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About
Members of the Parent Advisor Group
Our Origin Story...
In Spring 2018, a mom at The Center for Early Education (Kawanna Brown) and a mom at Campbell Hall (Lisa Johnson) had a conversation many of us have had -- we wondered when someone would try to get all the Black families in private school together so that our children could socialize and we could better support one another. Lisa is the product of an independent school education in Atlanta, GA, where she was one of two Black students for most of her middle and high school education. As the mom of two small children in an independent school currently, she was naively surprised to learn not much had changed since she was in school. There was a generational experience being perpetuated, and nobody was doing anything to create lasting change.
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In August 2018, Lisa Johnson asked a small group of moms to help bring Black families together, who were part of private schools. Her aim? To create an opportunity for her two elementary school-aged children to “see” themselves more and to get to know other children in the same, unique school experience. What started out as a simple evite to less than 75 people for an informal social moment, quickly grew into over 500 RSVPs. It was clear other Black and brown families shared Lisa’s desire to be part of an engaged community of color who could work together to help their children thrive in the private school
environment. This was the beginning of Private School Village (PSV)​
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After much interest from schools and from the Latinx/Hispanic parent community, in 2022, a similar community within PSV was introduced, Somos PSV. Like PSV, Somos PSV is a community for Latinx/Hispanic families who will benefit from having a similar sort of collective affinity space. Learn more about Somos PSV at www.somospsv.org.
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Learn a bit more about us by reading about our work.
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Some Photos Below: Michael Mayson
"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
- African Proverb
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Our Mission
Private School Village (PSV) cultivates and harnesses the power of community to positively transform the private school experience for Black and brown families so that students fully thrive.
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PSV empowers parent engagement to instill student well-being, normalize inclusive and equitable communities, and encourage lasting systemic and institutional policy and process change that will impact a student's healthy development.
We do this in partnership with Black and brown families and schools by increasing racial literacy, socialization, representation, and related research.
Our Vision
To build local communities of support in a private school setting that bolster belonging and creates a more equitable and healthy school experience.
The growth of private schools in America is tethered to our history of racism—enrollment in these institutions exploded to avoid integration after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling because White families did not want to send their children to school with minorities. Fast forward over 65 years, and the lack of meaningful ethnic diversity in private schools prevails.
Low representation creates myriad issues that have life-long implications for the entire private school community, but particularly for Black and brown students. Many are often “the only one” in a class, feel as if they don’t belong in the community and some deal with covert and overt racism. The experience can leave them feeling marginalized and inhibit their sense of self, jeopardizing a successful future.
Through racial socialization and cultural education, and in partnership with private schools, the Private School Village (PSV) is working to change that—we hope to ensure students benefit from a strong academic experience at school and a healthy social and cultural education as well.