Sheridan -- where is the diversity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:bump!

Why? What's left for this thread to accomplish?

[Anonymous]

I would really like to hear from current AA parents at Sheridan! Or other parents who can give some input about whether the school is committed to changiing the current lack of diversity! Why does my interest bother you so much?

[Anonymous]

I looked at this school for my DS for K and I loved al ot about the school but I did not feel good about the lack of diversity! I did not get a chance to talk to any parents. I would consider the school if I felt they were working hard to improve this and perhaps in need of some active parents to help them!

[Anonymous]

This thread brings up some really good points. I'm a teacher at Sheridan and I agree with the posters who characterized the student body as diverse but the faculty and staff as not diverse. There are a few possible explanations for this, but explanations certainly don't address the root problem.

I can say that I've seen the school commit to two substantial programs recently which should help put us back on course (the faculty has previously been far more diverse): 1) a relationship with a teaching program at Howard designed to identify and develop African American student teachers who are interested in the Sheridan style of teaching, and 2) the AIM (Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism) study which has been developed by NAIS and that Sheridan is completing this spring. (More info at: http://www.nais.org/equity/index.cfm?itemnumber=147587&sn.ItemNumber=147832) I've been impressed with the interest in this process from both diverse and non-diverse parents.

[Anonymous]

PP why just limit your efforts to recruiting teachers at Howard? There are other schools in the area that have a diverse pool of applicants that may be open to or educated in teaching methods that mirror the Sheridan style of teaching! I am almost certain if the school would cast a wider net they would not find it too diffiicult to find suitable teachers that are diverse. You mentioned that in the past there was some diversity, I am curious as to why the school was unable to retain those teachers. The education seems to rock but the lack of diversity makes the school seem uninviting to diverse applicants, especially AA applicants! I know that was the case for me and a few others that I know who looked at the school! I think its great that the school is trying to work on it! I would love to see Sheridan have the numbers that many other schools in the area have (20%-30%) I know I would be in line with my DS to apply!

[Anonymous]

I know Sheridan very well because I used to teach there some time ago. I remember a teacher from Brazil, 2 from Colombia, a LGTB teacher amongst the faculty. Cultural diversity is not fixated in the skin color though because all of these teacher's skin colors were white.
I also know the kids described some posts before, I thought them and I agree that discretion is necessary when talking about children.

[Anonymous]

taught instead of thought
(and I think about that class often, nice group of kids, nice parents, nice small school)

[Anonymous]

PP you are correct, discretion is important when discussing children! You make a valid point too about other types of diversity being represented at the school but, I think the OP was pointing out the under representation of ethnic diversity, mainly AA students and teachers. This type of environment is scary to parents of ethnic children namely AA becase of the damage it can have on their identity! I know white parents who have passed on Sheridan because they wanted their children in a more diverse environment and felt other schools would do better at providing one. Early exposure to diversity helps all children become more well rounded and able to handle themselves in diverse settings better as adults!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:. . . Early exposure to diversity helps all children become . . . able to handle themselves in diverse settings better as adults!

That's intuitive, but current research suggests it's false. What matters is that tolerance is conveyed *explicitly* by parents (and, to a much lesser extent, by teachers, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:. . . Early exposure to diversity helps all children become . . . able to handle themselves in diverse settings better as adults!

That's intuitive, but current research suggests it's false. What matters is that tolerance is conveyed *explicitly* by parents (and, to a much lesser extent, by teachers, etc.).

Correct. Nobody actually wants to talk about race explicitly, so there's a tendency to engineer diverse little environments like a Benetton ad (or the Jolie-Pitt family) and just ASSUME that children will absorb the message about everyone being equal. But with no-one giving explicit instructions or having concrete conversations about race, then children start forming their own opinions. And quite frequently, these opinions are not what parents and teachers had in mind.

See (http://www.newsweek.com/id/214989) for details.

[Anonymous]

PP you are right! I would still say you need to have enough minority representation at the schools in order to have well informed discussions and possibly even courageous conversations sometimes! W/o enough diversity, how can you create an environment that would allow for such dialogue to occur?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP you are right! I would still say you need to have enough minority representation at the schools in order to have well informed discussions and possibly even courageous conversations sometimes! W/o enough diversity, how can you create an environment that would allow for such dialogue to occur?

Go actually read the article, or even some of the underlying research.