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December 10, 2020: Our Action Plan
Dear Bryn Mawr Community,
This past summer, we wrote to you expressing our commitment to be more intentional and proactive in dismantling longstanding and systemic racism in our country and in our school, and to build a more inclusive community, where every member feels an equal sense of belonging. Since that time, we have engaged our students, alumnae, families, trustees and employees to further define and deepen our work, and identify our path forward as an institution.
One of our initial goals was to revise Bryn Mawr’s Diversity Statement to be action-oriented and clearer as to our beliefs and intentions. Shared below, it serves as the foundation for our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan and guided the extensive work led by Diane Nichols, Senior Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Practice, our Equity and Inclusion liaisons, and members of the Board of Trustees Community, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
The Bryn Mawr School Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement The Bryn Mawr School is deeply committed to growing as a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning community. 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 policies and practices that address bias and discrimination.
Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, linked below, reiterates the commitments that we are making as a school. Our actions are organized into three main areas: program, process, and policy. As you read the plan, you will observe that no action falls neatly into just one category because everything that we do comes back to people—how they are feeling both as individuals and as collective members of the school community. The Action Plan encompasses our work in anti-racism, and in honoring all of the diverse identities, experiences and voices of our constituents. The commitments we make here serve as the foundation of a continually evolving process that will include accountability, measurement, reflection and revision.
As we move forward with implementation, Bryn Mawr will be launching a “climate survey” in collaboration with the Glasgow Group, a national consortium of DEI consultants who work with independent schools. Families and community members should be on the lookout in the new year for the survey, which will help us target specific areas for improvement. The survey will be followed by focus groups later in the spring. We also invite you now to join our work by participating in upcoming parent and alumnae programs.
The responsibility for making Bryn Mawr a diverse, equitable and inclusive institution belongs to us all. Our collective engagement is essential to strengthen and sustain a thriving Bryn Mawr community. Thank you, as always, for your support and partnership.
Sincerely,
Diane Nichols
Senior Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Practice
Sue Sadler
Head of School
Monica Tucker P'16, ‘19
Chair, Board of Trustees
Back
This past summer, we wrote to you expressing our commitment to be more intentional and proactive in dismantling longstanding and systemic racism in our country and in our school, and to build a more inclusive community, where every member feels an equal sense of belonging. Since that time, we have engaged our students, alumnae, families, trustees and employees to further define and deepen our work, and identify our path forward as an institution.
One of our initial goals was to revise Bryn Mawr’s Diversity Statement to be action-oriented and clearer as to our beliefs and intentions. Shared below, it serves as the foundation for our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan and guided the extensive work led by Diane Nichols, Senior Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Practice, our Equity and Inclusion liaisons, and members of the Board of Trustees Community, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
The Bryn Mawr School Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement The Bryn Mawr School is deeply committed to growing as a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning community. 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 policies and practices that address bias and discrimination.
Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, linked below, reiterates the commitments that we are making as a school. Our actions are organized into three main areas: program, process, and policy. As you read the plan, you will observe that no action falls neatly into just one category because everything that we do comes back to people—how they are feeling both as individuals and as collective members of the school community. The Action Plan encompasses our work in anti-racism, and in honoring all of the diverse identities, experiences and voices of our constituents. The commitments we make here serve as the foundation of a continually evolving process that will include accountability, measurement, reflection and revision.
As we move forward with implementation, Bryn Mawr will be launching a “climate survey” in collaboration with the Glasgow Group, a national consortium of DEI consultants who work with independent schools. Families and community members should be on the lookout in the new year for the survey, which will help us target specific areas for improvement. The survey will be followed by focus groups later in the spring. We also invite you now to join our work by participating in upcoming parent and alumnae programs.
The responsibility for making Bryn Mawr a diverse, equitable and inclusive institution belongs to us all. Our collective engagement is essential to strengthen and sustain a thriving Bryn Mawr community. Thank you, as always, for your support and partnership.
Sincerely,
Diane Nichols
Senior Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Practice
Sue Sadler
Head of School
Monica Tucker P'16, ‘19
Chair, Board of Trustees
