Bush is Seattle, Washington's oldest independent K-12 school. It was founded in 1924 by Helen Taylor Bush, a Phi Beta Kappa mathematician. She believed children learn by doing and grow as members of an active community. Mrs. Bush started her school with six local children in the playroom of her Denny Blaine home. Now, more than 75 years later, The Bush School educates more than 500 students at its nine-acre campus in the Madison Valley neighborhood, just a few blocks from its beginnings.

Our unique strength lies in our organization as a kindergarten through twelfth grade school. At Bush, children develop long-term relationships with adults and peers. Under the surface of an environment that teems with energy and change, the kindergarten through twelfth grade structure provides a sense of continuity, stability, and safety. Traditions form benchmarks where children both look ahead with anticipation to more complex roles and look back and support younger students taking roles that they once performed.

The Bush School is an equal opportunity employer and is actively seeking to create a more racially and ethnically diverse faculty and staff.

Diversity Plan:
Creating the School We Want to Be

Adopted by the Board of Trustees May 16, 2002

Introduction

Our mission is

To spark in children of diverse backgrounds and abilities, kindergarten through 12th grade, a life-long passion for learning, accomplishment, and contribution to their communities.

Our philosophy states

We value diversity. The school is committed to racial, religious, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, age, gender, and functional diversity, which strengthens our students' ability to understand and thrive in an increasingly diverse and complex society.

Our goals include

To seek that every aspect of the school, including curriculum, students, faculty, staff, school administration and Board of Trustees, reflects the broad diversity of the larger community of which the school is a part.

Our mission, philosophy and goals enjoin us to serve children of diverse backgrounds and abilities. We believe that differences between people provide a rich and vital context for the effective intellectual, emotional, social and psychological development of our students. We believe that multiple perspectives and a range of worldviews enliven learning and stimulate good teaching. For this reason, we seek to create a school community that is inclusive, welcoming and supportive of children and families of differing backgrounds and life experiences. We want to be a school in which our programs and interpersonal relationships affirm and are respectful of the dignity and worth of each member of the school community, indeed of every human being.

We want to develop in students the skills and attitudes they need to understand each other and to act with justice and compassion. We want to address these issues throughout our educational program, in age and developmentally appropriate ways.

The Plan

The aim of this plan is to invite conversation and action that will build the kind of school community we hope for. The plan is a first step in building a school culture that is more inclusive, supportive and welcoming of all members of the school community, and that is more reflective of the school's mission, philosophy and goals. The plan will be implemented over a three-year period and focused on the most pressing community issues facing the school. The plan addresses six critical aspects of school life:

• School climate
• Student recruitment, enrollment, and retention
• Recruitment, hiring and retention of faculty and staff of color
• Faculty and staff professional development
• Curriculum
• The Board of Trustees

While acknowledging the importance of creating a school climate and culture that embraces all kinds of difference in the school community, the Diversity Committee has identified three aspects of diversity it believes need special attention: (1) racial, ethnic and cultural differences; (2) differences in economic status; and (3) learning differences, including variety in learning styles and learning disabilities, within the context of a challenging educational program.

The responsibility for implementing this plan will be shared by the Board of Trustees and the administration of the school. The school's Diversity Coordinator will play a key role in facilitating plan implementation.

Plan Initiatives

School Climate

The climate of the school is shaped by the assumptions, norms, expectations and behaviors of all members of the school community. In order to create a climate that leads each member of the community to feel welcome, included and well served, the school must assure that its operation and program are characterized by fair, clear and consistent expectations and accountability. Without this institutional foundation, the initiatives outlined in this plan cannot achieve their full effect.

Community Conversations
(Initiative #1)

The Board of Trustees and the administration of the school will develop strategies to animate school-wide conversation about diversity and inclusivity. The aim of these conversations will be to determine how the school can become more welcoming, inclusive and supportive for all members of the school community. These strategies should foster self-reflection, dialogue and, ultimately, a shared community-wide commitment to inclusivity. These conversations should promote a sense of individual and shared responsibility for welcoming and supporting all members of the school community, and they should enlist broad support for orienting new families, students, faculty, and staff to the school. For students, these conversations should relate to school expectations, but should focus on engendering respect, kindness and relationship building as keys to creating a welcoming school culture. These strategies should be developed and implemented during the 2002-03 school year.

Accountability: The president of the Board of Trustees and the head of school are responsible for the implementation of this initiative. The Diversity Committee will take the lead in developing these strategies, drawing on its own process for developing this plan. The Administrative Group will support this work.

Budget implications: Costs associated with this initiative will include those related to convening meetings and to the potential hiring of consultants and speakers to facilitate conversations among school constituencies. Total cost should not exceed $2000 per year. In many cases, consultants and speakers may also be providing in-service training for faculty and staff and costs can then be covered through our existing professional development budget.

Welcoming and Orienting New Families to the School
(Initiative #2)

The school will assess and change, as needed the current program for welcoming and orienting new families to the school. The assessment should be based on the school's desire to create broad support for new families and students. The orientation of new families should lead to the development of meaningful relationships between host and new families and between key school personnel, like homeroom teachers and advisors, and new families. Orientation to the culture of the school, as well as to the logistics of dealing with school structures, protocols and procedure, should be included in the program.

Accountability: The head of school and the president of the Parents Association will be responsible for creating this program, the first iteration of which will be in place for families admitted for the 2002-03 school year.

Budget implications: There should be little or no additional expense for this program. It is a refinement and improvement of activities already in place.

Student Recruitment, Enrollment and Retention

Recruitment and Enrollment of Students of Color
(Initiative #3)

Based on the school's admissions policy, the Admission Office will develop a plan for recruiting and enrolling more students representing racial, ethnic and cultural diversity. The plan should include specific strategies and action plans for increasing the enrollment of students of color and for measuring the school's progress in this regard. The plan should be in place for the 2002-03 admission season.

Accountability: The Director of Admissions will be responsible for developing and implementing the plan, with support from the division directors.

Budget implications: The plan itself should not have any costs associated with it. To implement the plan may require increased staff time and potentially the creation of targeted marketing materials. Any costs will be reviewed by the Finance Committee and approved by the Board as part of the final 2002-03 operating budget adopted in October 2002.

Services and Support for Students
(Initiative #4)

As part of the school's enrollment management program, the Director of Admission and division directors will develop a plan to address the retention of students. The plan should focus on enhancing services to and support for all students in the school, but pay particular attention to the needs of those who are in jeopardy of leaving the school for academic, social or financial reasons or because they do not feel welcome or included in the school community. The plan should be in place for the 2003-04 school year.

Accountability: Enrollment management is the responsibility of the Director of Admissions. For this reason, the Director of Admissions will facilitate development of this plan, and the division directors will be responsible for implementing it.

Budget implications: None anticipated for plan development. The Finance Committee and the Board of Trustees will approve any significant expenses associated with the implementation of this plan as part of the routine development and adoption of the school's operating budget. It is difficult to estimate potential costs until plan recommendations are developed.

Financial Aid Program
(Initiative #5)

The Board of Trustees, through its Diversity, Educational Program and Finance Committees, will review, and revise as appropriate, the purpose, philosophy and policies guiding the school's financial aid program. The review should be completed prior to the winter of the 2002-03 school year.

Accountability: The president of the Board of Trustees is responsible for assuring that this review is completed.

Budget implications: While no costs are associated with the review of the school's financial aid program, recommended revisions could have costs associated with them. The Finance Committee and the Board of Trustees will have the opportunity to review budget implications as part of the adoption of any recommendation.

Recruitment, Hiring and Retention of Faculty and Staff of Color

Recruitment, Hiring and Retention Plan
(Initiative #6)

The Administrative Group, with the department heads, will develop a plan for recruiting, hiring and retaining faculty and staff of color. The plan should be in place by the winter of 2002-03.

Accountability: The head of school is responsible for the establishment of this plan.

Budget implications: It is anticipated that those aspects of the plan related to the hiring of consultants to facilitate the recruitment of candidates of color will add as much as $10,000 $15,000 to our existing recruiting budget. It is not anticipated that other aspects of the plan will have costs associated with them.

Faculty and Staff Professional Development

Professional Development Goals
(Initiative #7)

Faculty and staff professional development is at the heart of the school's effort to be a good place for children and their families. It is through the development of more skill and knowledge that teachers are better able to serve all of their students. Because the school wants to support faculty and staff in their efforts to become more culturally competent, and more able to teach students with a variety of learning styles and needs, the school will ask each member of the faculty and staff to identify and achieve at least one professional goal per year related to one of the three aspects of diversity identified by the Diversity Committee as needing special institutional attention. The establishment of these goals should begin in the 2002-03 school year.

Accountability: The head of school will responsible for the implementation of this initiative. The administrative group and department heads will bear immediate responsibility for working with staff and faculty in identifying goals and for creating professional development plans to achieve them.

Budget implications: Implementation of this initiative should not create additional costs. It may require that more of our current professional development funds be diverted to support faculty and staff in achieving some of their goals.

Faculty and Staff In-service
(Initiative #8)

The climate of the school is impacted most by its faculty and staff. The adults in the school establish the expectations and norms for the thousands of daily interpersonal interactions that take place in the school. For this reason, the school will provide an ongoing comprehensive and integrated program of in-service activities for faculty and staff aimed at the development of skills and knowledge needed to serve effectively students from diverse backgrounds and with different learning needs. The program of activities should begin in the 2002-03 school year.

Accountability: The head of school is responsible for implementing this initiative. The Diversity Coordinator will be immediately responsible for developing the program of relevant in-service activities.

Budget implications: The cost for a program of this sort will vary from year to year and will depend in large measure on the cost of consultants and materials needed for each activity. It is assumed that current professional development funds will be available for the cost of the program.

Curriculum

Curriculum Assessment
(Initiative #9)

As part of the curriculum mapping process, each department of the school will describe and assess its curriculum in light of multicultural issues and matters of learning style differences and learning disabilities. The map and the assessment should be completed by the spring of 2003.

Accountability: The head of school will be responsible for implementing this initiative. The division directors and department heads will bear immediate responsibility for development of the curriculum maps and assessments in their divisions and departments.

Budget Implications: Because we are already planning to fund the development of a curriculum map, this initiative will have no budget implications.

The Board of Trustees

Composition and Education of the Board of Trustees
(Initiative #10)

The Board of Trustees must lead a long-term commitment to create a more inclusive school culture. Through its Trustee Committee, the Board should continue its efforts to become more racially, ethnically and culturally diverse and should continue to act on its plan to increase the range of racial, ethnic, and cultural differences represented on the Board. The Board should continue to represent a range of difference in economic status among its members. The Trustee Committee should, as part of its responsibility for the ongoing education of the Board, ensure that all trustees are developing their knowledge and understanding of the three aspects of diversity identified by the Diversity Committee as needing special institutional attention.

Accountability: The president of the Board of Trustees is responsible for the implementation of this initiative.

Budget implications: Costs for the ongoing education of the Board will vary from year to year and largely be associated with the hiring of consultants. There should be no costs associated with increasing the diversity of the Board.

Plan Implementation and Evaluation

The Diversity Committee of the Board of Trustees will monitor implementation of this plan. It will establish a calendar of regular reports from the administration of the school regarding progress on each of the objectives of the plan. The Diversity Committee will use these reports as the basis for formal reports on plan implementation to the full Board of Trustees and to the broader school community at least once per year.