERGs to identify and address barriers to DEI.

• Support affinity group members’ career development by connecting them to pathways for emerging/aspiring leaders in the organization.

• Establish a process for updating and improving internal policies that includes, but is not limited to: ensuring classification and compensation systems are posted publicly, more clearly communicating employees’ legal right to a bias-free workplace and the process for filing a discrimination and/or harassment complaint and ensuring Group Benefits are inclusive of LGBTQ2S+ communities.

• Promote gender diversity appreciation with a clear statement of the organization’s commitment to supporting gender diversity and the use of gender-neutral language across all policies.

• Extend the Transitioning policy to include faculty and staff.

• Develop a social procurement policy to ensure supplier diversity and values-alignment is part of business practice.

• Investigate frameworks for job/ work design and evaluate their applicability to the Branksome employee experience.

• Conduct a pay equity audit and perform a review on a regular basis.

• Consider updating relevant policies to account for the plurality of families, such as single-parent, multiple-parent, multi-generational and extended (e.g. Avoid using gendered terms like her for pregnancy leave and paternity leave over bonding care leave, develop more nuanced policies for childcare, eldercare, family leave, birth of a still-born child, etc.).

• Consider expanding the Alternative Work Arrangements policy to include options such as job sharing, full remote work and compressed work weeks.

Inclusive Advancement

• Ensure that the leadership program actively addresses equity for minoritized future leaders and promotes multiple approaches to leadership, including internal and external opportunities.

• Invest in professional development programs to encourage marginalized groups to enter roles that they have historically been excluded from (e.g., women of colour in senior leadership positions).

• Develop a leadership strategy that includes a minimum 360-hour learning goal for decision makers to become DEI champions, developing fluidity and ease in order to embody equity principles.

• Incorporate DEI into performance evaluations for leadership.

• Develop a succession planning strategy that includes but is not limited to standardized criteria that indicate candidates’ readiness for promotion; temporary placements and stretch assignments to further develop leadership skills; a pre-identified pool of candidates; and additional consideration and priority given to minoritized and traditionally excluded employees/candidates.

• Integrate DEI mandates into the teacher growth portfolios and performance management plans (PMP) to assess teachers based on technical proficiency and their implementation of core DEI values (e.g., collaborative goals, gender-neutral language, etc.).

• Use industry best practices for performance reviews including but not limited to feedback from peers, managers, subordinates and students; self-assessments; informal feedback.

• Require senior leadership to monitor and advance the equity of opportunities, resulting from performance evaluations.

• Include in progressive discipline policy examples of misconduct related to discrimination (e.g., the use of racial slurs, stereotypes or harmful comments).

• Develop inclusive advancement as a strategic priority and implement a process to ensure advancement and promotion are conducted equitably.

• Showcase inclusive advancement approach to both internal and external stakeholders, with clear links to the moral, social and business benefits.

• Ensure developments within the DEI field regularly influence organizational strategy and planning.

• Conduct an employee engagement survey every two years and a social inclusion census every 2-4 years.

• Develop a strategy for Human Resources to improve their feedback and data collection policies which includes but is not limited to: creating processes for anonymous employee feedback to improve and innovate on advancement strategies, DEI process and policies; developing multiple means to collect regular feedback that is separate from the performance review process, including direct feedback to leadership; interviews that are conducted regularly with employees (both stay and exit interviews); data sharing internally and within the sector to understand trends and impacts.

Inclusive Marketing And Communications

• Implement consistent practices in support of gender inclusivity, including, but not limited to: pronouns next to names when they first appear in text, nongendered language when referring to students, preferred pronouns in email signatures and the option for students undergoing a pronoun and/ or name change or gender transition to have this change announced in a congratulatory notice.

• Develop guidelines within the draft event guide for use of land acknowledgements across the organization as part of Indigenous awareness, including strategies for adapting the land acknowledgement to different contexts and events with ongoing efforts to make them meaningful.

• Implement an annual review mechanism for internal communications to develop a greater diversity of content and address ethnocentric representation to ensure continuous improvement.

• Include, in the biannual employee survey, communications questions to receive ongoing feedback as to how communications can better reflect the employee body.

• Develop a framework for securing and selecting images with particular care not to: perpetuate stereotypes, present underrepresented groups incongruously, use photos of a person’s likeness without prior and informed consent, or misrepresent institutional diversity by overusing images of underrepresented students.

• Update campus maps to indicate gender-inclusive, in addition to accessible washrooms and change rooms.

• Conduct an accessibility audit following the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act to identify critical accessibility issues and receive specific recommendations to address them.

• Provide the communications team and educators with accessibility awareness training to ensure resources shared are accessible.

• Continue to use public events as public speaking opportunities for students, particularly around DEI issues.

• Consider including skill development in discussing sensitive DEI topics for student leaders.

• Review school calendars to ensure recognition of holidays and days of significance is culturally diverse.

• Incorporate a DEI lens into each stage of the event management process into existing planning tools.

• Dedicate resources to support the communications team in developing inclusive communication skills and culturally responsive practices.

• Communicate with the public with honesty and transparency when a mistake is made and commit to using direct, non-euphemistic language when addressing issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia, privilege, toxic masculinity, and white supremacy.

• Institute a feedback management system that may include, but is not limited to: a template of standardized responses, a list of forwarding contacts for common topics, and clear and accessible means for soliciting feedback.

• Develop an accountability structure with reciprocal support for the marketing and branding team’s work while also relaying critiques received back to institutional leadership for strategy development and execution.

• Develop an Equity Action Plan to formalize, develop and implement accessibility and accommodation standards through policy and procedures.

TACKLING ANTI-BLACK RACISM

• Develop an institution-wide anti-Black racism strategy, that includes training and development, to address challenges related to exclusion, surveillance and lack of advancement.

TACKLING ANTI-INDIGENOUS RACISM

• Develop an institution-wide anti-Indigenous racism strategy, that includes training and development, to address challenges related to exclusion, surveillance and lack of advancement.

Dei Accountability

• Develop an accountability structure to measure progress and ensure follow-through on DEI priorities and goals, including strategies to address perceptions that undermine institutional trust.

LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

• Conduct an audit of Branksome Board of Governors’ policies and practices with a DEI lens.

• Develop a Board-specific DEI strategic priority with an emphasis on recruiting and retaining qualified, diverse Board members that represent the demographics of Toronto.

• Co-develop an accountability framework with school executives to help achieve DEI goals for Branksome Hall.

HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

• Engage the Branksome community to develop an overall strategy for psychological safety to improve the reporting process, with an emphasis on conflict competence as well as openness to feedback, disagreement, and a diversity of opinions.

Appendix: A Guide for Branksome Hall―Recommendations from Anima Leadership

• Ensure employees are regularly and thoroughly educated about the zero-tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that the principles of a harassment and discrimination-free and inclusive environment are accessible and well-publicized in classrooms, workspaces, hallways, the website and materials sent to parents.

• Ensure employees and students know how to report harassment and discrimination and are clear on what the investigation process entails. Improvements to reporting mechanisms should involve consultations with employees and students.

• Leaders and managers engage in professional development to improve skills in psychological safety, emotional intelligence as well as giving/receiving authentic feedback.

• Access the services of a DEI/ Human Rights Ombudsperson to support the mediation of sensitive issues, critical feedback or complaints from employees or students.

Data Collection

• Develop an organization-wide data collection strategy for hiring and advancement as well as school admissions.

• Conduct regular employee engagement surveys (that include questions around DEI) amongst employees and students to ensure opportunities for feedback.

• Conduct focus groups and interviews to collect qualitative information with a specific focus on the experiences of Indigenous peoples and those with disabilities.

• Regularly report on findings to the Branksome Hall community.

Dei Training And Development

• Develop an organization-wide DEI training strategy for all employees, including leadership.

• Implement DEI training that is specific to the needs of each department.

• Set clear goals for what the organization would like to achieve through DEI training and evaluate movement toward annual goals.

Supplier Diversity

• Procure more suppliers that reflect the diversity of the broader community and the communities in which they do business.

• Develop and implement policies and guidelines to assess DEI practices of suppliers.

• Develop a long-term inclusive supply chain strategy that includes holding Branksome Hall’s auxiliary programs to the same standards and processes as the rest of the organization.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT / BUSINESS CASE

• Formally link DEI policies and practices to ROI and positive business outcomes whenever possible, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the benefits of DEI while motivating follow-through on policies, practices and commitments.

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