Diversity

Diversity is one of the core values upon which The Girls' Middle School was founded. It continues to be central to our mission. Why? Because we believe that girls must have the skills and experience to understand and deal with different ethnicities, religions and family situations. Our goal is to teach them both to function effectively in the world today, and to build a more harmonious and equitable world tomorrow.

Consider the following:

• Noting the shifting demographics in the United States, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., writes that by the year 2020, "...a majority of our citizens will be people of color..." (1)
• According to a study conducted by Gary Orfield at Harvard University, public schools are more segregated now than at any time since the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation unconstitutional in Brown vs. Board of Education. "More than 70% of the nation's blacks now attend predominantly minority schools. Yet the most dramatic and largely ignored trends affect Latino students. ...In 1968, only a little more than 20% of Latino students were enrolled in intensely segregated schools. In 1998, more than one-third of Latino students attend intensely segregated schools." (2) (3)

As the above statistics clearly illustrate, most schools, by virtue of their student body composition, are not adequately preparing children for the world we will send them into as adults. Many students do not get the opportunity to work with people of differing ethnicities, religions, or socioeconomic circumstances until college or even the workplace. If schools consider adequate preparation for adult life as one of their goals, they must offer students the opportunity to have honest dialogue and practical experience with those who are different from them. The Girls' Middle School is committed to diversity in word and deed: 35% of the student body are students of color, 65% are white students. While these percentages do not mirror the world our students will live in exactly, they do move closer to that reality than most other schools.

The challenge of diversity

Building an intentional community of different ethnicities, religions, and family situations is inherently challenging. GMS addresses this challenge through:

• Outreach: Our Outreach Coordinator administers and monitors our diversity program. She works with our admissions staff to recruit qualified students from under-served communities.
• Curriculum: The entire curriculum at GMS is designed to include multicultural sources and provide diverse learning opportunities.
• Special Programs: Programs such as Social and Emotional Learning and Advisory provide safe places for students to grapple with difficult inter-and intrapersonal issues related to a diverse social environment.
• Education: Parent education nights and faculty-staff pre-service, in-service, and post-service workshops provide opportunities for adult members of our community work together toward our common diversity goals.

In these ways, The Girls' Middle School offers a truly diverse environment so that students from many backgrounds can learn to work together effectively. Not only will this provide a unique and empowering middle school experience for girls, but it will also prepare them well for the multicultural world in which they will work and live after school.

Notes:

1. Louis Gates, Jr., Loose Canons: Notes on the Color Wars (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) 122.
2. Gary Orfield, "Schools More Separate: Consequences of a Decade of Resegregation," Executive Summary (Cambridge: The Civil Rights Project, July 2001).
3. The 2000 U.S. Census has shown that income and education gaps between whites and people of color have grown larger in the Bay Area since the 1990 census. Michael Bazeley & Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, Aug. 27, 2002, 12A.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

The Girls' Middle School, founded as a multicultural school, admits students of any race, color, religion, and national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of these factors in the administration of its educational policies, aid program, or athletic and other school programs.