Community & Belonging Plan

At Shady Side Academy, we recognize our responsibility to ensure all community members feel welcomed, supported and appreciated. In the summer of 2020, we listened intently to more than 450 community members as they shared their stories and concerns.

From those listening sessions and with much reflection, we created our Community & Belonging Plan as a framework to affect positive cultural change at SSA. With the support of the Board of Trustees, the plan was announced to the SSA community on July 15, 2020.

To Advance Our Vision and Leadership, Shady Side Academy Will:

Dedicate the work of the Board of Trustees’ Community Life Committee to the oversight and evaluation of the administration’s ongoing community and belonging work, and the initiatives identified below.
Enlist the support of an outside consultant to direct a thorough, objective review of Shady Side’s climate and policies in order to identify key areas of improvement for our community and belonging practice.
Expand the Office of Community and Belonging through the appointment of an assistant program coordinator and the launch of an early career fellowship program.
Support the continued development of our new African American Alumni Advisory Council and establish a range of other affinity groups for alumni of color with an emphasis on engagement, support and student connections.

To Create a More Inclusive School Climate and Culture, Shady Side Academy Will:

Review expectations for student conduct and make more explicit our intolerance of behaviors that compromise the experience of our community members.
Review both the language and implementation of disciplinary policies on each campus to make certain that acts of prejudice, discrimination, and racial insensitivity are not tolerated and that the disciplinary process is clear and transparent.
Conduct a rigorous review and revision of the PK-12 curriculum to ensure it affords a strong representation of the voices, stories, and positive contributions of Black and historically underrepresented individuals and groups.
Partner with organizations that empower students to navigate social media and technology positively in support of healthy relationships, character development, and wellness.
Augment cultural competency, inclusion and racial equity education for faculty, staff and administration; establish a professional development and evaluation program that integrates these components as permanent measures of professional learning.

To Ensure Our School Community Promotes Open and Civil Discourse, Shady Side Academy Will:

Establish community norms for civil discourse and the expression and tolerance of different perspectives.
Clarify expectations for the faculty and administration regarding the sharing of personal views in classroom and educational settings.
Provide faculty and administration in-depth professional development that includes opportunities to engage and practice in civil discourse about difficult and challenging topics.

To Make Certain Our School Community Better Represents Our Diverse City and World, Shady Side Academy Will:

Create a new position on our executive leadership team reporting to the president and dedicated to the recruitment, retention, and development of a racially diverse and culturally competent faculty across all divisions.
Institute objectives, key metrics, and supports for the recruitment and retention of Black and historically underrepresented administrators, faculty, and staff at all divisions.
Broaden our outreach, engagement, and access efforts in order to enroll a more diverse student population across all divisions, with particular focus on the increased enrollment of Black and Latinx students.

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Community & Belonging Plan

To Advance Our Vision and Leadership, Shady Side Academy Will:

To Create a More Inclusive School Climate and Culture, Shady Side Academy Will:

To Ensure Our School Community Promotes Open and Civil Discourse, Shady Side Academy Will:

To Make Certain Our School Community Better Represents Our Diverse City and World, Shady Side Academy Will:

To Assess Our Progress and Ensure Accountability, Shady Side Academy Will:

To Sustain and Provide Financial Support for These Efforts, Shady Side Academy Will: