Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
ANNUALREPORT 2022–2023
A Letter from the Assistant Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Chief Diversity Officer Dear Charger Family, I am delighted to welcome you to Providence Day School’s annual report on Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EIB) for 2022-2023. It is with great pride that I share our progress in cultivating an environment of equity, inclusion, and belonging. In this report, you will find highlights from various initiatives, community activities, and events that keep us on track in fulfilling our EIB goals as outlined in our Strategic Framework. Belonging has emerged as a central theme, encapsulating deepened connections and relationships. While the highlights in this report are encouraging, we recognize that additional work remains. We will continue prioritizing equity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of our school. Join me in reflecting on all of our accomplishments, and consider how each of us may better commit to creating a more inclusive environment. The work of EIB is a shared responsibility. Through collective commitment, collaboration, and exchanging ideas, we will continue to strengthen our school community. I hope you find this annual report informative and inspiring! With deep gratitude,
Tyrone Jean Assistant Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging & Chief Diversity Officer
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EQUITY, INCLUSION, & BELONGING ANNUAL REPORT
EQUITY: At Providence Day School, we aspire and commit to ensuring that each individual has access to resources, support, and opportunities according to their needs. By eliminating barriers, each individual is able to flourish within our community. INCLUSION: At Providence Day, we are actively cultivating and sustaining individual and institutional behaviors in which all members of our community will experience acceptance, respect, support, and value, given their various identities and backgrounds. BELONGING: At Providence Day, belonging is an emotional and experiential outcome of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We commit and aspire to have each member of our community experience and feel a sense of belonging. This means each individual is seen, heard, valued, cared for, and affirmed in all of their full selves, thus making them feel connected to the greater PD community. Adapted from the National Association of Independent Schools
JANA DORSEY
WILL MCCORN
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
TEACHING FELLOW
JEAN LITTLE
KRISTIE OGLESBY
LOWER SCHOOL COORDINATOR
LOWER SCHOOL COORDINATOR
DAVID HARRIS
JEN MOSER
THAMAR LEBRÓN
SYDNEY SHEAFFER
MIDDLE SCHOOL COORDINATOR
MIDDLE SCHOOL COORDINATOR
UPPER SCHOOL COORDINATOR
UPPER SCHOOL COORDINATOR
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HIGHLIGHTS • National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Virtual Training: The Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and the Student Services department participated in a virtual training via NAIS — What is Reasonable? Understanding the ADA and Student Accommodations. • Certification in Holocaust Pedagogy: Upper School faculty Kinga Zay and Thamar Lebrón completed their coursework to receive Certification in Holocaust Pedagogy (CHP) from Queens University’s Stan Greenspon Center. The program provides training on methods and strategies for teaching about the Holocaust across subjects and grades 6-12 educational environments. • Anti-Defamation League Training: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a leading anti-hate organization that works to combat anti-semitism, counter-extremism, and battle bigotry in our society. Thirty-two faculty, staff, and senior leaders participated in a two-part training at our school led by Washington, D.C.-based ADL facilitators. • Expanding Inclusion: Antisemitism and Organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): The Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte hosted Project Shema’s Director of DEI, April Powers, to lead Charlotte-based constituents across industries for this informative and necessary training. Jana Dorsey and Will McCorn attended. • NCAIS Annual Diversity Conference: Jen Moser, David Harris, Jillian Ingram, and Adrian Gordon traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina, for this conference. • SAIS Virtual Training: Reflect, Revise, and Recharge: Improving Parent Communications for Summer and Beyond with Lorrie Jackson. • PFLAG Charlotte Faculty Trainings: Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School faculty participated in PFLAG Charlotte professional development sessions. The sessions were wide ranging including research, workshopping, case studies, and terminology.
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AFFINITY GROUP: A group where individuals share a common identity and experiences often based on social identifiers (race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc.). A common best practice within independent schools, these groups were formed to support individuals from historically marginalized backgrounds to help build community and foster a greater sense of belonging. ALLIANCE GROUP: A group of individuals that hold an identity and/or support individuals of the centered identity. Individuals may not identify with a particular community but are advocates and supporters of the specific community who desire to create a greater sense of belonging.
AFFINITY & ALLIANCE GROUPS Lower School Affinity and Alliance Groups: Kaleidoscope, Asian Affinity Group, Black/ African American Affinity Group, Jewish Affinity Group, Superpowers Group Middle School Affinity and Alliance Groups: Rainbow Alliance, Jewish Student Association, Diversity Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Upper School Affinity and Alliance Groups: Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian Affinity Group (AMEMSA), Asian Affinity Group (AAPI), Black Student Union (BSU), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group, Jewish Culture Club (JCC), Students Advocating for Gender Equality (SAGE) Faculty and Family Affinity and Alliance Groups: Faculty/Staff of Color Group, Black Families Network, Hispanic/Latino Families Network, South Asian Families Network, Pride Families Network
STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS • Lower School Kaleidoscope Leaders facilitated conversations during the Learning for Justice program at assembly. • Lower School student leaders assisted in planning meetings and lead presentations in December. They shared what they learned about several December holidays celebrated worldwide, such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas.
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• AMEMSA (Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities) Bollywood Movie Night: Student leaders in the AMEMSA Affinity Group and AAPI (Asian American/Pacific Islander) Affinity Groups partnered to host a Bollywood Movie Night for Upper School students. Students enjoyed dinner and a movie together. • Black Student Union Cookout: BSU student leaders hosted a cookout outside of the Head of School’s House. There was plenty of food, fun, and music during this midday lunchtime community gathering. • Upper School Lunch and Learn Series ÷ Gender and Sexuality Alliance “Changing the Game” panel ÷ Jewish Culture Club Exploring Judaism Panel featuring Rabbi Lexi Erdheim of Temple Beth El ÷ AAPI Affinity Group Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month panel featuring Upper School student Sarah Wang, faculty members Brian Li and Zac Bygum, and parents Dr. Dolly Skeete and Jocelyn Wong
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS • Parents Association Cultural Connections Community Events: The Parents Association’s Cultural Connections committee worked closely with the community to plan several cultural events throughout 2022-2023. This year, they held events celebrating Ethiopian New Year, Hispanic Heritage Month, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Purim, and Eid. These events are for families, faculty, staff, and students to unite the community for food, fun, and learning. • Diversity Rock Garden Project: Lower School and Upper School Affinity and Alliance groups painted rocks with words of affirmation, peace, kindness, and inclusivity alongside Upper School Student Diversity Council members. Check out the Diversity Rock Garden at the base of the flagpole in the Ferryboat! • Prayer on the Patio: The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) held communitywide prayers on the patio for several mornings throughout the school year and brought several speakers to campus. • Heather McGee Keynote in Winston Salem: Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School EIB Coordinators attended a lecture by Heather McGee, author of “The Sum of Us.” • Traveling Exhibits: This year, four traveling exhibits were brought to campus. Kinga Zay spearheaded bringing the Greenspon Center’s Holocaust Exhibit on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. For the second year in a row, the Homage Exhibit was brought to campus to celebrate Black History Month. Homage is 7
EQUITY, INCLUSION, & BELONGING ANNUAL REPORT
a Charlotte-based, Black-owned-and-operated private collection curated by Nia and Morris McAdoo of 600+ original artifacts. To commemorate Arab American Heritage Month, we hosted a traveling banners exhibit by the Arab American National Museum of Dearborn, Michigan. Spearheaded by Thamar Lebrón in celebration of Women’s History Month, EIB partnered with the International Women’s Air and Space Museum of Cleveland, Ohio, to host a “Women in Aviation” exhibit in the library. • Middle School Black History Month Speaker: Charlotte native and anthropologist Hoke Thompson has spent the last several years restoring burial sites of enslaved Africans in the Charlotte area. One of the burial sites is within walking distance from PD’s campus. Hoke spoke to middle school students about his work restoring these sites. • Sukkah Tent for Sukkot: Upper School Jewish Culture Club, in partnership with EIB and FLIK, hosted a celebration of the Sukkot Harvest Festival by setting up the Sukkah tent filled with foods honoring the holiday.
PRESENTATIONS, ASSEMBLIES, SPEAKERS • Jay Ward : In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Providence Day hosted Junious “Jay” Ward as the featured keynote. Mr. Ward is Charlotte’s first poet laureate. He is a National Slam champion (2018), an Individual World Poetry Slam champion (2019), and the author of Sing Me A Lesser Wound (Bull City Press, 2020) and Composition (forthcoming from Button Poetry, 2022). Mr. Ward currently serves as a Program Director for BreatheInk, where he facilitates writing and performance workshops and coaches youth poets attending Brave New Voices each year. He serves as vice-chair for the board of The Watering Hole, a non-profit organization that aims to nurture writers of color in the Southern tradition. He also serves on several curatorial (museum) committees related to the arts in Charlotte. His work can be found in Crabfat Magazine, Lackadaisy Lit Mag, Four Way Review, Diode Poetry Journal, and Button Poetry. Over the course of three days, Mr. Ward worked with students and faculty/staff in all three divisions. He performed original pieces at assemblies and held custom workshops in 11 Lower School classes, a Middle School Advanced Theater class, a Creative Writing class, and Upper School History and English classes. Additionally, he met with several student groups, including Kaleidoscope and the Black Student Union. • Mike Wirth: Jewish American visual artist and muralist Mike Wirth visited several art classes and Upper School assemblies to share with the community his work, which centers on Jewish futurism.
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• In commemoration, celebration, and honor of several history and heritage months, as well as cultural and religious holidays, Middle and Upper School students presented at assemblies throughout the school year: Middle School Student Presentations
Hispanic Heritage Month
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
Diwali
Ramadan
Vaisakhi
Vesek
Upper School Student Presentations
Affinity & Alliance Groups
Diwali
Holi
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LGBTQ+ History Month
Rosh Hashanah
Black History Month
Lunar New Year
Christmas
Easter
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Hispanic Heritage Month
Ramadan
Women’s History Month
Vaisakhi
HIGHLIGHTS • Global Education Trip to Puerto Rico : EIB Associate Director Jana Dorsey had the opportunity to serve as a study tour leader with Director of Global Education Jessica Williams, Upper School History faculty member Dr. Jennifer Bratyanski, and 13 students to Puerto Rico on a service trip. • Round Square Conference in England : Assistant Head of School for EIB and Chief Diversity Officer Tyrone Jean had the opportunity to serve as a Round Square faculty ambassador with Director of Global Education Jessica Williams, Assistant Director of Global Programs Suzanne Clement, and seven students for the 2022 Round Square conference at Oxford University in England. • NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) and People of Color Conference (PoCC) in San Antonio, Texas: Six Upper School students and 11 faculty and staff members traveled to San Antonio for the NAIS annual PoCC/ SDLC Conference. The student conference, SDLC, and faculty conference, PoCC, run concurrently. This was the first time the conference had taken place since the beginning of the pandemic. More than 8,000 adults and students from global independent schools gathered to collaborate and learn together. Three PD faculty/ staff presented at the conference: ÷ Closing the Racial Wealth Gap: Take Control of Your Financial Wellness: Brian Li and James Edge ÷ When You’re the Only One: Centering Self-Care as a Radical Act of Racial Healing: Tyrone Jean • ACT Middle School Diversity Conference: Resuming for the first time since 2019, the Affinity Community Together (ACT) Conference was hosted by Charlotte Country Day School. EIB team members Jen Moser, Will McCorn, Jana Dorsey, and David Harris accompanied nine seventh and eighth graders for a full day of conference sessions. The theme centered on the concept of social engineering and unlocking one’s authentic self. • North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) Transgender Task Force: Director of Athletics Nancy Beatty participated in this task force to discuss policy for trans student-athletes. The task force met throughout the year to share research and present recommendations to the NCISAA Board of Trustees.
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• Virginia Fire Equity and Inclusion Conference: Assistant Head of School for Human Resources and Operations, Todd Swartz, was a featured speaker at the 21st annual Virginia Fire Equity and Inclusion Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. This is one of the longest-running DEI conferences in the United States. Todd’s presentation was titled “From Gardens to Museums: A Guide to Belonging and Connectivity in the Workplace.” • Carney Sandoe and Associates Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Recruitment Conference : Michael Magno, Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs; Eric Hedinger, Head of Upper School; and Tyrone Jean, Assistant Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, attended the annual Carney Sandoe and Associates DEIB Recruitment Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • Global Education Office: The Global Education Office continues to curate wideranging experiences for the PD community, including hosting speakers, global trips, and building/hosting international exchange programs. In 2022-2023, five PD students traveled on exchange to Peru, Bermuda, Colombia, and Germany. PD also hosted exchange students from Finland, Germany, Peru, Colombia, and France. • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Speaker: Upper School History teacher and EIB Coordinator Thamar Lebrón served as a panelist for the virtual event, “Spanish Language Resources Webinar Construyendo Puentes: Bringing Holocaust Education to the Spanish-Speaking Classroom.” • PFLAG Charlotte Gratitude + Impact Report
: PD was featured alongside Ernst and Young and Novant Health in PFLAG Charlotte’s Gratitude and Impact Report for our ongoing partnership to further develop the competencies and skills of our Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School faculty and staff.
• Women’s Intercultural Exchange (WIE): PD concluded phase two of the ongoing work with WIE. This most recent phase included several in-depth focus groups with key stakeholders to better understand PD’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging. This work will advise the EIB Strategic Plan that is scheduled for the 2023–24 school year.
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EQUITY, INCLUSION, & BELONGING ANNUAL REPORT
NEW IN 2022–2023
HIGHLIGHTS • Annual Fund Designation : Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging has been added as a designation to the Annual Fund. The Annual Fund, “Family of Funds,” allows donors the opportunity to directly support efforts such as professional development, programming, and education. • EIB Personnel Updates: Tyrone Jean was promoted from Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging to Assistant Head of School for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Chief Diversity Officer. Will McCorn, a member of the first cohort of the Teaching Fellows Program, held a hybrid teaching fellows role with dual placement in the EIB Office and in the classroom. After a national search, we selected Julian Cook as Associate Director of Programs and Education. Julian began in July 2023. • Recruitment Partnership: Human Resources formed a newly established partnership with Full Umbrella, a woman-owned recruitment firm. • New Affinity and Alliance Groups: Lower School Superpowers Group, South Asian Families Network, and Pride Families Network • Upper School Courses: There were two new courses added to the Upper School curriculum this year: African American Studies and Herstory: Women in Global History. • Lower School Rainbow Day: This year, students participated in the Kaleidoscope Affinity Group and helped celebrate Rainbow Day by enjoying refreshments and crafted posters with positive, affirming messages to be posted throughout the school. • Upper School Closing Ceremonies EIB Award: This spring, with the support of the Upper School administration, the Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Award was added to the annual award list for the Upper School Closing Ceremony. This award goes to a student who exemplifies PD’s values of equity, inclusion, and belonging. The selected student is an advocate, champion, and ally who brings people together and amplifies the voices of those in the margins. Congratulations to Astrid “AJ” James, PD’s inaugural EIB Award recipient! • Teaching Fellows Program: The Teaching Fellows Program completed its inaugural year with three of five fellows returning to PD for the 2023–2024 school year. One fellow will begin a master’s program at Brown University in the fall, and one fellow has accepted a job offer at a local independent school.
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