Goal 2: Community Voices

Action Step 1

Conclude design of schoolwide inclusion and belonging assessment tool.

Strategies to Support Action Step 1

Strategy 1

Renamed "Catlin Gabel Culture Assessment" to better reflect the intent and purpose of the survey. While positioned as Interim Director, the current Director of Equity & Inclusion conducted an assessment equitable design process that centers research participants as experts rooted in community-based participatory research, participatory action research, and social action research (Israel, et al., 1998; Kim-Gervey, et al., 2020; Meenahan, et al., 2004; Soriano, 2012).*

Strategy 2

Focus group and individual interviews were conducted with Catlin Gabel constituents to prioritize lived experiences as individuals describe them in their own words. Focus groups and individual interviews were held with Middle and Upper School students, parents and guardians (across divisions), and employees (across departments and divisions).

Strategy 3

With data resulting from focus groups and the application of knowledge and experience from conducting equitable research, five versions of the Culture Assessment were designed (one version per constituent group: Lower School students, Middle School students, Upper School students, parents/guardians, and employees.) The assessment will be sent to the community during the 22-23 school year and in subsequent years.

Strategy 4

The Culture Assessment Review Team (comprised of eight employees, across divisions and departments, identities, and positions) workshopped the Culture Assessment. The goals included:

• Review of overall themes with a focus on inclusion; i.e., are all prominent themes for different constituents included; which themes feel extraneous; consideration of the value of including themes that might prompt discomfort.
• Strategic review of content; i.e., is the assessment asking questions that we can realistically expect to address once we receive feedback?
• Language review; i.e., is the assessment asking questions using language that matches their intent?

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*Israel, B.A., Schulz, A.J., Parker, E.A., & Becker, A.B. (1998). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173-202.

Meenahan, T. M., Kiltie, K. M., & McNutt, J. G. (2004). Social Policy Analysis and Practice. Lyceum Books.

Soriano, F. I. (2012). Conducting Needs Assessments: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Sage Publications, Inc.

Kim-Gervey, C., Castillo, I. L., Gallegos J., Kramer, N., Bartelmann, S., & Angus, L. (2020). Crisis de Nuestro Bienestar: A Report on Latino Mental Health in Oregon. Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Human Services.

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Action Step 2

Develop a format for annual reporting on the Inclusion Plan to include community profile data, progress to Plan, resources committed.

Strategies to support Action Step 2

Strategy 1

Developed Annual Report format to be shared with the community and external stakeholders via PDF and web pages. Add further data and resources committed, as they are identified in following years.

Strategy 2

Created data visualizations from enrollment and HR statistics. These graphs are in the addendum of the Annual Report (PDF version).

Enrollment: Data graphically presented to illustrate racial identities of current 2022-23 students by division, including students who identify as multiracial; a population density map illustrating where current families reside; and percentage of financial assistance provided to students by division.

Human Resources: Data graphically presented to illustrate the number of faculty (full and part-time teachers, counselors, librarians, and learning specialists who self-reported their racial identity) from 2007-2021. The information is tracked based on reporting requirements by the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Commission. Future reports will include all employees, not just faculty, and will include employee turnover data.

Strategy 3

Allocated funding toward primary elements of Year 1 Action Steps including: 

• Investment in the Catlin Gabel Culture Assessment.
• Maintained commitment to support employees attending the People of Color Conference. 
• Increased recruiting budget for People of Color and enlisted the assistance of search firms owned by People of Color for leadership positions.  
• Inclusion is one of the endowment priorities in the school’s comprehensive capital campaign. Other related endowment priorities include funding for the Director of Equity and Inclusion position, cultural responsiveness and affinity work, professional development, and recruiting and retaining Faculty and Staff of Color.

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Action Step 3

Ensure the school’s tipline and response protocols are designed to address concerns related to DEI issues from students, families, and employees.

Strategies to Support Action Step 3

Strategy 1

Worked with Vector Solutions to add a new category within the tipline so race-related incidents could be reported. Report recipients include the HR Director, Head of School, Assistant Head of School, and a trustee member of the Board Audit Committee.    

Strategy 2

Ensured the community was aware of the update via family, student, and employee handbooks; Veracross portals; assemblies and community meetings.

Action Step 1 and 2

Pilot inclusion and belonging assessment tool, and share findings and insights about possible revisions to the tool with the school community.

An assessment tool for students, employees and families is ready for review and revision; with the recruitment of an Institutional Researcher in 2022-23, the school now has the capacity for fielding, collecting, and analyzing data. 

Catlin Gabel’s Institutional Researcher began a review of the school’s multiple ongoing survey and assessment efforts. This review will inform revisions to the draft assessment so it builds from data already collected, rather than collect redundant information.

With this delay in fielding the assessment tool, action steps 2 is also delayed.Our aim is to launch this assessment tool in fall 2024.

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Action Step 3

Share Annual Inclusion Plan Report.

Marketing and Communications works with the Department of Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, and the Office of the Head of School to understand data and help publish the information for this report.

Action Steps 1 and 2

Pilot inclusion and belonging assessment tool, and share findings and insights about possible revisions to the tool with the school community.

Survey/Assessment Tool chosen; plan for launching a student culture survey was established, to be implemented in Spring of 2024-2025.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Extant data practices (including exit interviews, ISACS survey data, divisional survey data, and program-specific data collection such as student affinity group members’ goals) are already helpful and useful. The purpose of this additional assessment is to supplement and bring a fuller picture of the Catlin Gabel student experience.

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Action Step 3

Share annual inclusion report.

Marketing and Communications works with the Department of Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, and the Office of the Head of School to understand data and help publish the information for this report.