Anti-Racism Action Plan

Packer’s Board of Trustees and Head of School Dr. Jennifer Weyburn made the following key commitments to foster an anti-racist culture at the school. 

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For the complete list of actions and details, see our initial June 2020 announcement of the Action Plan. 

For news about our progress since June, scroll down to Current Status of the Plan.

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Immediate Commitments (0-3 months)

• Require active accountability for anti-racist behavior among community members

• Enforce consistent faculty/staff mandatory reporting of race-based harassment as defined in the employee handbook

• Create clear system for reporting race-based harassment with option of anonymity

• Mandate annual anti-racism training for all faculty, staff, and trustees

• Develop anti-racist evaluation processes for curriculum and teaching practices

• Expand resources to support these initiatives

Ongoing Commitments (3-12 months)

• Require active accountability for anti-racist behavior among community members

• Increase diversity of our faculty, staff, and administration

• Increase racial diversity of our student body

Accountability and Transparency

• Establish an anti-racism advisory group

• Create a webpage to track the school’s anti-racism efforts

• Packer is working with East Ed to enhance our data analysis related to student-achievement data and community demographic data (students, faculty, and staff) to evaluate success and set goals for the future.
• In January and February, the Diversity and Equity team collaborated with our Health and Wellness team on divisional parent talks connecting social emotional learning, anti-racism, and healthy relationships.
• The Parent Association has created affinity groups for parents (White Awareness and Accountability Group, Black Affinity Group, Asian Affinity Group) that meet regularly.
• Parent Association leadership participated in an anti-racism workshop with Ayo Magwood, learning about the history of racism in the United States.
• In September, the PA hosted a book talk with the author of Born Ready; The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope by Jodie Patterson P’17, P’24.  The conversation highlighted the importance of healthy identity development for our children and family experiences with gender identity and race.
• In October, the Parent Association hosted a discussion of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds and This Book is Antiracist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell. These books were also read and discussed by students and faculty in the Middle School and Upper School. 

• In August, a faculty and staff orientation provided guidance on the mandatory reporting of race-based harassment as defined in the employee handbook.

• The testimonies from the @BlackatPCI Instagram page have been analyzed to identify areas for institutional improvement, and current students and faculty were contacted to follow-up on incidents mentioned. Analysis has been shared with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Board and the Packer Anti-Racism Council (PARC) and steps are being taken to improve in these areas.
• The Diversity and Equity Team has conducted a cross-divisional review of disciplinary procedures regarding hate speech. The group has identified areas for change, including updates to the school’s hate-speech policy.

• Revised hate-speech policies for Middle and Upper School were developed by administrators and faculty, with input from students and families, and have been implemented. 
• Our 2021-22 student enrollment contract includes language related to all of our roles in working toward an anti-racist, anti-biased community. 

• The reporting protocol for acts of discrimination and harassment was shared during faculty/staff and student orientations in September. 
• New protocols have been developed and are currently being reviewed for students to report race-based harassment (student to student, adult to student, and student to adult). 

• This fall, all administrators, faculty, and staff are participating in three sessions with Liza Talusan, a strategic-change partner specializing in diversity and equity. Through this work, participants will learn the difference between “diversity and inclusion” and “justice and equity.” They will also examine what needs to change regarding diversity and inclusion at Packer and how they can apply an equity approach to their own work. 
• This fall, Packer’s Trustees participated in a mandatory day-long anti-racism training with the Center for Racial Justice in Education. The Alumni Board and the Parent Association Board will participate in the same training this winter.
• This fall, the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative (East Ed), a non-profit centered around the pursuit of academic excellence via equitable teaching practices and healthy school climates, is aggregating and analyzing data to help Packer determine further action steps that will lead to a long-term anti-racism strategy.
• We have piloted an anti-racism workshop series for families in each division, designed by our outside consultants and Packer’s Diversity and Equity Team. 
• Consultant Nicole Lavonne Smith has begun to train community members in restorative justice approaches to support the redesign of the Student-Faculty Justice Committee (SFJC) in the Upper School, as well as disciplinary structures across all of the divisions.
• In November, Adeyemi Mchunguzi ’09 of ASMT Solutions coached Packer administration in establishing culturally responsive hiring practices so we can build a more diverse and equitable workforce.
• In August, Jackson Collins led a workshop titled “Understanding the Experiences of Academically Talented Students of Color in Independent Schools,” which helped attendees better understand the racial stress, climate, and encounters that impact the experience of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) at predominantly white institutions like Packer. Participants included all divisional leadership teams and deans, department heads, grade-level coordinators, college counselors, diversity and equity coordinators, and community engagement coordinators.

• Academic leaders are studying Coaching for Equity: Conversations that Change Practice, which addresses supporting teachers in bringing an equity lens to their pedagogy. In February, Academic leaders will have an opportunity to work with the author, Elena Aguilar of Equity Coaching, in a Q&A session about developing racially and culturally inclusive classrooms. 
• Educational leaders have reviewed and are in the process of revising Packer’s anti-racist review protocols. 
• This summer, a student-led Change Committee partnered with members of various departments and offices to reflect on the scope and sequence of Packer’s curriculum and to articulate action steps that incorporate an anti-racist approach and healthy identity development across the school. This school year, various student groups have been engaged in aspects of our reflection and planning.
• Marie Michael, of Embodied Coaching and Consulting, is providing ongoing training for department heads on facilitating curriculum design and teaching practices that incorporate a racial equity lens.
   

• The Program Leadership Team, working with trustees and consultants, will assess the current staffing and resourcing of our diversity and equity program and determine what needs to be outsourced.
• Substantial additional funds have been allocated to ensure the success of our anti-racism initiatives this school year. The annual budget and resources will be reviewed to ensure it reflects our commitment to support diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and offerings beyond the 2020-21 school year.

• We conducted 13 focus groups, facilitated by East Ed, to learn more about how our families, alumni, students, and faculty/staff experience Packer’s diversity and equity programs and initiatives
• The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Board established the Packer Anti-Racism Council (PARC), co-chaired by trustees Jamillah Hoy-Rosas ’94 and Eric Ryan P ’28, ’30, a group including all of Packer’s constituents — trustees, students, parents, alumni, administration, staff and faculty. Over the course of this year, the group has been building understanding by meeting with various stakeholders, reviewing current programming and providing feedback, all with the aim of advancing our anti-racism commitments. (View PARC members.)

• The Communications Office has created this public webpage to provide updates on steps taken to fulfill our Anti-Racism Action Plan, including programming, community data, and accountability measures. This page was updated in August 2020, November 2020, December 2020, and February 2021.