10TH ANNUAL SGS BENEFIT LUNCHEON

Join us for our 10th Annual Luncheon - March 29, 2012

We hope you can join us March 29 for our 10th Annual Luncheon, where once again, our very own students will MC and speak during the event, leading an inspiring showcase of our mission.

During the program, we will also honor two visionary northwest women through our Grace Hopper Awards. The recipients of these awards are leaders in their community and women who have made significant contributions in their field.

The Annual Luncheon is the school's primary fundraising event of the year, ensuring that SGS's programs can continue to thrive. There is no entry fee to attend - guests will be encouraged to make a gift that is meaningful to them during the event.
To become a Table Captain, reserve a seat, or for more information, please contact Christine Lessard at (206) 709-2228 ext. 1210 or clessardseattlegirlsschool.org.

Thank you to our Honorary Co-Chairs: Stephanie Solien, Senior Advisor at Climate Solutions and Frank Greer, Partner at GMMB.

You can donate to our school online at - http://www.seattlegirlsschool.org/donate.php

2012 GRACE HOPPER AWARD WINNERS

Seattle Girls' School is pleased to announce its 2012 Grace Hopper Award Winners. Thank you to everyone who nominated prospective recipients and congratulations to our awardees!

Outstanding Achievement Award: Estella Leopold, Ph.D.

As a paleobotanist, Leopold has spent more than fifty years combing through pollen fossils to reconstruct the history of climate change and plant evolution on our planet. Now a professor emerita at the University of Washington in Seattle, she has used her scientific expertise to lobby successfully for conservation efforts across the country. Learn more about her work here - http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9378

Exemplary Leadership Award: Jill Wakefield, Ed.D.

Dr. Jill Wakefield is a visionary leader who is recognized for the depth of her experience in community college education, innovative solutions and developing strategic partnerships. She became Chancellor of the Seattle Community Colleges in January 2009, after serving five years as president at South Seattle Community College, where she directed the development of leading-edge programs and an architecturally vibrant campus. Learn more about her work here - http://www.sccd.ctc.edu/district/district/chancellorbio.aspx

About Grace Murray Hopper:

Grace Murray Hopper (1906 - 1992), was a mathematician, computer scientist, systems designer and programmer. Her groundbreaking work as a mathematician and computer scientist led to the development of the computer language COBOL. She is more famously known as the 'mother of the computer' and was the first female Admiral in the navy. With the tremendous spirit of Admiral Hopper at heart, we celebrate women who have excelled remarkably in their field.

Get to know Grace Hopper via her David Letterman appearance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ0g5_NgRao

State of Diversity in Independent Schools

Did you know that of the approximately 1400 non-profit private schools in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), women lead just over 400 of them and people of color lead only 70 or so? At today's EdCamp-Seattle, we gathered a small but powerful group that raised the following questions for the greater NAIS community to address:

- How do we develop a leadership pipeline for women and people of color as we seek leadership that is more reflective of the national population?
- Do people of color view headship as a possibility? Do we teach ALL the educators in our schools the "language of power" - as Amy Tan describes it - so that everyone has equal opportunity to lead?
- Do we wait for moments of transition and crisis to seek diverse candidates? Can we begin to establish on-going conversations with diverse candidates - both nationally and locally - so that when these transitions occur, we avoid going to whom we happen to know best in order to fill a position?
- Should we replace the language of "best fit" with whom we can best serve as a school - both students and faculty? At the very least, we should be explicit about what "best fit" represents for each of our schools. Shouldn't a candidate be able to see the fit or lack thereof as clearly as the institution? and shouldn't a school consistently review who it can and cannot serve and seek to "stretch" toward greater inclusivity?
- Recruiting diverse faculty and staff must go hand-in-hand with retention efforts that include mentoring by other faculty who face similar experiences and can provide safe access to the "hidden culture" that exists at all our schools. Thus, we move from assimilation to inclusion.
- The conversations we are having about faculty and students and their families must also be directly linked.

Here are some resources brought to light during our session:

- NAIS Resources at http://www.nais.org/equity/index.cfm?Itemnumber=145868

- AISNE Resources at
http://www.aisne.org/services_resources/diversity.html

- PNAIS Diversity Practioners Retreat - http://www.pnais.org/page.cfm?id=18&start=09/05/2012&verbose=2161