Upper School Students Attend Diversity Leadership Conference

Upper School students attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in early December. The conference, organized by the National Association of Independent Schools, was held virtually and GCDS students participated in the conference at a local offsite location in Stamford. Along with students from across the country, participants delved into this year’s theme, “Believing and Belonging in Our Schools, Reckoning with Injustice, and Reconciling with Love.” Students focused on self-reflection, forming allies, and building community, and they plan to share their learnings with the GCDS community. In addition, 15 faculty and staff members attended the People of Color conference, which took place during the same time period.

“The best part of the conference was connecting with students from other schools who care about justice, identity, and affinity,” said Steve Paul, a tenth grader.

Fellow tenth grader Danna Justiniano agreed, “We had a lot in common, but I also learned new perspectives which opened my mind.”

A couple of weeks after they returned, the students met with Head of School Adam Rohdie to talk about their experience and how it relates to Country Day. Together with Mr. Rohdie, the group discussed the importance of recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and administrators, faculty professional development, disciplinary procedures, and how students can help attract a more diverse student body.

Mr. Rohdie pointed to strides made in certain areas, such as the recruitment of faculty and administrators of color and the diversifying of reading lists. He added, “These issues are a very high priority for me.”

Pictured: Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Andrew Ledee; Danna Justiniano; Head of School Adam Rohdie; Steve Paul, Chloe Caliboso, Sofia Urbina. Not pictured: Coco Motoyoshi and Mao Motoyoshi