Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Diversity 

We acknowledge, recognize and celebrate the different identities within our community that may include (but not limited to) race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, language, (dis)ability, age, religious commitment, or political perspective.

Equity

We seek to engage in fair and just practices to provide the necessary support and resources needed for all members of our community to thrive.

Inclusion

We seek to ensure all members of our community are seen and heard. Everyone is “invited” and provided equal access to resources.

Belonging

Moving beyond inclusion, belonging is a “feeling.” We seek to create a school environment where all members feel safe, supported, celebrated, and affirmed.

Equality 

Simply ensuring each member of the community is provided with equal access and opportunities.

Cultural Competency

An appreciation and respect for the values, attitudes, beliefs and practices of individuals from different cultural backgrounds expressed/conveyed/evident in our commitment to learn, communicate, and create safe spaces for individuals to explore aspects of their culture and others in the classroom and beyond.

Justice

Removing and dismantling any barriers preventing any members of our community from having full access to resources and opportunities at King.

Racial Literacy

Developing the knowledge, awareness and skills to discuss topics around race and racism in an age/grade-level appropriate way.

The Board of Trustees recognizes the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as a guiding principle behind our mission. This priority is reflected as one of the pillars of our Strategic Plan that reinforces our commitment to being an inclusive institution. This goal requires us to respond appropriately to the needs of our community and to create a learning environment where students are challenged to think critically, act respectfully, and consider multiple perspectives in their academic journey at King.

Crucial to the proper oversight of King’s DEIB goals is the Board’s own education and the competencies of its trustees. To that end, members of the Board participate in regular DEIB training sessions. 

The Board has a standing DEIB Board committee that is tasked with the oversight of King School’s policies, initiatives, and strategic goals related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The committee helps guide the Board's own work in this space and address any organizational gaps in mission fulfillment and strategic vision. 

The Board understands the value of diverse backgrounds and perspectives at the Board level and has proactively increased diversity among its members. 

At King School, we believe that every member of our community should enjoy a sense of belonging.

With the goal of improving our cross-cultural competencies in classrooms, on the athletic fields, and within our co-curricular activities, our students, faculty, and staff participate in workshops, training sessions, and educational opportunities during the academic year to learn to identify implicit biases and systemic racism in our curriculum and our approaches to teaching, counseling, advising, and coaching. 

In order to foster belonging and provide a space to discuss shared experiences, middle school and upper school students have access to age-appropriate affinity groups. These groups were formed following the recommendations made by students, and they have become a central component of our work together. 

With the help and support of student openness, bravery, and vulnerability, affinity groups meet regularly during lunchtime and are facilitated by trained faculty and staff. We will keep listening to our students and will create new groups as needed.

An Employee of Color Resource Group is available for our faculty and staff. This group is a space for participants to explore their identities and share their personal experiences. Employee Resource Groups, or ERGs, are voluntary, employee-led groups that foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with organizational mission, values, goals, business practices, and objectives. Our goal is to create additional groups that meet the needs of our community.

We must hold each other accountable when it comes to fostering a safe, welcoming, and inclusive school. Discriminatory behavior is not tolerated in our community. King School has a robust nondiscrimination policy and reporting system and established reporting mechanisms. The school swiftly addresses allegations of racism, discrimination, or unwelcome behavior.

A foundation for academic excellence is an education that includes a diversity of voices, backgrounds, and experiences.

Our Prekindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum is reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that all subject matters and disciplines are taught through a lens of equity and inclusion. Our goal to improve racial literacy, cultural competencies, and equity practices is ongoing.

Our curriculum aims to build greater self-awareness and achieve grade-level programmatic goals that reflect multicultural perspectives. Academic departments work to incorporate cross-cultural competencies directly into the curriculum as well as to develop a research-driven curriculum that reflects inclusive academic excellence. 

In addition to an inclusive curriculum, we are continuously working to make our classroom libraries more diverse and culturally responsive. Our teachers are trained to identify, address and interrupt biases and microaggressions on campus.

A central component of a fully integrated DEIB approach is analyzing diversity and representation among our faculty and staff. In order to address this, a very intentional approach has been taken to examine our hiring practices. We strive to create a diverse community not only among our student body but also among our faculty and staff. 

In order to do so, we have recruiting and hiring processes in place to increase the presence of underrepresented groups in all areas of the school.

To increase diversity among our faculty and staff, we attend job fairs focused on recruiting candidates with a variety of experiences and backgrounds, and we work with recruitment and search firms with a demonstrated commitment to representing candidates of color and candidates with skills in cross-cultural competence. 

We are advertising our job openings in a broader range of spaces such as social media, job fairs, colleges and universities, and associations beyond independent school arenas in order to open up the door of access.

We require members of hiring committees to go through “bias-aware” training to ensure that we are looking at candidates through an inclusive lens. Our hiring process helps us ensure that we mitigate bias and inequity during the process of attracting and reviewing applicants. During the interview process, a member of the DEIB team meets with potential candidates to assess alignment with King’s mission and virtues. 

We place a specific focus on faculty, counselors, and other staff who provide social-emotional and cognitive learning frameworks for underrepresented students. Our students and their families also have access to a diverse group of school counselors. 

Recruitment Partners

• Pivot Solutions
• Faculty Diversity Search
• NYSAIS Job Fair to Promote Diversity
• Nemnet

Our faculty and staff regularly engage in PGD to increase knowledge, awareness, and skills and better incorporate DEIB in academic settings. Our lower school faculty has been working collaboratively with consultants to create more culturally responsive classrooms and continue to foster a sense of community and belonging. This work has been implemented in their curriculum and was presented recently at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (PoCC) this past year. 

Our middle and upper school faculty have engaged in training to implement culturally responsive strategies and standards in their curriculum development as well as classroom management. They have also engaged in PGD centered around building cultural competency by discussing topics such as microaggressions, social/racial identity development, creating truly inclusive educational environments, and strategies for fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Our staff has engaged in PGD to gain a better understanding of how identity and world lenses can impact our engagement and communication with others. This work also extends to our coaching staff who also participates in PGD to better promote inclusivity within their sports teams and locker rooms. 

• King Employee Resource Group for Faculty and Staff of Color

• Fairchester Faculty and Staff of Color Membership

• Conferences (PoCC, Connecticut Association of Independent Schools Student Diversity Leadership Conference, Saturday Summit on Social Justice)

In addition to offering educational initiatives to students, faculty, and staff, King School also provides opportunities to parents, alumni, and the greater community.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in partnership with the Parents' Association's King Inclusion and Diversity Committee (KInD), organizes activities for families, including author visits, speaker series, and training for volunteers. The mission the KInD Committee is to help foster a welcoming space for King parents and our entire school community, through inclusion and celebration of diversity.  The PA leadership (Executive Board, Class Parents, etc.) engage in training each year to make sure they are guiding the families within our community in a way that is fully aligned with the mission and virtues of King School. 

In addition to this work, the PA KInD Committee plans events that celebrate the wide range of diversity within the school community. Examples of KInD Committee-sponsored events include: The Winter Festival of Lights, Book Club, PA Speaker Series, and Global Fair.

On the alumni front, we have five affinity groups: Black Alumni Affinity Group, LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group, Cross-Racial Alumni Group for Social Justice, Alumnae Affinity Group, and Alumni of Color Affinity Group. We hope to expand the groups to provide spaces for other communities. 

We understand that to truly become an inclusive institution, we must also engage our extended community. We are fortunate to be located in a relatively diverse area of Fairfield County which allows us to take advantage of many resources. We form partnerships with organizations that allow us to engage in a dynamic exchange of thoughts and ideas between our communities.

Community Partnerships

Along with the work we do within our school community, King School extends our virtues beyond campus through community partnerships. Some examples of these partnerships include:

• Building One Community

• El Sistema

• India Cultural Center (ICC)

• Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

• Person to Person

• Project Music

The Admission and Financial Access team also works to attract and enroll a diverse student body. Members of the team form strategic partnerships and attend conferences and workshops in order to strengthen our ability to build a more racially diverse student community. In addition to our commitment to a more racially diverse student body, we continue to provide significant financial access to students, ensuring a socio-economically diverse population. 

With respect to the admissions process, the DEIB Director sits on the admissions committee of all three divisions. Similarly to the hiring process, these committees have discussions around any biases that may come into play when reviewing applications. 

Community Partnerships

• REACH Prep
• Waterside School 
• RIISE
• Jack and Jill of America

In the Lower School, DEIB is woven into the curriculum at each grade level, as well as specialist classes. Students engage in lessons, activities, and projects around identity and community, with King’s virtues serving as the backdrop for every experience. Developing an understanding of self and the various communities we belong to physically and online, students grow in their self-awareness, self-confidence, empathy, and appreciation for others. Literature is utilized across the grades to provide windows and mirrors for students to support their learning and growth. Cultural assemblies and recognition of events that occur throughout the year also broaden and deepen students’ cultural schema. 

Examples of Grade Level work this year include:

• Grade 2: Identity through Global Art - A study of how geometry can be used to tell a story and represent culture around the world. Students study the Ndebele wall paintings of South Africa, Kente cloths of Ghana, and Islamic Mosaics. Students then create three culturally inspired art forms in order to tell their own stories and share their own cultural identities. 

• Grade 5: How can we use our voices to effect change?  - Students research topics of interest, compose persuasive essays incorporating primary and secondary sources, and present their position at the Fifth Grade Advocacy Cafe. The project requires students to think critically about issues that matter to them while gaining an appreciation of other points of view.

• Art: Diversity within Art - Throughout the year, students learn about various artists from different cultures and ethnicities, recognizing and appreciating diversity within the art world from the artists themselves to the mediums they use. Students explore a wide range of themes that allow them to express their own identity through art. Students engage in conversations about their artwork, enhancing their sense of belonging and using their voice to express themselves as an individual and an artist.

Read stories of DEIB in action

In the Middle School, DEIB is incorporated into both the curriculum and advisory. In the Advisory Program, students and their advisors engage in lessons about identity, heritage, character development, and community. They learn through hands-on projects and guided discussions. There are also division-wide programs and talks with guest speakers that provide supplemental support to help educate and empower our students. 

Examples of DEIB programming/activities in the Middle School include:

• Affinity Groups: Students of Color at King (SOCK), MS Pride, Jewish Student Union (JSU) & Neurodiverse Students at King (NSK)

• Cultural/Heritage Month celebrations in Advisories

• Conferences (CAIS SDLC, Saturday Summit on Social Justice)

• Day of Action sponsored by MS PRIDE

• Guest speakers: Mykee Folwin, Academy of Noise;  Hakim Raheem (mental health advocate)

Read stories of DEIB in action

In the Upper School, students are encouraged to engage in DEIB work in a variety of ways. With guidance and support from faculty and administrators, students lead club, class, and division-wide programs and talks to educate and empower members of the King community. Faculty encourage students to be leaders in the DEIB space whenever possible and learn to advocate for issues about which they are passionate. The upper school is committed to opportunities to learn together as faculty, staff, and students and grow in our empathy, understanding, acceptance, and commitment to one another.

Examples of DEIB programming/activities in the Upper School include:

• Affinity Groups: Black Student Union (BSU), Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), Hispanic/Latin American, Jewish Student Affinity Group (JSAG), Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA)

• Cultural/Heritage Month celebrations in Advisories

• Conferences (NAIS SDLC, CAIS SDLC, Saturday Summit on Social Justice)

• King Talks given by the various affinity groups to celebrate cultural/heritage months and holidays

• Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Human Rights Orientation for Student Leaders

• Pete Passaro ‘23 and his task force created a DEIB curriculum with Ms. Rossler and Ms. Chau to be institutionalized into Grade 9 curriculum

• Clubs, such as the feminist club, hosted alumnae/i to discuss pertinent issues related to feminism

• Feminist club places vinyl glass coverings over stair panels (still pending but in progress May 2023)

• Grade 10 history classes to partner with Jewish Family Services (JFS) for students to interview refugees from Ukraine and Venezuela to garner understanding and empathy and to empower witness voices

• JSAG collaboration with ADL established for the 2023-24 academic year 

• Possible ADL PG&D programming on antisemitism for beginning 2023-2024 school year

• Day of Action sponsored by GSA

• Student leaders went to the Middle School to discuss language and how we treat one another

Read stories of DEIB in action

From an athletic perspective, we focus on using a proactive and holistic approach to engage, inspire, and motivate the thought process and actions of our student-athletes. We work across the Middle and Upper School to create a synergy in Athletics. With the support of our athletic administrators, we create a safe space that allows for deep dives and discussions based on shared experiences and educational opportunities. Not only do our student-athletes participate, but our coaches also join the action through workshops and training sessions. Our programming is developed through recommendations from our student-athletes, coaches, and peers on the DEIB team. Also, we have and will continue to recruit guest speakers that assist in providing a ‘toolbox’ for our players and coaches. 

Examples of DEIB programming/activities in the Athletic Department include:

• Athletes for Change Forum (yearly)

• DEIB in Athletics - Microaggressions Workshop 

• PCA Workshops - Positive Coaching Alliance (seasonally)

• Women of Will Leadership and Empowerment Day (yearly)

• Male Athlete Leadership Day (yearly)

• All Coaches Opening Meeting (yearly)

• Captains Council (twice a month)

As previously stated, we take a fully integrative approach to DEIB at King School, and I hope these few examples illustrate what we mean when we say that. It is at the core of who we are as an institution and fully aligned with our mission and virtues. We will strive to continue to make progress in this area, as it is essential to creating the type of optimal learning environment we seek to offer at King School.