DEI

ATLIS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Style Guide

Recommended by the ATLIS DEI Advisory Committee (2022)

Across all dimensions of its practice, ATLIS consistently demonstrates its commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive association.

Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at ATLIS have grown over the past several years. Conference sessions have broadened, and our virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021 each had its own strand of DEI & Tech sessions. In addition, ATLIS devoted the 2018 edition of the journal Access Points to the topic. In its 2021 Compensation Report, ATLIS began to track issues of gender and ethnicity with regard to school leadership structures and salary. ATLIS Reads has incorporated discussions of BLINDSPOT: The Hidden Biases of Good People and Race After Technology as part of its initial two years of programming.

Even as conversations around DEI escalated during several seasons of racial reckoning in this country, the ATLIS Board had already focused its attention on DEI in relation to technology leadership in independent schools. In 2019, the ATLIS Board adopted a strategic plan that specifically led to the development of a DEI Advisory Committee that would work with the Board on equity issues.

The DEI Advisory Committee's charter states: "The mission of the DEI Advisory Committee is to support ATLIS as it strives to be an organization where all individuals and independent school communities join together to support one another and work together to deliver the best educational environment possible for today’s learners."

The ATLIS DEI Advisory Committee will assist and guide in:

Supporting activities to raise awareness and promote the removal of bias, discrimination, and inequity in independent schools as it pertains to technology
Assisting in the development of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics and related items of discussion for ATLIS educational programs
Assisting ATLIS in promoting leadership opportunities for all independent school technologists that foster greater diversity, equity, and inclusion
Collaborating with ATLIS staff to create space for difficult conversations to take place, and to encourage all voices to speak up, as we design professional development and networking opportunities for the community
Providing feedback for ATLIS’s ongoing strategic planning as it pertains to our DEI goals

ATLIS DEI Resources

DEI: Understanding the Conversations

Listen to the audio version

View the transcript

Must-See Video Highlights:

7:31 - Panelists begin introducing themselves and their approach to the conversation
17:02 - Discussion surrounding how we are helping support students who are having DEI conversations in digital spaces
25:09 - Dr. Beth Holland demonstrates an algorithmic bias experiment with the group
34:00 - Colin Samuel discusses his story and how he feels compelled to teach students to go into the world understanding algorithmic bias, empathy, and a drive to create equitable systems
41:55 - Dr. Jeff Morrison discusses approaching racism and bias from a historical perspective to create more inclusive school environments

This session circles around the essential question: What do tech teams and their leaders need to understand about…DEI conversations in classrooms, DEI conversations at a systems or administrative level, DEI conversations from a cultural/historical perspective?

Panel: