Strengthening York’s Culture of Wellbeing, Inclusivity and Belonging
(2023 - 2024 DEI Update)
In 2023-24, guided by the values and foundational pillars of our new strategic plan Embrace Curiosity, The York School continued implementing initiatives that advanced wellbeing, inclusion and belonging amongst our students, faculty and staff. We added to our already rich curriculum, making it more culturally responsive and relevant. We learned about and celebrated the many different backgrounds of people who make up Canada. We gained knowledge and insight from subject matter experts, both from visitors to assemblies and classes, and from grade and club excursions. We created new partnerships with organizations across the city in order to more effectively recruit students and staff who better reflect the diversity of our large and vibrant city. We continued to support our students and staff through culture and alliance groups.
Enhancing the curriculum
Our IB curriculum forms the basis for the rich academic experience The York School offers. We are committed to enhancing it even further so that it:
• is as culturally responsive and relevant as possible;
• ensures every student sees their identify reflected and feels a sense of belonging within the school;
• fosters an understanding of the ways people experience privilege and oppression;
• and provides the tools our students need to be allies.
Guided by the leadership and support of our DEI Curriculum Instructional Lead, Shelley Gopal in the Middle/Senior School, and our DEI Co-Chair, Sean Rand in the Junior School, teachers in every grade conducted curriculum audits. The goal was to identify units where the content currently includes information and assignments related to inclusion and diversity, as well as areas where there are gaps and opportunities.
Faculty reviewed the courses taught in every subject area – from Language and Literature to Math and Science – and looked for opportunities to celebrate a variety of identities and cultures, and to add content that promotes Indigenous reconciliation and helps combat issues like ableism, sexism, racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia, and socio-economic discrimination. In her role as Instructional Lead, Shelley supported her colleagues in the Middle and Senior Schools in a variety of ways including providing feedback on lesson plans, observing lessons, co-creating and co-teaching classes, and facilitating class discussions on current events and experiences related to systemic oppression and other complex issues. For example, after the Grade 10 French class attended a play with dialogue that included a racial slur, the teacher invited Shelley to the class to facilitate a class discussion on the history of the slur, why the playwright may have chosen to use the word, and the ways the use of the slur continues to contribute to racial trauma.
In his role as DEI Co-Chair, Sean supported school wide DEI initiatives through the development of assemblies and invitations to guest speakers. He was also instrumental in the school’s investment in Sankofa, a reading series for students from kindergarten through Grade 3 that celebrates Black excellence and Black Canadian narratives.
Throughout all grades and courses, our teachers have been enhancing the curriculum to make it more diverse, culturally responsive and relevant. For example, Miss Chai, our Junior School art teacher, has been introducing the students to artists from a variety of backgrounds. George Littlechild, Faith Ringgold, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Yayoi Kusama are a few of the artists the students have learned about this year.
Another initiative that supports faculty to enhance the curriculum is York’s newly-created online Inclusion & Belonging Library that features curated resources on the topics of ableism, anti-oppression, anti-racism, gender and sexual identity, and other topics. These resources include topic guides, suggestions for lesson plans and ideas for class projects that are age and stage appropriate.
Our commitment to wellbeing and belonging includes creating physical spaces that are inclusive, accessible and welcoming to all students, staff and visitors. Our new Athletic Commons in the Middle/Senior School, which opened this past fall and includes individual change rooms, washrooms and showers, was designed with a deep respect for young people and their right to privacy as they experience adolescence
Assemblies build awareness, understanding and inclusion
In September 2023, The York School received a Hero Award that recognizes York’s students and faculty for supporting inclusion within the education sector by providing affirming spaces for students and elevating their voices.
Assemblies at the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools play an important role in moving York’s goals forward. In the past year, special guests from outside the York community sparked our curiosity and challenged us to explore any unconscious biases we may be harbouring. These experts taught us about the legacy of residential schools, the resilience of Holocaust survivors and how antisemitism appears today, the significance of rap music in Black culture, what islamophobia looks like, and the violence and oppression that many 2SLGBTQ+ people face in countries around the world – and much more.
Often, our assemblies included a new, personalized land acknowledgement written by students, with the support of faculty, that connected the content of the land acknowledgement to the theme of the assembly. Researching and writing personalized land acknowledgements gives students a deeper understanding of the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada and in doing so they participate in the process of reconciliation.
This past year, The York School rebranded its Spirit Houses which were previously named after Canadian historical figures, some of whose legacies have been re-evaluated through a twenty-first century lens. Students played an active role in this initiative. During the 2022-23 school year, students from JK to Grade 12 were asked for their input on possible new names and symbols. At opening assemblies for the Junior, Middle and Senior schools in September 2023, there were enthusiastic cheers when students and faculty learned that the new Spirit House names would be known as Earth, Air, Wind and Fire.
The Spirit Houses are smaller groups within the broader school community that provide opportunities for students and staff to form friendships across grades and experience a sense of camaraderie while participating in fun activities and challenges.
Professional development contributed to new insights and connections
Our students weren’t the only ones who gained new insights this year.
Sean and Shelley attended the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario (CIS Ontario) DEI Leaders’ Fall Retreat to engage in professional development and to connect with peers from other independent schools. Upon returning to York, they shared their learnings and competencies with their colleagues and peers through in-house professional development sessions.
In November, Shelley attended a talk at Upper Canada College by Liz Kleinrock, an American author, educator and consultant who offers a solutions-based approach to antibias and antiracist education. Her first book is called Start Here Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work In Your School Community.
Later in the school year, 13 members of the York community (Board members, leadership, DEI leads, faculty, students and parents) attended a conference at Greenwood College School called Equity Through Education with representatives from other independent schools. Attendees expressed a shared commitment to advancing wellbeing, belonging and inclusion within their schools, and identified the need for a holistic approach that involves all stakeholders, is supported by policies and practices, and provides ongoing professional development to support goals.
Jennifer Bairos, who teaches Core French from Grade 6 to 9, gave a presentation at the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association conference that highlighted the ways she creates an equitable classroom and promotes social justice in her French classes.
Staff member Ashley Isaacs-Trotman represented York at Brilliancy and Resiliency, a conference that the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario hosted for students and staff at independent schools who identify as Black. Conference participants discussed the best ways to support Black students and fellow-staff members, sharing personal experiences and strategies.
New Challenge Week trip explores race, slavery, and Black land ownership
Each May, students in Grades 6 to 10 are asked to extend themselves beyond their comfort zones by participating in Challenge Week, a unique York School experience featuring trips across North America that are tied to units of inquiry from the IB framework. These trips help open students’ minds by giving them opportunities to learn about history and culture from local people.
This year, Grade 10 students had the opportunity to participate in a new Challenge Week trip called The Power of Black Land that took them to Savannah, Georgia to learn about the history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people of the Lowcountry and Sapelo Island, GA. The Gullah Geechee people are the descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved and brought to the lower Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia to work on the coastal rice, Sea Island cotton and indigo plantations.
Making our community equitable and inclusive, our resources more accessible
It’s essential for our community to reflect the diversity of Toronto. The York School is committed to equitable and inclusive hiring practices. By recruiting more widely through strengthened partnerships with Faculties of Education, we are ensuring that we find the best teachers for your children from amongst a larger pool of highly qualified candidates.
We are also working to recruit more students from across the GTA by growing a bursary endowment through philanthropic donations that will allow us to offer financial assistance to a greater number of highly promising and deserving students from underserved communities in the GTA. While our school has offered financial assistance for more than twenty-five years, we have done this primarily through the school’s operating budget. This has made us an outlier in this regard, as most independent schools in the GTA rely on funding for financial assistance through philanthropic donations from their communities.
As the school’s bursary endowment grows and produces a reliable stream of income annually, it will allow us to welcome more students who will contribute to the vibrant life of our school and to support them throughout their time here.
Meeting Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requirements
Ensuring that The York School’s physical spaces were AODA compliant and certified by the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) were our top priorities in 2022-23. After implementing the minor improvements recommended during RHF’s accessibility audit of both our campuses – we now have audio devices at our receptions and fully accessible elevators and washrooms – we received RHF Accessibility Certification™.
With the knowledge that the physical spaces on both campuses are fully accessible, we turned our focus to the information we share about our school. During the past year, we’ve taken additional steps to make our digital and printed resources more accessible to people with disabilities. By incorporating industry best practices in terms of fonts, colours and images and by using an accessibility platform called UserWay, we’ve ensured that yorkschool.com, our Family Handbook and The Flash (our weekly digital newsletter) comply with the accessibility standard outlined in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. By adhering to the principles of Universal Design, we’re also creating brochures, posters and other printed materials that reach the widest possible audience. There’s still more work to do, but we’re proud of the progress we’ve made to date.