Development and diversity - Fine Point Communications

This year has brought up so many questions and challenges for independent schools but precious few answers. So I congratulate David Smith of St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn for offering an honest and helpful perspective with one of the most radioactive of topics: the intersection between diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and fundraising.

As was discussed in January’s CASE-NAIS conference, this connection between DEI and development is often fraught, with the potential for plenty of suspicion, misunderstanding, and hard feelings.

Smith (at right), who directs advancement at St. Ann’s, addressed that reality this month during a don’t-miss episode of The Development Debrief podcast.

“Advancement and development were the last places in the independent-school world that were engaged in these conversations,” Smith acknowledged.

Now that they’re in the conversation, advancement offices can contribute toward easing tensions in several ways, he suggested:

Being forthright about our schools’ histories and the hurt in certain communities about actions taken/not taken and implicit biases;
Being clear-eyed about the changes in traditional school behavior that must now take place; and
Being unafraid to make those changes in pursuit of a better future.

Smith acknowledged what many independent schools still struggle to say: “We were, at some point, part of the problem” of school segregation and inequitable education opportunities. Our institutions were founded, in many cases, “to replicate power, privilege, wealth for a small number of students.”

To restore trust and community, schools may have to offer “real reconciliation” with current and former families, Smith said — by hearing the stories of pain and distrust, and by telling the story of how schools “are taking care of kids today, better than, maybe, we took care of them.”

Ultimately, of course, alumni and others will judge schools by actions, not just words. Smith addressed some of the changes St. Ann’s has made in the name of inclusion that, at other schools, would be unthinkable — creating an annual report that doesn’t list donors at giving levels, for instance, and doing away with the annual gala.

“You don’t need the event to be successful at fundraising,” Smith said, who added that St. Ann’s actually raised less through its gala than it does now without the big-ticket evening.

As for the annual report, “Have you ever heard a donor say they were really thanked by that book? Was that book the thing that really made a difference for them, to renew their gift?” Smith asked. “Probably not. We do [giving lists] because we’ve always done it.”

He also discussed how he and his colleagues make an intentional practice of scheduling development meetings with alumni of color and LGBTQ alumni.

“Supporting the organization, in today’s world, means providing a just, equitable, inclusive environment. I don’t think you can have a really good school right now that doesn’t do that,” Smith said. “The best education possible has to include some acknowledgment of the need for diverse perspectives, ideas, and backgrounds.”

I’ve touched on only some of the gems Smith offers in the 45-minute interview, and I highly recommend listening to the whole thing.

Meanwhile, across the East River …

The Dalton School in Manhattan — prominently mentioned in The Atlantic’s recent cover story about independent schools — found itself again in the news last week.

First came another long magazine feature, this one by Vanity Fair and focusing largely on a debate within the school over its DEI initiatives. (The Atlantic highlighted Dalton’s tug-of-war with parents over in-school instruction amid COVID.)

A day later, Dalton announced that Head of School Jim Best was out, less than three years after becoming head. His predecessor will serve as interim HOS as the school conducts its search. That story was picked up by the Bloomberg news service (under the heading “Business”) and even the Times of London.

It’s been a year from hell for Dalton, whose DEI director resigned in February, and my full sympathies go to the comms office in the middle of all this heat.

For the rest of us, I see two takeaways from the weekend’s headlines:

1) Every comms director should maintain a just-in-case file of headshots, biographies, and notable accomplishments of senior administrators.

You never know when a leadership transition will be announced, and creating these bread-and-butter materials in the middle of a crisis is the last thing you should worry about.

2) This is also a reminder of what Pete Upham of the Association of Boarding Schools warned earlier this year: Schools “don’t start from a position in which our parents and our students, or even our staff and faculty, especially trust our intentions. There’s a lot more work to be done just to win back that credibility and to behave in a way that earns that trust.”

Upham is right, but school leaders don’t seem persuaded. Rather, the common instinct remains to stay above it all and say little about anything that could become controversial.

Not only does that approach not earn credibility, but abstaining removes an important point of view from a conversation that will take place, with or without the school.

As David Smith suggests, exclusionary and even racist practices and traditions are woven into the very fabric of independent schools. Hence the value of the anti-racist work underway at many private schools. Their results will certainly affect traditions and perhaps even curriculum — even as principled leaders look out for the most deeply held values of the institution.

Depending on the school, this may be a fine line to walk, and changes may take time to implement. Schools should explain this to students, parents, faculty, and staff, and provide regular updates on actions taken and envisioned.

Transparency and engagement: These are the keys to winning credibility.

Now, I recognize that engaging with Mad Brearley Dad or The No Longer Silent Majority or Megyn Kelly — people trying to flex the power they think they have (@ that Atlantic article) — is no one’s idea of an easy day at the office. But it’s dangerous for a school to ignore, for example, the public accusation that it “has begun to teach what to think, instead of how to think,” in the hopes that the complaint will just fade away.

Don’t-miss clicks

While it’s been a rough year for communications offices, it’s been a far worse time for DEI officials. The burnout and resulting turnover in those offices has been both heartbreaking to see and completely understandable. Given that context, I was impressed by a series of reports produced by the nonprofit Pollyanna, which assists schools with their DEI work. (I particular recommend the one from communications directors advising heads of school, but I enjoyed them all.)
Niche has compiled a report on “Education Website Benchmarks” for 2020. It offers a great way to compare your Google Analytics numbers to those of other schools.
Mike Barzacchini of Harper College has a solid one-paragraph blog post. I recommend it both for its simplicity and its point.

What’s new at Fine Point Communications

This was a quiet month at the Fine Points blog, thanks to spring break. Only one new post to tout, about setting aside time to identify developing trends in communications (such as video and podcasts).

I’m underway on marketing for a commercial client, and I’m about to begin a big newsletter project for a university.