The Lawrenceville School

In a July 2020 message to the school community, the head of school announced that the school will be providing, "Training for all students in implicit bias, anti-racism, bystander, and intervention strategies. Special emphasis will be placed upon training for student leaders, including Prefects and members of our Student, House, and Diversity Councils" and "Education on the School’s existing options for registering instances of misconduct, racial bias, and microaggressions, including our anonymous reporting portals (SafeSchools and EthicsPoint)."

For faculty, the school has announced, "Reinforced accountability for all employees through the Human Resources Department for violations of the Employee Handbook, especially 'conduct, including but not limited to, speech that harms or threatens harm to others or that is abusive or offensive.'" Additionally, the school will be using, "Employee certifications as a key element of a longitudinal, skills-based DEI training curriculum which will be developed in consultation with external professionals."

The DEI council also wants to increase "faculty impact through training, handbook revisions, accountability measures, and recruitment and retention."

The school will, "Create two annual professional development workshops for faculty and staff focused on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. "

The school will also, "Create robust training and off-campus diverse experiences for student leaders and employees in implicit bias, anti-racism, bystander, and intervention strategies" and "Expand beginning of the year orientations to include DEI focused activities at each level."

The school will be conducting an, "Assessment of required Personal Development Seminars to elevate content on bias and anti-racist training." The school will also have a "Review of the humanities curriculum by Department Chairs, ensuring representation of a broad range of diverse authors, and historical and religious narratives that have traditionally been neglected or underrepresented." Lastly, it will strive towards, "A broad range of diverse authors for the all-employee and all-School summer reading to raise awareness of under-represented and antiracist perspectives."

The DEI Council also wants to elevate "education through professional development and curriculum review."

In remarks delivered to the National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA), the school's Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement described the school's "'holistic' approach to social justice education, accountability, and the rebuilding of trust as outlined in a 13-point action step plan to create and support an anti-racist campus."

The school will, "Conduct an annual review of academic curriculum to ensure a focus on DEI across content areas" and "Create a residential curriculum that addresses DEI at each level (Lower, Houses, Vth Form) and include training for adult facilitators."

The DEI council wants to enhance "student life through training, handbook revisions, diverse speakers and anti-racism resources, and anti-bias reporting."

The school will, "Develop restorative practices to bias incidents and conflict when appropriate." The school will also "Adopt a zero tolerance policy for the use of the "N" word and other racial and bias slurs (expressed directly and indirectly, racist flags, and memorabilia)" and "Conduct an external review of our discipline process, continue to audit disciplinary outcomes and handbooks for fairness and consistency, and include student leaders such as Student Council and Diversity Council in the overall review process."

In an "Economics and History Teacher" job listing on the National Association of Independent Schools' website, the Lawrenceville School listed working "within the department and in the broader school to foster community and belonging and to support the School’s anti-racist commitments" as one of the teacher's responsibilities.

The school has hired an "Inaugural Executive Director of the Hutchins Center for Race and Social Justice." The center is described as " an innovation in secondary education, providing an interdisciplinary hub for transformational, real-world experiences for the Lawrenceville community and beyond. It will advance the School’s vision of applied, experiential learning and will empower students to pursue original research and writing, actively seeking solutions to some of the greatest societal challenges of our time."

The incoming Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement announced that the school is "in the process of providing opportunities for growth, development, and renewal in the areas of cultural competency, for the entire school community, and diversity, equity, and inclusion."

The head of school also said that the school will provide, "A robust anti-racism resource page on the School’s website that provides easily accessible and continuously updated anti-racist tools."

The school invited a facilitator of "anti-racism training with the Center for Racial Justice in Education" to address students at a School Meeting.

The school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) council has multiple priorities, including "Achieving equitable outcomes through a climate survey and equity audit and resulting enhancements to the School community."

At the Virtual Parents Weekend, the Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement and Head of School shared "both the progress and on-going work on Lawrenceville’s action plan to create and support an anti-racist campus."

The school aims to "Develop a speaker series and student events at Lawrenceville to bring varied perspectives on critical issues and ideas and incorporate time for students to discuss these issues in smaller groups" and "Build and maintain a robust anti-racism resource page on Lawrenceville’s website."

As part of its DEI Strategic Plan, the school will "Create a fully resourced, formal Office of Multicultural Affairs as a department focused on student and faculty / staff DEI programming," "Empower a DEI Council to be led by the Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement," and "Create the position of Assistant Head of School for Strategic Implementation to help oversee DEI initiatives." The school will, "Commit to removing 'Master' from all titles (Head Master, Master Teacher, and House Master)" and "Remove all physical representations of racism on campus."

In a Facebook announcement on August 28, 2020, Lawrenceville mentioned “Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement Rick Holifield discussed Lawrenceville’s efforts to become a more just and equitable community.”

On August 27, 2020, Lawrenceville announced a Call to Action event in response to the death of Jacob Blake, stating on Facebook “Lawrenceville will continue to create a community that is truly best for all - particularly for our Black students, many of whom are dealing with questions, confusion, and hurt as a result of the continued civil unrest in our nation.” This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On July 24, 2020, Lawrenceville posted the Head of School’s letter on Facebook, discussing “action steps to create a more just and equitable Lawrenceville.” This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On July 23, 2020, Lawrenceville highlighted its “Race to Equality” project on Facebook. This post was also featured on its Twitter account.

On June 19, 2020, Lawrenceville posted a video message, stating on Facebook “Lawrenceville’s new Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Rick Holifield shares a message about the first steps he is taking to create and enact the School’s Diversity Action Plan for a better, more inclusive, more anti-racist Lawrenceville.” This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On June 17, 2020, Lawrenceville posted a message on Facebook to the school regarding "diversity, inclusion, and community engagement." This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On June 7, 2020, Lawrenceville posted to Facebook a video statement which "focused on the School's current and forthcoming efforts in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and social justice for all citizens." This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On June 2, 2020, Lawrenceville participated in “Blackout Tuesday” on Facebook. This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On May 31, 2020, Lawrenceville responded to the death of George Floyd and stated on Facebook, "let us acknowledge the recent tragedies and mourn the loss of innocent life. Let us take a clear-eyed, honest look at the state of our nation and how those who have been historically marginalized and demanded continue to be treated." This post was also featured on its Instagram and Twitter accounts.

On August 28, 2020, Lawrenceville posted on Instagram that there was a discussion on “efforts to become a more just and equitable community.” This post was also featured on its Twitter account.

On August 13, 2020, Lawrenceville highlighted a panel discussion which sought to “address the impact of the most recent incidents of racism and police violence in the country.” This post was also featured on its Twitter account.

On June 26, 2020, Lawrenceville tweeted, “Today, Head of School Steve Murray shared a letter outlining Lawrenceville’s ‘preliminary but essential commitments’ to make the School ‘a safer, more equitable, and more just learning, living, and working experience.’"