By. Brooke Wilson, Asst. Director of Admission
Community is a word that often conjures images of rainbows, hand-holding, and puppies. What we acknowledge at Bay is that community does include warmth and positivity, sometimes even an impromptu Hamilton sing-along in the dining hall — but community is also forged and strengthened by challenge. Creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in multiple dimensions is a challenge for most independent schools. The same is true for Bay.
Bay Admissions hosts two Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Evenings each year. These events offer an opportunity for prospective students and parents/guardians, to talk in small groups with current Bay students, parents/guardians, faculty and staff. In December the discussion was lively, honest and deeply engaging. We ask prospective families to bring their most challenging questions and their deepest concerns. Our community representatives responded to these questions with thoughtful examples from their personal experiences of Bay.
Some of the questions families asked in December were:
“How do students who receive Tuition Assistance experience Bay?”
“What was the school’s official response to the recent presidential election and how are current events addressed in the classroom?”
“What are the affinity groups? What does the White Students Unlearning Racism group do?
When preparing to participate in these evenings our families and students aren’t provided with talking points or scripts. There’s no rehearsal. They are simply told this: “Our goal is to be authentic — not perfect. Tell your truth, and work in service of families trying to make a really important decision about where they will spend the next four years.”
Tonight, we will host our final DEI Night of the season. We look forward to more challenging questions and to sharing more of what it means to be a part of the Bay community.
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