Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Qualities of the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Oakwood’s Director of DEIB will be an experienced and collaborative leader who will act as a resource, strategic planner, and guide to address current issues and help the school articulate long-range goals in areas related to all forms of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. This person must possess the ability to work collegially with multiple constituencies, a progressive and innovative mindset, and a sense of humor.

 EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Master’s Degree and/or DEI Certification desirable, a Bachelor’s Degree is required.
• Minimum of five (5) years of administrative experience leading DEIB work at the K-12 level 
• Participation in in-depth training in DEIB and multicultural practices at nationally recognized seminars and workshops
• Strategic thinking skills with a record of accomplishment in the implementation of effective and sustainable educational, cultural, and social programs in DEIB in school settings
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, allowing one to work effectively with colleagues and constituents, solve problems and represent Oakwood in the broader community
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including public speaking and leading workshops 
• Demonstrated capacity for data-driven decision making
• A systems orientation to program development grounded in proven practices
• Strong organizational skills needed to interface with several academic and non-academic departments
• Knowledge of independent schools is preferred

THE SCHOOL

Oakwood is committed to fostering an inclusive academic and social environment where every member of our community is valued and feels a sense of belonging. We continuously strive to create a trusting, respectful, and inclusive learning environment and culture, inside and outside the classroom, where students feel confident to express and develop their own voice, values, and gifts. 

Rather than following, Oakwood is determined to lead and to be a model for other schools to emulate. To date, our leadership team in collaboration with the entire community has launched thoughtful and intentional initiatives designed to engage students, families, faculty, administrators and board members in topics centered around building equity and belonging. These include:

• establishing the Parent Org DEI group, which has built a robust group of DEI parent ambassadors at each grade level to lead DEI book groups and discussions to engage and educate the parent body specifically around issues of identity, racial justice, white supremacy, and anti-racist practices
• creating the DEI collaborative working group which convened this year, meets regularly, and brings together parents, faculty, staff, administrators, board members, student representatives, and alumni to clarify goals, reflect, and plan action steps for the community to increase equitable practices in every area of our school community.
• providing exceptional educational and professional development opportunities for faculty, staff, parents and students, including speakers and workshops with the likes of Joy Degruy, Robin DiAngelo, Patrisse Cullors, Debby Irving, and Ibram X Kendi
• adopting Pollyanna Racial Literacy Curriculum K-8 and developing and requiring the Equity and Racial Literacy class for seventh-grade students entering secondary school which asks the essential question: How do we create and maintain an inclusive community at Oakwood? 
• performing an equity audit to identify strategic opportunities for community growth. 

We invite you to explore our website for additional information about our programs and resources. 

Mission Statement  

Oakwood School is a K-12 coeducational day school in North Hollywood, California that opened its doors in

1951. The school has remained faithful to its original mission ever since: “to create a diverse educational

environment where young people are partners with the adults who teach them and learn from them; where

the best means of preparing students for the future is to immerse them in the present; where a healthy

learning environment requires joy and humor as well as rigorous intensity; and where students’ intellectual

and aesthetic depth – along with their capacity for empathy and moral courage – emerge out of authentic

engagement with their teachers, one another, and the world around them.”

Oakwood Diversity Statement (pending adoption by Board of Trustees on March 3, 2021)

Oakwood School pledges our pursuit of excellence by intentionally fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. 

With purpose, Oakwood celebrates and affirms diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, faith, family structure, socioeconomic background, and ability. 

We also recognize the continued need for growth as an institution, so that Oakwood—its board, faculty, staff, administration, student body, and families—may better represent the diversity of Los Angeles while better supporting equitable and inclusive practices and policies for all.

This ongoing commitment includes denouncing all forms of White supremacy, systemic racism, patriarchal oppression, and class discrimination while empowering our community to do the same. 

We uphold the importance of intersectionality in our approach and we hold space for prioritizing pressing and timely issues so we can engage with an ever-changing world.

Within this questioning and consideration of school and society, we acknowledge temporary discomfort as a possible reaction, and endorse the examination of our interpersonal and internalized biases as its most effective cure. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to creating an educational experience within a school community and learning environment that balances the intellectual, emotional, and social growth of children, allowing us all to learn how to honor the dignity and experience of every human being. 

History

Oakwood began in the hearts and minds of a small group of parents who had three things in common: 1) one or more of their children attended the same nursery school; 2) they were equally disturbed by post-war overcrowding in the public schools; and 3) they disagreed about almost everything else! In 1950, these families decided to open their school in one family’s backyard, and shortly thereafter, they moved the school to an abandoned religious building on Chandler Boulevard. From these humble beginnings, Oakwood has grown to become a K-12 co-educational independent day school on two campuses, where young people prosper in thought and imagination, in competence and character, as individuals and as members of a school community.

The Program

At all ages and in every discipline, the Oakwood program is intentional and builds on itself. Students at Oakwood value a curriculum that is less test-driven and more experiential. The program is rich in the arts, sciences, and Humanities and challenging to a student’s creative, intellectual, and physical capacities. An active communal life, intellectual attainment, and increasing autonomy “for one another, for the environment, and for the larger world” are goals once put forth by Oakwood’s founders that remain in place today.

At all grade levels, parents speak of Oakwood’s commitment to service. The habit of service and the lifelong commitment to social justice often find their origins in the Elementary School and are then confirmed in the affinity groups, alliances, interest groups, and clubs at the Secondary Campus. Oakwood Students for Progressive Reform (OSPR), Rainbow Alliance, Gender Equality Club, Sustainability Working Group, International Thespian Society, Gardening Club, and more - the list is seemingly endless for all of these organizations because they are easy to create, are student-generated, and address the issues of the day. 

The Faculty and Staff

Oakwood’s teachers and staff are talented, dedicated and devoted to the school. They play a key role in guiding students through their academic and social lives during their time at Oakwood. Faculty and staff provide personalized support and give positive encouragement every single day and are true to the school’s philosophical underpinnings – individual growth, active communal life, autonomy and responsibility, fostering a sense of community – while providing a first-rate, competitive academic program that is marked by innovative curricula and sound pedagogy.

Campus

Oakwood spans two separate campuses: The Elementary Campus (grades K-6) and the Secondary Campus (grades 7-12). The Elementary Campus is a three-acre oasis in the urban landscape. Spacious and inviting, it sits adjacent to a public park, and reflects an industriousness and joyous spirit. With its Story Center, a central play yard, science labs and studios for art, music, and drama, it is an ideal locale for a child to grow in wisdom and in confidence. 

Two miles north of The Elementary Campus is the sprawling seven-acre Secondary Campus. The site comprises an eclectic array of modern and traditional buildings on a north and south campus joined by a modern pedestrian bridge designed by a renowned architect and Oakwood alumni parent. In addition to these spaces for engaging in academic and artistic endeavors, the campus includes the “old senior lot” (which really was a parking lot for seniors many years ago, and the name just stuck). Here, students congregate and socialize and enjoy lunch, and outdoor student events. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2021, a new 1,800 square foot state-of-the-art kitchen, servery, and indoor/outdoor dining area will be an inviting place for meals and hosting gatherings, and will provide meals for both secondary and elementary students and faculty/staff beginning in the fall of 2021. 

Geography

Los Angeles itself is the backdrop to Oakwood. A vast, sprawling, polyglot city of neighborhoods with people from every corner of the earth, every language and cuisine imaginable, it is a city with cultural opportunities too vast to enumerate, world-class universities and top-flight professional sports teams, to say nothing of the entertainment industry whose writers, actors, producers, composers, and executives send so many children to this particular school. 

Fast Facts

Total enrollment for Fall 2020: 800 students 

Grades K-5: Approximately 42 students per grade 

Grade 6: 48 students

Grades 7-8: Approximately 80 students per grade

Grades 9-12: Approximately 90 students per grade

Students of Color, Grades 7-12: 42%

Students of Color, Grades, K-6: 36%

Total Faculty/Staff: 201

Faculty-Student Ratio: 1:8 

Average Length of Faculty Tenure: 12.2 years 

Faculty/Staff of Color: 32% 

Financial assistance: 17% of K-12 students receiving aid 

Financial assistance budget: $4.5 million

Procedure to Apply

Oakwood School is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, age, national origin, ethnic, background, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. The successful candidate will receive a compensation package that includes a highly competitive salary plus generous health and retirement benefits.

Interested candidates must submit the following materials confidentially via http://bit.ly/Oakwood-Director-of-DEIB in one PDF attachment that includes, in the following order:

• Cover letter expressing interest in the Oakwood School Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging position 
• Current résumé 
• Statement of educational philosophy and practice which expresses who you are and how you connect to this work (no more than 2 pages)
• List of three references including name, title, phone number, email address, and professional relationship (references are contacted only with the candidate's permission)

Please email any questions to jobs@strategenius.org or by phone to Orpheus Crutchfield at (510) 685-0861.