Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion

Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion
July 1, 2023

The Nueva School seeks applications for a Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion to lead the school’s strategic work in the areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion across all three divisions. A visionary and compassionate leader, this person will be joining a PreK–12 school already engaged in challenging systems of inequity and seeking to deepen its commitment to creating a Beloved Community rooted in a culture of dignity. Candidates should embrace the culture of innovation encouraged at Nueva and possess a radical imagination and inquisitive spirit, a can-do attitude, and the critical hope necessary to envision and inspire members of the community to build the world we want to live in. The role is multi-faceted and intersects with curriculum, pedagogy, strategic planning, professional development, parent education, student support, and community-building.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The Nueva School, an internationally recognized independent day school, has served gifted learners since 1967. Today, Nueva serves nearly 1,000 students PreK–12. Nueva is located in the neighboring towns of Hillsborough and San Mateo, equidistant between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, serving six counties throughout the Bay Area of Northern California. A constructivist school, Nueva is known for its distinctive inquiry-based interdisciplinary studies, project-based learning, and pioneering work in social-emotional learning and design thinking. The Nueva community instills a passion for lifelong learning, fosters social and emotional acuity, and develops the imaginative mind.

ABOUT THE ROLE
The Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion is a member of the school’s senior leadership team and reports directly to the head of school. In addition, they will lead and supervise a team of three equity and inclusion coordinators whose responsibilities are primarily student-facing. The director will also collaborate closely with all members of the senior and extended leadership teams.

The director is responsible for the strategic vision and implementation of Nueva’s equity and inclusion work and is tasked with further developing and implementing systems, structures, and processes that enable its community members to uphold an authentic commitment to building a place of belonging where all can thrive. As a dynamic learning institution, the Nueva community recognizes that there is still considerable work to do within this realm and is looking for an individual who can continue pushing our school community forward.

Applicants who represent and understand the full diversity of the Bay Area community are highly desirable. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of the diverse socioeconomic, racial, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, academic, and ethnic backgrounds present in the community. In joining Nueva, the director will become part of a community that recognizes that equity and inclusion are lenses through which they examine all aspects of our school community in order to ensure an educational experience where all students can thrive. In deciding whether to apply for a position at Nueva, candidates are strongly encouraged to consider whether their values align with Nueva’s mission, vision, and values.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

  • Increase community engagement around and accountability for the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion for all members of the Nueva community
  • Analyze and evaluate current systems, policies, and practices to identify areas of improvement that provide the foundation for a just and beloved community
  • Continue to audit the curriculum and its implementation while supporting and coaching teachers in deepening their commitment to and implementation of anti-racist and culturally responsive pedagogy and practice
  • Oversee the development and administration of evaluation metrics that help Nueva to examine the effectiveness of equity and inclusion work across all aspects of the school through the collection of data over time
  • Provide consistent and up-to-date professional development and educational opportunities for faculty and staff, the leadership team, our parent body, and the board
  • Continue to refine anti-bias hiring processes and actively collaborate with school leaders in recruitment, hiring, onboarding, employee evaluation, and retention practices
  • Increase support for equity and inclusion initiatives, including programs and systems for recruitment, retention, access, and inclusion of individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups 
  • Partner with the director of enrollment and strategic engagement and the director of admissions to expand the reach of identification, recruitment, and programming for gifted Black and Latinx students and for gifted students coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
  • Strengthen restorative justice practices across all three divisions and the broader community
  • Build meaningful, nuanced, and caring relationships with all members of the community

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Partner with key constituents and leadership to develop, execute, and measure the school’s strategic equity and inclusion framework and accompanying goals
  • Co-lead the board’s Beloved Community Committee and further refine this new committee’s role
  • Supervise and support the three equity and inclusion coordinators in successfully fulfilling their responsibilities through common planning, assessment, and ensuring their alignment with the larger strategic equity and inclusion framework
  • Work collaboratively with the director of teaching and learning to examine curriculum across PreK-12 and to ensure representation of diverse voices, experiences, histories, and perspectives
  • Develop a professional learning plan and professional development opportunities for faculty and staff in collaboration with the director of teaching and learning that align with the strategic vision and provide thematic coherence from one year to the next
  • Partner with the three equity and inclusion coordinators and faculty to find the nexus between equity work and the different developmental learning stages of our student body PreK–12
  • Serve as a key member of the crisis-response team when bias incidents occur
  • Participate in the planning and execution of the new teacher onboarding program in partnership with members of the senior and extended leadership teams
  • Work with the leadership team in refining and implementing anti-bias practices around hiring systems, structures, and practices
  • Offer the admissions team guidance in creating anti-bias admissions practices
  • In partnership with the three equity and inclusion coordinators, work with families, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, and community affinity groups to ensure that they feel a sense of belonging within the school community and feel comfortable advocating for and accessing resources
  • Support the Nueva Parents’ Association (NPA) in adopting equitable, inclusive, and culturally responsive practices through trainings and partnership
  • Liaise closely with the communications team to share our equity and inclusion work with the broader community and to routinely update the school’s website and other public-facing communications
  • Develop and lead the four-day summer Equity and Inclusion Institute

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS
Nueva seeks an inspiring, passionate, and relational leader who blends a data-driven and heart-centered approach to building a Beloved Community at Nueva. This individual will have a high EQ and model what it means to listen with empathy and lead with care and conviction. The director will have the proven ability to guide all stakeholders through their respective equity journeys and meaningfully engage our community in the challenging and richly rewarding path towards equity, inclusion, and belonging. In addition to the qualities noted above, the ideal candidate will possess the following:

  • Demonstrated experience in leading equity and inclusion work across constituent groups staying abreast of developments in the field
  • Ability to work as a systems thinker
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate meaningfully, both in writing and public speaking, to all school constituencies
  • Demonstrated ability to lead and facilitate courageous conversations
  • Ability to develop and sustain relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders
  • An understanding of one’s own positionality and the ability to help others to see theirs
  • Ability to hold multiple truths and a commitment to valuing and including diverse perspectives and approaches
  • A willingness to lean into discomfort and create trusting environments that inspire others to do so as well
  • Ability to foster social and emotional acuity, to manage emotions, and to understand and empathize with the emotions of others
  • A profound openness to feedback and improvement, modeling lifelong learning
  • Teaching experience and familiarity with progressive pedagogy, curriculum development, and child and adolescent development
  • Bilingual abilities preferred – Spanish/English or Mandarin/English
  • Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree preferred

COMPENSATION
This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in California. Nueva provides excellent benefits and salaries that are competitive and commensurate with work experience and education. The salary range for this position is $145,000 – $185,000.

APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS
Evaluation of candidate materials will begin immediately and will continue until a Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion is named. The start date for this opportunity is July 1, 2023. Inquiries and nominations, and applications consisting of a cover letter and a résumé, may be sent in confidence to:

Staci Williams Seeley, Managing Director
Erin Meissner, Senior Search Associate
Davirah Timm-Dinkins, Senior Search Associate

NuevaInstitutionalEquityDirector@storbecksearch.com

For more information, please visit The Nueva School at www.nuevaschool.org

The Nueva School is an Equal Opportunity Employer – we do not discriminate against any employee or job applicant on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, or sex. We welcome applications from people of color and those with experience outside the education field.