Plan in Action: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Governance
As part of Burke’s 2014 Strategic Plan, the School made a commitment to “create a diversity task force to research and develop a three-pronged approach of recruitment, enrollment, and inclusion to ensure that the school continues to reflect the rich diversity of the Bay area in the student body, faculty and staff.” The work of the Burke’s Diversity Task Force resulted in the creation of the Burke’s Gender Inclusion Statement, new options in the uniform code, a new transportation program that brings students from near and far, and a review of the tuition financial assistance model to ensure that the school is reaching a broad socio-economic range of families.
In 2018, the Board formed the Standing Equity and Inclusion Committee to ensure the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work is embedded into the Burke’s administrative culture beyond Task Force goals attached to a specific Strategic Plan. The Committee is currently Co-Chaired by Jennifer McClanahan-Flint and Quise Edwards, Burke’s Director of Inclusivity and Community Building. Among other activities, the committee has been developing a curriculum to train and educate other Board members about DEI and how it relates to governance. Next year, new Trustees will be invited to attend the first meeting of the Equity and Inclusion Committee to better understand its current efforts, learn about past work, and emphasize the importance of communication across committees, such as finance, that impact DEI across the school.
Jennifer McClanahan-Flint is looking forward to the work ahead. “I appreciate that our Board is so intentional and diligent about engaging in these issues. There is a real desire to take advantage of training as needed in order to be as impactful as possible. Seeing the level of interest from the Board in these issues is encouraging.” This year, members of the Board joined over 25 independent schools at the DEI for Governance workshop hosted at the San Francisco School. The attendees discussed board-level responsibilities for DEI and identified effective strategies for addressing common challenges, such as getting meaningful time for DEI on the agenda, Board self-assessment and accountability mechanisms, and ensuring that the board’s commitment does not rely on individual champions.
One of the most intentional parts of the Equity and Inclusion Committee is that it brings together the school administration, Parents Association, and Board Members to ensure the community is on the same page and no voices are lost. A critical piece of the work will be ongoing education to help the community develop the language, and cultural competency around the ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. “We have momentum and enthusiasm for this work”, said Ms. McClanahan-Flint. “What is exciting now is that we are taking that energy and putting it into creating an E& I strategy with a clear road map and accountability.”