Racial Equity Task Force

The Hawbridge School Racial Equity Task Force 

Mission:

The Hawbridge School’s racial equity task force examines how race and racism impact our school community through school policy and procedure, access to resources, and the experiences of our students, staff, faculty, and families. We also recognize the ways in which gender identity and sexual orientation, ability, religion, and socioeconomic status affect student outcomes and school culture. The task force seeks to address issues of racial equity within our school community and the school’s impact on the surrounding communities, and it provides research-based recommendations to administration. 

Goals:

• Welcome and recruit a community of faculty, staff, and students that is reflective of the racial/ethnic diversity of the counties in which our families live.
• Survey students, staff, and families to identify improvements the school can and should make to support and serve a thriving and diverse community, and review additional sources of data to identify areas in which our practices are perpetuating inequities.
• Make recommendations to the school administration based on both this information and other needs identified by the task force.
• Recommend professional development and other resources to help cultivate a pervasive antiracist culture.

Task force members:

LaShauna Austria, Parent and Community Member
Annabelle Devonport, EC Teacher
Jonathan Farmer, Teacher
Sue Krebs, Testing and Data Coordinator
Emily Martin, Dean of Students
Zoe Nahatis, Upper School Counselor
Liz Osborne, Teacher
Tiana Thornton, MTSS Coordinator

The task force plans to expand with intention in the future.  We hope to include students and families.  Careful consideration will be made to ensure diverse perspectives are represented.

Current work (2022-2023 school year):

• The group meets bi-weekly
• The task force broke into committees and has begun tackling how to recruit and support diverse populations of students and staff, research into professional development for faculty and staff, and a community survey to understand the current culture and climate of the school
• The group is currently reading My Grandmother’s Hands and holding book discussions once a month

Additional resources:

Hawbridge demographics
Family resources (coming soon)