Diversity Dialogue

Almost the instant that the invitation went out for the "Open Dialogue on Diversity" last month, it became clear to me that the evening would be productive. The first RSVPs came in quickly and several people expressed how much they were looking forward to the program. I also heard from some who wished they could attend and would be interested to hear how it went. Clearly, diversity was a topic that members of this school community were interested in talking about.

It was a very good turnout on February 9, as more than 25 gathered in the social room. As we went around the circle with introductions, the diversity of the group itself was notable. In addition to the visible differences of gender, age and color, the group included current parents, alumni parents, teachers, administrators, board members, and meeting members. As the discussion progressed, we also learned of different ethnic backgrounds, religions and family structures among us.

As the facilitator, John Scardina established an environment in which participants comfortably shared their perspectives and experiences, despite the fact that most did not know each other all that well before coming into the social room just minutes before. That, in and of itself, made the evening a success for me. And now we plan to build in that success by taking what was shared and moving on to next steps.

Over the course of the evening, the group was asked to respond to three overarching questions:
"When you hear the word diversity, what other words come to mind?"
"What are the strengths of the WCFS community in regards to diversity?"
"What challenges face our community with regards to diversity?"

I invite you to read the responses that have been transcribed from the chart paper by clicking here.

Reading these brief notes (originally captured on chart paper) is hardly the same as hearing them in person in the context of the discussion. I hope, however, that you can still get a good sense of the joys and concerns that were lifted up. In the spirit of "open dialogue," I will let you draw your own conclusions and will refrain from offering my own comments, except to say how affirmed I felt by the strengths and how appreciative I am of the willingness of participants to respectfully name the challenges.

The open dialogue continues with our next meeting tomorrow evening, Wednesday, March 9, at 7:00 in the Social Room. All interested are invited, whether or not you were able to attend last month. We will identify themes from last month's discussion and split into groups, with each group creating actions steps for each theme. We will then follow up with meetings in April and May and plan for work that we know will continue into next school year, and the next, and the next . . . because diversity work is never finished.