Head of School's Column

by John Farber, Head of School

When I arrived at Old Trail School seven years ago, I was often asked why I thought diversity was important. My response then, as it is now, is two-fold. First and foremost, it is the right thing to do. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and have an opportunity to learn. Second, our business is preparing students for secondary school and beyond. Our students will experience a wide array of diversity in high school, college and beyond and it is our responsibility to teach them things that will help them thrive in the future.

Old Trail has been undergoing a strategic planning initiative for the past few years. We have collected a great deal of data through the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS*) Constituency Survey and eight local focus groups involving approximately 150 members of our school community.

I have been struck by the incredible number of different ways in which diversity issues have arisen and are being viewed as critically important to our constituents. We have received overwhelming support to enrich the Old Trail School experience and enhance our overall excellence by emphasizing diversity.

This makes me extremely proud! (more...)

Old Trail’s Commitment to Diversity by Gabriela DiSanto, Director of Diversity

Old Trail School takes diversity seriously. In the early stages of a formal school wide program, Old Trail began by addressing diversity from a curricular point of view, with the social studies department taking the lead. In 1999, following a self-study and subsequent Independent School Association of the Central States* team visit, the School identified the need to formalize its diversity efforts and create a Diversity Committee. The committee, comprised of board members, parents, faculty and staff, identified two main goals.

The first goal was to create a mission statement to address the issue of diversity at Old Trail from a curricular, admissions and hiring point of view. The second was to hire a coordinator to manage the School’s diversity efforts. Former social studies teacher, Karen Patterson, assumed this role on a part-time basis. Librarians Margaret Liske and Lynn Saddleton were also instrumental in expanding and broadening the scope of our collection to address diversity issues, as well as multicultural education.

The Diversity Committee then created a mission statement and developed a Diversity Strategic Plan that was approved by the Board in 2004. The plan established seven additional goals that are directly linked to this mission statement and address the areas of: admissions, hiring, curriculum, parents, alumni, friends of OTS and school leadership’s awareness of diversity issues, and partnerships with other schools, area businesses and community organizations. (more...)

Why Focus on Diversity by Katherine Howard, School Psychologist

At Old Trail School, we want our students to appreciate diversity.

By encouraging our students to learn about differences and to respect differences, we are acting on two of Old Trail’s core values: goodness and respect. We are also fostering “cultural competence” in our students and in our institution, which is the ability to be knowledgeable about and interact respectfully with the myriad people, practices, belief systems and traditions that exist in our increasingly global world.

People with a high degree of cultural competence operate effectively in a variety of settings because they have part of what has commonly been referred to as“emotional intelligence,” or the ability to truly understand the perspective of another. Institutions that are culturally competent are welcoming to all people – a goal we strive for daily at Old Trail. (more...)