Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Lower School Students Dance on Playground — St. Luke’s School endeavors to create a culture of inclusive belonging.

Dear St. Luke's Families and Friends,

Alongside its community standards (honesty, excellence, compassion, dignity, and respect), St. Luke’s School believes Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice, and Belonging (DEIJB) are central aspects of the human experience, the educational and moral formation of students, and the building of healthy, caring, and socially just communities.

DIVERSITY involves the various and valuable ways that individuals and groups differ from each other including, but not limited to, ability, age, economic status, ethnicity/race, gender identity, immigration status, linguistic traditions, nationality, political beliefs, religious spiritual and ethical traditions, and sexual identity.

EQUITY refers to intentional individual and institutional efforts to counteract the disproportionate privilege and power related to difference that is unfairly afforded to some people while denied to others.

INCLUSION refers to intentional individual and institutional efforts to create environments where people can express and learn from their differences in safe, creative, and courageous ways.

SOCIAL JUSTICE refers to the restoration of unjust relationships and the pursuit of reciprocal relationships that promote individual and communal well-being.

BELONGING involves intentional individual and institutional work to establish a community where people’s dignity is upheld, humanity is celebrated, and authenticity is valued.

At St. Luke’s, DEIJB is a way of life and an ethical stance supported by our mission and our identity as an Episcopal independent school that values perspectives and practices rooted in religion, spirituality, and moral traditions. St. Luke’s School endeavors to create a culture of inclusive belonging. To establish this culture, we believe that the entire community must be committed to deepening our work towards diversity, equity, and social justice.

Warmly,

Ayesha Long
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer

MEET OUR DEIJB TEAM

aYESHA lONG

cHIEF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICER

Malik johnson

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION associate

The Dimensions of DEI

There are at least four, interrelated dimensions of our DEI work:

The individual dimension
The institutional dimension
The instructional dimension
The innovative dimension

The Individual

The Institutional

The Institutional Dimension

(Question to ask: How do we marshal various institutional resources to promote DEI, and who benefits from these resources?)

St. Luke’s School has invested, and will continue to invest, institutional resources to promote DEI. Notable examples include:

The Board of Trustees has worked intentionally to include diverse perspectives and more people of color. With the recent expansion of the size of the Board and the resulting election of new members, people of color now constitute 36 percent of the Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees is enhancing its training in DEI and anti-bias/anti-racist perspectives and practices. The Board also is establishing a Board-level committee to examine DEI issues at St. Luke’s School.
The Board approved a DEI Board Committee that began meeting in September 2022. The DEI Board Committee is comprised of board members and parents who lead DEI initiatives at the school.
We are refining and expanding affinity groups. Affinity groups for adults that exist or that are being created and reengaged include: Parents of Students of Color, the Professional Staff of Color (staff), White Anti-Racist Employees (staff), and the LGBTQIA+ Family Alliance.
In Spring 2023, we hired a DEI Associate, who helps to implement DEI practices in classrooms.
In Summer 2023, we hired a School Chaplain who comes with a background in DEI practices addition to join our DEI team, making the office a team of three individuals.

The Instructional

The Instructional Dimension

(Question to ask: How can we infuse DEI and anti-bias/anti-racist perspective and practices more fully into the curriculum?)

Through Religious Education (Lower School), Religious Education and Justice (REJ - Upper School), as well as identity units and the use of culturally responsive teaching practices, teaching faculty has been reviewing curriculum JK-Grade 8 for revision which will meet the following standards:

Identity: to develop the construction of confident, individual personal identities and demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
Diversity: to promote interactions with people from different backgrounds while expressing comfort and joy in human diversity.
Justice: to foster ability to identify bias and nurture empathy for the hurt it causes while increasingly recognizing unfairness (injustice).
Action: to stand up for oneself and others in the face of bias and demonstrate self-empowerment and the skills to act against prejudice and discrimination.

The Innovative

The Innovative Dimension

(Question to ask: What new partnerships and arrangements can we imagine that will strengthen our DEI work?)

In the 2021-2022 school year, we launched our annual Grade 7 and 8 trips. These trips alternate every other year: one year, students embark on a study of Civil Rights, the next, a study of Native Populations and Climate Justice. This alternation gives every Grade 7 and 8 student an opportunity to experience both of the studies.
In the 2022-2023 school year, we launched a parent SEED group.
We are consulting with Resources In Independent School Education (RIISE) to support an admissions process that is equitable and feels inclusive

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