Wildcats for Equity Q and A Series

The Wildcats for Equity Q and A series is designed to give parents and community members a deeper understanding of some of the ways Westminster works toward equity and inclusion on campus, as well as tools you can use to help your family discuss and work through these topics. These conversations are released periodically in the Weekly Parent Update, and this page serves as an archive of past Q and A sessions.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Thad Persons: Windows and Mirrors

The Wildcats for Equity Q and A Series is designed to give you a deeper understanding of some of the ways Westminster works toward equity and inclusion on campus, as well as tools you can use to help your family discuss and work through these topics. In this week’s installment, Dean of Faculty Thad Persons ’88 talks to our communications staff about what the phrase “windows and mirrors” means and how students grow in an environment where they can see their own experiences and those of others reflected. Thad joined the Westminster faculty in 1997 as an Upper School English teacher. In his role as Dean of Faculty, he oversees the rigorous hiring and onboarding process for all faculty members.

Q: We talk sometimes about the concept of "windows and mirrors." What does that mean?

A: The simplest version, in terms of academics, is that it’s about encountering literature that allows us to see ourselves reflected in a mirror and gives us a window into the lives of others. And there’s very good research about how literature builds empathy in these ways.

I want my students to be able to engage with and contribute to a wide world, and I want to equip them with the ability to understand others and also see their own experiences.

Q: Why is it important for everyone to see their own perspectives reflected in literature—and those of others?

A: One of the techniques we use in English class is textual connections of text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. With literary analysis, we’re giving students the opportunity to build muscles to see or understand their own life experiences in relief against another’s life experience, and that’s really powerful.

The reality is that the students in our classrooms need that skill of viewing their own lives as unique, and others’ lives as unique as well. They are going to be leaders in workplaces that will be diverse and, for many, even international. If they don’t know how their own approach has been shaped by their experiences, and how others have been shaped by experiences that are different from their own, that’s going to be a hard lesson to learn as an adult. Preparing our students now to work through these kinds of differences is putting them ahead of the pack.

I have a prompt I like to use for a short paper: I used to think… then I learned… so now I understand... and what the students come up with is pretty wonderful. It’s important to have students reflect on the process of changing their minds when they see another perspective, and it’s a fun exercise for parents to do at home with their kids, too.

Q: How do students get from story to empathy?

Q: How does a teacher know when students are ready developmentally to have conversations that require them to see outside of themselves?

A: People who can create a learning environment are always making adjustments. Our teachers want to stretch the rubber band but not break the rubber band. They have to cultivate relationships with their students and have the curiosity to ask their students about their understanding. Our teachers are constantly using that as a gauge to create a developmentally appropriate experience for their students. Content used to be king when it came to teaching, but the internet gives us more content than we can imagine now. So what’s at the forefront now in terms of effective teaching is that desire and ability to create a learning environment for children.

Q: How does this concept of "windows and mirrors" apply in the makeup of our community? What's the importance of building a diverse faculty?

A: When Bevery Daniel Tatum (author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and former president of Spelman College) came to campus about 10 years ago, she used an illustration about what you do when you get a yearbook: you look for your own picture. And if you can't see yourself in the picture, you stop showing up for the picture. That’s been a powerful way for me to think about our students’ being able to see themselves—their values, their interests, their skills, their traditions—in the adults on campus in some way. I don’t want them to stop showing up for the picture.

Our student body is made up of interesting and growing people, and we want to have a faculty that mirrors that in as many ways as possible.

Q: What does the School do to have a broad applicant pool?

We just commit to doing more work. We’re reading about 1,500 resumes and doing about 300 interviews every year. We do a lot to expand our hiring network, including a posting for “future positions” on our website and active posting on job boards, including some targeted toward minority applicants.

One of the simplest ways we’ve broadened our network is a natural cycle that has emerged. As we have broadened the diversity of our faculty writ large, by any identifier—like male Lower School teachers, for example—we are able to use their networks. Our new teachers tend to have broad networks since they’ve just been teaching somewhere else, so we ask everyone in their first year or two to recommend two people I could talk to who might be a good fit for Westminster. Great people know great people, and we are fortunate to have that natural network in place.

In terms of racial and ethnic diversity, the percentage of faculty of color here has grown from just 12 percent in 2010 to 21 percent this year, which is a much better reflection of the makeup of our student body. I'm incredibly proud of all the ways our faculty work to make our hiring process one that uncovers excellent candidates from all over the country who can bring such a high level of passion for teaching and for their students to our community.

Camille May: Courageous Conversations

The Wildcats for Equity Q and A Series is designed to give you a deeper understanding of some of the ways Westminster works toward equity and inclusion on campus, as well as tools you can use to help your family discuss and work through these topics. In the first installment, Lower School Counselor Camille May talks to our communications staff about what “courageous conversations” are and how they cultivate both empathy and agency. Camille has been working in school environments for nearly nine years and enjoys helping families navigate life's challenges. She holds master's and specialist degrees in school counseling.

Q: “Courageous conversation” is a term we’ve been using around school, particularly when we talk about racial reconciliation. What is a courageous conversation?

A: A courageous conversation in one where you allow yourself to be transparent and vulnerable, you tell your truth as you see it, and you’re open to understanding someone else’s feelings and perspective. You take what you hear from someone else, try to have empathy, and maybe walk away a little different than how you walked in. It’s about walking into a challenging conversation and taking the risk that you may be challenged mentally or emotionally.

Q: When are students having these conversations at Westminster?

A: We have affinity spaces throughout the School. In the Lower School we have our CARE (Conversations Around Racial Equity) curriculum, and it’s something we talk a lot about in Bible Values too—how we are all wonderfully made, and our differences are part of that.

Part of what we do in CARE is give students the opportunity to speak up about who they are and what’s important about their identity. We are also teaching them to listen to others, have thoughtful questions, and be mindful of the fact that we cannot dictate how anyone else should think or feel.

Q: What about at home? When and how can parents try to have these conversations?

A: You have to start talking about challenging topics at home, or at least asking your children questions when you think they’ve seen or heard something that might be uncomfortable. Invite them into conversation and find out why something made them uncomfortable. When your child hears the news, for example, chances are that they have feelings about it, even if that feeling is confusion. Invite them into dialogue about that. Like anything else, courageous conversation has to be modeled.

These conversations can be about big things like race or religion or gender, but that’s not the only time you can have them. They can be about things like why you have the rules you have in your household or why a disagreement was settled a certain way.

Get your whole family into the habit of asking questions respectfully. There is a difference between a clarifying question, asking for understanding, and challenging authority. It’s okay for children to ask questions about things they find confusing or don’t understand. That can be of their parents, at a doctor’s visit—anytime something involves them, it’s important for them to have the ability to speak up, advocate for themselves, and ask questions. The more they practice, the easier it is to do at times that really matter.

When we practice asking and answering these questions that are meant to help us understand another person, we can use them to help our children correct their own misunderstandings about other people and cultures. Don’t miss the small opportunity to have a big impact and a big conversation. When you hear things that might strike you as “off,” try not to glaze over it. Ask questions.

Q: Should parents do any kind of preparation?

A: One thing you have to do is equip yourself with age-appropriate language. Trying to convince children by using adult-type values can be difficult, and saying “One day you’ll understand” can seem dismissive.

Equip yourself with as much information as possible, and be prepared to ask your child questions too. You want them to explore their own perspective and think critically.

If you think someone else may have more information or resources about race relations, for example, reach out to that person! Tell your children you’re reaching out for more information—you can model that it’s okay not to have all the answers.

Q: Why does learning to have a courageous conversation matter?

A: It makes you a more compassionate and empathetic human. Take CARE for example. What we’re talking about is racial identity, but the goal is to, through that, breed a more inclusive, understanding, compassionate culture where we can sit across the table from somebody who isn’t like us and have a courageous conversation.

We can agree to disagree and still have love and kindness in our hearts for the people we spend time with every day. I am hoping we are creating that kind of climate here through the work we are doing and by appropriately challenging students in a healthy way when they say and do things that might be counterproductive to that.

Kids are watching and listening and absorbing; they’re forming their worldview, and we have a part in shaping that.

PAWS Common Ground Panel

Leaders of Common Ground, a PAWS committee, sat down to talk about creating an inclusive environment of welcome.

Common Ground’s fall activities have included virtual meetings with the following speakers: Judy Osborne (Upper School Equity and Inclusion Coordinator) and Jennifer Veatch (Middle School Equity and Inclusion Coordinator) about identity development; Dana Ugwonali and Dominique Holloman ’97 about their respective work with the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association Governing Board; Upper School faculty member Dr. Scott Stewart, who told the group about LGBTQ initiatives at Westminster; and a parent sharing Diwali traditions.

Q: Let's start by talking about what Common Ground is. Can you tell me about the group?

Lacy Hernandez (PAWS Vice President of Community Building): The mission of Common Ground is to celebrate and engage the vibrancy of the Westminster community through events and conversations that explore the diversity of cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives that help shape our school. This mission guides everything that we do, and we work hard to uphold it.

Maria-Claudia Palacios (Middle School Co-Chair): Common Ground is a PAWS committee, formed by parent volunteers. Our job is to create opportunities for all Westminster parents to connect through our commonalities by organizing events where we can all meet in an attempt to build trusting and lasting relationships.

Ceci Villanueva (Upper School Co-Chair): We are only one piece of the overall picture when it comes to celebrating the different identities and cultures in our community. The School has parent affinity groups, and there are other opportunities through PAWS to participate in educational events about race and culture, and Common Ground is a place where people who are all different from one another in some way come together to learn about those differences and connect across them.

Q: This year, more than ever, parents are looking for ways to connect with each other and with the School. What has Common Ground been up to this fall?

MCP: This year, knowing that we were not able to meet in person and won’t have the traditional parent events, we invited all parents that expressed interest, via PAWS sign-up, to virtual informational meetings, where we connect and support parents in our effort to build community.

Rand Hagen (Middle School Co-Chair): We started this year with a more focused mission, especially being virtual, to help people connect with each other during a particularly isolating year. We are volunteer parents committed to creating an environment that is welcoming and inclusive to all families, and we are concentrating on doing that to the best of our ability with virtual tools.

LH: As the school year continues, we intend to hold additional virtual events until we are able to get together physically in the post-COVID world. As was the case in the fall, we intend to have our virtual events be topical and relevant in the context of Common Ground’s mission and the community’s input. When the School is able to safely welcome in-person visitors again, we would like to continue our presence at school-wide events as being ambassadors for building community.

Q: Who is part of Common Ground?

MCP: Any Westminster parent can be involved! The committee is a resource and support network for parents and the Westminster community at large to feel more connected, not only within a specific group, but within the Westminster community as a whole.

CV: When you think about the name Common Ground, that means we are embracing everybody. This is about embracing and learning about all the different aspects of our community, so all are welcome. Our role has to do with bringing people together. We facilitate conversations.

Q: What is the Common Ground experience like?

LH: The Common Ground experience is all about welcoming and embracing all types of people within our Westminster community. The intent is to make it comfortable and enjoyable to be with people who may be different from you. The aim is to learn from others’ perspectives and backgrounds to make us a stronger community collectively.

MCP: It's been a great experience to know more Westminster parents during our meetings and to learn from listening to the different perspectives of members of our community.

CV: Common Ground is also a space where we prioritize being gracious. We are not all coming from the same level of experience or knowledge on any of the things we might learn about. For example, the leaders of each of the parent affinity groups participate in Common Ground—they each bring their own knowledge that the rest of the group may not have, and vice versa. Each of us is a product of our own personal experiences. Even on our committee, we all have different approaches and experiences as well. We talk about those and find common ground when we talk about sensitive topics. We all come from a mentality of wanting to learn and to create space. We approach with curiosity. We are not judging; we are curious.

Q: How has being part of Common Ground been important for you?

MCP: Being part of Common Ground has given me personal growth because it motivated me to learn more about myself and about our community. I’m also grateful to be part of the effort to keep Westminster a welcoming and supportive community.

LH: I value inclusion as well as kindness and have seen the positive impact of bringing diverse perspectives, experience, and backgrounds together to address issues, solve problems, and build a strong sense of community. I have always felt it was important to understand and learn from people who are different from you. My belief and hope is that the more we understand and learn from each other, the better we will be able to engage with each other individually and as a community, in the end for better.

CV: I saw the enormous potential and level of intelligence at Westminster when we were comparing schools for our daughter. Regardless of creed, we were aligned with the Christian values of Westminster. When I learned these values could use a bit of strengthening in kindness and welcome and embrace of diversity of thought, I thought, ‘this can only make the community better.’ By listening to people and doing research, I realized there was a need, and Maria-Claudia offered a place at the table. If I don’t bring my voice to the table when I have the opportunity, I feel I’m doing the community a disservice. It’s about taking kindness and respect and acting on them.

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