The Puzzle: Blog

Last night, we were honored to moderate this week’s #isedchat, a weekly Twitter conversation among leaders in independent schools. The topic was one that is constantly at the front of our minds: diversity in independent schools.

In the fall especially, we devote weeks of our time to visiting client schools all across the country. Schools give us a variety of information on what they seek in prospective faculty members (progressive educators, good coaches, strong intellects, etc.), which often differ from school to school. But one thing most schools can agree on? A shared commitment to diversity–and an urgent need to continue to diversify their own faculty and student bodies.

We are committed both to increasing the diversity of our own candidate pool and understanding the challenges and successes our clients and candidates have had regarding diversity in their own communities. How can we help start a conversation that can be awkward or tense? How can we help candidates from diverse backgrounds succeed? How can we ensure that students are exposed to a full range of possibilities, backgrounds, and experiences?

Last night’s conversation was an important and enlightening one, which introduced us to some wonderful initiatives our schools are taking on this matter and exposed us to some of the challenges they face.

Read the full archive here. Can you spot a teaser about an exciting initiative we’re planning for early next year? Much, much more on this topic to come.