Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Thaden School is committed to actively engaging with the ever-unfinished and essential work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.
Since its founding in 2017, Thaden School has advanced its mission to foster the civil exchange of ideas in the center of the country. By inviting and engaging many perspectives, we enlarge our students’ capacity for understanding and prepare them for responsible citizenship and leadership in our pluralistic and multicultural republic.
Our entire community – students, families, employees, and directors – is encouraged to engage actively in both personal and institutional reflection and action to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism via numerous and varied means.
A broad-based team of faculty and administrators form our Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leading this work; in Academic Year 2021-22 they are focused on the implementation of strategic recommendations including the establishment of affinity groups, review and revision of hiring and admissions practices in the context of our mission, and leveraging the tools of our accreditation process to home in on the efficacy of our efforts.
Several key elements of our school's practices and educational program exemplify our commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive school community. Among them are:
Our Indexed Tuition program brings the cost of a Thaden education within reach for a broad range of families in Northwest Arkansas and has enabled us to build a student body that draws from 12 cities and towns in the region, 35% of whom are students of color.
Thaden’s commitment to culturally-responsive, inclusive, and anti-racist teaching is found across our curriculum and in our system of standards-based grading.
In addition, Thaden both provides and has an expectation of ongoing professional development to cultivate anti-racist educators through its participation in the National SEED Project, as well as NAIS's People of Color Conference.
This webpage is intended to function as a space to curate resources and cultivate conversation. Please check back frequently for updates and send suggestions to the communications team.