Not for school but for life we learn
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY
MISSION STATEMENT With a commitment to academic excellence and personal integrity, The Spence School prepares a diverse community of girls and young women for the lifelong transformation of self and the world with purpose, passion and perspective. Philosophy Offering a rigorous, liberal arts study, The Spence School develops high standards and character while creating an environment that fosters self-confidence and the joy of learning. Charging their students to meet the demands of academic excellence and responsible citizenship in a changing world, they teach that diverse points of view fuel inquiry, engagement, and deeper understandings of complex truths. They believe in the strength, intellect, and vitality of women. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Highlights of Ongoing Work at Spence • Civil Discourse at Spence : In a powerful partnership, the Upper School Student Council and Upper School Student Equity Council took on the task of developing guidelines for civil discourse at Spence. Recognizing that partisan conflict is making respectful conversations harder in our public culture, these student leaders wanted to find language that could help their community have productive and respectful dialogue. They gathered input from students in the Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School, as well as from faculty and staff, to produce Talk it Out, ratified by the Equity Committee of the Board and the Head of School in May. • Equity In The Curriculum : Facilitated by the Director of Curriculum and the Director of Institutional Equity, this past year the Academic Leadership teams across three divisions worked to develop a framework to guide curricular innovation. The framework offers teachers a series of questions to foster alignment-focused equity conversations such as “Does this curriculum incorporate both academic and social/emotional skill development with an understanding of identity?” Teachers’
answers will help them provide learning experiences for Spence students to analyze, problem-solve, and create from multiple perspectives. • Middle School Identities Project : Spence offers the Middle School Identities Project, a new research-based, after-school curriculum to develop community leadership skills in their Middle School students beginning in fall 2022. The goal of the curriculum is to empower and educate students to explore the importance of identities so they can develop skills as thought leaders in a diverse world. • Professional Growth and K–12 Teaching : Under the direction of Director of Teaching and Learning and Director of Institutional Equity, the K–12 teachers have developed a list of research-based equity competencies, including self-awareness, embracing complexity, and cultural humility. Their 2022–2023 newly updated professional growth evaluation process will rely on these competencies to support teachers to focus on making sure all Spence students belong and thrive in the classroom. • The K–12 Bias Response Protocol : The School has been running a pilot test of a step-by-step process to address bias incidents, called the K–12 Bias Response Protocol. Teachers and administrators who are trained in a values-based approach to bias response have resoundingly affirmed the process as highly effective in creating predictability, accountability, and learning in their community, and students have named their appreciation of the concrete steps towards harm reduction. Next year the process will be fully operational. To read more about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Spence as well as their Non Discrimination Policy and Gender Statement, visit their website. LOWER SCHOOL “In the Lower School, children’s natural energy for learning finds momentum with their teachers’ passions for creating challenging experiences that meet them right where they are. Children are active learners, and when they learn by doing, they begin to connect one idea to another—a process that continues as they build foundational skills
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