Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We celebrate diversity, honor individuals of all identities, and pursue justice in our school community and beyond.
Committed to Equality
We are deeply committed to cultivating a community of citizens who are equipped to recognize and dismantle systems of oppression and injustice in the world within and outside our walls.
As a college prep school, we know a large part of our work goes far beyond preparing students to be academically successful in college; it is our responsibility to produce students who value diversity, respect people of all identities, and who are actively and demonstrably anti-racist.
At Griffin, We Believe
- Diversity is the truth; the historic, systemic erasure of diversity is the lie, and we must work proactively to reverse it.
- Understanding diverse perspectives is going to be necessary for survival and success in the next century.
- Academically, socially, and psychologically, diversity (in terms of ethnicity, culture, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, religion, political affiliation, and socioeconomic status) is beneficial for everyone; a diverse school environment helps teachers teach more effectively, better prepares students to be leaders in their communities, and activates empathy.
- We inherited a society that was built on white supremacy, which confers unearned privilege on white people. It is our responsibility to empower white students to dismantle that privilege and/or use it to elevate the voices of marginalized people.
- We cannot expect the erosion of racism to occur without taking direct action. In the words of Angela Davis, “in a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”
Initiatives and Efforts In Progress
Via parallel efforts of staff, students, and our board, the Griffin community has affirmed diversity, equity, and inclusion as areas of primary focus going forward, and we have dedicated time, funding, and resources to doing this work individually and collectively.
Our Initiatives
SCHOLARSHIPS: Griffin provides scholarship funding each year in order to make our school community accessible to students from a broad array of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Specifically, in 2019, we committed to intentional and explicit fundraising specifically to fund scholarships for students of color from underserved communities. To that end, we have worked with Breakthrough Central Texas, an organization building a path through college for low-income students.
NATIONAL SEED PROJECT: We have partnered with SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), a social justice organization that trains educators and other professionals to lead their communities through conversations and workshops that promote understanding of identity and pursuit of equity. The majority of our staff has participated in professional development workshops with a local SEED leader. Additionally, two of our staff members attended SEED’s New Leaders Week in Summer 2021 where they received training to lead diversity workshops at Griffin.
CURRICULUM: We have worked intentionally to build our curriculum by decentering a cisgender white male narrative and elevating the voices and experiences of people of color and other marginalized identities.
Areas to Grow
At Griffin, we recognize that this work is ongoing and never complete. With that in mind, at Griffin we would like to:
- Continue to diversify the student body so that Griffin grows to be a truly multicultural environment, where new students not only feel welcomed but already see themselves represented in the community.
- Train all students in anti-racism on a regular basis.
- Build authentic connections with diverse communities in our area and beyond.
- Offer more cultural events that are created and led by robust groups of students and staff of the culture being celebrated.
- Intentionally hire from diverse backgrounds to maintain and increase diversity within the Griffin staff.