We have a commitment to take concrete action that will foster an anti-racist and authentically inclusive learning community here at King School. 

In order to do this work, we have convened a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task force. The major responsibility of the DEI Task Force will be to define the goals, strategies, tactics, and benchmarks of the Inclusion pillar in the King School Strategic Plan, and will support progress on the Academic Excellence and Identity pillars of the plan as well. 

DEI Task Force Members

• Co-Chairs: Rachel Jean-Baptiste P ‘21 and Gilles Chosson

• Trustees: Tom King, Board Chair, P ‘20, ‘20, ‘23, Mi-Sun Freeman, P ‘29, ‘22

• Current parent: God-is Rivera, P ‘29

• Alumni: Anthony Williams, '85, Brandi Lawrence, ‘98, and Dana Hill, '05

• Faculty colleagues: Lisa DiGirolami, Katie Tobin, and Adam Boaz

• Staff colleagues: Lakeya Graves, Lisa Nero, Karen Eshoo

The DEI Task Force will meet regularly to produce a 2-3 year action plan that will be shared with the community this fall.  We also created working groups - which will include DEI Task Force members along with other colleagues, trustees, parents, alumni, and Middle School and Upper School students -  that will design specific policies and programs for our four priorities written below. The working groups will meet weekly over the summer to make significant progress towards our goals, and will report that progress to the DEI Task Force for feedback, guidance, and direction.  The DEI Task Force will share the proposals that emerge from our work with the Board of Trustees and the Leadership Team in the fall so that we can implement positive changes as quickly as possible. They are using a lot of the historical information that has been collected over the years including a 2015 Survey done by the National Association of the Independent School, a 2017 DEI Strategic Plan, notes from community forums with current Middle and Upper School students, Parents, Alumni, and Staffulty, a demand letter from Black at King and current initiatives operating at King.

1. Culture:

Designing and implementing a systemic approach for tangible institutional change.  This will include, but will not be limited to, behavioral expectations and accountability for colleagues, students, and families; advisory for students in grades 6-12; and counseling approaches for all students. Working group chair:  Karen Eshoo, Head of School 

Students: Milei Wyatt (US) ‘21 and Zuri Giddings (MS) ‘26

Staffulty: Laura Bowe, Josh Deitch 

Alumnae: Jamie Lopez ‘18 and Dana Hill ‘05 

Trustee: Tom Conheeney P ‘18, P'15, P'15

Parent: Mini Nunna P ‘22
 

2. Curriculum:

Creating an academic and social-emotional learning framework that aligns with the goals set forth in the Academic Excellence pillar of the Strategic Plan, and that engages teachers and students in anti-racist and social justice education as necessary components of inclusive academic excellence. Working group chair: Gilles Chosson, Director of Global Studies, Director of Summer Institute, World Languages Faculty 

Staffulty: Adam Boaz (US), Carol Brown ‘87 (MS), P'10, P'13, Lisa DiGirolami (LS), Sandy Lizaire-Duff (LS Head), Elizabeth Messinger (US), Patrick O’Neal (US), 

Student: Wafa Nomani ‘21

Alumnae: Melissa Ross ‘06

Trustee: Dan Ozizmir, P ‘22

 

3.Human Resources, Recruitment and Retention of Staffulty and Students:

Critically examine and refine our practices to recruit, retain, and ensure the academic and professional success of increased numbers of staffulty and students of color, to ensure that the learning community of King reflects the demographics and talents of our complex, global world? Working group chair: Rachel Jean-Baptiste, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Colleagues: Jessica Landis, Lisa Nero, Dana Thomas, Craig Tunks

Alumnae: Brandi Lawrence ‘98 and Kishuana Soljour ‘09

Parent: Nirbay Kumar, P ‘24

Trustee: Mi-Sun Freeman,  P ‘29, ‘22

 

4. Communications and Community Engagement:

Improve our ability to convey our values effectively to key constituents, and to bring stakeholders together. Working group co-chairs: God-is Rivera P, ‘29, Global Director of Community Engagement at Twitter and Lakeya Graves, Director of Marketing 

Colleagues: Caitlin Halle, Ted Parker, P ‘34, ‘34, Karen Raidt, P '20, P '23, Stephen Sheehan ‘07, Katie Tobin, P ‘35

Alumna: Ashley Alebiosu ‘08

Trustee: Eric Gerster P ‘22

Dr. Jean-Baptiste established new protocols for recruitment and hiring of new colleagues this year that included required anti-bias training for all Leadership Team members and Department Chairs involved in the hiring process; she will continue to lead all colleagues in required anti-bias training next year and in the future.  All representatives of the Parents' Association will receive that training as well.  She also will continue to partner with Lisa Nero, our Director of Human Resources, to ensure that our job postings have been reviewed to make them as equitable as possible, and to grow our partnerships with recruiters who can help us build the most diverse pool of candidates for every division.

We have established a team of staffulty - who will work with our Director of DEI, Dr. Rachel Jean-Baptiste - to serve as curriculum and programing coordinators for our DEI initiatives across all divisions and departments.  They will help to support colleagues in making our curriculum, pedagogy/coaching, and school culture a reflection of our commitment to inclusive excellence (IE) in providing access to and delivering a high quality education for all students. The concept of IE has taken shape over the past decade in some of the most renowned higher education institutions, which provided a launching pad that attracted talented students from our diverse, global world and produced innovative research and learning.  This framework entails intentional and ongoing work that fosters respect for and knowledge of varied cultures, perspectives, and identities so that schools, students, families, and staffulty can thrive. Defining inclusive excellence at King is essential for achieving the goals of our Strategic Plan - it is a need-to-have, not a nice-to-have.  The DEI Team will partner with constituencies across our PK-12 community to develop and implement initiatives that increase our collective cross-cultural competence, skills that we all need in order to provide high quality education, coaching, and professionalism for the 21st century.  Areas of focus include racial, global, and gender literacies, as well as increasing our consciousness of how ability, socio-economic status, belief and other areas of diversity or inequity impact childhood/adolescent development and workplace culture. 

• Lower School DEI Coordinator: Cara Grimaldi
• Middle School DEI Coordinator: Stephanie Hoos
• Upper School DEI Coordinator Humanities, Social Sciences, Performing Arts and Visual Arts and Design:  Elisa Shapiro
• All-School Math DEI Coordinator: Sara O'Toole
• All-School Science and Computer Science and Digital Applications DEI Coordinator: Rebaca Varghese
• All-School Athletics DEI Coordinator: Nate Jean-Baptiste

Dear King community,

Systemic racism is not a perception; it is a reality in our society. The horrendous images of injustice we are watching unfold, yet again, underscore the need for change. The events we have seen on TV and the stories we have heard from our own school community make it clear we must do better and that change is the only option. 

King's mission is to prepare our students to make a difference in a complex world, and it is heartening to see our students, alumni, staffulty and leadership team standing up for change. We strive to create a community that embraces equity, inclusion and dignity. Unambiguously, Black Lives Matter. 

Unfortunately, we have seen through history and in our own lives repeated examples of our inability to effectively come to grips with and address these issues of racism, social inequality, and injustice. There are no social media posts or words that can fix this, and there is no easy way to effect meaningful change unless we first come together to acknowledge the problems and commit to real actions. Racism is not an issue of partisan politics but one of humanity, and one that we as a Board and as a school must not tolerate.

We have complete confidence in Dr. Karen Eshoo's ability to bring our community together to candidly talk about these issues and to address them in ways that create real change.  Karen has a deep history in her work at other schools of changing policies and practices to impact equity and inclusion, and she will do that here at King.  Equity and inclusion is a key pillar of the new Strategic Plan that will drive our actions over the next five years.  

We appreciate that our community is engaged in this important conversation; it is a necessary first step. And while there will be many steps on our journey, Karen will begin right away by convening a task force that will include senior members of the Board of Trustees, school leadership, staffulty, students, parents, and alumni. They will be charged with developing immediate and long-term action plans that will address racial equity and inclusion, looking to impact our PreK-12 curriculum, school policies and practices, and our recruitment, training, and retention practices.  

As we navigate the journey forward with sensitivity at a heightened level, we know we have and will make mistakes. We are all seeking a common goal. To succeed we will need to speak openly and act with transparency. We will have to support each other as a community.   Working together, we can make King an authentically equitable institution. We are all passionate about our school and this opportunity to make it a better place.

King School Board of Trustees 

• All Staffulty will engage in our own development in cultural competence and anti-racism this summer. We will continue to learn, and to implement what we have learned, consistently during the year.  These plans include the following:
  • All staffulty will engage in mandatory professional growth and development training in anti-racist and equitable mindsets and practices over the summer, using materials from different organizations that are most relevant to our particular professional roles (eg: teachers, Development team members, Division Heads, etc.)
  • Lower School and Middle School faculty will train this summer, using the Pollyanna Racial Literacy Curriculum, to incorporate racial literacy and inclusive course content across disciplines PreK-8.  PreKindergarten and Kindergarten staffulty will also participate in these trainings to develop age-appropriate content.There will be follow-up training, implementation, and surveys during opening staffulty meetings and over the course of the 2020-2021 school year.
  • Upper School faculty will train this summer with materials from the Institute for Teaching Diversity and Social Justice. Beginning with opening staffulty meetings and continuing over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, colleagues will complete experiential and interaction-driven training in increasing their awareness on matters of individual and institutional bias, thereby empowering them to contribute directly to building and perpetuating an inclusive culture that improves student outcomes and the overall climate of the school community. 
  • All staffulty are required to read at least one book on racial literacy this summer - a list of which has been compiled by Dr. Jean-Baptiste and includes suggestions from many other colleagues. We will share out what we have learned and how we can incorporate new insights as a whole group, and in our respective divisions/departments, during opening staffulty meetings.

Upper School Students

Entering Grade 9

• Required: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Entering Grade 10

• Required 201 & 200: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Entering Grade 11

• Required 301: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• English 350 (AS American Literature and Language)

Required: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 

Required: The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass 

Entering Grade 12 

• All Senior Electives: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 
• English 500 (AP Literature)

Required: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Required: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 

• English 520 (AS Persuasive Writing)

Required: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Required: It Was All a Dream: A New Generation Confronts the Broken Promise to Black America  by Reniqua Allen

Teaching Faculty

• Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson  (required in all divisions)
• The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros (required in LS
• The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim (required in the LS)

Choose at least 1 of the following:

• Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (Young reader or adult’s version)
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• The 1619 Project
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• Sing a Rhythm
• Dance a Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls
• Pushout, a documentary

Non-Teaching Staff

Choose at least 1 of the following:

• Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (Young reader or adult’s version)
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• The 1619 Project
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• Sing a Rhythm
• Dance a Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls
• Pushout, a documentary

What is an affinity group?

An affinity group is defined in Merriam Webster as “a group of people having a common interest or goal or acting together for a specific purpose.”  

There are existing frameworks for affinity groups in a variety of independent schools, university alumni groups, and workplaces and corporations. 

 

Why is an affinity group beneficial?

An affinity group can provide a safe space for participants to share their experiences, and to experience positive identity exploration, self-awareness, pride, community, and self-esteem in connecting with other people of similar interests, backgrounds, and experiences. 

Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, explains in this magazine article that “affinity groups offer a platform for voices often relegated to the margins.”  The article also addresses the question of whether the structure of affinity groups in school is itself separatist and racist, by explaining: “The reason why affinity groups exist in the first place isn’t because students want to segregate themselves from the rest of the population… but because the population is excluding them to begin with. Gathering in safe spaces around shared identity allows students to engage in conversations about how they can subvert the structures that push them to the margins. In turn, these conversations “push the school to be more social-activist-oriented and less assimilationist-oriented.” 

In the article “How Racial Affinity Groups Saved My Life,” Trina Moore-Southall, Director of Equity and Inclusion at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, provides her perspective on the role of affinity groups and, more broadly, to the experience of people of color in independent schools. 

 

What affinity groups does King offer for Upper School students? 

Many of the Upper School students who attended the 2019-2020 Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) helped to forge a program of affinity groups to help our community.  The existing affinity groups include: 

• The LGBTQIA+ Affinity group (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic

The LGBTQIA+ affinity group is meant to cultivate a safe space, and community where people who identify as LGBTQIA+ can discuss identity, sexuality, and the problems they face, all for the betterment of one another.  Adult Advisor: Selina Policar.  Email Ms. Policar at: spolicar@kingschoolct.org if you are interested in participating in the group.

• The Students of Color Affinity Group (SOCAG)

The SOCAG affinity group is meant to cultivate a safe space and community where students who identify as persons of color can discuss their own experiences, challenges, and issues that they confront as people and students of color.  Adult Advisor: Adam Boaz.  Email Mr. Boaz at aboaz@kingschoolct.org if you are interested in participating in the group.

• The Jewish Students Affinity Group (JSAG)

The JSAG affinity group is meant to be a safe space where people who identify as Jewish can connect and share concerns.  People will discuss what it means to be Jewish to different people, learn about the history behind the religion, and the stereotypes that could be affecting people daily at school and in our lives. Adult Advisors: Daniel Block and Lindsey Rossler.  Email Dr. Block at: dblock@kingschoolct.org if you are interested in participating in the group.

 

What affinity groups does King offer for alumni?

 We are currently partnering with our alumni to offer the affinity groups listed below and to offer the opportunity for Alumni to suggest additional Alumni Association affinity groups for King to consider.  Alumni can indicate their interest in an affinity group by completing this form. If you have questions, please contact Alumni Engagement Officer and Athletics Liaison Steve Sheehan ’07.  

• Black Alumni Group (where those who identify as Black can share conversation and engage around shared identities and interests)

• Alumni of Color Group ( where those who identify as a person of color can share conversation and engage around shared identities and interests)

• Cross Racial Alumni Group for Social Justice (where any alumni interested in discussing social justice topics can share conversation)

• Alumnae Group (where those who identify as women can share conversation and engage around shared identities and interests)

• LGBTQIA+ Alumni Group (where those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic can share conversation and engage around shared identities and interests.)

 

How can I join an affinity group at King?

Upper School students:  If you are interested in participating in an existing affinity group, please contact the adult advisors listed in the question above. Upper School students who are interested in creating a new affinity group, please contact Jonathan Coulombe or Dr Rachel Jean-Baptiste.  

Alumni:  If you are interested in joining a King School Alumni Association Affinity Group, please complete this form. If you have questions, please contact Alumni Engagement Officer and Athletics Liaison Steve Sheehan ’07.  

Additional King community members:  If you are interested in participating in an affinity group, please contact Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dr. Rachel Jean-Baptiste. 

If you have questions about our DEI programs, please contact Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dr. Rachel Jean-Baptiste. If you have questions about Alumni activities, please contact Alumni Engagement Officer and Athletics Liaison Steve Sheehan ’07. 

Schedule

• Friday, June 19th: 11:30am-2pm. Film: 13th 

• Monday, July 13th: 7pm-9:30pm. Film: Marshall

• Monday, August 3rd: 7pm-9:30pm. Film: The Hate U Give

• Monday, August 17th: 7pm-9:30pm. Film: True Justice

Stay Tuned for our Fall Schedule

See the School calendar for zoom meeting information.

We have continued to meet with individual Black alumni and alumni of color, and we are establishing alumni affinity groups to provide multiple opportunities for all alumni to engage with each other and strengthen their sense of belonging within King.