Kent Denver's DEI Plan: Launched October 2020

• In October 2020, the school adopted a position statement on diversity, equity and inclusion. You may read the statement in the DEI Plan.
• A series of articles in Connection, the school’s weekly parent e-newsletter, combined with a DEI webpage redesign, and information shared with alumni, prospective students, and parents clearly communicated Kent Denver’s commitment and plans regarding DEI.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a stand-alone area of focus in the school’s upcoming strategic plan (to be released in August 2021)
• A Board of Trustee-led DEI committee comprised of 5 Trustees, 5 KDS staff members, 4 students, and members of the broader community representing parents, parents of alumni, and alumni has been formed. The group’s first scheduled meeting was in December 2020 with a charge to set measurable goals for the successful completion of the DEI plan.
• A small faculty DEI committee has been formed with teachers representing both middle and upper school. The committee is working with the Director of Equity and Community Engagement to facilitate antiracism PLC training for all employees.
• The job description for the Director of Equity and Community engagement has been reviewed and updated. Additional staffing in the form of an US diversity coordinator, and a MS service-learning coordinator will be added to the existing team in the 2021-2022 school year.
• All hiring managers attended a three-hour workshop in the fall titled, “Overcoming Obstacles to Recruiting Faculty Members of Color.”
• The Office of Equity and Community Engagement has been slated to receive formal review by off-campus professionals in the 2022-2023 school year.

• The KDS Community, including alumni, were invited to participate in the National Association of Independent Schools’ Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism in October 2020. An overview of results will be shared in the coming months.
• Student leadership completed a set of community-wide norms and expectations with civil discourse and accountability as central themes. Outcomes included a series of town hall meetings in the fall to discuss race and politics.
• Members of the Admissions Office attended workshops in December to further their own training in advance of the admission season (Antiracism and the Admissions and Enrollment Professional; Removing Barriers and Building Trust with Families from Diverse Backgrounds; and Alleviating Bias in the Admissions Process).
• Kent Denver’s Administrative Team participated in DEI training led by the school’s DEI consultant, The Equity Project
• In conjunction with our Strategic Vision (released in October 2022) Kent Denver adopted the following Community Statement to stand with our Mission and Vision in more fully defining our aspirations as an educational institution:

Kent Denver fosters a culture where all differences and identities across gender, ability, religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and economic background are valued, celebrated and recognized as an essential quality of the education offered in our dynamic learning environment.

• Curricular audits are underway in every academic discipline. 
• After a comprehensive review in 2020-21, our Upper School history curriculum received a "high quality" rating from Johns Hopkins University, with particular praise for providing "resources that present multiple perspectives." The English department curriculum underwent a similar review in 2021-22.
• Faculty members are required to create at least one DEI related performance goal for the year, the success of which will be part of their yearly performance review.
• All faculty have completed a 4-class sequence of training to understand the role of antiracist teaching in the classroom and to implement new practices in their own classes.
• Each year, sessions during Employee Workshop Week and a DEI-focused professional development day engage all employees in deep conversations and learning about equity, diversity and inclusion.