Barnhart School Announces New Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives and Curriculum
Over the course of Barnhart School’s 61-year history, the school has welcomed a diverse community where families of all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging. About ten years ago, the Diversity Committee of the Barnhart Parent Group was formed by two energetic parents for the purpose of celebrating and commemorating important events recognized by the members of the community. From Diwali to Día De Los Muertos, from Rosh Hashanah to Lunar New Year, from Cinco to Mayo to Juneteenth, just to name a few of the celebrations, the committee members provide meaningful experiences including food, decorations, and traditions shared in Chapel for the students’ enrichment. This year, building off of that beautiful foundation, Barnhart is thrilled to have hired Amber Gravely to helm our school’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and curriculum. Assistant Head of School Miriam Singer sat down for a chat with Amber to share more about this exciting new addition to the community.
MS: Hi Amber, thanks for chatting with me. We are thrilled to have you as our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leader this year at Barnhart. Please tell us about your background. What drew you to become a leader in DEI?
Amber: Hi Miriam, I’m excited to join Barnhart this year as your DEI Leader. As far as my background, I am a proud product of the Pasadena Unified School district, Pasadena independent schools, and local LA area private universities. Much of my work today is framed by my own personal experiences in those institutions and my desire to be a mirror and window for students. It is the intersection of my own identity as a woman, a person of color, and a person with invisible disabilities that enables me to enter into conversations from many different perspectives and to lead with empathy and understanding and a sense of belonging.
I have worked in many different fields throughout my career, all of which help inform the work I do now. Over the last decade, my passion for education has grown, and I have held various roles in independent schools including a coach, teacher, and administrator. During that time, I entered into a program for Educational Leadership at USC with a concentration in educational psychology. My doctoral work focused on the Black experience in predominantly white spaces. Being steeped in the most current research and conversation informed my own work and approach as I considered the important issues of race and belonging in private schools. I decided the best way to make an impact was to become an educational equity consultant and start my business, S.O.S. Student Opportunities for Success, in order to work directly with students and schools.
MS: Why is DEI work important more than ever right now?
Amber: I think DEI work is important now, more than ever because the rhetoric and divisiveness have grown to where it is easier to exclude rather than include, to hate rather than love. There was a shift in consciousness for many people all over the world upon seeing the documented murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. I believe the collective grief of the pandemic led to a vulnerable awareness that moved people to stand up and speak out against injustice. This social justice movement also shone a light on how BIPOC experience the world so differently in America, and only through education, interaction and empathy can we move towards a more equitable world. Helping everyone in a school community understand that it is not enough to be “not racist,” but that we need to actively move towards antiracism is not only important, but imperative for education in the 21st century.
MS: What are some of the exciting initiatives you are currently working on at Barnhart?
Amber: I am excited to be able to engage at so many levels of the school. The current initiatives are in three pillars: Equity Pedagogy – stewarding the Culturally Responsive Curriculum Faculty Committee to collaborate and create the best practices and developmentally appropriate responsive curriculum where every child can see themselves in the lessons they are learning. Cultural Competence- providing education sessions for school administration, faculty and staff as well as parents. Societal Equity- working as a thought partner with the dedicated parent diversity committee that is so integral to the fabric of the school community. Additionally, these pillars are integrated in the exploratory course I am teaching in the 6th-8th grade, the perfect age to start reflecting on their own identity.
MS: Yes! We are so excited to have you offer your course, “Activating Antiracists: This is Us.” Tell us more about the goals of this course and some of the main topics you are covering this year.
Amber: I have to say, this class is the highlight of my week! I have built the course curriculum using an anti-bias framework and standards while co-constructing knowledge with the students based on their shared and lived experience. The class also integrates aspects of human development and social emotional learning. The goal of the course is for students to gain self-awareness through reflecting on their own identities in order to then understand how they belong in the diverse world surrounding them. Throughout the year, students have various opportunities for engagement through the introspection of journal entries, class discussions, and group projects. We begin with and continue to process what it means to be antiracist and seek justice through action. I am also very excited about the interdisciplinary work being done to collaborate with other teachers in order to extend their learning through other subjects and classes.
MS: What is your long-term vision for the Barnhart Community?
Amber: My long-term vision for the Barnhart Community is that every moment that a student engages on the Barnhart campus, from when they step onto the playground before school in the morning, to when they get into a parent’s car after school, that they would feel a sense a belonging. My hope is they will feel seen and heard and feel a sense of pride to be a part of a beautifully diverse community, where they are celebrated and affirmed for whom they are, and the varied facets of their identity are accepted.
Barnhart is already a place filled with love and care for students; I seek to lead the school to be fully aware and conscious of the necessity to include every child’s unique background and experience. I started my work this year by teaching my middle school class and intend to extend the work through the entire school, so K-8 will include anti-racist curriculum. Barnhart’s mission is to create Difference Makers; I am collaborating with the community to create a DEI mission statement that stewards the idea of our students being Difference Makers in their pursuit of social justice, equity, and antiracism. We are laying a foundation to lead the greater independent school community towards this vital shift in pedagogy.
MS: Thank you for your commitment to the Barnhart Community and to this antiracist vision of belonging for all students and families. We are excited to be your partners in this exciting work!
Barnhart School, a K-8 CAIS and WASC accredited independent school in Arcadia, CA is accepting new applicants in a few of its grades. To learn more about joining this amazing community, please email admissions director Silvana Moschella at smoschella@barnhartschool.org
