Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

We have an office of DEI, as well as an Administrative and Board DEI committees. Johára Tucker is our Director of Equity & Inclusion and we also have three Deans of Equity & Inclusion, one in each division. We also bring in outside experts for one-time and ongoing work with our professional community, including the National Equity Project who is entering their third year of facilitating monthly affinity groups and professional development workshops for our professional community, including our opening full Professional Community Cultural Competency training.

The Administration was aware of a number of the incidents as reported on Black@HRS before they were publicly posted, and in some cases had already undertaken an investigation, restorative justice and/or disciplinary action. Due to our confidentiality policy and legal privacy rights of employees and students, the School is not able to discuss specific names but the board is briefed regularly on significant issues, including incidents of racism.

We have recorded all the incidents and personal stories mentioned on the BlackatHRS instagram account and incidents shared directly with the school are being treated seriously. In summer 2020, we developed an Incident Reporting Protocol for students and employees to safely and confidentially report incidents and complaints of bias/racism. The new protocol will be rolled out to faculty, staff and students at the start of school.

We are working with the Office of E&I, the Board DEI Committee and Admin team to establish our metrics for progress, and we will work to share them on our website. Aligned with our Diversity Action Plan, these metrics will include but are not limited to incident reporting, hiring, faculty/staff evaluation metrics, professional development and progress with curricular change.

The work of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is complex and multi-faceted. We see our role as educators to create an environment for all of our students to learn, grow and thrive. Making mistakes has always been an important part of learning and we are committed to building trust and relationships, engaging in restorative practices, and incorporating other tools that will assist us in this important and nuanced work as part of our community programming. One example is encouraging/practicing/modeling courageous conversations, starting with specific scenarios so students and adults can work together to understand and navigate complex situations.

Student Affinity Groups
Asia Club
Black Student Union 
Gender and Sexuality Diversity Club 
Indian Culture Club 
J Club
Latinos Unidos 

Family Affinity Groups 
African American Family Network 
Asian Parents Network 
Gender and Sexuality Diversity Network
Latino Family Network
Learning Differences Network 

August 2019
Professional Community Start-of-Year immersion w/ diversity expert Elizabeth DeNevi

September
National Equity Project Racial Affinity Groups
9/8 Oakland Pride 
Hispanic Heritage Month Assembly 

October
National Equity Project Racial Affinity Groups     
10/15 E & I Book Group: Born a Crime
10/24 PC of Color Social 
10/31 US Affinity Group Leadership Training

November
Dias de los Muertos
11/4 The Success of African American Students in Independent Schools 
11/6 E & I PC Meeting
11/12 NEP Racial Affinity Groups
Diwali

December
12/3 E & I Book Group: The Hate U Give 
12/4-12/7 NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) & Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) -  (Seattle, WA)
12/10 DEI Night 
12/10 NEP Racial Affinity Groups

January 2020
1/14 NEP Racial Affinity Groups
1/28 E & I Book Group: White Fragility 
Lunar New Year Celebration
1/28 MS Diversity Day
1/31 Black History Month Celebration

February 
2/11  NEP Racial Affinity Groups
2/12 NIA Speaker Series, Angie Thomas
2/22 EastEd Hiring Fair

March 
 3/3 NEP Racial Affinity Groups
 3/31 E & I Book Group: On The Come Up

April 
4/14 NEP Racial Affinity Groups
4/28 E & I Book Group: Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria
White Privilege Conference 

May 
5/12 NEP Racial Affinity Groups
 

NIA is the Swahili word meaning “purpose.” NIA encourages us to look within ourselves and set goals that are beneficial to the community. It represents our hopes and dreams for the future of our children and future of Head-Royce. As a group of parents, faculty and administrators, we collectively strive to foster community spirit within Head-Royce while building partnerships with community groups, individuals and businesses.

NIA was established in 2003 when four Head-Royce mothers met to discuss how they could contribute and support the three tenets of the Head-Royce mission — scholarship, diversity and citizenship. It was decided to host an annual speakers event that would be open to the Head-Royce and greater Oakland community. These founding members also had an equally important goal to establish an endowed scholarship to support the tuition for students of color admitted to Head-Royce School.

We embrace the School's mission to foster an understanding of and respect for the diversity that has made our society strong, as part of our effort to provide our students an excellent education. Serving the East Bay community in one of the most diverse areas of the country, we affirm:

• Our belief that a school community rich in diversity provides the greatest opportunity for students to learn life's lessons, and we affirm our commitment to attracting students, faculty, administration, and staff who reflect that diversity
• Our vision of a school as a truly welcoming and supportive community that values the dignity and worth of each individual member
• Our practice of inclusion, beginning with our policy not to discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status
• Our commitment to an inclusive educational program and pedagogy that promotes respect for others, appreciation of individual, cultural and socioeconomic differences, and social responsibility, equity, and justice
• Our hope that our students will gain a greater understanding of themselves and of others' different perspectives and an ability to think deeply about our diverse society
• Our effort to foster a global perspective so that our students can appreciate world cultures, analyze global issues, understand interconnectedness, evaluate conflicts and their resolution, and take action for positive change, and
• Our desire to prepare our students to be democratic leaders, inspired by our ideal of civic purpose, in an interdependent, pluralistic, multicultural community.

Approved by the Board of Trustees 11/17/05

All Head-Royce Professional Community members participate in Professional Development opportunities throughout the year. Here is a small sampling of our work so far this year:

• Presence at Equity is Excellence Conference, Summer 2019
• 2019 Faculty Book: Culturally Responsive Teaching 
• Full Professional Community training with diversity expert Elizabeth Denevi on creating inclusive learning spaces
• Full Professional Community workshop with E&I trainer Rosetta Lee on "Beyond the Why and Into the How: Practical Steps Toward Inclusive Classrooms"
• Administrative leadership workshops with Elena Aguilar on effective and equitable leadership
• National Equity Project racial affinity groups for faculty and staff throughout the year
• Cohort of 26 adults and students at the 2019 NAIS People of Color Conference