The Putney School Strategic Plan 2008-2013

Cultural Fluency

If we are to prepare our students to be effective citizens in the 21st century, we must ensure that they are comfortable with and capable of living and working effectively in a diverse community. They must be prepared to live and work in an increasingly diverse America, as well as function effectively in a global economy. To prepare our students well, we will need to address the following:

Composition of the Community: Putney must attract a diverse faculty and student body. We believe that for Putney to create an environment in which students can truly hear, appreciate and learn from the differences in our experience, we cannot isolate students from distinctive backgrounds, particularly where those backgrounds involve discrimination. Therefore, while Putney must not discriminate, and must remain a welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff, we will strive to achieve a critical mass of students from key racial and/or ethnic groups.

Community Life: When we introduce others to our community we have made a commitment to enlarge our perspectives and to grow and change in the process. In order to ensure that the school life is truly enriched by its diversity, Putney must create a welcoming environment for students, faculty and staff from diverse groups; provide thoughtful and productive opportunities for respectful exchange among students, faculty and staff; and find ways to bring a variety of visitors to the campus.

Curriculum and off-campus experiences: In light of the understanding that our students will need to be useful in a global economy, Putney should examine its overall curriculum to gauge the extent to which it encourages students to become culturally fluent. Putney must evaluate its curriculum, language program and off campus opportunities, and be clear about what the requirements of a Putney education should be in this area.

Indicators of Progress

One to Three Years

  • Establishment of an on-going board and staff task force, composed of a diverse group, to develop a comprehensive Diversity Statement and action plan and to ensure that the complex issues surrounding diversity and cultural fluency remain on the table and part of the endowment campaign.
  • Development and approval of a list of relevant funding opportunities for the endowment campaign (e.g., scholarships, support for off-campus participation, a speakers program)
  • Review and assessment of efforts that have been made to recruit students, faculty and staff of color.
  • Assessments of the environment to inform the school of issues faced by students of color, international students, and other under-represented groups in the community.
  • Development of curriculum that reflects the experiences and concerns of a wide range of peoples and cultures, which broadens the experience and comfort zones of students in dealing with other cultures, and which fosters curiosity about others and a willingness to learn from others.

Three to Five Years

    • Increased numbers of faculty and staff of color, and of those with multi-cultural experience.
    • Increased numbers of enrolled students from under-represented groups.
    • Increased retention of faculty, staff, and students of color.
    • Development of a clear expectation that all students should have a significant experience with a culture other than their own, and programmatic and curricular changes that facilitate and support this, including an enhanced modern languages program.