The Colors of Excellence

This groundbreaking volume provides crucial information on the current state of diversity in independent schools. Featuring the objective findings of a 5-year study alongside personal stories by teachers and students of color, this book offers a unique look at the progress independent schools are making to attract and retain teachers of color.

A must-read for all those who truly want to diversify their schools, this volume:

• Features powerful testimony by independent school faculty of color, including the individual stories of African-American, Chinese-American, Native-American, Cuban-American, and Latino-American educators.
• Discusses how important a diverse teaching force is for creating a positive school culture for all students.
• Provides a framework useful in gauging the challenges of recruiting and retaining teachers in a shrinking national teaching pool.
• Reveals how teachers of color across the country found their jobs, their reasons for choosing an independent school, the special demands they face, and why they opted to stay.
• Analyzes teacher diversity in 11 independent schools and includes a list of provocative questions to help schools evaluate their own progress.
• Includes specific guidelines to help educators close the faculty diversity gap in their schools.

Pearl Rock Kane is an associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and director of the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Education. Alfonso J. Orsini is Headmaster at the Leysin American School in Switzerland and has worked in independent schools for 23 years.

“Like any good storytellers, Kane and Orsini engage the reader with poignant vignettes, but drive home the points with hard demographics and research about what it means to educate well all of America's children.”
—Patrick F. Bassett, President, National Association of Independent Schools

“Many independent schools are struggling to diversify their faculty. Some are more successful than others. Any head of school who wants to be on the "successful" list needs to read this book! The Colors of Excellence clearly identifies both the challenges and the potential solutions, giving voice to the teachers who have helped transform their institutions from monocultural to increasingly multicultural learning environments.”
— Beverly Daniel Tatum, President, Spelman College, author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?