Blake’s Published Commitment to Pluralism
The Blake School believes that a diverse society enriches all individuals and communities. Diversity of race, ethnicity, national origin, geography, religion, gender, affectional or sexual orientation, age, physical ability, and marital, parental, or economic status forms the fabric of our society. As a result of these beliefs, The Blake School actively seeks students, families, and employees who value and contribute to the fullness of a diverse community within the context of its mission. In doing so, we recognize our responsibility to help make each person’s experience a success.
Blake’s commitment to creating a diverse, culturally competent institution is integral to its commitment to excellence and is taken very seriously by its Board of Trustees. The Board accepts responsibility for the promise that “no member of the Blake community shall feel ‘less than’ another” articulated in Blake’s 2005 strategic plan.
At Blake, pluralism, which according to Dr. Diana Eck from Harvard, is the active, mutually respectful engagement of individuals across differences, is what transforms this diverse group of talented people into a cohesive, values-driven, college-preparatory learning community. Two core principles define Blake’s commitment to pluralism: Excellence through Equity and Empathy through Engagement.
Excellence through Equity
To achieve excellence as a community, Blake must also achieve equity in opportunity for everyone, so each individual can contribute to the community to the fullest of his or her capabilities. This requires an acknowledgment that each community member comes to Blake from a unique place and that the School must be able to support every student according to his or her talents and in support of his or her goals.
Empathy through Engagement
A pluralistic community must be committed to helping people build empathy, which is the ability to acknowledge, see, hear, imagine and value multiple perspectives. The best way for people to develop empathy is to engage with each other across differences in a mutually respectful way to the benefit of all throughout the course of their Blake experience.
An Innovative Structure for the Future
The integration of highly successful initiatives at Blake, including the work of the Center for Diversity, service learning, LearningWorks, and global citizenship, provides a unique opportunity for our community to take an innovative step forward in our journey toward a fully pluralistic community. With our commitment to pluralism at its core, this new structure will inspire great leadership in our community and help Blake prepare students to thrive in a diverse and evolving world.
Administration is charged with envisioning and implementing a pluralism plan and organizational structure that establishes synergy, avoids redundancy, maximizes existing resources, achieves PK-12 impact, and reflects the priority of our commitment to pluralism at Blake. A status report will be presented to the Board annually with time available for discussion of our pluralism efforts and results.