BBS Adds Diversity Council

Last Spring, we began discussing plans to create a new committee at Brainerd Baptist School to serve as a resource for our teachers as they navigate social, political, and curricular issues. Shortly after beginning work on this, the pandemic hit, and our focus turned to virtual classrooms and how we could create an exceptional learning environment online. With all that happened over the summer,  we quickly came back to focus on the need for such a committee. We all witnessed what seemed to be a never-ending loop of news stories that highlighted racial, social, and political tensions in our community and world.  Many of the stories on the nightly news and in our newspapers are overwhelming, heartbreaking, and difficult to process. As we returned to class this fall, we really wanted to create a resource that would help our teachers work through issues that can be controversial in nature. Therefore, the Diversity Council took shape. 

The purpose of the Diversity Council will be to form a collaboration between the administration, staff, parents, and community members. It will act as an advisory group to the Head of School and his designees on topics related to equality, access, and diversity. The Council will address topics such as cultural awareness in areas such as curriculum, recruitment, and retention of diverse staff and students, and other areas as identified by the staff and headmaster. The members of the Diversity Council would include a cross-section of staff, administration, parents, and potentially a community member. The members should include individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds as representatives of BBS, including African American, Indian, Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic.

The goal of the Council will be to enhance Brainerd Baptist School’s educational practices while monitoring and ensuring that we welcome, affirm, and give value to all student’s cultural backgrounds. This diversity awareness would further our mission of expanding minds and preparing hearts.

The following parents and faculty members have agreed to serve on our initial Diversity Council: Parents - Natalie Allen, Benton Bilbrey, Celeste Bradley, Ruthie Church, Roby Isaac, Katie Landers, and Allison Pettit; Faculty - Ellen Baggenstoss, Sean Corcoran, Amy Neal, Beverly Starnes, Rebecca Stubblefield, and Lucas Webb