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Our Story

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice

Our DEIJ Vision, Grounded in our Mission and Values

EB is a school where being who you are is encouraged and embraced. EB is a place of warmth, joy, kindness and belonging that welcomes all people and nurtures in its students inquisitiveness, creativity, empathy, and a rich and engaged outlook on the world.  

As set forth in our Mission, EB is a force for change. We envision the school and its community to be an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that is welcoming, accessible, and reflective of both our core values and our widely diverse, international community members. Our space should be one that embraces the delights and challenges of our similarities and differences and works to provide equal and just opportunities to every community member.   

EB prepares our graduates to positively impact their diverse communities and the local and international spaces in which we all belong. We believe a diverse educational environment is paramount to these efforts, and that our school must live and embody the key principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ). Those key principles are reflected in EB’s five core values: Unity, Reflection, Integrity, Zeal, and Endeavor. As a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just community, EB seeks to not only acknowledge differences, but to mindfully support them by respectfully embracing all people and points of view. Further, we actively work to identify and dismantle structural inequalities in order to provide equal and just educational access and opportunity to all within the EB community. We aim to cultivate a sense of connectedness and belonging within every community member.

EB’S DEIJ STRATEGIC PLAN

EB’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Strategic Plan is the result of a collaborative effort between the school’s DEIJ Committee—composed of administrators, teachers, staff, and trustees—the DEIJ Committee of the Board—composed of trustees, and the PA’s DEIJ Advisory Board—composed of parents.

The goals of the plan are to:

  • Guide EB through the next three years
  • Reinforce EB’s mission, vision and values
  • Help create a community that is more inclusive and representative of the full diversity of the East Bay and our student body
  • Facilitate and support a more diverse, inclusive, equitable and socially just community
EB has identified four major areas of focus for its DEIJ work: (1) Recruitment and Retention; (2) Program and Curriculum; (3) Finance and Financial Assistance; and (4) Events and Fundraising. In each of these four areas, EB has developed a set of objectives and has identified a set of immediate and potential future initiatives intended to further those objectives.

The groups listed below, alongside the DEIJ Task Force (faculty and staff) will work to execute the objectives identified in the Strategic Plan.

CLIMATE SURVEY AND SELF-ASSESSMENT

One of EB’s first initiatives will be to participate in the Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM) from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). AIM includes two main steps: a climate survey and a self assessment. 
 
  • The climate survey took place in March 2022, where each one was tailored and sent out to all school constituents, including students (4th grade and up). The goal is to have participants give honest and open feedback about the school’s current and past climate, with regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

  • The self-assessment was a lengthy process that took place over six weeks from February to March 2022. The goal was to examine the school’s climate of inclusion and of its policies and practices. It had involved the creation of several discovery groups, made up of a diverse mix of constituents, who tackle a series of questions specific to an area of self-assessment. In the first self-assessment, each group focused on 3-5 chosen areas among the following:
     
    • School Governance and Leadership
    • Policy and Administration
    • Admissions, Including Financial Assistance
    • Faculty/Teacher
    • Teaching and Learning
    • Student Life
    • School Publications and Environment
    • Staff Involvement and Life
    • Parent/Guardian Involvement
    • Alumni Involvement and Investment
The results of the self-assessment and climate surveys help us determine whether additional initiatives or programs are needed to enact meaningful change and advance the school’s four DEIJ objectives.

We recognize that Ecole Bilingue sits on ancestral and unceded Muwekma Ohlone territory. We would like to acknowledge the Muwekma Ohlone community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. Ecole Bilingue also acknowledges that we continue to benefit from this occupied land. This land continues to be of great importance to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. We recognize that the Ohlone People are vital members of the Berkeley community.

2022-2023 DEIJ Goals and Initiatives.

List of 3 items.

  • SCHOOL BOOK CLUB

    One of our first collective efforts was to ask all faculty and staff to read Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s book, How to Be an Antiracist, over the summer of 2020.

    In a series of small group workshops, EB teachers and staff members came together to dive into each chapter, exploring Kendi’s themes and connecting to individuals’ personal backgrounds and experiences. This gave us a great introduction to many concepts in the antiracist workspace and granted familiarity with terminology not previously known to all.

    In the summer of 2021, the faculty and staff read the book Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Block by Jason Reynolds, about how middle schoolers bond on their walk to and from school everyday. In the summer of 2022, the faculty was tasked with reading Neurodiversity in the Classroom by Thomas Armstrong, which speaks to the strengths of neurodiverse students, how to help them and their neurotypical peers thrive in school and beyond. 

  • WORKSHOPS

    We are thrilled to have partnered with Dr. Derrick Gay for a series of community-wide workshops on the topics of the double-edged sword of diversity, the fundamentals of race, and DEI strategy sessions.

    In October 2020, we organized 1.5-3 hour workshops for students, parents, faculty and staff, our leadership team, and the Board of Trustees. The goal was to give everyone a communal language with which to discuss these charged topics, as well as a lens through which to view our own biases and self-examine our practices and processes. 

    The workshops were an engaging and interactive exercise that forced us to look at how we view the world, both personally and school-wide, and consider where we might need to engage in further discussion and education.

    EB’s DEIJ Committee—composed of a mix of faculty, staff, parents, and Board members—also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Gay for two sessions, with the goal to come up with a process and framework to create our DEIJ plan and statement.

    CAROL SWAINSON
    Are children conscious of race and ethnicity? Does that shape their perceptions? Can we be colorblind? Families came together in January 2020 to discuss these very questions in a workshop led by Carol Swainson. Having worked in many independent schools and as a long-time DEI practitioner, Carol Swainson organized this special presentation on How to Talk to Your Child about Race filled with engaging small group settings, and for parents to leave the session with resources and tools to better connect with their children.

    REBEKAH MACDEN
    During an In-Service Day in October 2022, our teachers participated in a special DEIJ training, focusing on "Building Belonging Through Character Driven Learning," to help educators develop techniques to instill belonging and inclusion in their classroom SEL practices. This session was led by consultant Rebekah Macden. With over 18 years of experience, Rebekah has developed and implemented student-centered programs that support educators in honing in the educational journeys of student lives.

    DIANE FERLATTE
    In 2022-2023, Grammy nominated storyteller Diane Ferlatte, a multi-award winning performer, came to visit our Lower School kids to share stories that draw from a deep well of folktales, myths, legends, & fables to inform, entertain, & inspire all. While many of her stories & songs have African and African American roots, she loves to tell any story that holds truths touching upon our common humanity, our history & our culture.


  • CREATION OF AFFINITY GROUPS

    Spearheaded by our Parents’ Association and supported by the PA Diversity Chair, EB has several affinity groups, meant to create safe and welcoming spaces for parents and families to talk, find resources, and feel supported.

    Updated in August 2022

    EB Families of Color Affinity Group
    This group was formed out of a Zoom meeting in July 2020 for Black families and families of color to discuss the emotional stress they were experiencing over the killing of George Floyd. The goal of this group is to provide families the opportunity to build community, solve challenges, and share insights and resources related to raising brilliant, resilient, and dynamic children of color. The group is chaired by Micah Stillwell, mother to Ethan in Maternelle.

    Let's Talk about Race (formerly as "EB Dads Antiracist Book Group")
    This book club was started by EB dads David Macquart-Moulin and Brian Thomas Turner to provide a space for dads of all backgrounds to explore issues of racial justice in a supportive, non-judgmental environment. The group meets quarterly to talk about books and movies with antiracist themes.
     
    Learning Differences Support Group
    The Learning Differences Support Group, chaired by EB parents Sarah Sawyer and Gregory Nemitz, aims to provide support and resources for EB families whose children have been diagnosed with a learning difference or may suspect a learning difference. This group is open to parents of children with learning differences, friends of the neurodivergent community, and anyone interested.

    LGBTQ+ Alliance at the Middle School
    Spurred on by a student-led panel of activists and supported by Sue Campbell and Chrissy Greer, the LGBTQ+ Alliance is in its nascent stages, with a goal to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ identifying students and allies, as well as to educate fellow students and teachers about some of the challenges facing our identifying students, and ways in which they can be best supported during their middle school journey. 

    Interested in learning more about these affinity groups? Contact askpa@eb.org.

RESOURCES

Do you need more resources to talk about DEIJ with your children? Do you want to learn more about this topic as a parent? 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to check out our DEIJ monthly book recommendations and special highlights.

Check out our Parent/Caregiver Resources Guide

Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley

Elementary School Campus

All Are Welcome! (Anti-Discriminatory Policy)

Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley does not exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or subject any individual to discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or religion. This policy applies to all programs, services, and facilities, including applications, admissions, and employment.