Diversity and Inclusion
Last fall, I led a group of Crescent students to Anaheim to attend the People of Color Conference and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, presented by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). There was a moment when all the principals, headmasters, and other school leaders were called to the stage. Given that this was a conference celebrating diversity, the people on stage were of visible, cultural, social and religious differences. Some of them resembled me and my family. For me, and surely others, this moment was extremely emotional and gripping. I took a picture of the leaders on stage and sent it to a few close friends, telling them that I wanted to be up there one day.
Imagine if all of our students saw this mosaic of leadership and opportunity. Imagine if our students further strengthened their awareness to be globally engaged citizens, an aspiration of our Portrait of a Graduate.
Imagine if all of our students saw this mosaic of leadership and opportunity. Imagine if our students further strengthened their awareness to be globally engaged citizens, an aspiration of our Portrait of a Graduate.
I never had the ambition of being a school leader before seeing those people on stage at the conference. Colour shouldn’t be the only factor in a realization like that, but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t an important factor for me. That unique moment at the conference, seeing all those beautiful people on stage, encapsulated my feelings of being a minority all my life. It provided a boost of confidence, an empowering motion, an internal fire that opened up a floodgate of emotions. It left me feeling vulnerable in a good way, open to new possibilities of what could be achieved.
Fortunately, people at Crescent share my passion. In 2016, a group of Crescent staff and faculty formed a Diversity Professional Learning Community: a group with the sole focus and passion to make Crescent a more inclusive community. Every few weeks we would meet to share stories and ideas about how Crescent could become more progressive – how it could resemble the Toronto of today (and tomorrow).
This year our Crescent community is continuing to have conversations around micro-aggressions and racism, and celebrating events such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day and more. More than 30 faculty and staff members are now participating in the Diversity PLC. Thanks largely to this PLC and all of the people at Crescent who support awareness around underserved topics, the subject of diversity, tolerance and inclusion has become more widespread in our curriculum and school activities for faculty and students.
In our classrooms and hallways, there are people of many differences. We are extremely lucky to be in a school that is this privileged, but we also need to understand that certain privileges are held by some, and not all. Hopefully we will continue to build a community where our differences are clearly understood, appreciated and celebrated.
As Crescent’s diversity work unfolds, I look forward to sharing this journey with my Crescent family. And if you have any questions or suggestions about it, please contact me. I’d love to talk to you about it.
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Fortunately, people at Crescent share my passion. In 2016, a group of Crescent staff and faculty formed a Diversity Professional Learning Community: a group with the sole focus and passion to make Crescent a more inclusive community. Every few weeks we would meet to share stories and ideas about how Crescent could become more progressive – how it could resemble the Toronto of today (and tomorrow).
This year our Crescent community is continuing to have conversations around micro-aggressions and racism, and celebrating events such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day and more. More than 30 faculty and staff members are now participating in the Diversity PLC. Thanks largely to this PLC and all of the people at Crescent who support awareness around underserved topics, the subject of diversity, tolerance and inclusion has become more widespread in our curriculum and school activities for faculty and students.
In our classrooms and hallways, there are people of many differences. We are extremely lucky to be in a school that is this privileged, but we also need to understand that certain privileges are held by some, and not all. Hopefully we will continue to build a community where our differences are clearly understood, appreciated and celebrated.
As Crescent’s diversity work unfolds, I look forward to sharing this journey with my Crescent family. And if you have any questions or suggestions about it, please contact me. I’d love to talk to you about it.
