In early February 2020, I attended an alumni reunion and anniversary event for the Black and brown affinity group at an elite, four-year college prep boarding school in New England. For three years previously I had worked in the admission office, where I was tasked with continuing to recruit and yield Black and brown students. During the event, the leaders of the school’s alumni committee presented the results of a survey conducted with current Black and brown students, who started attending the predominantly white high school in 2015 or after. Many of the alumni at the event, who attended the school prior to 2015, did not have the best experiences when they were students; they were shocked to learn that current Black and brown students and recent alumni had enjoyed their time at the school, continue to engage and want to support the community, and are taking advantage of opportunities to return to campus. Many of the older alumni of color are not engaged in fundraising efforts, don’t attend reunions (except for this one), or haven’t returned to campus since they graduated.Around the same time as the reunion, I was conducting a research study with students at the school in partial fulfillment of my education specialist degree. I was interested in learning the factors (social, cultural, and academic) that help Black and brown students thrive in U.S. boarding schools and what schools are doing to retain these students and help them successfully matriculate to colleges and universities. Intrigued by the survey results revealed at the reunion, I sought to unearth and explore how Black and brown students perceive and engage with the support systems created to help them thrive at their school and what approaches or programs best provide social-emotional and academic support.
The Background
My research explored the experiences of current Black and brown students at this particular school, whose founding purpose was to help wealthy, white males matriculate to elite universities. Before the 1960s, boarding schools were socially and racially homogenous. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, this school was among those that started allowing Black students to apply. The head of school wanted to integrate so badly that he threatened to resign if the trustees didn’t agree to effectively recruit Black students. The school started partnering with A Better Chance, a nonprofit that helps people of color attend high-achieving boarding, day, and public schools, in order to attract Black applicants to the school’s isolated location and all-white community. For many years, Black and brown families have seen education as an avenue for upward mobility in the U.S., and some Black and brown students have been able to progress in a private school system institutionalized to prioritize the needs and success of white Americans. I wondered if the school, where in the 2019–2020 school year, 46% of students identify as persons of color (13% identify as Black or brown) and there were nine faculty of color, has been able to serve Black and brown students as well as they do white students. If so, what has worked well? If not, what are the gaps?Through my research, a mixed methods study, I collected qualitative and quantitative data through surveys with nine current students and five recent alumni in their first year of college. I also conducted semi-structured interviews with two current students and one recent alum. With permission from the head of school, director of admission, registrar, and the participants and their families, I also analyzed their admission applications, focusing on the committee comments they received during deliberations and their SSAT scores.
The Findings
Over the years, it has not surprisingly been a struggle for Black and brown students to feel a part of the community. But my research also revealed that Black and brown students who have been at the school for the past five years have felt a sense of place in the community. The findings also suggest that Black and brown students get along with their teachers, enjoy learning at the school, and think the school is relevant to their future lives. Current Black and brown students share that they feel empowered in the small, family-like atmosphere. One interviewee said, “I don’t feel like I have to be two-dimensional anymore to make people feel comfortable when they are around me. I feel more confident being myself, and I feel more comfortable being uncomfortable.” Another current student shared, “I have learned to live in the present and make (the school) my own. I worry less, ask more questions, and take more risks.”My research unveiled some strategies that have been useful in moving the school toward true inclusion for Black and brown students. In the past five years, Black and brown students have had a stronger sense of connection to the school because of sustained diversity and inclusion work, which was formalized at the school in 2012. Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents said “affinity groups” were their favorite extracurricular activity at the school. There are 15 affinity groups in a community of more than 360 students. These groups have biweekly open and closed meetings in addition to monthly gatherings where different affinity groups discuss their identities and intersectional experiences.
The Community and Equity Office has a director, who is part of the school’s senior administration team; an assistant director; and four student prefects annually. There’s also a Community and Equity Committee of 25 faculty and staff who volunteer their time to help enhance diversity and inclusion efforts at the school. Students and faculty also attend several diversity and inclusion conferences and professional development opportunities throughout the year.
The Takeaways
Independent schools should have diverse leadership teams. Families of color must feel validated, represented, and seen. Likewise, it’s vital to build culturally competent faculty at these schools. All teachers at the school I studied undergo cultural competency training in teaching and curricula through collaborations between the school’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and the Community and Equity Office.Senior administration and several campus offices (including admission) have undergone anti-bias training, and the admission office underwent an equity audit. One strategy to ensure that there are more faculty of color, particularly alumni of color, working at boarding schools is to offer specific teaching fellowships and directly recruit alumni of color in their senior year of college. Well-funded schools with significant financial resources should also consider loan forgiveness packages for Black and brown alumni if they return to teach.
When Black and brown students feel validated in a school community, they are more likely to remain engaged with the school after they graduate.
Recommendations
Dedicate an office specifically to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. The director of this office must be a part of the senior leadership team, should be involved in hiring, and able to work strategically with other campus offices in creating a more inclusive school environment. They should also be able to relate well with students, and students should feel like they can connect with them.Increase admission of Black and brown students from varied backgrounds and affinity spaces. This would help address the tokenism some Black and brown students feel in elite private schools. Admission offices should employ a proactive and inclusive approach to recruitment and should not recruit Black and brown students from access programs only. There should be a stronger focus on direct school visits and leveraging connections with alumni of color who may be living or studying in underrepresented states and countries.
Hire more Black and brown faculty. This could be done through teaching fellowships and by directly recruiting Black and brown alumni when they are graduating from college. Schools with larger endowments can consider loan forgiveness as a part of their benefits package for the young alumni they hire.
Establish affinity spaces for students, faculty, and staff. Encourage cross-conversation among these groups, which allow members and allies of minority groups to be in community and have difficult conversations in a safe space.
Engage Black and brown alumni in policy making and procedures. Be transparent and informative about widespread, ongoing DEI efforts at the school—the victories, failures, and limitations. Involve them in the work and conversation at the school at all levels, including the hiring, retention, and support of Black and brown faculty, staff, and students.