As more schools add the letter “B” for “belonging” to the well-worn DEI acronym, this would seem to be a natural entry point for advancement professionals to engage deeply with the challenging work of welcoming and valuing any family whose presence aligns with their schools’ mission. But how easy is this to do in an industry which is still shaking off the exclusivity that not so long ago was precisely what attracted families to what used to be called “private schools?” 

As chair of CASE-NAIS 2022, I look forward to unpacking these weighty issues with my K-12 advancement colleagues in Denver early next year. The session that I will be presenting with my colleagues, Chief Community Engagement Officer Marjorie Jean Paul, Buckley Country Day School NY, and Chief Advancement Officer Courtney Archer-Buckmire, Grace Church School NY, in fact will focus on what Black advancement professionals can do as our schools are in a phase that looks very much like a backlash to the strides that many schools made in the wake of the racial reckoning experienced in the summer of 2020.  

This is not an easy time for Black professionals in independent schools, who are often called upon to do double duty in advancement, particularly since our numbers are small. Not only are we expected to exceed our goals in our primary roles, but we are also called upon to advise on DEIB matters, speak to alumni or parents of color who have concerns, and hold our peers accountable at the leadership table when we see our schools engaging in inequitable practices. Many of us also play formal or informal roles mentoring our students of color, or professionals of color in other roles at our schools and in our industry.  

Despite these hardships, I am hopeful that all advancement professionals can help our schools truly operationalize the “b” and use it to create a more authentic and equitable community. While belonging feels non-threatening (and easy to achieve), it is anything but that.

Belonging means that a colleague can bring their “whole self to work” and also that they have access to a transparent path to a promotion. Belonging means that we take a hard look at what we mean by giving and how we celebrate donors. Belonging means that we look beyond rewarding our hardworking PA members to understanding the barriers to volunteering that exist in all of our schools. Belonging means we welcome our loyal alums back to campus, and also that we pay some attention to groups which completely fall off the map after graduation. 

Perhaps most importantly, belonging means grappling with our legacy of exclusion. Many of our schools were actively excluding students -- whether by race, religion, economic status or other factors having nothing to do with educational merit -- within my lifetime. Our schools are often judged by the marketplace on their selectivity--which then becomes a status marker for the families who are members of our community.  Our applications, with questions about parental educational levels and essay prompts asking what families do in their free time may reinforce notions of who “belongs” in our community, and who does not. I believe it is crucial for our schools to acknowledge our exclusionary history as we move forward with our DEIB efforts.  

Acknowledging our “hidden” history can also pay unexpected dividends. When I came to Browning in 2019 I was interested in knowing when Black students started coming to our school and the name of the first Black graduate. It did not appear to be a question to which much attention had been paid before. When we initiated focus groups with our Black and POC alumni during the summer of 2020, we reconnected with him, as well as many other men who had not been active in our alumni organization.

After being connected by our focus group, these men began meeting regularly and eventually renamed themselves the Panther Mentors, and they are working with our students and our school to help Browning become an even more equitable institution. Two of their members joined our board of trustees, and the group has created a scholarship fund, named after that first Black graduate. While the goalposts for creating a true community of belonging will always be shifting, I’d say that’s a pretty good start.