The Park Parent April-May 2013 - The Park School

Diversity at Park: A 20-Year PerspectiveBY JERROLD I. KATZ, Head of SchoolHEAD’S LINESBack in January 2012, when I announced my plans to leavePark School at the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year,I wrote that it was “not the time to review the record of myyears at Park.”Now, fifteen months later, as increasing attention is beingpaid to leadership transition planning, I am beginning to join othersin looking back at Park’s evolution over the past twenty years.I am particularly proud of the fact that Park’s development as adiverse, just, and inclusive community will be part of my legacy.It’s interesting to look back at my very first Park Parent article,published in September 1993, to capture both changes over timeand the unchanging nature of diversity work as a critical aspectof implementing Park’s mission. Here is an excerpt from twentyyears ago:Since my first visit as a candidate last fall and throughout thepast six months of my transition, it has been apparent to me thatattempting to clarify where the School is and where it might beheaded in regard to diversity would require my immediate attentionas Head of School. Embracing diversity is a central componentof Park’s mission as conveyed to me and to all of us by the Board ofTrustees. Yet, it has become a topic for many members of the Parkcommunity that appears to be associated with varying degrees ofconfusion and concern. Perhaps this should not surprise any of us,because similar struggles for identity currently characterize theexperience of many independent schools and indeed our nation.Our ability as adults to embrace and to talk to each other aboutdiversity is critical, however, to our ability to prepare our studentsfor leadership roles in the society they will inherit. This would beimportant, no matter who our students were at Park, although ourconversation is greatly enriched and deepened by the diversity thatis currently found here.In 1993, the diversity conversation at Park was largely centeredon race. Why was it important for the School to attract andretain families and faculty of color, and how could these goals beaccomplished? Was “multicultural education,” with its commitmentto exposing students to different voices in English and todifferent perspectives in history, compatible with a commitmentto academic rigor in the curriculum? I soon discovered a less openconversation about religion. Could Yule Festival be “comfortable”for Jewish and other minority members of the community,while still “working” as a meaningful celebration for the Christianmajority at Park? In 1993, it was not yet clear that it was “safe” toeven talk about differences in family configuration, sexual orientation,and/or socioeconomic class within our community.In 2013, we are not only a much more diverse school, we arealso much more united in our diversity beliefs and aspirations.Students of color, less than 10 percent of our population in 1993,now make-up over 35 percent of our student body across GradesPre-K-IX. Financial aid, limited to a small number of UpperDivision students in 1993, is now extended to over 23 percent ofall students across every grade. LGBT parents, faculty, and studentsare now openly welcomed and supported as valued membersof our community. We recognize differences in learning styles,and we work hard to differentiate instruction to provide challengeand to facilitate success for a range of learners in our classrooms.Park has become a school of choice for many different kindsof families, and it has become a place where many different traditionsand expressions of identity can be comfortably shared. Ofequal importance, all students at Park today are growing up in acommunity where they are learning to appreciate interdependenceand to make connections with a broad range of others.Many determined, and often courageous, people have ledPark forward on its journey to being a more inclusive communityover the past twenty years. Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff,students, and parents have all been leaders in this effort. Whatever“credit” is attributed to me over the months ahead must beshared with many others who advocated for themselves, for theirchildren, and for the improvement of the experience of all membersof our community.I closed my September 1993 Park Parent article with wordsthat still resonate today:I believe that it would be fair to say that in its commitment torespecting diversity, Park School has at times stumbled in the past;no doubt, there will continue to be some missteps in the future. Forsome, there will be impatience with the rate of change; for others,the pace of Park’s adjustment to a changing world may alreadyseem alarming.There are many other areas to work on during the comingmonths. Certainly, new initiatives in the teaching of math, science,and technology have surfaced as high priorities. However,thoughtful reflection about diversity will always need to remainon Park’s agenda, if this important aspect of the School’s missionis to be realized.When it comes to being a diverse, just, and inclusive schoolcommunity, building upon the legacy of the past twenty yearssoon falls not just on Michael Robinson. It remains the responsibilityof every adult within this community.APRIL-MAY 2013 // PAGE 3