2023-24 DEC Highlights

Far Brook Board of Trustees – Diversity Committee

At the end of the 2022-23 school year, Far Brook’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make the Diversity Committee a standing committee of the Board, reflecting the Board’s commitment to thoughtfully setting and addressing diversity, equity and inclusion priorities.

Diversity Committee is made up of Board members, several current parents and faculty/staff who meet monthly and provide a regular update at each of the scheduled Board meetings.

Trustee DEI Training

In September 2023, all Trustees spent an evening in an interactive workshop with DEI consultant Martha Haakmat, focused on:

• building DEI knowledge and skills
• highlighting the crucial role Board Members play in building, strengthening and sustaining diverse, equitable, and inclusive school communities
• including diversity goals as part of their annual goal setting process.

Updating Far Brook’s Diversity Statement

The Board, in its role as steward of the School’s mission and vision, is partnering with faculty and staff to review and evolve the school’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Social Justice to make sure the statement continues to reflect the breadth and depth of backgrounds and identities that are so essential to the Far Brook community. In particular, we are focused on enhancing language that speaks to supporting students and adults in their exploration of gender identity and expression. New language has been added to our family handbook to provide clarity and guidance on the ways in which we support community members in this process.

Head of School Amy Ziebarth and the School Leadership team incorporate Far Brook’s diversity and inclusion objectives into their areas of responsibility including recruitment, enrollment, hiring, curriculum development,, and supporting and evaluating faculty and staff. The recent addition of our Director of Human Resources and an additional School Counselor adds capacity for processes and procedures that support the School’s objectives of equity and inclusion.

2023-2024 initiatives included:

• Incorporating DEI objectives in our 10-year accreditation report

• Updateding the Family and Employee Handbooks to include delineated support for trans and non-binary community members

• Supporteding the launch of a DEI Strategic Plan to be completed in the 2024-2025 school year

Our teachers bring their skills and creativity to the daily infusion of DEI in the classroom creating an environment that nurtures students and provides opportunities for learning from and about one another. One of the priorities of the Strength in Community capital campaign that concluded in 2022 was to raise money to enhance faculty professional development opportunities. The Board allocates resources for extensive professional development for faculty and staff which contributes to the knowledge, skills, and perspective required to teach and lead our diverse community. 

Some recent key professional development experiences include:

• National Association on Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (POCC)
  • Signature NAIS conference
  • Several thousand educators and students from across the country
  • In 2023. Far Brook sent seven faculty and staff members
  • Opportunity to hear from nationally recognized speakers and educators, to share challenges and best practices with peers from independent schools nationwide

• NJAIS Series  – Gender Identity and Expression Ongoing
• Pollyanna – 10-Part Series

• Faculty Equity Team and Faculty Gender and Sexuality Diversity (GSD) Team
  These teams meet weekly to support the work of the DEC office and to lead the development and incorporation of practices that further inclusion at Far Brook

Innovative and inspiring programming opportunities to engage and enhance the Far Brook community’s understanding of DEI topics:

• Vashti Harrison and Ali Michael (September 2023)
  “Using Art to Talk to Kids About Race” with Caldecott-winner Vashti Harrison and author, educator, speaker Ali Michael. As part of Far Brook’s Community Education Series, we welcomed participants to hear our esteemed award-winning guest speakers – author/educator Dr. Ali Michael and author/illustrator Vashti Harrison – share their insights on the importance of having conversations about race with young children and using art as a tool. After, participants gathered in the Art Studio to experience an activity that is part of Far Brook’s Lower School curriculum, led by Art Integration Specialist, Rob Olazagasti.

• Widening the Lens Conference – November 2023 (8th annual conference)
  • We were delighted to welcome 12 other NJ independent schools to campus for our 8th annual Widening the Lens: The Far Brook School Diversity Conference. This year’s topic, “Community: The Power of Empathy in Action” was infused throughout a day filled with collaboration and conversation.
  • Keynote speaker: Award winning consultant and author of The Art of Community, Charles Vogl 
  • A special feature this year was the addition of a “Community Engagement” experience on the Friday night preceding the conference 
  • Kent Place, Montclair Kimberley academy, Morristown beard, Newark Academy, and others report that they look forward to this day of collaboration and action-planning to address shared challenges and make our schools more inclusive

• Dr. Sasso (December 2023)
  Dr. Del Sasso, PsyD, of RISE Psychological Services is a non-binary, queer, clinical psychologist, specializing in gender diversity throughout the lifespan. They spoke about gender expansiveness to our adult community via zoom.
• MLK Day of Service (January 2024)
  On the Sunday before MLK Day, the Far Brook community gathered to celebrate Martin Luther King’s vision of the “beloved community” through a dedicated Day of Service. In the art studio, teacher Rob guided students and adults in making fabric art that will later be transformed into a quilt. We assembled over 250 cold packs that will be distributed to people experiencing homelessness through the organization @bridges_outreach. Junior High students read stories about MLK and what he stood for to our younger students in the Lower School Music Room. The afternoon wrapped up with singing in our music room. 
• Parent Affinity and Community Ally Group Launch (February 2024)
  This evening represented the expansion of the affinity and ally group initiative to include parents, allowing families to have a parallel experience to that of the students and staff, to get to know one another, and to celebrate Far Brook’s diversity.
• Story Slam! (March 2024)
  Far Brook adults gathered for an inspiring evening at our fifth annual Story Slam! event. Parents and faculty shared original personal stories responding to this year’s theme “What I Know For Sure.” The format, modeled after “The Moth” radio hour, created a warm and intimate atmosphere. This meaningful community experience evoked the power of storytelling to foster human connection. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and to those who came to listen and support
• Fireside Chat with Jodie Patterson (May 2024)
  Jodie Patterson is a social activist, entrepreneur, and author. She is the mother of five children, two of whom are gender non-conforming.  Jodie joined us to share about her memoir, The Bold World, which chronicles her journey of reshaping her family’s attitudes and beliefs as they welcomed and supported their children’s embrace of their authentic selves.  Jodie will be our keynote speaker for Widening the Lens in November 2024!