Thoughts about diversity

[Anonymous]

At least one factor in the equation for us in considering private school is the possibility that we'll find more diversity there than in our local suburban wealthy public school. Here is the query -- how much do children gain from being in a school with high(er) racial diversity, but still little to no socioeconomic diversity? Are there any private schools that do a particularly good job of introducing both forms of diversity?

[Anonymous]

Diversity is one of the things our family was looking for in a private school also. Our public schools have a good amount of both racial and socioeconomic diversity so we were not exactly in your situation, but we wanted smaller class sizes, a nurturing atmosphere and also a religious affiliation. We have been very happy at Grace Episcopal Day School. We like that our kids have friends from many different backgrounds and that they are taught to value everyone as an individual. The administration and faculty are very good at looking for ways to be inclusive. This doesn't only relate to admissions and financial aid, but to the daily operation of the school, the instructional content and also the PTO and parent events. Grace also has a very active diversity committee on the Board of Governors.

True socioeconomic diversity is a challenge given that the financial aid budget only stretches so far, but there are definitely many families that are not at all wealthy and must make budget sacrifices to attend. Although my family doesn't receive financial aid, it is definitely a financial stretch for us.

It's a bit dated, but this article does focus on some of the things that Grace has done to promote diversity.
http://www.edow.org/news/window/nov2003/grace.html

[Anonymous]

Sadly Grace wouldn't be a match for us because we would be looking for a school without any religious affiliation. In general though have you felt that your children have truly grown through having peers from different backgrounds, or has it largely been superficial -- in other words, the kids may represent many different races but everyone's parents have similar resources, similar values/priorities, similar daily lives?