Fenn School DEI Commitments and Action - Spring 2021

A F OC U S ON D E I

DEI Commitments and Action Fenn has long strived to provide a safe, affirming, and supportive community to all alumni, students, families, faculty, and staff. Heightened racial tensions across the nation of late underscore the urgency of continuing to confront the sources and implications of racism and violence and to identify actions that Fenn and the community can take to combat it.

The following section highlights Fenn’s commitment to this ongoing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work, as well as advances it has made and goals it has set to create a truly just and equitable Fenn School.

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Advancing Fenn’s Commitments to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion WHILE T H E G L O B A L P A N D E M I C

has commanded our attention for the

past year, the Fenn community has been equally gripped by the racist attacks on Asians, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Black and Brown people, which have fueled nationwide protests and social unrest.

A tumultuous presidential election cycle and its aftermath created additional complexities.

As an educational institution, Fenn embraces its responsibility to help process national and worldwide events of such significance with current students in age-appropriate ways, with faculty and staff who guide and support them, and with the expanded Fenn community including alumni.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, for one, and the burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement, virtual gatherings of Fenn administrators, faculty, staff, and students were assembled for conversation, connection, and the sharing of sadness, anger, and other emotions as varied as the backgrounds and perspectives of the individuals who participated. Affinity group conversations segmented by race also offered safe spaces for community members to

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share even more deeply with peers.

“In our student committees for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), boys were able to participate through silent observation or by actively sharing what these national events signified for them,” remarked Liz Wei, Assistant Director of DEI and a Lower School teacher. “Many of the boys were inspired to learn more about what they could personally do to support their friends who were hurting and how they could be a part of making positive change.”

In mid-June, Fenn parents were also invited to participate in Zoom conversations about the Black Lives Matter protests that were then sweeping the nation.

Liz Wei and DEI Associate Megan Wu Macomber facilitated discussions with white and non-Black parents of color about the protests, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness, and the strategies and

action steps to employ to become truly anti-racist. Jimmy Manyuru, Fenn’s former Director of DEI, led a virtual gathering with Black parents.

For the summer months, the Fenn community was encouraged to read one of two books exploring racism and anti-racism to advance each person’s education and analysis of privilege, biases and blind spots, and areas for growth. The #1 New York Times bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (a remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning) highlighted the history of racist ideas in America for Middle and Upper School students, families, faculty, and staff, and helped readers understand their responsibility and ability to take action to combat racism. Stamped was also required reading for Fenn’s full Board of Trustees before a Board retreat dedicated an in-depth discussion to it. This Book is Anti-Racist by educator Tiffany Jewell was chosen for Fenn’s younger readers with its promise of “20 lessons on how to wake up, take action, and do the work.”

Alumni voices were also woven

into Fenn’s exploration of privilege, race, and racism this past summer. In July, the Alumni Council held a virtual forum for alumni of color to discuss their experiences as people of color and as Fenn students. Thirty Black, Asian, Latino, and multi-racial alumni spanning the graduate years of 1972 through 2021 spoke candidly for more than two hours, with engagement from Derek Boonisar, retired faculty member and former Director of Diversity Tete Cobblah, Alumni Association President

faculty at Fenn and the critical role the student diversity committees played in their school lives,” remarked Derek Boonisar.

“In contrast, some of them described a sense of isolation and loneliness on campus and a lack of mentors and role models who mirrored their racial diversity.

“Facing these uncomfortable realities is a necessity to help us understand where we’ve been, where we are currently, and the best paths for Fenn’s continued growth. I heard loudly and clearly that our alumni are eager to see a more diverse student body, faculty, and staff and a curriculum that includes the history, culture, and experiences of people of color. These are among my personal goals for Fenn and are the focus of ongoing work across Fenn departments and divisions.”

Foundations for Fenn’s DEI Work

Brian Davidson ’89, and other Fenn administrators, faculty, and staff.

“It was heartening to hear our alumni speak about topics like the long-lasting friendships they formed with peers and

DEI work has been a priority for Fenn since 2006 when Director and Assistant Director of Diversity positions, and the DEI Office itself, were established. A Parents of Students of Color (POSOC) group formed shortly after in 2007 and years later expanded its membership to embrace religion and sexual orientation and changed its name to Parents Affinity group for Diversity and Inclusivity or PADI. Unofficial, grassroots gatherings of faculty, staff, and parents assembled periodically years earlier beginning in the late 1990s, laying the foundation for these

“Our alumni are eager to see a more diverse student body, faculty, and staff and a curriculum that includes the history, culture, and experiences of people of color. These are among my personal goals for Fenn and are the focus of ongoing work across Fenn departments and divisions.” – Derek Boonisar, Headmaster spring 2021

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SIMONE HUTCHINGS Fenn welcomed Simone Hutchings as the new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in November 2020. Simone most recently served as Program Associate for The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio, where she developed, facilitated, and evaluated virtual and in-person DEI curricula for schools in more than 11 counties across Northeast Ohio. She also facilitated professional development DEI workshops for educators and supported programs focused on the Spanish-speaking community.

Simone’s background also includes time as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Gwangyang City, South Korea. In that role, she designed and delivered weekly English classes for over 350 students, coached English debate teams for the Youth Diplomacy and Activism Conference in Gwangju, and delivered pedagogy and culture exchange lectures at various conferences.

Simone also served as an assistant to the Dean of Students and Resident Manager at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., while earning a Master of Arts/Master of Theological Studies in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from Wesley and American University. She previously earned her Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Evansville in Indiana.

Also of note is Simone’s work as a Dialogue Facilitator for the Seeds of Peace International Camp, where she facilitated twice daily high school student dialogues on controversial topics such as race, gender, and economic inequality; developed and implemented curriculum for the expanded United States dialogue program; and collaborated with educators across U.S. schools to ensure that follow-up programming and support systems were established in schools and communities.

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later efforts.

In early November, Fenn’s DEI Office saw the addition of a new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

“We were very pleased to welcome Simone Hutchings to our Fenn community as our new leader of DEI and a member of our School Leadership Team,” announced Derek Boonisar.

“She is the first DEI representative to serve on this team, and her perspective and expertise brought immediate value to the strategy and planning conversations that take place within this group.”

Hutchings also spearheads Fenn’s DEI Department and its programming, DEI committee efforts, and Fenn’s PADI affinity group (for parents), as well as co-advising a cohort of Fenn students.

(See Hutchings’ bio to the left.)

With Simone a key voice, the School Leadership and DEI teams are engaging in thoughtful conversations about the individual and institutional responsibilities to confront the sources and implications of the racism and violence in the nation and the actions that Fenn and its community can take to help combat it.

“Our longstanding goal at Fenn has been to provide a safe, affirming, and supportive community for our alumni, students, families, faculty, and staff, and to live up to the words and spirit of our Diversity Statement (see statement at right),” added Derek. “We have to ask ourselves and our community tough questions about our progress toward meeting these marks, then identify clear action plans to address shortcomings.

This work will remain an absolute necessity as we strive to attract and welcome into the community increasingly more diverse faculty, staff, and students who reflect our society.”

FENN SCHOOL DIVERSITY STATEMENT The Fenn School is committed to achieving diversity and inclusion in its curriculum, its community, and in the life of the school. We believe that a critical component of elementary and middle school education is the opportunity to learn in a safe environment, with and from a variety of people and perspectives. We strive to create an inclusive community in which every member finds the opportunity to succeed and to excel, regardless of culture, ethnicity, race, religion, economic background, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or physical and learning differences. Further, we expect all community members to apply our ideals of honesty, respect, empathy, and courage in their day-to-day interactions.

An Evolving Student Body The racial composition of Fenn’s student body is surely evolving. For the 2020-2021 school year, students of color represent 24.6 percent of the population, an increase from a low of 18 percent during the last 10 years. Fenn’s fourth and fifth grades present the greatest student diversity, with students of color comprising 26.3 percent of the fourth grade and 32.1 percent of the fifth grade. Grades six through nine average approximately 21 percent.

Fenn has also seen its underrepresented student population grow over the last decade, moving from 2.5 percent of the student body in the 2010-2011 school year to 6.2 percent during the current year (with a high of 7.3 percent in 2018-2019).

The socioeconomic diversity of the student population is equally on the rise. Nineteen percent of Fenn families currently receive financial aid, up from

only eight percent in 2007, and demand for aid continues to trend upwards. For the 2020-2021 school year, there was a 58 percent higher demand from new families and a 24 percent higher demand from returning families.

The availability of financial aid resources, coupled with a transportation program that enables students from farther distances to attend, remain key drivers for increasing the diversity of the student body.

“We’ve made significant gains in Fenn’s racial and socioeconomic diversity over the last decade, but we have to continue to grow our financial aid endowment and ​​ expand our transportation program to keep up with our peer schools,” shared Tory Hayes ’02, Director of Admission and Financial Aid. “Other schools have the advantage of being located closer to Boston, where there’s a greater concentration of families of color

and more socioeconomic diversity than the Concord area. But if we have the means to get students to and from Fenn and to support them financially, when necessary, there’s no question that we are a desirable option. Fenn is a special place, and families see that.”

Genesis Royal-Langham—parent to Isaiah ’20 and Joshua ’25, Board member since 2018, and co-chair of the Board Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Enrollment, and Financial Aid (DEIEFA)—is one parent of color whose feelings about independent schools shifted upon learning about Fenn and its values.

“I initially had no interest in independent schools because of the lack of diversity and my worry that there was at least a minimal possibility of a racist environment,” she shared. “My plan was to support my children by preserving as much of their innocence as possible

“We’ve made significant gains in Fenn’s racial and socioeconomic diversity over the last decade, but we have to continue to grow our financial aid endowment ​​and expand our transportation program … If we have the means to get students to and from Fenn and to support them financially, when necessary, there’s no question that we are a desirable option.” – Tory Hayes ’02, Director of Admission and Financial Aid spring 2021

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While at an Admissions event

Growth in Student Diversity RACIAL/ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN 2020-21

24.6% 9% 6.2% 32.1%

of the student body are students of color (Up from a low of 18% within last 10 years)

(where she was helping a family member who was considering an independent school for her daughter), Genesis was admittedly transfixed by the information that Tory Hayes and former Fenn coll– eague Kofi Obeng were sharing about Fenn and by their sincerity when discussing their love for the School.

identify as two or more races (Up from a low of 5.1% within last 10 years) identify as an underrepresented race/ethnicity (Up from a low of 2.5% 10 years ago) are students of color in most diverse 5th grade class

“They were speaking about the importance of community at Fenn, its academic rigor, dedication to core values, and understanding of boys,

19% 58% 24%

of families receive financial aid (Up from a low of 8% in 2007) higher demand for financial aid from new families higher demand for financial aid from returning families

Expanded DEI Programming

sity on campus,” she continued. “The

This school year, faculty, staff, and administrators are required to participate in five programs from the Fenn Diversity Institute (FDI), a professional development entity spearheaded by the DEI Department and faculty and staff volunteers passionate about the work.

By the end of March, the FDI team had delivered three compelling sessions that aimed to advance the education and inspire the personal growth of the adults in the community:

lack of diversity was a barrier for me, as was the commute. The Admissions ents [of students of color] to understand their experiences, and the testimony of one of these parents helped me decide to go with Fenn. My son begging me every day and referring to Fenn as ‘my new school’ helped make the decision easier too.

“Our welcome to Fenn was instant, and both of my sons have had wonderful experiences there. I’m grateful to now also be able to lend my lens to the Board to ensure that Fenn continues to grow

and building them up secure in their

I have seen the heart of a Black child

in a positive direction that acknowledges

identity before handing them over to the

break upon discovering racism and prej-

and respects the humanity in all of its

world. As a young girl, and now mother,

udice. I wasn’t ready to expose my sons

students and families.”

community member, and social worker,

to this reality.”

“Both of my sons have had wonderful experiences [at Fenn] … I’m grateful to now lend my lens to the Board to ensure that Fenn continues to grow in a positive direction that acknowledges and respects the humanity in all of its students and families.” – Genesis Royal-Langham P’20 ’25, Fenn Trustee 40

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As the student body is evolving, so are the efforts that Fenn is investing in to work toward satisfying an important long-term goal: creating and maintaining a truly just and equitable Fenn School.

Expanding programming and resources from the DEI Department and analyzing and pursuing modifications to Fenn’s curriculum, practices, and pedagogy are two critical areas of ongoing focus.

plus they were honest about the diver-

team connected me with current par-

SOCIOECONOMIC DIVERSITY IN 2020-21

Accomplishments and Aspirations

• A November program challenging faculty and staff to assess and understand where they are on their journeys toward becoming anti-racist;

with faculty and staff from Fenn and area peer schools. “Becoming an AntiRacist - Building a Framework for Justice and Equity” was the theme of the virtual program featuring a keynote talk by Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD, a nationally-recognized, board-certified adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist, on the subjects of trauma and racism, cultural humility, and how to become a more trauma-informed, anti-racist institution. Interactive workshops led

by Christian-Brathwaite and three other outside presenters followed, providing ample time for small breakout group conversations.

Two informal groups also gather at Fenn to discuss and advance anti-racism conversations and actions among faculty and staff. A group named BARWE— Becoming Anti-Racist White Educators —formed at Fenn last spring, and a racial affinity group for faculty and staff of color meets regularly.

“We want to create a more just

and equitable Fenn,” shared Simone Hutchings. “By investing in our faculty and staff through intentional and relevant professional development, and in our students through special projects and curricula-integrated DEI programming, we are making strides toward achieving this goal.”

Tailored Student Engagement Advisor groups are one gathering where Fenn students are engaged in conversations about DEI subject matter. DEI Department leaders periodically provide advisors with programming and guiding questions that invite students to critically engage with DEI topics. Students are subsequently challenged to think critically about why they hold certain opinions.

In January, students engaged in week-long programming centered on civil rights. Each class had the opportunity to explore past and present civil rights campaigns and activism and to discuss how they can get involved in a cause they

• A December program exploring whiteness and white supremacy and actions that white people can take to combat racism; and • A January program focused on anti-Black racism and approaches to identifying, examining, and disrupting bias.

On February 16, Fenn’s DEI Department also hosted its annual daylong Multicultural Educators’ Forum spring 2021

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“We want to create a more just and equitable Fenn … By investing in our students through special projects and curricula-integrated DEI programming, and in our faculty and staff through intentional and relevant professional development, we are making strides toward achieving this goal.” – Simone Hutchings, Director of DEI believe in. The week’s focus on under-

opportunity to learn more about the

standing events, empathy, and empow-

women that have made, and continue

erment culminated in an all-school Civil

to make, history. To celebrate all that

Rights Assembly, during which students

women teachers do for the Fenn commu-

engaged in division-wide discussions

nity, each cohort had the opportunity to

through Zoom. Women’s History Month

write a letter of appreciation to a woman

(in March) also provided students the

advisor or faculty member, which they

received before March break.

DEI concepts are also tackled in student DEI committee meetings and woven throughout the curriculum in an age-appropriate fashion. In the Lower School, for one, every cohort is receiving a monthlong introduction to DEI subject matter so that young students will operate from a similar base of knowledge.

Regardless of division, every age of student is urged and inspired to be guided by the spirit of Sua Sponte and its focus on taking responsibility for the well-being of others.

Analysis of Curriculum, Practices, and Pedagogy Running parallel to faculty, staff, and student education on DEI topics is a curriculum audit in its early stages, guided

by John Sharon, Assistant Headmaster for the Academic Program and Social Studies Department Head.

“We’re auditing the books we’re teaching, for one,” shared John. “We want to be sure that they are reflective of the students we have and include perspectives that we haven’t traditionally studied. This is similar in some ways to the revision of our Social Studies curriculum years ago. We had primarily studied Western or American history, and we needed to broaden that to be more global.”

The eighth grade Social Studies course, Justice Without Borders, now explores global justice and human rights, 42

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the origins and meanings of justice across cultures, and how justice and human rights are tied to governments and international systems. For ninth graders, their Global Studies coursework is devoted to historical inquiries of the Middle East, India, and China and aims to help students become true global citizens.

English Department Chair Kate Wade relishes the ongoing curriculum work.

“While our summer work centered on preparing to teach in a pandemic, we were intentional in not allowing that to eclipse our essential focus on reviewing our current curriculum to ensure diverse representation in the texts, authors, and characters we introduce to our students,” Kate shared.

“We have been partnering with our esteemed Library team to be sure that we’re informed of the many literary options available to us,” she continued.

“We’re also leaning on frameworks offered by the #DisruptTexts movement (a crowd-sourced, grassroots effort to rebuild the literary canon using an anti-bias, anti-racist literacy lens).

Offering our students both ‘windows and mirrors’1 through which they examine themselves and the world is critical, as is working with colleagues to ensure that we, teachers, are paying attention to our own blind spots and opportunities for growth.”

Ensuring the presence of “windows and mirrors” for the community of students that Fenn currently serves (and aspires to serve in coming years) is and always has been a primary aim of the Library team’s ongoing diversity audit of its collection. Library Director Sam Kane and Library Teacher Michelle Fontaine have begun tackling a monumental review

of the Hammett Ory Library collection of 13,000 print books and 1,500 e-books.

“We are being very mindful of how balanced our collection is,” shared Sam. “We are striving to weed out books with outdated stereotypes and to bring attention to voices and narratives that have been underrepresented.” Collections

that the Library team recently created to highlight Black joy and celebration and to elevate LGBTQ+ storytelling are two such examples.

“Just having the books isn’t enough though,” she reminds. “Teaching the students to also have critical literacy is of great importance. Who is telling a certain story? What is their bias? Whose voices are missing? What is the historical context of this story? These are the types of questions we are teaching our students to consider as they read assigned books or choose their own.”

The Math Department, led by Department Chair Jennifer Youk See, has been doing its own share of work and analysis in the DEI space. “Members of our department have been deeply focused on preparing and delivering content that is accessible to all students,” she shared.

Jennifer has been leading the development of a department mission

statement with math teacher colleagues as well as exercises examining and evaluating how math is taught at Fenn, how students are sectioned in classes, and how math teachers are approaching homework and grading. Department colleagues have also benefited from attending professional development programs on subjects ranging from culturally responsive teaching to equitable grading and assessment.

Such an expansive analysis is a necessity as part of the academic audit that is taking place, according to John Sharon.

“It’s so important that our audit extends beyond just the content of what we teach,” he remarked. “We’re looking at skills and pedagogy through an anti-racism lens, grading practices for equity, and so much more.” As part of the process, John continues to collaborate with other schools and expects to bring in an outside consultant to support Fenn in its desire to improve the School’s anti-racism curriculum work.

Attracting and Supporting Diversity Fenn’s re-accreditation by the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE) in January of 2018 helped to advance new and ongoing DEI work that was seeking to boost community diversity and support the needs of an evolving Fenn School.

AISNE called on Fenn to develop a “policy for transgender students”; to refine and communicate Fenn’s hiring process to support its commitment to a more diverse faculty, staff, and administration; to increase the racial diversity of the Board of Trustees; and to deepen the academic and social-emotional support for spring 2021

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1

“Offering our students both ‘windows and mirrors’ through which they examine themselves and the world is critical, as is working with colleagues to ensure that we, teachers, are paying attention to our own blind spots and opportunities for growth.” – Kate Wade, Chair of the English Department students of color. While there is progress to report, there are many actions still to take and challenges to overcome.

Gender Identity Statement. Answering one AISNE recommendation, Fenn’s DEIEFA Board Committee spearheaded the development of a “gender identity statement,” intentionally tweaking AISNE’s language to acknowledge, respect, and include the humanity of each student. The effort involved the engagement of outside professionals steeped in the subject; a workshop and discussion at the Board’s annual retreat and with the full Fenn faculty; and the study of various readings, books, videos, and films on related topics. By September 2019, the following statement was approved by the full Fenn Board of Trustees.

Fenn School Gender Identity Statement

In the admissions process, any student who identifies and lives as a boy is welcome to apply to Fenn. If an enrolled student begins to explore their gender identity or expression, or identifies as transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary while at Fenn, the School is committed to partnering with the student and family to best support the needs of the student. In its communications, facilities, and other aspects of its campus, programs, and school life, Fenn will continually strive to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all members of the community.

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In January 2020, Fenn also announced the creation of a Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) to provide a safe space for students to discuss and raise awareness about topics related to gender and sexuality. Fenn divisions have held frequent GSA meetings facilitated by DEI Department leaders and other interested faculty, and students have been empowered to influence how the meetings operate and the subject matter they cover to shape GSA groups that best serve them.

(Due to COVID restrictions, the GSA is not currently meeting, but will resume as soon as possible.)

Recruitment of Diverse Personnel and Board Members. With the addition of an Auxiliary team to help manage COVID protocols, plus two new DEI Department colleagues, there is greater diversity among faculty and staff this school year.

Thanks to the generosity of a Fenn family who wishes to remain anonymous, Fenn was able to fund the position of DEI Teaching Intern this school year to add to DEI Department resources. Morgan Laird was appointed to this position on November 2. (See his bio on page 66.)

There is substantive work to do, however, to ensure equal if not growing diversity in the coming years.

In 2019, Fenn administrators, including then DEI Director Jimmy Manyuru, developed new guidelines for the School’s recruiting and hiring practices to help ensure fairness, transparency, inclusivity, and effective recruitment of a more

diverse faculty, staff, and administration.

These new guidelines specified that Fenn’s DEI commitments would be highlighted in all position descriptions; a diverse group of Fenn personnel, including DEI team representatives, would participate in screenings for teaching and administration candidates; consistent questions would be posed to evaluate candidates’ cultural competencies; and attention would be paid to identifying new channels for job postings that would reach more diverse candidates.

“Year after year on the DEIEFA Board Committee, great ideas would come and go about how and where to recruit educators of color to join Fenn,” shared Genesis Royal-Langham P’20 ’25.

“Over the past two years in the wake of overt systemic racism and police brutality, however, talk turned into action as we made a plan with actionable steps.

Recruiting efforts were ramped up, and then Simone Hutchings joined us and literally hit the ground running. She has partnered with me and my DEIEFA Board Committee Co-Chair Tara Edelman P’20 ’22 on introspective work that has given us an opportunity to stretch ourselves to uncomfortable lengths to learn. It is an ongoing process.”

Simone will work closely with School Leadership colleagues to ensure the continued improvement and application of guidelines and action steps for faculty and staff recruitment and hiring.

Racial diversity also remains a top priority for Board recruitment. Currently,

6 of 28 Board members are people of color, representing nearly 22 percent of the Board. Five joined within the last four years as part of a focused effort to bring a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to school governance.

Support for Students of Color. Fenn’s ability to attract a diverse faculty and staff has consequences for students of color in search of role models who resemble them or share similar backgrounds (and for other students who would benefit from engaging with and learning from accomplished educators of color). This underscores the need for Fenn’s priority focus on the recruitment and hiring of educators of color.

Ensuring that appropriate support resources are in place for students of color who need them is also of great importance, according to Director of Learning Support Services Dr. Eden Dunckel.

“This is undoubtedly an area where Fenn needs to grow,” she shared. “We’ve been actively engaged in conversations about how we can better support our students of color, but there is still a hill to climb before we can say we’ve made substantive change. We want all of our students to thrive at Fenn, so we will continue to engage with our students and their families, and with faculty and administrators, to identify and pursue

what we believe will be the most effective resources for our boys.”

A Student Wellness Group, of which Eden is a part, meets regularly to discuss the students who could benefit from supplemental support. This support may come from Eden herself—although COVID has challenged her ability to provide in-person coaching with students in strict cohorts, leaving teachers with more of the responsibility—or in partnership with counseling services from Fenn’s Consulting Clinical Psychologist Geoff Cohane ’93. Conversations are ongoing

about Fenn’s ability to also engage a counselor of color with “a relatable, lived experience,” as described by Genesis Royal-Langham. “Studies show that racial and ethnic factors affect participation and trust in the therapeutic relationship,” she shared.

Meanwhile, racial affinity spaces guided by Fenn’s DEI team have provided opportunities for students of similar backgrounds to connect and process

events of the day and/or personal experiences they feel comfortable sharing. Due to COVID, there was a pause in these gatherings until they resumed recently on April 25. In their absence, trusted faculty helped to support students in their cohorts with guidance from colleagues in the DEI, Learning Support Services, and Counseling Offices.

A Path Forward “Many important DEI efforts are underway at Fenn, and each and every one will help us progress as an anti-racist institution and maintain a just and equitable community for all,” remarked Derek Boonisar. “This will continue to be challenging work, and our community members will move at different speeds along their journeys of understanding racism, its origins, and its impacts, and how we each can combat it. But, all the while, Fenn will remain steadfastly committed to advancing the work for the benefit of the students we care deeply about; the faculty, staff, and community members who give so much of themselves to the School; and for society as a whole, in which we hope our boys will lead with understanding, compassion, and hearts for service.”

1 Emily Style introduced the “windows and mirrors” metaphor in 1988, and Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop added “sliding glass doors” to the metaphor in 1990.

“Fenn will remain steadfastly committed to advancing our DEI work for the benefit of our students; our faculty, staff and community members; and society as a whole, in which we hope our boys will lead with understanding, compassion, and hearts for service.” – Derek Boonisar, Headmaster spring 2021

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