About Us
Mission Statement
The Center exists to effect transformational change in New England independent school cultures by strengthening and improving the academic and social experiences of the increasingly diverse people who attend and work in these schools. (June 19, 2003)
Until 2006, when Maria Alexander Bridges left the area (she is now living and working in California), the Center had a number of meetings and functions each school year, attended by a wide variety of independent school people – trustees, heads of school, faculty members, and diversity directors. The intent of those meetings and the ongoing work of the Center has always been to identify ways to improve the experience of students of color, low-income students, and other non-traditional students at independent schools.
Two significant outcomes of these meetings and the work of the Center have resulted in tools for schools to use:
- In the revised Standards for Accreditation recently developed by the Commission (the 2007 Edition), a new standard asking schools to look closely at the experience of all students based on individual characteristics (age, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.) was developed and is currently in use.
- A student attitude survey was developed jointly by the Center and Endicott College and administered in the fall of 2004 at twelve schools, resulting in data on nearly 6,000 students being collected. A summary of that data can be viewed in an Aggregate Report.
The Board of Trustees of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges endorsed the Center at its September 2004 meeting after hearing a presentation about the origins of the Center from Sam Robinson. For a text of this report to the Board, please click here.
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