Gunston

DEI Curriculum

Gunston offers a four-year curriculum to introduce key concepts related to understanding, exploring, navigating, and embracing difference. The curriculum is scaffolded with the students’ development in mind beginning with Identity Development in the 9th Grade. In the 10th grade, students will explore Culture and Conflict. In the 11th grade, students will examine Bias, Power, and Privilege, and in the 12th grade, students will learn about Leadership and Change Making.

DEI 101: Identity Development

• DEI Mission: Expect, Navigate, Embrace Difference

• Introduction to Social Identity Theory and Core Cultural Identifiers

• Introduction to Identity Development Models

• Reflection on Individual Identity

• Introduction to Microaggressions and their Impact

• Responding to Microaggressions

• Bystander Intervention Training

DEI 201: Culture and Conflict

• Defining Culture & Globalization

• Cultural Values Iceberg

• Identify Intercultural Conflict Style

• Reflection on Individual Intercultural Style

• Bystander Intervention Training

DEI 301: Implicit Bias, Power, and Privilege

• The Neuroscience of Bias

• Implicit Bias Test

• Define Privilege and Power

• Examples of Privilege and Situational Advantage

DEI 401: Leadership and Change Making

• Reflect Upon Identity Growth over 4 years

• Explore Systems Thinking

• Frameworks for Culture and Change

• Goal Setting

Global Program

Gunston’s Global Program offers a variety of opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and developing cultural awareness. These programs include our international student program, the host family program, the global ambassador program, and international travel programs.

Leadership is a key component of Gunston’s academic program. This is particularly important for our students from marginalized communities to help them practice self-advocacy and institutional change making skills. Leadership opportunities include student government, club leadership, and participation in the National and Maryland State Student Diversity Leadership Conferences as well as other student leadership conferences.

Gunston will identify students each year and nurture their growth and leadership potential by encouraging them to take on leadership roles and attend conferences. Gunston also will cover the cost of registration for the Student Diversity Leadership Conferences.

Clubs and Affinity Groups

Gunston aims to provide a number of student-led identity and interest groups.. New affinity groups may be proposed through the Student Diversity Leaders Club in collaboration with the Dean of Students and DEI Director. Listed below are three of the groups that work closely on DEI issues:

• Gunston Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA): A club for LGBTQ students and allies to gather together to discuss important issues in the LGBTQ community at Gunston, locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally

• Student Diversity Leaders Club: Modeled after the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference, this club proposes and develops DEI programming in collaboration with the DEI Director.

• Mental Health Awareness Club: A club that develops and leads mental health and wellness programming for students and faculty on campus.

Admissions Procedures

As a small high school with just over 200 students, each year we have several major hurdles to leap with prospective families. First, incoming students need to feel comfortable entering a new academic environment, which means separating from their current middle school peer group.  Second, prospective students are often looking at larger schools, and they frequently harbor the perception that a smaller school offers fewer opportunities for friends, classes, athletics, and the arts. Third, Gunston’s finest qualities—our strong sense of community, our personalized approach, and our consistently high quality interactions—can be difficult to convey through marketing materials. In a majority white school that aims to increase diversity, Gunston seeks to demonstrate our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in all of its forms through authentic interactions and storytelling. 

As part of our highly personalized admissions process, we connect prospective students to current student leaders, showcasing opportunities for student leadership in Gunston’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. This helps prospective students and families to envision themselves at Gunston.

Retention

It is essential to create meaningful support systems for Gunston students and families in an effort to retain students for all four years. Those levels of support include:

• ELL support and tutoring for English-language learners

• A robust tutoring office for a wide range of learners

• Engaging clubs and sports offerings that are accessible for all students

• Advising from both faculty advisor and DEI Director

• A welcoming community of families

• A proactive approach to tracking, addressing, and reducing bias incidents within the community

• Opportunities for leadership and cultivating individual interests for all students

• Attending the regional and national Student Diversity Leadership Conferences

Recruitment & Hiring for Faculty and Staff

Recruitment of a diverse group of faculty and administrators is a key component of the Gunston experience. Gunston recognizes and celebrates the diversity of identities and experiences among the faculty and staff. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. If a prospective or current employee needs assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, they may work with the Head of School and Director of DEI to request accommodations. Gunston will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. 

Professional Growth & Development

Professional Development Goals:

• DEI will continue to constitute a meaningful portion of the PD Budget.

• Every member of Gunston’s faculty will attend at least one Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion conference by 2022. 

• An Anti-Bias/Anti-Racism training facilitated by an outside trainer will be offered for all faculty/staff in the 2020-21 school year.

• Additional DEI training will be offered to the full faculty/staff each semester. Topics may include

  • Bias and the brain (stereotype threat, racial anxiety, and implicit bias)

  • Designing objective rubrics

  • Incorporating restorative justice practices

Conferences and Training

Gunston seeks to engender leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion among the faculty, administration, staff, and students. Faculty, administrators, and staff have the opportunity to attend regional AIMS conferences and national NAIS conferences like the People of Color Conference where they form connections with peer schools, discuss current issues in DEI, and share knowledge with one another. The Director of DEI will work with the Head and Assistant Head to identify and advertise professional development opportunities for faculty. Additionally, Gunston will offer in-house professional development for DEI focusing on self-efficacy, bias awareness and reduction, and best practices in DEI.

• Continue to cultivate student leadership and connect student leaders to DEI opportunities at Gunston and with partner organizations. Refine existing programming including Gunston’s Global Ambassador Program.

• Increase parent engagement through intentional programming and outreach and cultivation of parent leadership in DEI work. As part of this work, two new programs, Gunston’s TIDE Book Club and the DEI Steering Committee, will be piloted in the fall of 2020.

• Establish a set of inclusion and equity benchmarks and develop a system of accountability through regular surveying and data collection. Data will be reported to Gunston’s Head of School and Assistant Head of School.

• Each year, the board will review its composition in alignment with Gunston’s DEI principles. The board sets a goal of having a composition that reflects the diversity of the Gunston community.

• The Director of DEI will partner with the Assistant Head and the Coordinator of Learning Services to continue to develop and refine a proactive approach to supporting learning needs.

• The COMPASS course—a team-taught course focusing on developing SEL skills and executive functioning—will be piloted in the 2020-21 school year with new international students.

• The Director of DEI will partner with Gunston’s Director of Facilities and Dean of Students to conduct a campus accessibility audit in the Spring of 2021.

Learning Services at Gunston

In accordance with Gunston’s commitment to serving a wide range of learners, the Learning Services department has continued to grow. Gunston’s Learning Services department connects students with additional resources to support their growth. The Assistant Head, the Coordinator of Learning Services, the teaching team, and the academic tutor, if one is assigned, work closely together to provide appropriate levels of support to students with specialized learning profiles.

As part of Gunston’s efforts to develop and share its DEI program, the DEI Director will work with local, regional, and national organizations to raise Gunston’s profile. High level goals include:

• Presenting at NAIS People of Color Conference in 2020

• Planning and Presenting at AIMS conferences including the Making Schools Safe conference and the regional and national Student Diversity Leadership Conferences. 

• DEI Director will continue to build connections with diversity practitioners at peer schools by assisting in the planning of the regional Student Diversity Leadership Conference and participating in monthly Diversity Practitioner meetings.

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