Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan

and ACTION PLAN

Diversity, Equity + Inclusion

MISSION STATEMENT

The Bryn Mawr School is deeply committed to growing as a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning community.

Updated December 2020

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

We are dedicated to providing an education that is rooted in the ideals of equity and justice and that reflects the diverse identities, experiences and voices of our constituents. By honoring and nurturing the unique differences within our school community, we teach our students to better understand and contribute to the wider world.

To prepare our students and ourselves to lead considered and consequential lives, we believe it is essential that we develop the ability to identify, question and challenge bias and acts of discrimination.

As we strive to build a community that celebrates and values each individual, Bryn Mawr will engage in an ongoing review of our programs, policies and processes that address bias and discrimination.  2 

APPROACH

PROGRAM The school’s

infrastructure is needed to hold, communicate and integrate the work of diversity and inclusion throughout all facets of the school community and for all constituents.

the explicit statements, traditions and artifacts that guide and define who the school and its constituents are, what we believe and how we will behave and engage with one another in daily practice.

PEOPLE People are at the

heart of all we do. We want each member of our community to feel a powerful sense of belonging and connection to the school and to each other.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

G

M A R

PROC

S

PROCESS A solid

POLICY Bryn Mawr’s policies are

ES

programs ensure our constituents are supported, challenged and encouraged to grow socially, emotionally, academically, physically and culturally within the daily operations of our community.

to Diversity, Equity + Inclusion

PRO

Our

PEOPLE

PO

Y C LI  3 

Our

COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS

As a school, we stand committed to improving all aspects of our school program through the following actions:

1

Actively seek to ensure that both our student and adult communities reflect the diversity of the world around us.

+ Improve Bryn Mawr’s hiring process

to reduce any bias and increase the candidate pool of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and other underrepresented diverse identities.

+ Design, revise and evaluate retention practices through a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) lens.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

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Our

2

COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Create a culture that cultivates an authentic curiosity to acknowledge and affirm our rich tapestry of identities, including, but not limited to: beliefs, culture, gender identity and expression, race, religion and sexual orientation.

+ Strive to provide each student with windows and mirrors through which they can see themselves and the experiences of others.

+ Explore, identify and amplify the diverse voices in our community.

+ Hold a review of literature, curriculum, programming, speakers and other educational opportunities that reflect and affirm our rich tapestry of identities.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

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Our

3

COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Create an infrastructure within the Bryn Mawr community to support, challenge, hold and review the design and implementation of equitable and inclusive programs, policies and processes.

+ Integrate the role of Senior Director

of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Practice into all facets of the community.

+ Establish the Equity and Inclusion

Council composed of liaisons from each academic division and nonteaching employees.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

+ Engage parents, guardians and alumnae with DEI work

of the school through expanded affinity and ally spaces, the Parents' Association Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and the Board of Trustees Committee for Community, Equity and Inclusion.

+ Formalize affinity and ally programming for students,

employees, families and alumnae to provide safe and supportive spaces for participants to identify salient issues and common concerns through dialogue.

+ Host opportunities for support, reconciliation

and healing for marginalized students, families, employees and alumnae.

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Our

4

COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Increase our awareness and understanding of others as we celebrate the contributions of all, promote a positive self-worth, racial identity and respect for the experiences of others.

+ Design ongoing opportunities to engage across differences throughout the school community and experience.

+ Create more opportunities for students to take

a seat at the table to inform practice and decision making processes.

+ Encourage consistent use of The Bryn Mawr School Community Conversation Norms in all classrooms, forums, discussions and inquiries.

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Our

5

COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Develop a quantitative and qualitative data gathering process to inform the design of our anti-racist programs, policies and processes at Bryn Mawr.

+ Regularly assess school climate and culture through surveys and focus groups.

+ Launch a data-informed review of school programs, policies and processes to identify racial inequities to pinpoint areas for targeted improvement.

+ Secure the services of external consultants

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Provide students with age-appropriate opportunities to deepen their awareness of their own personal biases within a systemic context.

+ Offer age-appropriate training for students to develop the skills needed to engage in healthy debate, dialogue and selfreflection around differences.

+ Design curricular and extracurricular

practices that cultivate civic engagement with the Baltimore community.

in our data-gathering process.

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Our

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COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Review and revise the curriculum to identify and examine our cultural responsiveness, acknowledgment of diversity and anti-bias pedagogy that explores the roots of racism, sexism and other forms of systemic oppression through an age-appropriate intersectional lens.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

+ Secure the services of external consultants in our curriculum evaluation process.

+ Systematize and create an accountability

framework for curriculum evaluation and review processes throughout the school.

+ Require professional development opportunities

to increase awareness and integration of culturally responsive, anti-racist, multicultural and anti-bias curriculum.

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Our

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COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Hold individuals and the institution accountable for the impact of their words and actions on others.

+ Implement a reporting system to more fully

and transparently address issues of racism, bias and injustice that may happen in school.

+ Integrate DEI questions into the student assessment tools for academic courses.

+ Include competencies around bias

awareness, culturally responsive teaching and anti-racist pedagogy in the employee evaluation processes.

+ Involve the Board of Trustees Committee

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Develop an accountability process to evaluate our individual and institutional growth in the area of diverse, equitable and inclusive practices.

+ Include language and consequences for identity-based slurs and actions that disrespect cultural differences.

+ Require all employees to craft

an individualized diversity, equity and inclusion performance goal that is aligned with Bryn Mawr’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mission Statement.

for Community, Equity and Inclusion to hold reviews of programs, policies and processes.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

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Our

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COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Deepen the understanding of our individual and collective responsibility in challenging personal and systemic programs, policies and processes that advantage some while disadvantaging others at Bryn Mawr and beyond.

+ Review and revise The Bryn Mawr School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mission Statement.

+ Offer ongoing programming and curriculum designed to develop a shared DEI language and skills needed to stand up, speak out and self reflect.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

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Provide opportunities for employees, parents, alumnae, Trustees and other stakeholders to develop the skills needed to effectively navigate our diverse community and to identify, question and challenge bias and acts of discrimination encountered in our daily experiences.

+ Organize a series of workshops

for all constituents on anti-racism and combating systemic oppression.

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Our

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COMMITMENTS + ACTIONS Review implicit and explicit policies to avoid inequitable practices in The Bryn Mawr School community.

+ Review handbooks, by internal and

external parties, to promote equitable and inclusive practices.

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And most importantly, instill a belief in the hearts and souls of our constituents (alumnae, families, community partners) that we are stronger together as a result of our diversity.

+ Create community-centered celebrations and traditions that showcase The Bryn Mawr School connections through the fullness of who we are individually.

Visit brynmawrschool.org for more information and ways you can get involved.

The Bryn Mawr School  DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION  ACTION PLAN

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