by Tucker Foehl, Head of School
“Examine what you think you know.” This is one of our “brave space” agreements that we ask our community to honor when we attend classes, meet in advisory, or discuss pressing topics in our leadership groups. Openness to new ideas and perspectives, willingness to be challenged and lean into discomfort, acknowledgement that we may not have all the necessary information or specific answers—these are the crucial ingredients that lead to growth and evolution as we work to build a culture of belonging at SA. At the heart of this work is an understanding that critical thought and engagement leads to the formation of a truly healthy and inclusive community. Over the past two days, our students, staffulty, and board have collectively engaged in equity and inclusion workshops and sessions that examined what we think we know about belonging on our campus and how we can build a thriving community that recognizes and embraces our collective diversity and authentic selves. 

 

Today, our entire staffulty

participated in a number of workshops designed to encourage the application of our critical thinking tools in service of making SA a place that is not only diverse, equitable and inclusive; but a place that fosters a true sense of belonging for everyone who has the experience of working and learning here. We welcomed  Lawrence Alexander, Practice Leader for Carney, Sandoe & Associates' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practice; Martha Neubert, Dean of Equity and Social Justice at Northfield Mount Hermon School; and Seliat Dairo, Senior Associate with Carney, Sandoe, who will partner with us for the next two years as we engage in deeper and more meaningful conversations while also charting a course of action that challenges us to be regional and national leaders in this work as a school. 

Along with our consultants, members of our staffulty led breakout sessions and shared expertise on topics ranging from Diversity and Inclusion in STEM, Gender Identity, and Equity in the Classroom to Courageous Conversations, Race in Our Schools, and Intersectionality. If one theme from our work over the past two days is that we are active learners, it is also important to remember that our staffulty is deeply engaged in leading this work and many are invaluable resources on a broad range of topics that go beyond the classes we teach or the work we do on campus. 

I also want to recognize the exceptional leadership that Dot Kowal is providing in this inaugural year of our school having a full-time Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. These two days of workshops, forums, and professional development are just a few examples of the many ways we are building competencies and empowering our students and our staffulty to honestly reflect in a way that allows, and even forces, us to live up to the values we hold as a school. The theme for today was “Leading Change, Empowering Culture,” and I cannot think of a more meaningful and impactful space to hold together as we work together to define our exciting path forward at SA.