Diversity Home

Bridges Towards Equity & Justice

Board of Trustees Diversity Committee

Mission Statement

It is our belief at John Burroughs School that maintaining a diverse School community and developing an understanding of the benefits of diversity are essential to achieving excellence in education and preparing our students for successful lives in a multicultural society.  The role of the Diversity Committee is to (i) encourage dialogue and raise awareness concerning diversity issues, (ii) recommend and sponsor programs and other ways to celebrate and enhance the diversity of the School community and (iii) evaluate the School's progress in achieving diversity goals.

· Creation of the position of Diversity Coordinator, 1997;

· Establishment in 1998-1999 of the first Board Diversity Committee;

· Summer workshop at JBS for faculty members on understanding prejudice (Summers 1999-2001);

· Sponsorship of JBS students in the week-long Anytown program (Summers 1999-2001);

· Support for the programming of the student group, Diversity E.T.C. (Education Through Communication);

· JBS student and faculty attendance at the national People of Color Conference/National Student Diversity Leadership Conference (Fall 1998-2000);

· Self-assessment surveys and focus groups conducted by the Diversity Committee with its Consultant, NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice);

· Board/Faculty Retreat on diversity issues (Fall 1999);

· Program featuring Greg Freeman (of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) and Daniel Schesch and their nationally acclaimed project, "Bridges Across Racial Polarization®";

· Commencement of six "Bridges" dialogue groups by JBS parents (February 2000);

· Active participation by JBS in the Midwest Diversity Committee of ISACS (1998 - 2001);

· Diversity Committee leadership of book club discussions sponsored by the Family Network (Fall 1999, Winter 2001);

· JBS hosts the "Building An Inclusive Community Workshop" sponsored by NCCJ (February 2000);

· Diversity E.T.C. All-School Symposium (February 2000);

· Grade Level Brown Bags focusing on diversity issues, sponsored by the Family Network (March-April 2000);

· Town Hall meeting with JBS parents (January 2000);

· Formation of Diversity Subcommittee on Religion (Spring 2000);

· Formation of Diversity Subcommittee on Recruitment, Retention and Support (Spring 2000);

· Initiated and established the St. Louis Diversity Consortium of Independent Schools--a partnership linking the student diversity efforts of various schools through dialogue and shared activities (Fall 2000);

· Three morning assemblies featuring religious leaders from the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths. They talked about the ethical traditions in their religions (Fall/Winter 2000);

· Expansion of Bridges dialogue groups to eight (Winter 2001);

· Three focus groups on religion (Winter 2001);

· JBS hosts "Face to Face" performance for JBS community and other schools (Fall 2000);

· Participation of 35 students in a Unitown retreat on Sexism (February 2001);

· Established Bridges Towards Equity and Justice—a youth pilot program in conjunction with FOCUS St. Louis (February 2001);

· Burroughs roundtable on diversity in corporate life--bringing together six leaders from the St. Louis business community. The dialogue clarified diversity issues that will affect students in their careers and how they can be prepared (March 2001);

· Student-led assembly addressing Hate Crimes (April 2001);

· Special Recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service commending school's diversity initiatives (May 2001);

· Staff addition to support diversity initiatives: Director of Diversity & Multicultural Education and a Diversity Coordinator (July 2001)

755 S. Price Road
St. Louis, MO 63124
Phone: 314-993-4040
E-Mail: dharris@jburroughs.org