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Diversity

The Diversity Council is pleased to present the Brentwood School Diversity Mission Statement .

The Council worked tirelessly on the mission statement throughout the 2009-2010 school year and pondered many revisions. During the creation process, the Council took great care to consider a wide variety of views and perspectives, and it is our hope that the statement will be an aspiration that can serve as a reminder of what Brentwood School, as a community, believes. The Council sought input from various constituencies, including the faculty and staff (K through 12), students, Senior Administrators, Directors, and the Education Committee of the Board of Trustees. In addition, the Council remained in close communication throughout the creation process with former Head of School, Michael Pratt, and the Associate Head of School, Dawn Cunnion.

The Council recognizes the importance of diversity work on an ongoing basis, and moving forward, the Diversity Mission Statement will be used as the springboard for meaningful discussions and reflections. Our shared task as a community will be to ensure that each member of the Brentwood community is committed to words and deeds that are in alignment with the new mission statement.

Diversity Council Members

The 2012-2013 Diversity Council Members  


The Diversity Council is composed of ten members and includes representatives from all three divisions. Membership is a two to three year commitment and is open to faculty, staff, administrators, and parents. 

Chris Brooks '93, Parent, Lower School
Elena Cardenas, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Student Life
Cameron Coleman, Chair, Math Teacher, Middle School

Tina Evans, 4th Grade Teacher, Lower School
Lisa Glick M.A., Service Learning Coordinator, Lower School
Dr. Art Gomez, Parent, Middle School
Jason Hinojosa, History and English Teacher, Middle School
Rob Jost, Human Development Teacher, Middle School
Asako Kurosaka-Jost, Japanese Teacher, Upper School
Esther Marron, Learning Specialist/Psychologist, Upper School
Tamara Miller, Special Projects, Upper School
Lainey Sevillano, Administrative Assistant to the Director, Upper School
Tasnim Shamji, Parent, Middle School
Robin Shapiro, Visual Arts, Lower School
Jake Willens, English, Middle School
Collette Zinn, Assistant Director, Lower School

Dawn Cunnion Ed.D., Administrative Liaison

Event Highlights

Event Highlights from 2010-2011

Diversity Day—

This bi-annual event highlights workshops and keynote speakers around the various issues of diversity.

Workshops sponsored by the Diversity Council—
· "From Tolerance to Transformation: Building Cultural Competence in the Classroom and the School," led by diversity consultant Stephanie Graham
· "Towards a Better Understanding of Potential Cultural Conflicts for Asian American Students in the Classroom," led by William Chien, parent and Diversity Council member

Meeting with Student Leaders—
· Upper School Intercultural Student Group and Diversity Council ASA, BSA, GSA, and LSA student representatives and Diversity Council members joint meeting

Film Screening—
· "Prep School Negro" screening was followed by a Q&A session with director Andre Robert Lee

Student Affinity Clubs

Student Affinity Clubs    

The following is a list of Brentwood School Affinity Clubs.While the activities and meeting frequencies of each club may differ, the common goal is to enhance awareness, create cohesion, and help promote a positive sense of self among members and allies.

Lower School
Crayon Lunch Club — Advisors: Tamyra Fuller, Collette Zinn

Middle School
Black Student Association (BSA) — Advisor: Cameron Coleman, Ryan Bailey
Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) — Advisors: Bob Crocker, Rob Jost, Nicole Ryan, Kala Savage
Latino Student Association (LSA) — Advisor: Ignacio Gonzalez
Persian Student Association (PSA) — Advisor: Rana Hakhamimi

Upper School    
Asian Student Association (ASA) — Advisors: Helen Li, Drew Park
Black Student Association (BSA) — Advisor: August Sanders, Jawaan Wallace
Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) — Advisor: Asako Kurosaka-Jost
Girl Effect — Advisor: Sarah Bishop
Latino Student Association (LSA) — Advisor: Elena Cardenas
Persian Student Alliance — Advisor: Gabby McHale

Family Associations

Family Associations   


Asian Family Association               
Drew Park — dpark@bwscampus.com
William Chien*— wwchien@hotmail.com

*The Asian Family Association is currently inviting interested and enthusiastic individuals that may want to partner with William as co-organizer. Please contact Drew Park or William Chien for more information.
               
Black Family Association               
Betty Hickman — qkpik@yahoo.com
Brenda Bishop — bbishop@kayne.com
       
Gay Straight Alliance Family Association       
Asako Kurosaka-Jost — akurosaka-jost@bwscampus.com
Lee Wind — windfamily@roadrunner.com

Latino Family Association               
Elena Cardenas — ecardenas@bwscampus.com
Brenda Varela — brenda.varela11@gmail.com
Cecilia Victor — vicfam@ca.rr.com

West Campus Parents of African American Students Alliance      
Collette Zinn — czinn@bwscampus.com

Diversity News

  • Letter of the Week: Brentwood School Receives A Better Chance Access Award

    PhotoOn Thursday, May 2, 2013, A Better Chance (ABC) honored Brentwood School at their 50th Anniversary celebration held at the Davidson Center at University of Southern California. One of five schools acknowledged, Brentwood received the Access Award “for opening doors to greater educational opportunities and demonstrating continued commitment to A Better Chance’s mission by graduating more than 50 scholars.”

    Bryan Hudson, a Brentwood School graduate from the Class of 2009, presented the Access Award to Mary Beth Barry and Tamyra Fuller, both of whom admitted him to Brentwood’s 6th Grade in 2002. Hudson graduates from USC this spring with a bachelor’s degree in History and will join Teach for America as a 5th Grade math teacher at a public school in Nashville this fall...

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  • Lower School Crayon Club

    Over the course of the past year, I have received a series of emails from Tamyra Fuller, Admissions Counselor on the West Campus, that are filled with amazing descriptions of recent Crayon Club meetings. In her usual enthusiastic way, Tamyra fills these emails with adjectives and superlatives, expressing how much the experience meant to her and how much she appreciates the families who choose to share their cultural backgrounds with the community. I was always fascinated, because every one of these meetings could have led to its own newsletter article, as they were each special and noteworthy in their own ways. So I thought that it would be nice to get a good overview of the program from the woman who makes it all happen. An hour later, and with very few words on my part, Tamyra had illuminated what Crayon Club is really all about...and now I see that this club is really her most special “baby.” [cont'd...read more]

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  • Black History Month Highlights

    Black History Month 2013 ended yesterday with an exuberant festival of family, food, and fun on the West Campus as they celebrated the great African-American tradition of family reunions. The annual Brentwood Family Reunion [link to video] included a delicious Soul Food lunch—a mix of traditional African-American dishes—a Kente cloth display, field games, and an all-school line dance. The reunion really ended up being a huge dance party on the lawn with students and faculty dancing and having fun. It was a great way to end a month of wonderful moments...

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  • Diversity Day 2013

    Brentwood School hosted its fourth Diversity Day: “The Power of Personal Stories”

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  • Black History Month, K-12

    Black History Month at Brentwood School is a celebration, a moment of discovery, and an opportunity for our entire community to learn and grow. A month of K-12 activities began this week with BSA (Black Student Association) Week on the East Campus, which included the Soul Food Lunch; "Perspectives on Race in America," a discussion of Anderson Cooper and The Doll Test; STOMP the QUAD, where professional steppers presented moves from this African-American dance tradition; and a seminar entitled, "Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for You and Me" about the history and tradition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the benefits every student receives by attending.

    The Lower School kicked off Black History Month with the 2nd Annual African-American Read-In. During this event, members of our local African-American community read books by black authors and/or illustrators aloud to our students and spoke with them about their own life stories.

    For a complete listing of the remaining Black History Month events, read more...

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Diversity Mission Statement

Brentwood School embraces diversity and inclusivity as essential to a full education, and is committed to creating an environment that fosters openness and acceptance. The school recognizes multiple dimensions of culture, including but not limited to: age, ethnicity, family structure, gender identity, geographic origins, multiple learning styles, political views, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

We are committed to weaving diversity into the fabric of who we are, what we do, and what we value. We aim to engage mindfully in open and frequent dialogues to ensure that each member of the community is valued, included, and respected.