Talking about equity in education

Wherever your school is with the issue of equity, this well-informed, down-to-earth conversation between two of the most experienced educators responsible for establishing a culture of equity in a school is a must-listen. In 20 short minutes Nunana Nyomi, DEIJ Coordinator at Leysin American School and Clare Ives, EDI lead at Sevenoaks School shine a clear light on the real issues that almost everyone has found challenging. How can a really good school be egalitarian - but not equitable? Why are Senior Leadership Teams hesitant about taking on issues of equity? How do you deal with the fear of being caught up in an unwelcome flare-up of the culture wars in your own community? 

After listening to Clare and Nunana, a pathway just might open up. After all, we've been giving additioanl learning support to students who need it for many years. Their argument is that not only is it time to address other serious issues of marginalisation, but that it will make a school community much stronger and productive to do so if it is done in the right way. 

Nunana Nyomi has been the University Advisor and DEIJ Coordinator at Leysin American School in Switzerland since 2021. He’s a TCK, growing up in the U.S., Ghana, Kenya, Switzerland, and the U.K. After graduating from Calvin University where he studied French and International Relations, he spent seven years in Calvin’s Admissions Office, where he became Associate Director of International Admissions. After completing a Masters in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University, he moved to the Council of International Schools as Associate Director of Higher Educational Services and finally to LAS.  

Clare Ives is Senior Deputy Head and EDI lead at Sevenoaks School in the UK. She is a graduate of St. Andrews, where she also took her PhD in American History, focusing on the development of Civil Rights in the 1960s. She spent eight years as a civil servant, before leaving to teach History at Canford School where she subsequently became a Housemistress and EDI lead before her move to Sevenoaks in 2021.