Diversity

Faculty Grants

Research grants are awarded annually to faculty and staff, with a goal of advancing community-wide learning and understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion-related topics and of deepening our efforts to make our school learning environment equitable and inclusive for all students and community members.

Sylvain Charles: Identities, Gender, and Gender Identities, for better inclusion of diversity amongst students

Sylvain Charles is a professor of history, geography and geopolitics in the Secondary School. He joined the Lycée in 2018 after teaching in Paris, Stockholm and Brooklyn. For Sylvain, the acceptance of self and others forms the foundation of all learning, and his passion for issues of identity, inclusion, and gender diversity are based in this philosophy. His grant for the 2021-2022 school year focuses on exploring new strategies to approach discussions of gender identity, with the goal of helping every member of the Lycée community feel fully included and be given equal opportunities to succeed. 

Issues of gender and gender identity are intrinsic to the Lycée's thinking about inclusion and equity, and contribute to community efforts aimed at development and well-being of all members. As part of his grant objectives, Sylvain will work to identify and centralize actions for greater inclusion already undertaken by the Lycée; communicate with other schools in NYC and across the country; and implement training and raise awareness about gender inclusivity and diversity for the entire Lycée community. The ultimate goal is to develop an action plan that protects and supports all members of the community as they interrogate, develop, and express their experiences of gender.
    • CHARLES Sylvain portrait
While schools are a place of learning, their role in the construction of students' social identities is also essential. Students grow, interact and learn to live together. While this social dimension can sometimes be challenging, the role of the school in allowing each student to find their place and to develop in a protective and caring environment has never been more crucial. 

Bernadette Robine: Educational Neuroscience in the Classroom

Bernadette Robine has been an Elementary teacher at the Lycée since 2018. Prior to that, she taught at various private schools in New York City. Continually seeking to improve her teaching practice, Bernadette has always been interested in the neuroscience of education, and obtained a leadership grant this year to pursue her goal of establishing new practices in her classroom which will allow all students to benefit from recent scientific progress.
 
Educational Neuroscience has made tremendous strides in the last decades, particularly in improving our understanding of the brain’s functions during the learning stage. These advances have the potential to enhance pedagogy to the benefit of all students, while simultaneously guiding student’s ability to contribute to the classroom atmosphere.
 
Throughout the year, Bernadette will work on six key pedagogical modalities: memorization, attention, comprehension, metacognition, executive functions and psycho-social factors. Students will have several opportunities to gain a better understanding of how their brains works while learning, and to discover their own abilities,  explore and define personal strategies for learning, and to improve their self-confidence. This project will also help the Lycée community offer the best conditions for childhood development and increased autonomy of students at school. 
 
    • ROBINE Bernadette portrait
Having an increased understanding of how their brains function can help students develop efficient strategies to be better learners.

Previous grants were awarded to:


  • Portia Morrell, Secondary computer science teacher and faculty advisor to our student DEI clubs, who worked to build stronger connections between our DEI activities among students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni.
  • Primary specialized support teacher Cassandre Milard, who helped faculty and staff create more inclusive classroom environments with their students.
  • Lycée librarians Maud Leger and Zhora Tsouri to bring a greater diversity of perspectives into our Primary and Secondary library collections
  • Dr. Arthur Plaza, Head of History-Geography, to research and develop curricula in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
  • Rachel Stepanek, Primary school teacher, to create a learning guide for teachers on how to enter into conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion with Primary-school age students. 

Learn More

Grantees write about their work and experiences for the school's blog:

What's next for the Lycée's DEI Efforts by Clarissa Sylvestre, Chair, DEI Committee
Developing an Intercultural Mindset, interview with Portia Morrell, 2020-21 Grantee
More Diversity in Children's Library Collections by Maud Léger and Zhora Tsouri, 2018-19 Grantees
© 2022 Lycée Français de New York. All Rights Reserved.