DEERFIELD ACADEMY Deerfield, Massachusetts DIRECTOR OF INCLUSION AND COMMUNITY LIFE Start Date: July 1, 2021 deerfield.edu Core Values • Citizenship in a spirit of humility, empathy, and responsibility • Face-to-face interactions characterized by joy and generosity of spirit • Connectedness to our unique setting and the contemporary world • Reflection and balance, promoting intellectual vitality and self-understanding • Pursuit of mastery built on a foundation of breadth and versatility • Shared experiences, large and small, as sources of relationships, identity, and community OVERVIEW Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding and day school for 648 students in grades 9-12 (and offering a post-graduate year). Deerfield is widely recognized for its rigorous academic programs, its vast array of co-curricular opportunities, and its rich campus life, where traditions and togetherness are embedded in the school community. As a result, the Academy attracts a highly motivated student body; graduates go on to thrive at many of the world’s finest colleges and universities. Across all parts of the student experience, Deerfield strives to create a “community of character” in which students practice the qualities of conscientious leadership, citizenship, and self-reflection. Set in an historic village in Western Massachusetts that is bounded by river, hills, and farms, Deerfield inspires reflection, study and play, abiding friendships, and a defining school spirit. A vibrant, ethical community that embraces diversity, the Academy prepares students for leadership in a rapidly changing world that requires global understanding, environmental stewardship, and dedication to service. The school seeks a Director of Inclusion and Community Life to assume the role in July 2021. The Director will work with the administration, faculty, and students to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are integrated throughout every aspect of the community and curriculum. In alignment with the school’s mission, Strategic Plan for Inclusion, and 2020-2021 Action Plan to Strengthen Equity, Inclusion, and Campus Culture, the Director will plan and execute on new and existing organizational- wide DEI initiatives, professional development sessions, policies, and systems to foster inclusivity, diversity, and equity across campus. As a member of the administrative team, the Director must be passionate about DEI work and be a strategic leader who will work to strengthen and build holistic DEI strategy for Deerfield. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 2 Fast Facts Founded: 1797 Boarding and day students: 577 and 70, respectively Students of color: 42% Total faculty: 136 Faculty of color: 19% Faculty with advanced degrees: 70% Student/teacher ratio: 5:1 Financial aid budget: $12M Student receiving aid: 37% SCHOOL HISTORY In 1797, Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams signed an “act for establishing an Academy in the Town of Deerfield by the name of Deerfield Academy,” which charged the Academy with “the instruction of youth, and the promotion of piety, religion, and morality.” For over a hundred years the Academy served the local community. However, by the turn of the 19th century, enrollment had slowed to an all- time low. In 1902, Frank L. Boyden was named headmaster. During his 66-year tenure, Mr. Boyden, along with his wife, Helen Childs Boyden, recruited students and an excellent faculty, grew the curriculum, expanded the school’s athletics program, and transformed the campus—building a gymnasium, dining hall, library, numerous dormitories and classroom buildings, and the iconic Main School Building. In the decades following Mr. Boyden’s unique tenure, Deerfield navigated through a multitude of changes: balancing macro-environment issues with enhancing the Deerfield Experience for students, including the transition to coeducation, strengthening the Academy’s financial position, and investing in significant improvements to key campus facilities. Today, under the leadership of its 56th Head of School, Dr. John P.N. Austin, the Academy is committed to creating and sustaining vibrant educational communities that honor student initiative, creativity, and wellness; and to school cultures that foster supportive, caring relationships between adults and young people within a culture of respect, clear values, diversity, inclusion, and educational opportunity. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 3 THE SCHOOL Deerfield students represent 35 states and 47 countries. Fourteen percent of the student body hails from outside the United States, while 70 day students come to the Academy from nearby areas. Forty- two percent of the student body identify as students of color, and diversity and inclusion are a core part of the school’s vision. Deerfield considers cultural competency essential to the pursuit of excellence and success, both on campus and beyond. Financial aid amounts to almost a quarter of the school’s total annual revenue, fully or partially supporting 37% of enrolled students. Deerfield has been described as “a medium-sized school running a big-school program, striving to preserve a small-school feel,” a balance supported by the Academy’s outstanding faculty and staff members, whose hard work provides learning opportunities for students in and out of the classroom. A student-faculty ratio of 5:1 not only guarantees small class sizes but also allows for quality interactions around the dining table, in the dormitory, and on the playing fields. Of Deerfield’s 136 faculty, 70 percent hold advanced degrees and 19 percent identify as people of color. Deerfield is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, citizenship, and personal responsibility. Through a rigorous liberal arts curriculum, extensive co-curricular program, and supportive residential environment, Deerfield encourages each student to develop an inquisitive and creative mind, strong moral character, and sound body. At Deerfield, “EQ”—emotional intelligence—is as valued as “IQ,” and the development of both serves graduates well in college and beyond. Working at Deerfield is a lifestyle unto its own, characterized by a deep commitment to students both in and out of the classroom. Faculty are fully engaged in every aspect of students’ lives, and meaningful and trusting relationships between faculty and students are a defining principle of the Deerfield Experience. Through School Meetings, seated family-style meals, the advisory program, and the low faculty to student ratio in the dormitories, caring and deeply supportive relationships are prioritized and constantly reinforced. With state-of-the art facilities and a robust endowment, Deerfield is able to offer its students the depth and breadth of “big school” programs with “small school” individual attention. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 4 INCLUSION AND COMMUNITY LIFE Deerfield considers cultural competency essential to the pursuit of excellence and success, both on campus and beyond. The Office of Inclusion and Community Life works to ensure that the Academy encourages acceptance and understanding of differences at all institutional levels. Through trainings, lectures, special programs, and short- and long-term strategic goals, the office collaborates with all departments to support a campus-wide conversation and effort leading to the development of institutional priorities for sustaining diversity work. Creating a fully inclusive and supportive school culture that embraces and honors the individuality of each student is central at Deerfield and is the focus of the school’s first Strategic Plan for Inclusion, first approved in 2016. This plan prioritizes student support; provides enhanced professional learning opportunities for staff, faculty, and trustees; and affirms equity and inclusion as essential to the pursuit of excellence. Like all educational institutions, Deerfield can evolve, improve, and build on the accomplishments of the past. The Academy’s 2020-2021 Action Plan to Strengthen Equity, Inclusion, and Campus Culture outlines initial action steps the school is taking to address the recent concerns from students and alumni regarding racial equity and justice. These include promoting a Senior Staff member to Assistant Head of School to lead strategic initiatives, including the Action plan; filling four new, key positions, including a Dean of Inclusive Teaching and Learning, an Assistant Admission Director of Multicultural, an Associate Dean of Faculty to strengthen efforts to hire a diverse a diverse faculty, and the Director of Inclusion and Community Life; appointing a task force to review Deerfield’s disciplinary processes; and formalizing the “Deerfield Forum” as a means to provide regular, sustained opportunities for listening and the exchange of diverse views and conversation. The plan also includes steps to review the curriculum, handbook policies, and the financial aid program, as well as to engage alumni as a resource. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 5 ACADEMICS Deerfield’s academic program is both broad and deep: with over 170 courses in its catalog, students can explore a wide variety of topics and interests—from ethics to Arabic to experimental neurology. Small class sizes allow for discussion-based courses, and opportunities for individual research, off-campus travel, and directed and alternate study propel students to take their learning to the next level. With Advanced Placement (AP) courses, many “post-AP” courses, and numerous interdisciplinary offerings, Deerfield’s curriculum challenges students to think critically and creatively across subject areas. By the time