DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Leadership & Accountability
From strengthening intercultural competencies through a common set of school values, and taking measure of key community metrics, to fostering leadership and accountability at all levels of our school community—our Board of Directors, Head of School & Foundation, Leadership Team, faculty and staff leaders, and student leaders—we are focussed on actively practicing, fostering and promoting an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion at LCS.
Our Vision for DEI at LCS
Fostering a truly equitable and inclusive community requires dedication and continual focus and is part of an ongoing journey that requires direction. An important element of our work to date includes envisioning a “desired ideal state of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at LCS,” towards which we can all continuously strive. With input from our students, our External DEI Working Group drafted a series of statements intended to capture an ideal state of DEI within our community, with the intention that these be continually socialized, refined and enhanced, over time, with additional input.
Highlights of Key Themes:
Highlights of Key Themes:
- Our community members (students, staff and leadership) call out racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry, including micro-aggressions, in a way that calls others to learn
- Our students are broadly recognized for their inclusive and equitable leadership skills
- Student voice is embraced and complex conversations have a place in our day-to-day operations
- We have a school-wide approach to diversity, equity and inclusion in our curriculum
- We have strong programming and a House Model designed to support students and staff, strengthen community, intercultural competencies, and respect for community protocols around cultural dissonance
- Our leadership, faculty and staff, board and trustees reflect the diversity of individuals represented by our student body and Canada
Updating Our School Values
Our School Values are the guiding principles to which we commit as a community. They define what we stand for, inform everything we do and transcend all levels of the organization.
In 2020/21, our existing values (originally adopted in the 1990s) were reviewed through the lens of our commitment to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Following a process of engagement which began this fall, with input from school and foundation trustees, students, and staff, we are proposing specific revisions to our values which better reflect our deep commitment to DEI. Our hope is to have the newly enhanced values ratified at the upcoming spring trustees meeting in 2021. We look forward to sharing our updated values this spring.
Fostering Leadership Accountability
Fostering leadership accountability to promote diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of the organization is important. From the Board of Directors, to the Head of School and Foundation and Leadership Team, to our faculty and staff leaders, to our student leaders, we must ensure our leaders (at all levels) are actively practicing, fostering and promoting an environment respectful of the principles of DEI.
One important method for promoting leadership accountability includes capturing and measuring the characteristics of diversity, equity and inclusion at LCS over time. By annually tracking and reviewing this important data, the Leadership Team will be able to identify opportunities for improvement and drive change.
A draft recommendation of key DEI characteristics (or metrics) has been developed by the LCS DEI External Working Group and the school is currently in the process of implementing new methods of collecting this information to facilitate its implementation. The opportunity for conducting a detailed, data-driven assessment of the current state of DEI at LCS is also being explored.
Environmental Responsibility
Within its report of recommendations to the LCS Leadership Team, the LCS DEI External Working Group recently described efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion as inextricably intertwined with those of environmental responsibility. The Working Group believes that the school’s environmental responsibility programming and activities should be considered an essential component of the school’s DEI strategy.
The following new initiatives promoting environmental responsibility at LCS were endorsed:
- Creation of a new leadership position, Assistant Head: Sustainability
- Launch of a sustainable farming pilot project at Northcote Campus
- Establishment of a new composting project in student residences
- Creation of a new community garden to grow our own vegetables
- Development of the Seed-to-Table Adventures in Eco-Farming summer course and certificate
- Endorsement of the LCS Campus Master Plan and regenerative design principles
“DEI is fundamentally about respecting other people. The Earth is our Mother, and if you do not learn to respect your Mother, it is likely that you also will not learn to respect other people – teaching respect for the Earth and respect for people must go hand-in-hand.”
DEI External Working Group Member, Maurice Switzer ’63
School Information
4391 County Road 29, Lakefield Ontario K0L 2H0 705.652.3324 admissions@lcs.on.ca
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Lakefield College School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through 12, located in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
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