Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

In 2020, SPA created the Defining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task force (see list below) to examine the intersection between our ideals and life at school as a lived experience. The task force’s work, which included a series of climate surveys, focus groups, and conversations with students, faculty, families, and alumni/ae, culminated in the creation of the school’s Strategic Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. 

Under the leadership of Dr. Naomi Taylor, Director of Intercultural Life, the Strategic Action Plan was launched in 2022 with six areas of focus:

• Student Experience and Programming 
• Recruiting, Retaining, and Supporting BIPOC Faculty and Staff 
• Curriculum and Academic Programming
• Board of Trustee Leadership, Vision, and Accountability
• Training and DEIB Professional Development
• Community Engagement

The implementation of the Strategic Action Plan will be an institutional focus through 2024 and is
a collaborative effort across the entire school, involving the Office of Intercultural Life as well as the Head of School, both Assistant Heads of School, the Division Principals, the Office of Human Resources, and the Board of Trustees. Read the DEIB Strategic Action Plan.

DDEI Initiative Task Force

Dr. Naomi Taylor, Director of Intercultural Life (Chair)
Bryn S. Roberts, Head of School (Co-Chair)
Dr. Jill Romans ‘86, Assistant Head of School for Student Development and Community Engagement (Co-Chair)
Tina Alvir-Romero, Lower School Spanish, Faculty Representative
Ami Berger, Director of Communications, Staff Representative
Isaiah Eby ‘22, Student Representative
Asad Masood ‘15, Alumni/ae Representative
Ken McNish, Upper School Director of Athletics, Faculty/Staff Representative
Barb Naramore, Board of Trustees Representative and Co-Chair of the Board Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Bobak Razavi, Middle School Social Studies, Faculty Representative
Pilar Saavedra-Weis ‘21, Student Representative
Christine Schwichtenberg, Upper School Chemistry, Faculty Representative
Ron Thompson ‘88, Parent/Guardian Representative 

There are many opportunities for SPA students in all three divisions to engage with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in age-appropriate ways.

Affinity Groups

SPA sponsors multiple Affinity Groups for students in all three divisions who share a common aspect of their identity; Affinity Groups are led by faculty advisors who guide students in discussion, community-building, and special programming. In the Middle and Upper Schools, multiple Special Interest Groups (SIGs) also bring together students with a wide range of identities and interests around an aspect of diversity, equity, and inclusion work. 

In the Lower School, Common Ground Jr. launched in 2018 as the Affinity Group for students of color. In 2023, the Lower School expanded with the launch of the Intercultural Club and additional affinity groups. All LS groups include: 

• Common Ground Jr. K-2, 3-5

• Neurodiversity group

• Mishpacha

• Rainbow Connection

• Muslim Identity group

• Intercultural Club

In the Middle School, students may join a wider range of Affinity and/or Special Interest Groups, many of which are then continued in the Upper School. All MS groups are led by a faculty advisor. Groups include:

• Common Ground (for students of color)
• Mishpacha (for Jewish students)
• Muslim Student Alliance
• Herspace (female empowerment group)
• Black and Brown Males
• Black and Brown Girls
• Intercultural Club (a SIG for all students regardless of identity)
• Neurodiversity (SIG)
• White Allies & Antiracists (SIG)
• Gender and Sexuality Alliance 

• Queer Affinity Group

The Upper School offers an exceptionally robust slate of Affinity Groups and Special Interest Groups. These groups are largely organized by students, who work with a faculty advisor on programming and events, creating safe spaces for discussion, and informing the larger SPA community about relevant issues. These student-led groups are responsible for planning a number of annual events, such as the Martin Luther King Day assembly, Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos celebrations, Indigenous Peoples' Day programming, and "Day After The Election" discussions. Groups include:

• Action for Gender Equality
• Asian Student Alliance (Asian identifying student group)
• Black Student Union (Black identifying student group)
• Common Ground (for students of color of any gender or gender identity)
• Gender and Sexuality Alliance
• HerSpace (Female and non-binary identifying student empowerment group)
• Intercultural Club
• Latinos Unidos - Latine identifying student group

• Love & Grace (Adoptee Affinity Group)

• Mishpacha (Jewish Student Affinity)
• Muslim Student Alliance (Muslim identifying student group)
• Neurodiversity (SIG)
• Rainbow Connection (LGBTQIA+ identifying student group)
• Students for Social Justice

• Trinity - Christian Affinity Group

• Antiracism Student Interest Group

Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC)

Ever year, SPA sends students to participate in the annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), an annual student conference held in conjunction with the National Association of Independent Schools' People of Color Conference. SDLC is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders in grades 9-12 from across the U.S. and abroad. SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. Led by a diverse team of trained adult and peer facilitators, participating students develop cross-cultural communication skills, design effective strategies for social justice practice through dialogue and the arts, and learn the foundations of allyship and networking principles. 

Read the December 2020 article in The Rubicon on how SDLC attendees brought their learning back to the SPA community.

In 2016, SPA adopted the Courageous Conversation About Race (CCAR) for K-12 and faculty/staff DEI programming, curriculum, and professional development. CCAR is a protocol for shaping authentic and productive conversations about race, racism, ethnicity, and privilege which also lends itself to all areas of identity and difference. CCAR was developed by Glen Singleton, the founder of the Pacific Education Group. 

In 2016 the entire SPA faculty and staff participated in CCAR's "Beyond Diversity" trainings, a two-part professional development focused on an examination of personal identity as well as the CCAR protocols and how to implement them in the classroom and the school workplace. CCAR trainings take place yearly; faculty and staff new to SPA may attend the annual CCAR conference, and all new employees participate in a CCAR Overview training as part of their orientation.

The CCAR protocols are also used in the classroom to engage in courageous conversations during advisory periods, in classrooms when topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion are a part of the curriculum, and in instances when a shared protocol is helpful in addressing a specific subject or discussion topic, to create a safe space for students to share multiple perspectives.
 

SPA has partnered with Saint Paul's Penumbra Theatre on curricular development and DEI programming in all three divisions since 2014. Penumbra is one of the nation's foremost African-American theatrical companies; part of its mission is to encourage and facilitate a culturally diverse and all-inclusive America by using theatre to teach, criticize, comment and model.

Our work with Penumbra includes all three divisions. In the Lower School, a Grade 5 residency program with a Penumbra artist focuses on helping students identify, understand, challenge and celebrate culture and cultural norms. In the Middle School, Penumbra artist-educators work primarily with students in Grades 7 and 8 during the "Winterupt" period in late January/early February. Penumbra’s central touchpoint in the Upper School has been through the Common Ground student affinity group, developing monologues focused on race and identity that are presented to the entire community. Other Upper School work with Penumbra includes original ensemble performances, staged protest theatre in Upper School common spaces, and use of the Equity Rapid Response Scenario (ERRS) Curriculum to help students identify equity issues and, using Penumbra’s training method, address inequity with plans developed by small groups. 

Other community partnerships include:

• Since 2010, SPA has partnered with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to host a Naturalization Ceremony for the swearing-in of new American citizens. The ceremony is planned and hosted by Grade 8 students as part of their study of immigration in America. In 2019, more than 100 new citizens were sworn in during the ceremony at SPA. 
• The Grade 6 residency with Minneapolis puppet and mask theater Heart of the Beast, in which students are invited to explore the idea of masks (what’s inside, what’s outside, and how we negotiate these different points of view). The conversations around making masks help students consider their individual identities and agency, while learning about peers and developing compassion for their classmates’ experiences.
• In 2006, SPA partnered with a girls' school in rural India called Pardada Pardadi Educational Society. Since then different student clubs have financially supported a student to attend the school for the academic year. In spring 2019, Upper School students who participated in SPA's Spring Break trip to India visited Pardada Pardadi and met with students, staff and founder of the school. 

SPA is committed to ongoing DEI professional development for all employees.

Yearly Diversity Forum: In August, the all-faculty/staff Diversity Forum brings together all divisions, departments, and non-academic staff to review the Courageous Conversation About Race (CCAR) protocols (see above), engage in culturally relevant community-building activities, and to focus on ways that all SPA employees, regardless of their role at SPA, can contribute to a welcoming and inclusive environment. For employees new to SPA, we offer an overview workshop of CCAR and review policies such as the SPA Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

Intercultural Life Liaisons: Intercultural Life Liaisons are faculty members who have a deep understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion issues and have completed substantial professional development in DEI. One liaison in each division serves a stipended three-year term, and works closely with work directly with the Director of Intercultural Life and faculty, staff, and students in their respective divisions. They support various school activities that cultivate a community in which everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. Each Liaison leads their division's Intercultural Life Working Group (ILWG), a which acts as a conduit to their respective division regarding DEI best practices. These groups are made up of interested faculty and staff from each division, who work with the Liaison and the Director of Intercultural Life on divisional professional development and other relevant programming.

NAIS People of Color Conference: Every year, SPA sends a cohort of faculty and staff to the National Association of Independent Schools' People of Color Conference (PoCC). PoCC is the flagship of NAIS' commitment to equity and justice in teaching, learning, and organizational development. The mission of the conference is to provide a safe space for leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools. Attendees participate in seminars and workshops on diverse topics relevant to people of color in independent schools, and gain knowledge and strategies to improve the interracial, interethnic, and intercultural climate in their schools.

Faculty/Staff Affinity Groups: Faculty of color in all three divisions are invited to join the Faculty/Staff of Color Affinity Group, which meets monthly. This group uses the text Fish Out of Water as a guide to navigate working in a predominantly White institution effectively. An Anti-Racist/White Ally group is also offered to all employees to explore whiteness, privilege, and how to be antiracist and support to colleagues and students of color. This group uses the Me and White Supremacy as a guide for discussions. 

Workshops for Student Affinity Group Advisors: Faculty who advise the many student affinity and special interest groups are offered a workshop to discuss the advisor role and to brainstorm and collaborate with each other.
 

SPA is committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse faculty and staff, and maintaining a workplace culture in which all are treated equitably. These values are an important piece of our hiring processes, as are attending hiring events focused on candidates of color and marketing open positions with an eye towards attracting the most diverse hiring pools possible. 

Dr. Naomi Taylor, Director of Intercultural Life, is deeply engaged in faculty and staff recruitment and is eager to connect with all candidates for open positions at SPA. SPA is a proud member of the Pipeline Collaborative, a network of schools and educational practitioners of color from across the country who connect directly with local colleges in order to inform, mentor, and grow the next generation of teachers at independent schools.