Community Letter (June 2022)

END OF YEAR Report of DEIB Progress (June 2022)

Dear Kent Place Community,
 
In 2020, the Kent Place School Leadership and Board committed to providing the school community with an annual update on our ongoing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts. This year, we are pleased to report that the school has made continued progress against its goals.
 
As we shared in last year’s update, some of the school’s initiatives reflect one-time changes to policy or practices. For example, this year we established a measurement and learning dashboard to assess our collective progress on our goals. Others, such as training for faculty and staff, as well as community engagement, reflect ongoing commitments. In general, we recognize that the school is moving from a period of focused change into a stage where these topics are more ingrained in our culture and pedagogy. We saw this across the community this past year — from events hosted by the Diversity and Equity Parent Group (DEPG) to topical alumnae book clubs and ongoing Learn. Live. programming in all divisions.
   
You can find a detailed progress report on the actions we have taken as part of our Action Plan here.
 
While this work would not be possible without the active support and engagement of our whole community, we are especially grateful to the members of our DEIB task forces, who have championed and led this work at the Leadership, Board of Trustees, and Alumnae Association levels. Their guidance and partnership are invaluable.
 
In particular, we take this opportunity to recognize April C. Bauknight, Esq. '95, the outgoing inaugural chair of the DEIB Alum Council, for her service to Kent Place. She has been deeply committed to ensuring that every student at Kent Place has a welcome seat at the table and that alumnae of color have opportunities to support current Kent Place students. Reflecting on the school’s progress over the last two years, she says:
 
“I am proud and honored to have helped Kent Place as it sets out on this journey. The first two years of any endeavor present unique challenges with setting purpose, focus, goals, and intentions. Nevertheless, the DEIB Alum Council and Kent Place have been committed to implementing new programming to ensure that students, alum, and the broader Kent Place community experience first-hand and tangible ways that Kent Place is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.”
 
We welcome Nya-Brielle Earrusso ’12 as the incoming chair of the DEIB Alum Council.
 
Making sure that our school is a place of belonging and inclusion and that our students graduate as culturally responsive citizens of the world is central to Kent Place’s mission. Kent Place Leadership and the Board of Trustees remain committed to this important work. We thank the broader community for their support and engagement and look forward to working with you as we move forward in this effort.
 
Yours for Kent Place,

 

 

Anne Grissinger P ’25
President, Board of Trustees    

 

 

Dr. Jennifer C. Galambos
Head of School

 

 

Shané (Simmons) Harris ’92
Co-Chair, Board Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Task Force
Trustee

 

Arjun Murti P '20
Co-Chair, Board Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Task Force
Trustee