THE CRANBROOK SCHOOLS’ INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND
ACCESS (IDEA)
Originally, an All-Schools Diversity
Committee was formed in August 1994. This committee's purpose was to
provide leadership and support through resources and programs that make
Cranbrook Schools a welcoming, respectful, safe, and healthy place for all who
choose to come here.
The objectives of the original committee
were: (1) to promote ethnic, religious, cultural, gender, socio-economic and
racial understanding and respect; (2) to work in collaboration with the
Director of Community and Multicultural Programs (now Director of Inclusion,
Diversity, Equity, & Access) and Heads of each campus to design and support
activity and programs in multicultural education; (3) to support the work of
parent organizations in their diversity activities; (4) to encourage parents to
share resources and provide support to enhance multicultural education and
sensitivity; and (5) to serve as a resource for the community in matters of
multicultural concerns and to make recommendations regarding such
concerns.
This work continues through specific
campus energy which includes students, faculty, administration, board, and
parent representatives from the entire school community. These groups
seek diverse membership of people invested in the pursuit of inclusion,
diversity, equity, and access that affect the culture and climate of the
community. All groups work closely with each campus’s leadership team in
identifying and developing programs supportive of Cranbrook’s mission.
Examples include: ECC/Brookside’s
Diversity Committee and DEI Task Force to support professional engagement;
Middle Schools’ Diversity Committee, student diversity groups; Upper School
IDEA Coordinators, and student affinity/identity groups. All campuses have
Wellness Teams. There are vibrant, campus wide Seeking Educational Equity and
Diversity (SEED) seminar cohorts and a cross-campus Gender Support Team.
Cranbrook’s Multicultural Awareness
Think Tank (MATT) began in 2014 as diversity representatives of Cranbrook
parent groups sought to extend their work with the parent community and further
their support of campus activity. Now renamed Family Inclusion Network or FIN,
our family inclusion network offers programming, learning, and dialogue in
support of Cranbrook’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA)
strategy. Each year, FIN supports a variety of educational and community
enrichment opportunities for our students and their families. Families
have shared professional development programs such as SEED, an internationally
renowned program supporting an inclusive curriculum, and the Independent
Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) Parent Series Webinars, an
annual 6-part evening series for families to help support children in our
schoolhouses.
For more information, contact Carla R.
Young, Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access 248.645.3683.