College Prep's Commitment to Equity and Inclusion

Educators often emphasize the benefits of diversity in the educational setting. But diversity alone is not enough--after all, even identical twins are diverse. When, however, we add the idea of inclusion, we realize the full benefits of diversity as an educational value. By cultivating inclusiveness, both as a personal ideal and as a social imperative, we create the essential conditions by which we can achieve our noblest aspirations.

Jeremiah Jackson, Prep's Director of Diversity and Inclusion, spoke recently with the ParentQuarterly about inclusion as an educational value. "Every great human endeavor has occurred through collaboration," Jackson points out. "It is in interacting with one another, challenging one another, that we achieve our creative breakthroughs." Jackson explains that the missing piece in solving an intellectual problem is often found by venturing outside one's knowledge base or even by abandoning one's usual problem-solving methodology. For that reason, "cultural competence" is not just a good thing in the ethical sense; it is also an essential element in achieving one's personal creative goals. "It's not a zero-sum game," Jackson comments enthusiastically. "Inclusion doesn't just benefit the other guy; it benefits all of us. It gives us access to the information and tools we need to achieve our goals." Jackson sees inclusion as the "fulcrum" through which Prep's educational goals can be realized.

A recent opinion piece in the New York Times (Sheen S. Levine and David Stark, "Diversity Makes You Brighter," New York Times, Dec. 9, 2015) confirms Jeremiah Jackson's comments. According to empirical research conducted in Texas and Singapore, ethnic and racial diversity in an educational setting improves the performance of all participants. That is so, the researchers conclude, because "[w]hen surrounded by others of the same ethnicity or race, participants were more likely to copy others, in the wrong direction.... Diversity brought cognitive friction that enhanced deliberation."

But at College Prep, diversity is not just about improving critical thinking through "cognitive friction." Rather, it is about fostering key connectivity values such as tolerance, kindness, adaptability, and empathy. "Inclusion is ensuring that each member of our community is accepted for who that person is," explains Jeremiah Jackson. "The asset of inclusion--belonging--is especially critical to healthy adolescent development." College Prep seeks not only to produce great scholars; it also aims to produce leaders in equity and justice, and it does so by cultivating inclusion as an essential human value.

College Prep has already proved its strong and longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Fifty-seven percent of Prep's student body are students of color. These students hail from all over the Bay Area and represent a broad array of interests and talents, and Prep puts tremendous emphasis on building cohesion and community among these diverse individuals, rewarding collaboration and teamwork in the classroom and beyond. And in numerous other ways, too, College Prep has positioned itself as a leader in a diversity and inclusion movement that is reshaping American education.

(1) College Prep recently completed a diversity and inclusion vision statement:

"Mens Conscia Recti" inspires us to not only be aware of what is right, but also to act on our beliefs. As a dynamic and engaged learning community, we believe that excellence stems from our members' diverse backgrounds and life experiences. In our everyday interactions, policies, practices and programs we aspire to be an inclusive school that lives its commitment to equity, empathy, cultural competence and respect.

(2) College Prep continues its strong commitment to recruiting and retaining a top-tier diverse faculty. Among other things, Prep has worked with experts in minority recruitment, enabling the school to tap into the exceptional pool of minority talent that exists in the Bay Area and nationally. In addition, both College Prep's board of trustees and its faculty have active and engaged diversity and inclusion committees. These committees work to develop practical solutions to equity and inclusion concerns, and they help to identify and provide opportunities for trustees, faculty, staff, administrators, and students to strengthen their understanding of and competencies in inclusion and equity practices. Committee members contribute to defining and modeling equity and inclusion practices for the school, guided by the school's mission and philosophy.

(3) This past fall, College Prep hosted a roundtable for the Northern California chapter of POCIS (People of Color in Independent Schools). The roundtable, entitled "Beyond the Numbers: Exploring the Role of Equity in Admissions," was designed to engage admissions leaders specifically in issues of equity and inclusion. Breakout session topics included: supporting gender identity rights and gender expression of students and families, supporting families of color, expanding outreach practices to promote equity, and promoting equity leadership.

(4) Each year a small group of College Prep faculty and students attends the People of Color Conference and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference put on by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). At this year's People of Color Conference in Tampa, Florida, Jeremiah Jackson was one of the presenters, discussing matters such as equity, inclusion, and identity development. Students who went to the Student Diversity Leadership Conference will participate in a workshop for College Prep faculty and staff to be held later this month. They will also be presenters in February at College Prep's annual "Connections, Pride, and Spirit Day." In addition, some College Prep faculty and board members have attended the NAIS's weeklong Diversity Leadership Institute.

(5) Connections, Pride, and Spirit Day is an annual diversity and inclusion event at College Prep, featuring workshops, presentations, and performances. It provides the school community with an opportunity to share stories, foster connections, embrace diverse cultural and ethnic traditions, affirm individual identities, and inspire a commitment to cross-cultural learning. This year's CPS Day is themed "justice for all." It will cover topics such as race, gender, and sexual identity, and the presentations will include a speaker from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an exhibition by a local artist who specializes in art with justice themes, and an R&B music performance by singer and percussionist Linda Tillery.

(6) College Prep also holds an annual Global Market Faire at which students and faculty immerse themselves in a particular world culture. This year's Global Market Faire focused on the Middle East. The courtyard was converted into a mini-bazaar through a myriad of flags and art, and it was brought to life with music by a Syrian band and a performance by a belly dancer. Booths featured jewelry, art, language, food, important social and political figures, and interactive activities highlighting the different countries that represent the Middle East region.

(7) Diversity-related programming permeates much of campus life at College Prep. Student-led clubs such as the Asian American Association, Black Student and Faculty Union, Feminist Union, Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club, Jewish Student Union, Latinos Unidos, Middle Eastern Heritage Club, and SWIRL (students with interracial lives) meet regularly for discussion, activity, and connection. These clubs help students to develop their own healthy identities and also to appreciate identities that are different from their own. In addition, Student Discussion Forums convene throughout the year to discuss diversity-related current events.

(8) The College Prep Parents' Association has recently formed a diversity and inclusion committee, and the current chair of that committee is Crystal Lin. The PA hopes that parents will see College Prep as a valuable resource as they grapple with the parenting issues that surround matters of diversity and inclusion. To that end, it wants to create a supportive environment where parents can talk to one another and learn to navigate these sometimes sensitive issues. The PA sees these efforts as a way of fostering the value of inclusion at the parent level, making parents from diverse backgrounds feel a part of the school community. As part of this PA initiative, Ameena Jandali recently gave a fascinating presentation entitled "Shared Values Among Faiths." Ameena is a founding member of the Islamic Networks Group, and her insightful talk explored certain core values shared by five of the world's major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ameena also met with students to discuss the same themes. In addition, the PA recently organized a book-reading designed to promote thoughtful discussion of diversity and inclusion issues. The book chosen for this book-reading is Ta-Nehisi Coates's award-winning Between the World and Me. Coates was a 2015 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant."

Jeremiah Jackson points out that "when people feel attacked, they can't see the good in other people." Thus, he sees inclusion as empowering and benefiting everyone in the long term. Inclusion, in his view, fosters creativity, dignity, and social equity. In a culture that values inclusion, one gains "the freedom to be respectful of oneself, knowing who one is," Jackson says. He points out that in reality, "we are all multi-cultural people." In other words, we all harmonize within ourselves a variety of viewpoints and influences, and inclusion is just a matter of extrapolating that harmonious complexity to the world around us.

At Prep, mere statistical diversity is not enough. Therefore, curriculum is a key area where College Prep's commitment to diversity is demonstrated. Prep aspires to be a place where students from diverse backgrounds can begin a lifelong intellectual journey of personal discovery. To that end, students, irrespective of background, need to be able to identify with the school's curriculum, finding role models and themes that they can relate to their own lives. College Prep has been a leader among its peer schools in providing an innovative curriculum that will serve the intellectual needs of its diverse, intelligent student body.

According to recent census data, the United States is 17.4 percent Hispanic or Latino, 13.2 percent black, 5.4 percent Asian, and 2.5 percent mixed ethnicity. A language other than English is spoken in 20.7 percent of U.S. households, and nearly 13 percent of people living in the U.S. are born elsewhere. Of course, this diversity is even more pronounced in urban areas of the U.S., and at the same time, the world is becoming increasingly interdependent as we are forced to address global problems such as population growth, climate change, and economic integration. Therefore, it has never been more important for educational institutions to teach and model the values of diversity and inclusion. We need to foster inclusiveness as the basic premise for how we interact with one another and how we engage the world. Quite simply, those people who can successfully navigate their way across cultural boundaries are the people who will succeed in the world that our children will inhabit.