At Brentwood, we invest heavily in professional development for all of our employees. Furthering professional and personal growth is the sign of a lifelong learner, something we want to cultivate in one another and definitely in our students. To that end, the growth of our employees is essential to the well being of our school community. Additionally, our students are the direct beneficiaries of our growth, as new ideas and practices keep us all fresh and inspired.
While the breadth of available opportunities is wide, one particularly impactful experience is the People of Color Conference and the accompanying Student Diversity Leadership Conference. For the past three days, 29 adult employees and 6 Upper School students have been in San Antonio, TX attending these two concurrent events, sponsored by NAIS. And with over 7,000 in attendance, the opportunity to be inspired in addition to making connections and being in community is transformative. I am grateful to Carley Dryden and the Office of Equity and Inclusion for organizing all the arrangements that enable so many members of our community to participate in these meaningful experiences.
While the conference is underway, there is still a lot happening on campus. This week we held our semi-annual car count on the East Campus where, for three days, we literally counted every car trip in and out of campus during the counting hours agreed upon with our neighborhood groups. (It is important to note that “illegally dropped off walkers” count as two car trips, which is why not dropping off in the Village is imperative for our continued success with neighbors and the City of Los Angeles.) On Wednesday, we also held a full lockdown drill on the East Campus, with assistance from the Los Angeles and VA Police Departments. The debriefs from both of these yield lessons learned, which makes them a form of professional development for the operations of our school.
Neither of these two undertakings would have been possible without the hard work and careful coordination of our Public Safety team as well as the support of numerous adult volunteers. Thank you. The important opportunity for many of our BIPOC faculty, staff, and students to participate in POCC, the perspective acquired through the practice of emergency drills, and the collection of data to inform of transportation practices all keepK the school moving forward and are excellent examples of how we support one another in our continued development as professionals and people.
In your own home, make sure to share with your children how you are a lifelong learner. Through your actions, help them to understand that there is always room for learning, no matter the age or stage of our lives.
Have a great weekend.
Dr. Mike
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up