FAQs
Admissions
- How do DEI principles influence the admissions process at LWHS?
- How do new families get onboarded and learn about DEI principles and resources at LWHS?
How do DEI principles influence the admissions process at LWHS?
The LWHS Admissions team's mission is to:
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Craft an equitable and accessible admissions and enrollment process that demonstrates our values of empathy, equity, and diversity.
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Yield a community of students from all walks of life who are empathetic, diverse, and will embody the LWHS mission: learners, change-makers, leaders that are empowered to enact positive social change.
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Mentor, build relationships, and contribute to a community of authentic selves with the hope that all might feel belonging
How do new families get onboarded and learn about DEI principles and resources at LWHS?
When new families are admitted to LWHS, they are provided with a welcome packet from the Admissions Office. In said packet, community members are oriented to the various people, programs and practices that create and maintain the conditions necessary for all our students and families to thrive. These resources are then highlighted through a series of beginning of year events, for example, our Families New to Independent Schools Gathering, Family Network Affinity Gatherings, and our Back to School Nights. Another key way community members learn about the school’s DEI values and resources is the connection between student, family, and advisor.
For further questions and information, please contact a member of our DEIB Department.
Dee Johnson
Matthew Oakland
Curriculum & Policies
Please see our Student Handbook for all policies.
Families
- Are parenting adults provided with education around Ethnic Studies and Restorative Justice?
- As a parent, where do I go to give feedback about DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) at LWHS?
- As a parent, how do I get involved in DEI at LWHS?
Are parenting adults provided with education around Ethnic Studies and Restorative Justice?
We have and will continue to share general information about the initiatives with our parent affinity groups and the wider parent community so parents understand how their students are experiencing these initiatives. We do not have specific plans to lead Restorative Practices nor Ethnic Studies workshops for parents at this time, though some meetings may include these topics.
As a parent, where do I go to give feedback about DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) at LWHS?
Email Dean of Adult Equity & Inclusion, Dee Johnson djohnson@lwhs.org
As a parent, how do I get involved in DEI at LWHS?
Join affinity groups!
- Latinos Unidos Family Network (LUFN)
- Black Student Union Family Network (BSUFN)
- South Asian Affinity Group (SAAG)
- Asian/Asian American Family Affinity Group (AAAFN)
Contact Dean of Equity & Inclusion Dee Johnson, or Parents' Association Co-VPs of Inclusion Roseanne Barry and/or Heba Williams to connect you.
Faculty, Staff & Board
- What are the goals and strategies for diversity amongst faculty, staff, administration and board at LWHS?
- How do DEI principles influence teaching practices and professional development? Are faculty and staff talking/reading about white privilege, white fragility, implicit bias, etc.?
- How do DEI principles influence the search/hiring process for the new hires?
What are the goals and strategies for diversity amongst faculty, staff, administration and board at LWHS?
Board of Trustees (this information can also be found on the DEI website):
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee works to educate the Board of Trustees and to ensure that the Board and its committees adopt best practices around diversity, equity and inclusion. The Committee is charged with benchmarking the school’s DEI efforts and partnering with the Head of School to fully realize the DEI goals of the Strategic Plan.
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The Committee provides best practices guidelines for committee chairs.
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The Committee creates and maintains a DEI dashboard to provide data to the Head of School and Board of Trustees around the effectiveness of the school’s DEI related programs.
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The Committee meets at least six times per year.
DEI is incorporated into the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. (particularly Thread #2 Nurturing our Dynamic Community)
The nominating and governance committee applies a DEI lens to board composition and recruiting.
Faculty
The faculty at LWHS regularly engage in professional development about how to create inclusive classrooms. Faculty have worked with Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond, as well as Onward by Elena Aguilar. The standards for teaching and the job description for faculty and for each administrative position include responsibilities for creating a diverse and inclusive community. Additionally, faculty and staff attend professional development conferences related to teaching, grading, and social equity.
Hiring
The school uses a handbook created by Cris Clifford Cullinan, Ph.D., crisc@uoregon.edu
Co-chair, National Advisory Council for the NCORE: The National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education that dictates our hiring processes and procedures.
All members of each search committee undergo anti-bias in hiring training. We have developed clear protocols and procedures for hiring that help to eliminate bias. This training includes:
Interviewer Biases, Stereotyping, Inconsistency in questioning, First impression error, Negative emphasis, Halo/horn effect, Cultural Noise, Nonverbal cues unrelated to job performance, Contrast effect, Similar-to-me error.
How do DEI principles influence teaching practices and professional development? Are faculty and staff talking/reading about white privilege, white fragility, implicit bias, etc.?
Teachers work together to be practitioners of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Critical Race Theory as a pedagogical framework for teaching. Teachers apply the methodologies of Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond. Teachers engage critically in their own work and seek guidance from text such as Onward: Daily Activities to Cultivate your Emotional Resilience and Thrive by Elena Aguilar.
How do DEI principles influence the search/hiring process for the new hires?
DEI principles are informing many aspects of the hiring and search process for new faculty and staff.
The hiring committee meets to discuss:
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Understanding implicit bias and the ways it manifests across a search process
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Understanding bias as a critical barrier to achieving an equitable and inclusive hiring process
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Developing self-awareness of the biases that each individual carries with them
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Developing facility for evaluating and engaging with candidates in support of equity and inclusion
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Encouraging a culture of supportive, mutual accountability around implicit bias
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LWHS posts broadly to attract a diverse pool of applicants.