Dreams &Dilemmas: What a Thirty-year Diversity Initiative Can Do for Independent Schools

Much has been written about the American Dream and its contradictory counterpart, the American Dilemma. How to bridge the gap has been widely discussed and disputed over the years by politicians and educators alike seeking to find an answer to our split society. One of the most powerful reports was the publications of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983, which has spurred numerous efforts over the past two decades to make education more equitable and just. But as Arthur Powell has pointed out in his 1996 book Lessons from Privilege: The American Prep School Tradition, many independent schools began their efforts at opening up their campuses to a broader array of cultures and classes a few decades earlier. The transfiguring events of the early sixties brought a "great awakening" among many of our schools. Captured by the idealism and determination of the New frontier and the Great Society, some of us were "given the chance to be players in a truly significant national drama," becoming foot soldiers in a campaign that had meaning and promise for a better future. Suddenly a modest engagement in diversification became something much more. Through vehicles like A Better Chance, Upward Bound, and other initiatives, independent schools began taking steps that have shaped many of the philosophies and attitudes today.

Cranbrook School’s Horizons-Upward Bound program1, seeded by the Ford Foundation, was one of the responses to the challenge of the 1960s civil rights movement. It’s interesting to trace the history of this program — not only for what it tells us about how an independent school can reach out to poor children who would otherwise not have the sort of education that Cranbrook offers, but for what it has done in transforming an exclusive school into one that has developed, among other things, a stronger bond with its community and a stronger sense of mission.

The program began in the summer of 1965. Cranbrook focused its efforts upon three core city schools. They were chosen by the Detroit Board of Education because they were located in the city’s poorest areas and because the schools were open to the idea of working with a suburban school willing to share its resources. The fifty-two students who had been chosen were nominated by classroom teachers who saw their potential and who were willing to recommend them on paper. It was Cranbrook’s intention to bring boys into its area of influence for the entire secondary cycle, beginning with the summer prior to the freshman year in high school. A four-year commitment would be required from the students and their families. The program’s staff members were virtually all Cranbrook faculty familiar with our brand of education, generalists prepared to test their experience and commitment with young people with different cultural expectations and norms. The summer offering was patterned after the style and philosophy of the host institution. The values, practices, and academic rigors were simply transposed. The pioneers from the inner city were quickly immersed in a demanding routine. Each student took five daily academic solids, endured supervised study in the evenings, packed up for wilderness camping trips on the weekends (accompanied by staff), were launched into a vigorous intramural program, and challenged by a team of maverick teachers. The results seemed encouraging. Students remained on campus for six weeks, then were sent home. "Think it over" they were told. "We hope you will come back, but that remains your decision." We knew the program was off to a good start when all returned for the Sunday night study hall and two more weeks of hard work.

Cranbrook’s program, named Horizons by the program’s associate director, an African-American educator from Detroit, was in the second year redesignated Horizons-Upward Bound (called HUB for short, in keeping with the Motor City). The commingling of funds, private and public, came about coincidentally. The Office of Economic Opportunity, bearing the cachet of the War on Poverty, launched an experiment on behalf of the disadvantaged. Sanctioned by Community Action Councils and the Johnson White House, twenty pilot programs (now numbering nearly six hundred nationwide) were funded. Ten independent schools were among those that received federal dollars to help youngsters from low-income families gain access to higher education. Cranbrook’s inclusion brought about a doubling of enrollment, an academic year phase, and the hope of not being trapped in the deadly web of a national bureaucracy. Fortunately, the guidelines that governed grant requests called for "on-site" design. Each situation was different to some degree from all the others. Institutions were to measure their own particular strength and act accordingly. Eventually, three- and four-year funding cycles were authorized.

The arrival of youngsters, who looked quite different from the average Cranbrook School student of that day, may have been in keeping with the spirit of the times, but the idea remained somewhat suspect during the early years. The convergence of change and tradition is never quiet. The neighbors were puzzled and many of them were neither pleased nor amused. Those of us in charge also ran into covert opposition from the maintenance staff. Keys never seemed to fit at critical moments, or work orders were ignored. Fortunately there were also early signs of approval. The first resident advisors were chosen from the top of our senior class. The experience was obviously memorable and good for them. Several have remained generous supporters of the program over the years. One is currently a member of the HUB Advisory Board.

In order to assuage misplaced concerns, we developed Operation Homestead, designed to break down stereotypes (in both directions). Local families were asked to invite students to their homes for informal cookouts. What happened in those backyards was predictable and heartening. The differences disappeared at about the time that the burgers were overcooked. The youngsters learned about educational options, professions, and what it takes to reach a measure of success in life. Over the past thirty- four years, Operation Homestead has remained one of the most successful components of Horizons-Upward Bound. Many HUB alumni/ae, now in the midstream of life, have testified that their professional careers can be traced to an evening with thoughtful, compassionate hosts. For their part, the hosts learned about the motivation and determination of their guests.

Year three of the program in 1967 brought a severe testing of mettle and commitment. Two significant developments, neither favorable to the future prospects of an effort still in its infancy, had an impact on the program. In July, rioting and destruction leveled parts of Detroit, bringing some areas of the city under martial law. Students left campus to search for their families, while several faculty were unable to meet classes because of the need to protect their homes from looters. But the center held and the common struggle united and strengthened HUB.

In the same year the Ford Foundation grant, upon which Horizons had been built, expired. With the first group of boys then in their final year of high school, resources had to be found to insure continuation of the private component of the program. Under the leadership of a Cranbrook alumnus, an advisory board was formed with the expressed purpose of raising monies from private sources sufficient to serve the needs of those students formerly supported by the Ford Foundation. To ensure a permanent base, the establishment of an endowment seemed of critical importance. As it turns out, Upward Bound programs survive on "soft monies," funds which can quickly vanish with an economic downturn or a shift in the political winds. Through the good office of a Cranbrook graduate, who was also a HUB Advisory Board member, a sizable challenge grant was offered, which was matched with considerable effort. Later, three more major gifts were made, the income from which became available for operating expenses. Its present corpus is in excess of $1 million. One of these gifts stands out, as it was given by a Cranbrook graduate who felt that his experience with HUB students helped him to see his life in a new light. "I consider it one of the greatest (and luckiest) ironies of my life," he said, "that, had I gone to public school, my fellow classmates would all have been as white and as well-off as myself. But because my parents paid for a Cranbrook education, I had classmates and friends whose lives had been touched by poverty and urban violence. Knowing them helped me to see the country’s social problems not as someone else’s but as
my own."

Another spontaneous response to meeting our financial needs came in a surprise gift from a parent whose son had been selected for a scholarship at Cranbrook. One fine day in early 1972 she arrived at our office with one hundred dollars to help those kids who were not lucky enough to attend Cranbrook during the academic year but needed HUB’s intervention. Unknown to us, her son had sold soul food dinners, which she had cooked and packaged in her own kitchen. Eternally hungry boarders enjoyed her tasty cooking, while she was able to turn over her proceeds to the program. She provided the inspiration for what became known as Soulfest, an unusual festival to be staged three years in a row on campus. The entire school kitchen was turned over to a group of HUB parents who prepared traditional Southern food. Hundreds and hundreds of guests equally representing the city and the suburbs came out to make the meal "a happening." Also featured were skits, music, a kite flying contest, and an all-star softball game between the Detroit Lions, who were in training at Cranbrook, and the HUB staff. The program’s visibility and credibility had been considerably enhanced once the dishes had been put away.

It must be pointed out that from the start there were two lines of thinking about fund-raising and HUB in the school’s development office. The doubters saw raising funds for HUB as a threat, or running in competition with the school’s annual giving campaign, while the believers viewed HUB as an asset. Fortunately, the latter viewpoint was validated when Cranbrook was seeking a grant in the early seventies to build a new science facility. The proposal writers stressed that the state-of-the art- technology would not only benefit privileged students during the academic year but also inner-city youth during the summer. All-year- round use had been a condition for receiving funds.

There may still have been a handful of doubters, but those in charge were persuaded that solicitations were complementary. Following the adoption of this philosophy, the Annual Fund Drive now presents HUB as one of the options that can be earmarked.

The program grew steadily, remaining single-sex in keeping with the nature of the host institution. However, while Cranbrook and Kingswood moved closer together, coordinating classes, before leaping into coeducation, there was also increasing discussion within HUB that at some point young women should be added. It became a question of when and how. There were those who argued that among the people of color the greatest need was on the boys’ side. There was also a political factor to be considered. It was becoming apparent that public funding in the light of civil rights legislation would be withdrawn from single-gender projects. It was finally decided that classes of girls would be added over a four-year period, while the number of boys would remain constant. It was a gamble of some magnitude. All major elements had to be doubled: funding, faculty, dormitory space, books, supplies, and so much more. But the risk proved to be worth taking. When forty young women arrived on that fateful day in June 1977, the sky did not come crashing down. To the contrary, not only did the girls readily rise to the challenge, but also the attitudes of the boys, fearing competition, improved their performance.

In the early years of HUB, a creative idea was tried and tested; it still proves true today. Why not link HUB to Wayne State University, twenty miles distant in the heart of Detroit, with the plan of making the intensive summer phase accessible to apprentice teachers? The Intern Program was the result of this unusual collaboration. Candidates were chosen after interviews downtown and matched with an experienced teacher in their subject field. Exposure to the rigors of a boarding school routine provided excellent training for the classroom. Their numbers varied from year to year, perhaps as many as a dozen, more recently a pair for each of the four major disciplines. As the concept developed, there was something of value for all concerned. The fledglings paid their tuition at Wayne and received on the Cranbrook campus what is known as "the final contact" before being accredited. Their presence decreased the student-teacher ratio, while their special talents and interests were put to good use not only in the classroom, but in lifeguarding, helping out on weekend camping, officiating at intramural games, pulling dormitory duty, and in general learning to relate to students on a variety of levels beyond the classroom. Several members of this intern crew have since found a place on the regular Cranbrook Kingswood faculty.

We have often been asked the "longevity question." Why did Cranbrook HUB not only survive, but flourish, when we find a decline rather than an increase in the number of similar programs among other independent schools? We like to think "uncompromising idealism" — a phrase coined by a member of the first intern class — was responsible, but we can also point to tangible factors, which kindled and kept the fires burning. Despite many changes in governance and administration throughout more than three decades, support from the top has been unwavering. Committed members of the advisory board, which was established when the original Ford Foundation Grant ran out, helped build an effective network in the corporate and philanthropic worlds. Today the fund-raising efforts of HUB are integrated into Cranbrook’s development structure. HUB and Cranbrook Schools are considered partners rather than competitors.

HUB’s contribution to the increasing economic, ethnic, and racial diversity of Cranbrook Kingswood School’s student body has been invaluable. Thanks to Cranbrook’s commitment, the number of scholarship students (generally students of color from poor neighborhoods around Detroit) grew over the years to the point where the presence of these students made a real difference. Before the program, there had only been a handful of students of color, most coming from Detroit’s upper class. The newcomers not only brought a visible diversity to the school, they also brought their many interests and talents and perspectives on life. They established an excellent record. Most moved naturally into the fast track of college admissions and entered some of the nation’s most selective colleges. They were conspicuous in terms of leadership, taking responsibility as class officers and in student organizations, and were instrumental in the founding and growth of the African-American Awareness Association. Today they are the organizers of the annual Diversity Day. There is no question that the HUB students, who came seeking to better their lives through education, enriched the lives of the all Cranbrook students. A HUB alumna, now a member of the school’s English department expressed it well. "Privilege is not always the answer to success. Having a chance of seeing the world through the eyes of others, less fortunate, is an important lesson."

The impact continues after graduation. Cranbrook can point with pride to any number of high-achieving alumni. One, now a Commander in the U.S. Navy, was co-winner of Cranbrook’s prestigious Faculty Senior award. Another is presently the President of the Colgate Rochester Divinity School and was recognized in 1991 as the school’s Alumnus of the Year. The Cranbrook Board of Governors currently counts a Cranbrook HUB alumnus among its members.

In the very early days of the program, a HUB student was asked to describe his experience. His response was brief, but direct: "HUB gives you nothing but a chance." Now so many years later, one is inclined to think that the program not only gives a chance to young people trying to better their lives, but that perhaps in the final accounting HUB has given Cranbrook a chance to abandon its insularity, to become a contributing part of a greater whole, to learn in the words of Cranbrook’s Founder, George Booth that "the only way to have is to give, the only way to keep is to share, the only thing worth finding is opportunity."

The school, no doubt is a better place because of this program. Currently students of color make up 16.5 percent of the student body, and many of the students of color are sought by their peers for leadership positions. The faculty and administration is now more diverse (13 percent people of color). The curriculum has become more inclusive — including African American history and the infusion of new voices in literature courses. Cultural stereotypes have been broken down. There is generally more sensitivity and openness to differences of all sorts. The school has built a better relationship with the city of Detroit. In addition, Cranbrook, because of its long history of working with students of color, is sought out by other independent schools in the Midwest and elsewhere for advice and support related to multicultural issues.

Twenty-five years ago the writer concluded an article for Independent School (October 1973) with these words: "One day we will point with pardonable pride to alumni cut from a different fabric who will contribute significantly to making America a better place for us all...." Many independent schools are heading in this direction, though there is still much work to do. The hope is that one day our institutions will be remembered by history precisely for their efforts in the development of educational access — efforts that began in the 1960s, took tentative strides in the last decades of the twentieth century, and finally blossomed in the new millennium. Programs like HUB prove it can and should be done.

Note

1. Cranbrook, in this article, initially refers to the Cranbrook School for Boys, which was founded in 1927. Later on, it refers to the Cranbrook Kingswood School that resulted from the 1985 merger of the Cranbrook School for Boys and Kingswood School for Girls. Presently, the school is known as The Cranbrook Schools, which includes a coeducational high school, a coeducational elementary school, and two single-sex middle schools, one for boys and one for girls.

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Authors: Ben Snyder and Margot Snyder, Cranbrook Schools. Ben Snyder is co-founder of the Horizons–Upward Bound Program at Cranbrook and directed the program for twenty-five years. He has recently published a book about his experiences at Cranbrook titled Once More with Joy. Margot Snyder is the founder of Operation Homestead and has done a great deal of development and PR work for Horizons–Upward Bound. They have been married for forty-three years.Published in Independent School, Spring '99. Reprinted with permission.