Dominique Dalais on the inspiration behind the new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
There has been a lot of media talk of diversity, and inclusion in the world and in education this year. As a teacher at ACS Egham, in touch with students and colleagues every day, I have been considering inclusion versus equity. I believe international schools can play their part in leading the push for system-level change that will bring about not just inclusion but also equity in all our lives.
Inclusion is no bad thing, of course, but I'd like society to go further, to ensure the BAME members of our society are more than just included but also considered an equal part of the society, in which we all exist.
Black Lives Matter: Tackling racism
This is where equity comes in. Equity isn’t just about giving people what they need, it is about changing the system that brought about inequity in the first place. We need to give advantages to those who have been disadvantaged and give minority groups the opportunity to have an advantage and a platform in situations they never had before.
That is how we redress the balance. That is how we strive toward equality where everyone really has an equal chance because the systems could become equal. And when this opportunity comes we must take action in meaningful and impactful ways.
Taking action
At ACS Egham we have a diverse student population and a diverse teaching demographic, so the subjects of inclusion and equity are very real to all of us everyday. This year, I have been instrumental in setting up a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council across our three UK-based ACS International Schools.
This was something I initiated from the need for minority groups within the school to have a voice. Nothing like this had been done before and now was the time to start on the back of the Black Lives Matter movement and its growing momentum.
The school's board and senior leadership teams are backing the council, and are involved and are supporting what we are trying to do. We are establishing conversations and building interest among staff at all the schools.
This led to over 25 people not only expressing an interest but also sharing their thoughts and feelings with their ideas of possible changes and approaches that could be taken.
The recent Wear Red Day for the Show Racism the Red Card campaign was a great example of the community coming together to show their support for such an important topic. All three UK campuses took part in one of the biggest cross-campus events in recent history. Many students also voiced their interest in supporting the campaign of their own volition.
Staff and students were encouraged to wear red, and they put on events such as football tournaments, created videos and posters to raise awareness and host fundraising drives. Over £1,000 was raised for the campaign in total.
Through the early beginnings of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, we are already having an impact in school but are also making a difference in our local community’s thoughts and feelings about racism.
This has been done, in part, by creating a stronger student council, who are taking action to support and raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement and locally-owned black businesses. One initiative they led was hosting a raffle in support of Blueprint For All, formerly known as the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. The items for the raffle were bought from locally-owned black businesses.
A further education goal close to my heart is to diversify the curriculum by looking at more inclusive units that have historically been taught in the Upper School. It will take time to see this through, but it’s a journey I am glad we have started. We are determined to expose to our community the issues in our society, so they can think and act appropriately and we can bring true equality to our school and our community. Ours is a diverse and international school community and we are better placed than many to show society what equity really looks like.
Dominique Dalais is Head of Physical and Health Education, and racial equity facilitator at ACS Egham.