For the past month, there has been no shortage of material published on the ways in which independent schools are addressing the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Some schools have even added social justice to the equation. Without a doubt, Intrepid Ed News columnists will also submit their views on what schools could or should do, just as columnists from the national media have expressed. Our mission is to assemble a network of educator voices that, collectively, will help our readers, educators and parents, sort out the complexities of the many educational challenges, and help them formulate, reinforce, or rethink their own views. As such, my role as editor is to raise important questions for conversation and debate, but not to take a position or influence the thinking of our readers. I will attend to my responsibilities on the issue of DEI initiatives at independent schools.

Let’s begin with a couple of propositions that some believe to be true, but certainly might be challenged. First, almost every school acts with the best of intentions for their communities, and second, independent schools, by virtue of their selective structure, create inherent institutional obstacles to the ideal DEI environment. Each…