In our knowledge economy, there is no talent pathway more critical than that which flows from primary to secondary school, on to college and graduate/professional school and, ultimately, to career/employment.  

Tragically, despite the best efforts of countless scholars, activists, and professionals, systemic racism in the talent pipeline — across a wide range of schools, at all levels, public and private, and industries and professions — continues to hinder the individual and collective advancement of America’s Black, Latinx, and Native American people.

In light of the ongoing demographic, social, and political challenges affecting American society, eliminating these impediments must become – if it is not already — a strategic imperative for every educational institution and employer.

A Call to Action

To meet this challenge, the Talent Pipeline Initiative is engaging a select group of educational institutions, businesses, and nonprofit organizations truly committed to developing a talent-rich future to transform the talent pipeline for enduring equity, inclusion, and advancement. 

The Talent Pipeline Initiative will convene groups of similarly-situated organizations — schools, colleges, graduate schools and employers — to share data and best practices in order to make sustainable progress and achieve lasting results.  Working in close collaboration with expert forum facilitators, our members — heads of independent schools, directors of DEI, college and university presidents, esteemed faculty, CEOs, chief talent officers, and more — will convene in private facilitated forums to:

• Identify impediments and strengthen pathways from secondary school and higher education to the managerial workforce by identifying and removing barriers that impede the progress and ultimate economic outcomes of underrepresented people of difference; 
• Develop sustainable ways for member organizations to achieve greater equality of opportunity and equity for Black, Latinx, and other underrepresented people of color through active collaboration with peers, facilitators, leading researchers, scholars, and consultants;
• Contribute comparative data insights, and analyses to speed the development of best practices for improved inclusion and equity;

• Provide expert researchers with anonymized data assembled by the members over time to author and publish member-approved white papers to share actionable insights with universities, employers, and others;
• Build enduring organizational cultures to equip Black, LatinX and other underrepresented employees with the tools and support necessary to develop and thrive;
• Assist employers in strengthening their talent pipelines’ effectiveness in an increasingly competitive marketplace; and
• Convene and maintain a trusted, confidential colloquium, within which members will agree upon specific performance targets—and hold one another accountable to achieve continuous improvement in the years ahead to make real and demonstrable progress towards the goal of creating truly diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures at educational institutions and employers in which historically underrepresented people of color can truly thrive and succeed to the limits only of their abilities.

A Beginning: The Independent School Talent Pipeline

We begin the Talent Pipeline Initiative by engaging a select group of heads of independent schools, in two groups: boarding schools and day schools.  These schools have a proud history of producing graduates who go on to lead lives of consequence and leadership in our nation and our world.  For many such schools, their history of diversity, equity, inclusion, and support is less stellar.  Relatively few people of color number among the alumni of these schools.  While some began with students of color on campus, others went more than 50 years before they had their first Black or LatinX graduate.  It’s not too much to say that these schools have been at the core of White privilege in America.  

So, it is fitting that we begin our work here.  As demographic trends in the U.S. continue, the nation is shifting inexorably from a White-dominated society to a truly multicultural one. Independent schools, particularly the wealthiest and most prestigious, must shift as well to remain relevant.

Celeritas Center is convening heads and senior leaders of the nation’s top boarding schools and private day schools to help them along their journey to multiculturalism – to become institutions that truly support all students so they can thrive and succeed.