A comprehensive look at culture, cultural competency, frameworks, and tools for independent schools looking to approach cultural competency in individual, interpersonal, and institutional ways.

1. Rowland Hall School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
Seattle Girls’ School
Old School Diversity to
21st Century Cultural Competency
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

2. Turning to One Another by Margaret Wheatley
There is no power greater than a community discovering
what it cares about. Ask: “What’s possible?” not “What’s
wrong?” Keep asking. Notice what you care about. Assume
that many others share your dreams. Be brave enough to
start a conversation that matters. Talk to people you know.
Talk to people you don’t know. Talk to people you never talk
to. Be intrigued by the differences you hear. Expect to be
surprised. Treasure curiosity more than certainty. Invite in
everybody who cares to work on what’s possible.
Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something.
Know that creative solutions come from new connections.
Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know.
Real listening always brings people closer together. Trust
that meaningful conversations can change your world. Rely
on human goodness. Stay together.

3. Rowland Hall School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
Seattle Girls’ School
Old School Diversity to
21st Century Cultural Competency
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

4. About Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

5. About Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Basic Definitions
Diversity: Difference, Variety
Diversity is Value Added:
Business Portfolio
Biodiversity
Creativity
Innovation

6. Dimensions of Identity and Culture
This model of identifiers and culture was created by Karen Bradberry and Johnnie Foreman for NAIS Summer Diversity Institute,
adapted from Loden and Rosener’s Workforce America! (1991) and from Diverse Teams at Work, Gardenswartz & Rowe (SHRM 2003).
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

7. About Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Basic Definitions
Inclusion: A sense of belonging,
worthiness, and value one feels in an
organization
Are you an owner or an employee?
Are you “in the family” or are you a guest?

8. About Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Inclusion Parable:
The Giraffe
and the Elephant

9. About Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Basic Definitions
Equity: providing opportunities and
access to all so that every person can
achieve his/her full potential. Equitable
treatment involves acknowledging
diversity, recognizing and celebrating
our differences, and eliminating the
barriers that prevent the full
participation of all peoples.

10. Equality vs Equity
Everybody gets a shirt versus everybody
gets a shirt that fits.
Giving everybody some insulin in
equality. Giving only people who are
diabetic some insulin is equity.
What is “fair”?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

11. Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

12. Culture [consists] primarily of the
symbolic, ideational, and intangible
aspects of human societies… It is the
values, symbols, interpretations, and
perspectives that distinguish one
people from another.
James A. Banks
What is Culture?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

13. Cultural Competency:
Many Models
Cultural competence is a set of
congruent behaviors, attitudes and
policies that come together in a
system, institution or individual and
enable that system, institution or
individual to work effectively in cross-
cultural situations.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Terry Cross

14. Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
The Jones Model of Cultural Competence
Cultural Self-
Awareness
Cultural
Intelligence
Cross-Cultural
Effectiveness
Skills
Countering
Oppression
through
Inclusion

15. Cultural Competency: Key Elements
Value Orientation
Diversity as Value Added
Respect
Relationships
Equity
Thought Orientation
Knowledge
Awareness
Systems Thinking
Action Orientation
Consciousness Building
Capacity Building
Assessment
Adaptation
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

16. 21st Century Education and Excellence
 Critical Thinking
 Collaboration
 Communication
 Creativity
 Cosmopolitanism
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

17. An Educational Imperative
The Moral Case
The Academic Case
The Economic Case
Institution Excellence
Teacher Excellence
Student Excellence
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

18. Everybody Has a Role
 CC of Non-Teaching Educator (Staff)
 CC in Athletics (AD and Coaches)
 CC in Finances (Business, HR, Admissions, and
Development)
 Cultural Proficiency for Teacher Administrators
(Department Heads, Dean of Faculty)
 Culturally Competent Leaders (Heads and Practitioners)
 Culturally Fluent Organization Development (Heads
and Practitioners)
 Inclusion Planning Tool (Policy, Practice, Event, etc.)
 Inclusive Classroom Practices (Teachers)
 Librarian Cultural Competency Standards (Librarians)
 Recruitment to Retention (Admissions and Hiring)
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

19. Our School, Our Children
Old School Diversity or
21st Century Cultural Competency?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

20. Presenter Information
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
6th Faculty and
Professional Outreach
Seattle Girls’ School
2706 S Jackson Street
Seattle WA 98144
(206) 805-6562
rlee@seattlegirlsschool.org
http://tiny.cc/rosettalee
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

21. From Exclusive to Inclusive:
Developmental Stages
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22. Milton Bennett’s
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

23. Hallmarks of Earlier Phases
 People feel pressure to fit in
 People fear speaking up
 “Who you know” is more important than “what you
know” (relationship-based culture)
 You only trust those closest to you (cliques)
 Denial of differences is considered a virtue (“we
don’t see differences here”)
 It’s hard for outsiders to learn the rules (sink or
swim to prove yourself)
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

24. Hallmarks of Later Phases
 People can bring their full selves to school
 The school encourages and welcomes people to
contribute different opinions and points of view
 There is a performance driven culture
 People form dynamic and diverse groups (trust)
 Differences are seen as additive and productive
 Success is explicitly defined, and the school supports
people in achieving it
 The school has an interactive culture
 People have the competencies to adapt to different
cultural contexts.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

25. The 5Ps of Institutional Cultural
Competency
• Policy – Enumeration of the school’s cultural
competency commitment through mission, strategic
plan, handbooks, websites, etc.
• Programming – Cultural competency training and
programming for all constituencies (board, admin,
faculty, staff, students, families, etc.). Diversity and
inclusivity curriculum.
• Practice – Consistent and meaningful revisit of policy
and programs. Climate assessments, proactive
changes, and meaningful responses to incidents.
• People – Critical mass of people who are supportive
AND active on all levels.
• Pecuniary – Funding, people, and time allocated in the
strategic plan and daily life for supporting cultural
competency efforts.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)