The Hotchkiss School

Another goal was, "Hiring, retention, and training: recruit the most capable faculty, including the best Black teachers, with training for all employees in anti-racism and the unconscious stereotyping known as implicit bias."

"...proctors and dorm faculty received training on implicit bias, anti-Black racism, and LGBTQ+ identity. Throughout the year, all students and faculty will participate in this training. The Board of Trustees will also engage in diversity, equity, inclusion training."

Another goal is to "Ensure cultural competence and anti-racist culture among our Trustees, all employees on campus, and students through continued, mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion and anti-racism training for all members of these groups."

One of the goals was: "Curriculum and pedagogy: ensure diverse representation of thinkers and ideas at every level of a truly comprehensive curriculum that is taught without bias."

Another goal of the committee is to "Comprehensively assess the School's curriculum and pedagogical approaches to ensure they are anti-racist and cultivate belonging for all members of the community."

The school has "strengthened the bias incident reporting process to ensure that anyone who experiences bias based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic factors, or other criteria can report it without fear, stigma, or retribution." The school also said, "A webpage dedicated to anti-racism provides an avenue through which those who have experienced discrimination at Hotchkiss can notify the School."

Another goal of the committee is to "Promote clarity and accountability as pertains to expectations around community behavior and values. All current community members -- faculty, staff, and students -- must be held responsible for promoting an anti-racist culture at Hotchkiss."

On student assessments (written by faculty), the school wrote, "Implicit bias can influence almost every aspect of behavior. In a school environment, this can include the writing of assessments. All faculty who write student assessments have taken part in multiple training seminars conducted by outside facilitators during the 2020-21 school year. The focus of assessing for equity is to ensure that unconscious bias does not affect grading, comment writing, or student disciplinary processes."

The last goal was "Student life and culture: strengthen the culture at Hotchkiss with respect to the experiences of Black students and those from other marginalized groups that have historically been underrepresented."

The school stated, "Throughout the summer, faculty and staff voluntarily participated in anti-racist reading and discussion. The School will continue to offer spaces for these conversations and training."

Students organized into groups to "brainstorm over different anti-racist legacy projects, including creating a mural, a scholarship, enacting policy changes, reviving community dinner to be more inclusive, and creating more space to discuss racism."

Immediately after the death of George Floyd, the school created resources for students, faculty, and staff. "For students, over the summer, we will provide an optional curriculum with which you may engage if you choose. This will include structured learning opportunities, time for guided introspection, and conversation with your teachers and your peers. "For faculty and staff, we are engaging in dialogue and self-examination and developing training on implicit bias, among other topics, to enable the creation of a safer, more secure, and more supportive environment for all of the young people in our care."

The Edsel Ford Memorial Library at the Hotchkiss School has created an "Anti-Racism Resources" page.

The school released a statement reading, "Since the summer, Hotchkiss has continued to focus on anti-racism across the School community. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEI) of the Board of Trustees has been working on policies and practices to enact change, as have volunteers from the Alumni Association’s Board of Governors."

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Board of Trustees released a statement on September 3, 2020. The committee was established in June with 3 goals.

The diversity bureaucracy has been expanded - "The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has been expanded with the addition of the new assistant director of D&I, Renée Marcellus. The School is currently recruiting for a counselor in Health Services with expertise in issues related to bias."

A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee formed with five goals. One of these goals is to "Evaluate the state of the School's ability to provide meaningful, intentional, and authentic support for students who are Black , Indigenous, and People of Color, including an honest assessment of Hotchkiss's failures in this regard."

On July 16, 2020, Hotchkiss highlighted the school’s new Director of Diversity and Inclusion on its Facebook page. This post was also featured on its Twitter account.

On July 8, 2020, Hotchkiss posted the following statement on its Facebook page: “To live up to our commitment of becoming a fundamentally open and inclusive School, we must understand the experiences of the people in our community. We invite students, families, alumni, faculty, and staff to share your stories about racism experienced at Hotchkiss with us directly. We are listening.” This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On June 25, 2020, Hotchkiss released a statement on its Facebook page saying, “Hotchkiss is committed to doing the essential work of self-reckoning to address the systems, practices and ways of being that have allowed racism and prejudice to endure. Read more about the formation of a Board-level Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.” This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On June 19, 2020, Hotchkiss posted a statement on its Facebook page stating that, “As educators, as caretakers of children, and as human beings, we at The Hotchkiss School welcome the stories being shared by students and alumni who felt silenced, alone, and unsupported as they endured insidious anti-black racism while at Hotchkiss. Our eyes, ears, and hearts are open, and we expect to be guided by your experiences to help us become a stronger community. Please visit “blackhotchkiss” and “black.at.hkiss” on Instagram to read some of these stories and to share your own. On this day of Juneteenth, we reiterate our commitment to making The Hotchkiss School a truly equitable and inclusive community. As such, we will be part of a long-overdue evolution toward becoming a more equitable and inclusive society.” This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On June 2, 2020, Hotchkiss responded to the death of George Floyd with both a statement of solidarity and a video message. This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.