Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DEI at Breck

Breck is committed to the values and work of diversity, equity, and inclusion within every aspect of school life. We know that a thriving community is one that is diverse, embracing the richness of varying perspectives and leaning into the discourse that comes with difference. While diversity is an expression of different identities, both visible and invisible, equity is the work to ensure that all of our community members have access to all the opportunities our institution provides. And inclusion is the work to ensure that every community member has a deep sense of belonging within our school community.

We believe that it is only through a commitment to DEI work that all of our graduates will embrace a life of intellectual curiosity, self knowledge, and social responsibility. When this is not achieved for one, this is not lived for all.

Guiding Documents

Following a year-long discovery process with equity partner Design Impact, Breck has developed our Community Commitments. These are specific action steps that were developed by community members, for community members and articulate our work toward a school culture of equity and belonging. 

Read the Full Community Commitments 

Following a year-long discovery process with equity partner Design Impact, Breck has developed our Community Commitments. These are specific action steps that were developed by community members, for community members and articulate our dream for our school culture and practice of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work. For a quick summary, check out this document.  

Read the ONe-Page Introduction

We know as an educational institution that the practice of healthy discourse is essential to the learning environment. Over a two-year period, we spoke with students, teachers, and parents about what discourse should look and feel like. Our Discourse with Dignity document outlines our commitment to honor the dignity of one another as a part of our culture of discourse.  

Read the Statement of Philosophy

Melrose Center's DEI Role

MelroseFamilyCenter


The Melrose Family Center for Leadership and Equity is a cross-divisional brave space where students, faculty, and staff explore crucial issues of equity, leadership, joy, and restoration, shaping the daily health of our school community. At the intersection of leadership and equity, we center our initiatives and efforts in service to the whole Breck community. Through community programming, affinity groups, leadership curriculum, professional development, and more, we work to increase the capacity of all community members to engage in critical conversations about identity, equity, and social justice.

Questions connect with Dr. Chéleah Googe, Melrose Center Director of Leadership and Equity and Jordan Zickermann, Dean of Equity.

 

Updates, News, and Events

Photo of the Native American Gathering 2022
Indigenous Peoples Day 2022

Indigenous Peoples have made essential contributions to the history, culture, and economy of Minnesota. Today, we honor the experiences, resiliency, and rich legacy of Indigenous Peoples across the country. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!

Black History Month US Chapel by Oasis
Black History Month US Chapel by Oasis

This week, Oasis led Breck’s Upper School Chapel. The affinity group members reflected over the past calendar year and shared important events and themes month by month.

Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX and National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX and National Girls and Women in Sports Day

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the ceiling-shattering legislation that protected individuals from discrimination in athletics based on their gender and paved the way for female-identifying athletes to play and compete in athletics. Breck is taking time to reflect on the opportunities Title IX afforded our community and the extraordinary accomplishments of our athletes.

Happy Lunar New Year!
Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Lunar New Year! We enjoyed spending time with students across all divisions at Breck as they did activities in their Chinese classes. We also met with the Asian Affinity Group for MS & US to talk about identity and vision cast for the future.

First page of the PDF file: Community-Commitments-2021-Dec-V21
Indigenous Peoples' Day MS Chapel

On October 8, Breck's Middle School chapel featured Indigenous identifying students presenting about Indigenous Peoples' Day and sharing why they are proud to be Native.

Black Storytellers Alliance Show
Black Storytellers Alliance Show

On September 24, Breck partnered with our friends Vusumuzi and Nothando Zulu of the Black Storytellers Alliance (BSA) to co-host the 31st Annual Black Storytellers Alliance School Festival. 

Center for Racial Justice Education
Center for Racial Justice Education

During faculty and staff workshop, over 200 Breck faculty and staff members attended a training facilitated by the Center for Racial Justice in Education

Breck's 2020-2021 DEI Audit

During the 2020-2021 academic year, Breck engaged in consulting relationships with Design Impact, a firm that uses human-centered design to build a more equitable culture, and EnGenderED, a firm that reviewed Breck's policies and pedagogical practice. The two firms guided Breck through a facilitated process that will result in long lasting change in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the school. We are excited to have partnered with them during the 2020-2021 school year.
Design Impact is a social innovations firm that uses human-centered design to create equitable change. The process they use will engage all constituencies at Breck and facilitate the co-creation of a strategy for cultivating long lasting social change within the school. In addition to evaluating all existing data the school has collected in recent history, including items like the school’s accreditation report from ISACS, the Blueprint for Strategic Plan, and Mission/Values articulation, the process will include a ladder up to action phase. During this phase of restorative discovery, community members will connect about Breck’s equity work, honor the past, name existing challenges, collect input into new ways of working and being together, and give room to heal. Breck will build toward identifying strategic goals and an action plan for accomplishing those commitments. An internal core team representing our key constituencies will help guide the process. Caitlin Behle, Dr. Curtis Web II, and Sarah Roberson will be the Design Impact team that will work with Breck.
 
 
 
Dr. Charlotte Jacobs and Dr. Katie Clonan-Roy of EnGenderED Research Collaborative will be our partners throughout Breck's audit process. Dr. Jacobs is an adjunct assistant professor from University of Pennsylvania Graduate School for Education. Her research focuses on issues of identity development and gender in education concerning adolescent girls of color, teacher education and diversity, and youth participatory action research. Dr. Clonan-Roy is an Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University in the College of Education and Human Services Department of Curriculum and Foundations. Her research focuses on the intersections of education, adolescent development, and gender and sexuality studies. Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Clonan-Roy will accompany the schoolwide process by building capacity at every level of school leadership including but not limited to the Board of Trustees, Senior Leadership Team, Academic Leadership Team, Faculty, and Parents. Their expertise in curriculum and pedagogy will be tremendous resources as we do a deep inquiry into our practice with an anti-racist/anti-oppression lens.