Director of Equity and Inclusion

For over 100 years, Cate has been combining the best of East Coast tradition and West Coast energy and innovation in the service of highly motivated, independent-minded kids. Residential life is structured to develop well-being and leadership through the practice of self-discipline and service. In addition to an inquiry-driven curriculum designed to elicit the greatest possible growth in every student, all students participate in an extracurricular program that includes athletics, drama, music, dance, community service, and an extensive outdoor program. With more than 50 honors and advanced courses, the Cate curriculum can meet the demands of the most ambitious students. A typical applicant to Cate has impeccable character, a history of high academic achievement, is mature, curious, and adventurous, and willing to assume responsibility and independence.

At Cate School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work are integral to our mission because we recognize that academic excellence and productive citizenship are impossible without intercultural competency. While DEI work at Cate has historically focused on increasing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity amongst students and faculty, today’s efforts must also provide the skills and competencies that will allow all stakeholders to thrive in increasingly diverse environments, beginning with the one we are constructing at Cate.

Cate’s approach is to “meet students where they are,” and ensure, through education and practice, that they graduate with the foundational skills necessary to excel in institutions of higher learning and in the 21st Century workplace. This approach embodies Cate’s mission as an educational institution rooted not only in character development, but in skill building. Likewise, faculty cultural competency is evaluated during the hiring process and then supported and evaluated at regular intervals as part of Cate’s ongoing professional development. Continually honing these skills is essential to ensuring that each member of the Cate community feels a genuine sense of belonging and is able to achieve their greatest growth.

To that end, Cate’s curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular programming relies upon a community-wide, skills-based framework that acknowledges the centrality of DEI competency to teaching, professionalism and collaboration, and, for students, meaningful interpersonal connections and post-secondary success. This framework is important because one can value difference immensely and never become interculturally competent. Put simply, awareness and sensitivity must be augmented with greater knowledge of myriad cultures, ideologies, faiths, and ways of living and the practical tools that will enable the most proactive and inclusive behaviors.

At Cate, we often talk about the deep sense of community that attends the “spirit of this place.” While the “spirit” manifests in many ways, it is rooted in the full recognition of the dignity of each person. We encourage all members of the Cate community to share their background, interests, identities, and beliefs so that we can collectively work to broaden our perspectives, deepen our capacity for empathy, and strengthen our resilience. In doing so, we can continue the daily work of creating and building community

Cate School is committed to a policy of Equal Opportunity Employment and nondiscrimination in the treatment of employees or applicants for employment without consideration of race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, gender or gender identity.

We seek applications from candidates who are eager to live among and teach young men and women from all over the world. A small co-educational boarding school on the Central Coast of California, Cate School offers a career opportunity for educators whose priorities and purposes mirror the four pillars of our mission statement–commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service.  Cate School offers a career opportunity that anticipates and encourages work with our students well beyond the classroom, as faculty members serve as advisors, dorm-parents, coaches, and mentors.

POSITION PURPOSE:

Cate School is currently seeking applications from candidates for a full-time Director of Inclusion.  The position will formally begin on August 16, 2021.  The Director will collaborate with and direct the Inclusion Core, Teaching, and Community teams. The Director is part of all senior administrative meetings and is expected to fully participate in the vision building and daily operations of the School. The Director will have opportunity to teach, lead or assist in an co-curricular season, and fulfill a residential commitment.  As with all senior leaders and faculty at the School, the Director is expected to model our commitment to the breadth of work we do at Cate, whether the effort occurs in our classrooms, on our athletic fields, in our residence halls, or in engagements large and small that occur between adults and students throughout the day and night.  The Director reports to Ben Williams, the Head of School.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Vision 

• implement programming and curriculum consistent with the School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement;
• think strategically and plan effectively how to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive academic and residential curriculum;
• see to the productive evolution of all DEI programming and scholarship based on industry standards; 
• partner with peers and colleagues in all departments to help build paradigmatic programs throughout the School. 

 Collaboration 

• work effectively with members of the Inclusion teams and colleagues throughout the school to develop and implement academic and residential programming and training ; 
• work effectively with students to develop programming and training that is age appropriate and meets students where they are; 
• develop a professional development plan suited to the individual and to institutional priorities, in consultation with the Head of School, and consistent with the needs of the School. 

Communication

• prepare and deliver diversified communications of DEI work to targeted internal and external audiences;
• create a schedule for communications and follow-through with regular updates;
• establish feedback and support opportunities for faculty and students.

Key Competencies

• self-motivated

• high energy level
• excellent verbal and written communication skills
• careful attention to detail
• high work standards
• problem solver
• decision maker and collaborator within a team
• organized 
• growth mindset in considering all manner of pedagogical ideas, evaluative feedback, and evolving school needs.
• tolerance for stress
• flexibility and adaptability
• initiative

Interested candidates should send a CV, a letter of interest, and a list of 5 references to Jay Dorion, Assistant Head of School, at [email protected]