The plan outlines strategic goals in three areas: People, Program, and Policy - and together these goals provide a guiding framework for GUS DEI work over the next five years.

Over the last year and a half, we have been working in earnest towards our strategic DEI goals in all of these areas. Buoyed by the work we began during the 2021-2022 school year, we came into this school year energized and focused on our immediate next steps. Part of this work involved adding two new roles to our school leadership team, with Brad Belin as Assistant Head of School for Curriculum + Program, and Katie Chhu as Director of Admission + Community Outreach. Brad and Katie both share oversight for the DEI strategic plan, along with Emily Rabinowitz-Buchanan, Assistant Head of School for Student + Community Life, and Gretchen Forsyth, Head of School. Together this DEI leadership team is uniquely positioned to make forward progress over the next three years in the areas of People, Program, and Policy. Brad and Katie kicked off their time at GUS this summer by participating in the inaugural cohort of AISNE’s Leadership and Racial Justice Fellows program, an intensive 3-day program led by a team of experts in anti-racist organizational development. As part of her work during this program, Katie developed a blueprint for ‘one big thing,” to work towards accomplishing through her new role at GUS. Katie focused on looking closely at our financial aid model, to ensure that it was aligned with our DEI statement and strategic plan with regard to equity and the socio-economic diversity of the GUS community. Fortunately for us, Katie’s vision very quickly translated into action with the development of GUS’s reimagined tuition program, Family Individualized Tuition or “GUS FIT,” which has gone into effect for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.

It is central to the GUS mission that students develop the skills to create change in their communities, and contribute in ways big and small toward a more just, equitable world. With regard to our program, our faculty continues to look at all aspects of curriculum and student life to ensure that principles connected to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are embedded into daily life at GUS. As a school that values identity, inquiry, and inclusivity, we work with students to develop the critical thinking skills that will drive them to seek the truth and consider multiple perspectives as they learn about the world; and to look for common ground while also widening their experiences and diversifying their community circles. One of the ways we do this work is by asking three simple questions with our students: who writes the stories, who is missing from the stories, and who benefits from the stories? Oftentimes, especially in our earliest grades, engaging with these questions begins with read-alouds and choosing classroom literature that provides ‘windows and mirrors’ for our students. This approach, and the development of critical thinking skills, continues to build throughout the lower and upper schools, progressing to increasingly sophisticated conversations that reveal both the joy of diverse experiences and perspectives, as well as some of the most painful and difficult stories of our past and present.

Lower School

Upper School

This winter, faculty and students alike dug into conversations around “value words” that we could use to define GUS. With our students, we met in mixed-grade groups of first-fifth graders, and sixth-eighth graders during our weekly advisory and lunch-bunch meetings. The conversations and eventual outcome of these meetings were so affirming of the work we do at GUS, as we could see our mission reflected back to us in the values words chosen by students. We created one lower school and one upper school word cloud, using the responses from groups that brought together 175 students. Our takeaway from the word clouds is that the GUS mission + values are resonating with our students, and they are taking ownership of these values and bringing them into their daily lives.

So as we reflect mid-year on the progress we’ve made on our DEI strategic goals, we also pause to remind ourselves that our commitment to “Mean Well, Speak Well, and Do Better,” dictates that our work is not over and there is always more we need to do. Please read below to see what’s been accomplished this year, and stay tuned for ways that you can be involved as a GUS community member.

GUS DEI Plan: June 2021

Admission +

Reached our original goal of 15% students of color this school year, increased goal to 20%.
Working to develop a better process for gathering data, reporting, and BIPOC self-identification across our current and prospective families.

Hiring and Retention +

Welcoming a number of new administrators, faculty, and staff has helped as we work towards our goal of 10% faculty and staff of color. Next steps include establishing a formal process for self-reporting.
Sent two administrators to attend the Carney Sandoe & Associates DEIB Hiring Forum in Philadelphia, with the focus of getting the word out about GUS’ ongoing efforts in the DEIJ space, as well as for the recruitment of BIPOC educators. Also attended their FORUM/Boston Hiring Conference.

Board of Trustees & Parents +

Working towards a goal of 25% trustees of color, in year two of our strategic plan we are at 15%.
Organized gatherings for families of BIPOC students, including a Back-to-School Picnic and Family Skate, in an effort to recognize and support these families in a community that is predominantly white.
Held a community read of the book Admissions, by Kendra James, and co-hosted a book discussion with the Parents’ Association.

Curriculum +

Emphasized DEIJ as a ‘throughline’ that is as much part of the GUS Curriculum as basic/traditional skills, and not its own separate category to be taught; connected to the annual ‘Faculty Growth + Renewal’ (i.e. evaluation) document + conversations with administrators.
Used the week of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday to launch into the GUS ‘Beloved Community’ project. Throughout the month of February, upper school Leadership Groups have been meeting to discuss the concept of a ‘Beloved Community’ and working to create a patchwork quilt representing the six principles of nonviolence.
Continue to emphasize the following three prompts, tailored to meet the needs of various age levels: Who is telling the story? Who is the intended audience? Who’s voice is missing?

Professional Development +

Sent two faculty members to the inaugural Leadership for Racial Justice Fellows program in July 2022; two additional faculty members will attend in July 2023.
During pre-service meetings in August, faculty engaged in a 6-hour workshop with the Anti Defamation League.
Contracted with Melissa Lawlor to facilitate a DEIJ-focused workshop on ‘interrupting skills’ + physiological response to stress in relation to observed micro and macro aggressions in schools.
Sent one administrator/faculty member to National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference in San Antonio to engage in two and a half days of DEIJ-focused workshops + affinity spaces.

Launched Family Individualized Tuition (GUS FIT) model for the 2023-2024 school year. This new model offers greater transparency than the traditional financial aid process and ensures each family’s financial investment in a GUS education is in equitable proportion to their economic resources.