Toward Inclusive Excellence
To meet its mission1, Dwight-Englewood School seeks inclusive excellence. The concept and practice of inclusive excellence was introduced to (higher) education in 20052, and it leverages diversity as an asset for the learning organization.
An inclusively excellent school leans on these four principles: (1) Each and all students have access to an equitable educational experience in a welcoming environment; (2) Teaching and learning the skills, knowledges, and mindsets to navigate and lead in a dynamic, diverse world is systematized; (3) A climate is created and a culture is cultivated that support the holistic development of each and all students; and (4) Learning opportunities are developed from the position that difference is an essential asset to community building and problem-solving.
These identified principles of an inclusively excellent school are designed to guide and positively impact at least the following areas of school life: student access and success; teaching and learning; the workplace community; engagement practices with broader communities; governance; and school leadership. As a teaching and learning institution whose mission hinges on our students being able to see others and be seen fully, Dwight-Englewood School aims to cultivate a culture of inclusive excellence with intentional practice and deliberate reach.
1 “As a community of learners, Dwight-Englewood School strives to foster in each student a passion for life-long learning. We seek excellence, honor integrity, and embrace diversity in order to develop the skills, values, and courage to meet the challenges of a changing world and make it better.”
2 The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) commissioned three articles that framed Inclusive Excellence as a concept and practice. The articles were authored by eleven scholars, each focusing on an aspect of Inclusive Excellence – a research-based perspective on the value of diversity; an exploration of achieving equitable educational outcomes for all students; and a model of Inclusive Excellence and change. These ideas are transferrable to a variety of teaching and learning organizations, including PK-12.
Values, Vision, and Commitment
In May 2023, Dwight-Englewood School’s Board of Trustees adopted a Values, Vision, and Commitment statement that provides a type of North Star for the School’s pursuit of inclusive excellence.
As a community of life-long learners, Dwight-Englewood School is committed to the ongoing growth and development of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community that acknowledges, affirms, and protects the dignity of all people.
Because we nurture and celebrate the unique sense of belonging of each community member, it is expected that we all partner in our commitment to inspire one another to live in a diverse world with confidence, competence, empathy, and kindness.
In partnership with our mission, and with the firm conviction that our efforts will benefit all members of our community, we commit to:
Building and sustaining a vibrant and inclusive community by employing recruitment and retention efforts to attract, retain, and nurture a diverse student, parent, faculty, staff, and trustee population.
An ongoing review of our school policies and procedures to ensure an inclusive and equitable campus climate.
A consistent and steady revision of our curriculum and teaching practices to provide students and adults alike with educational experiences that both accurately reflect and critically examine the world for which we are preparing them.
Approved by the Board of Trustees, May 2023
The Inclusive Excellence Practice
In an authentic community, there is a dance between “one” and “all.” Community members must negotiate the preservation of their own dignity while considering the dignity of others, with the expectation that others are doing the same. A dignity-based equitable and inclusive community is an active pursuit.
These mission-aligned commitments shape the core business of the School. There is direction but not prescription, as well as an expectation of sustained engagement. These commitments invite movement toward inclusive excellence.
The task of high-quality 21st century education is to prepare students to navigate and lead in a dynamic, diverse, and increasingly divided and unknown world. These efforts are at the core of an inclusive excellence practice.
Dwight-Englewood School will seek inclusive excellence by:
Continuing to support identity-based affinity and alliance groups in Middle and Upper School.
Continuing to make space for acknowledging and educating about holidays, holy days, and cultural celebrations.
Cementing the student-facing education and programming roles of the DEIB Assistant Directors in each academic division.
Introducing deliberative dialogue as a community-building practice in the Upper School.
Establishing sustainable communities of learning and practice across the school that are grounded in identityconscious education.
Convening a learning circle for divisional leaders about the relationship between restorative practice and student discipline.
Establishing a comprehensive equityand excellence-minded recruitment and retention practice for employees and students.
Identifying the components of a datainformed “dashboard” that define and can track school climate, culture, and belonging.
A Shared Language
Words matter. A learning community benefits from a shared understanding of what words mean and an openness to how interpretations evolve with use, testing, time, and more. The terms below provide a shared vocabulary and point of departure for Dwight-Englewood School’s inclusive excellence practice. Consider how these words and concepts show up in your role as an educator.
Diversity
is a fact.
Equity
is a choice.
Inclusion
is an action.
The term simply means “difference,” and it has become a proxy for the host of human characteristics that help describe individual and group identities. These characteristics include but are not limited to age, ability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, geography, language, learning style, nationality, political preference, race, religion or spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and ways of thinking and knowing. Science teaches that diversity is essential to survival. Leveraging diversity as an asset can help a group or organization thrive.
The term acknowledges that there are different lived experiences, which create a variety of needs. In schools, the goal of equity is to provide students with what they need to access a full educational experience and reach their deepest potential. Equity is NOT equality. A genuinely equitable environment is one that can respond to particular needs without it being labeled as discrimination.
Belonging is an outcome.
Essentially, to include requires creating the conditions where individuals and groups feel affirmed and empowered. Simultaneously, inclusive environments cultivate interdependence and shared responsibility. An inclusive educational experience should inspire a spirit of care and cooperation in the holistic teaching and learning endeavor inside and beyond classrooms.
At its core, belonging means that a person or group feels seen, heard, and valued in an environment. In its truest form, it includes a person or group embracing the right to contribute to and make requests of the environment, especially related to shaping their own experience in the space. Belonging is personal. And, belonging centers relationships.
Inclusive excellence is a pursuit.
When a group or organization acknowledges and leverages diversity as an asset, an amplified type of excellence is possible. The concept of Inclusive Excellence was formally introduced by higher education in 2005, and the intent remains to expand ideas about excellence that have often limited it to status, prestige, or traditional understandings of quality. Inclusive Excellence understands diversity as an essential component of community building and problem solving; thus, the journey toward inclusive excellence invites a more collectivist approach to defining and achieving success. In other words, inclusive excellence contends that community, especially a diverse one, makes more and better possible.
Scan here for a digital version of this publication