Supplemental content for our 2020 Community Report’s “Academic Year In Review”
In August of 2019, the Fulcrum Foundation’s Diversity Committee offered a workshop to train the staff, teachers, and administrators of the 72 schools in the archdiocese. The workshop featured keynote speaker Alison Park, founder of Blink Consulting. At the heart of this work was understanding school culture and reframing multiculturalism as an inclusive process for the benefit of all students.
Blink Consulting collaborates with schools to critically and compassionately rethink diversity, starting with language and intention.
“The goal was to create a framework of language, terminology, and concepts from which to engage in discussions and to examine the practices in use in their classrooms and offices. From there, we can make lasting changes,” said April Little, chair of the Diversity Committee and Fulcrum trustee.
April called the workshop an “opportunity to engage and learn about diversity issues at a high level.”
The Diversity Committee helps provide the means for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Seattle to welcome each and every child, regardless of race, ethnicity, or class. Schools should respect, celebrate, and include the culture of each child as an integral part of Catholic education and as a manifestation of Catholic identity.
The committee awards grants to help schools with accessibility, academic excellence, and professional development aimed toward improving diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“As Catholics, we know we have the capacity, the heart, and the faith for this work,” April said. “This workshop gave us the knowledge, the skills, and the awareness to put it into action.”