DEIJ LEADERS
Rumsey sat down with faculty members Kim Mandl P'07, '11, '15 and Craig Ough P'23 to talk about the issues of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice on our campus.
<= Since the writing of this article, the world and our community have been turned upside down. The Covid-19 pandemic began with anti-Asian sentiment throughout the world and we even heard fear and hate speech spread on our campus. Two incredible students from China, Emily Son ‘20 and Miranda Wang ’20, worked with Craig Ough to share a factual and informative presentation about coronavirus that dispelled myths for our greater community. We led two empowering Zoom meetings with VIth and VIIth Form students and several faculty that focused on hate speech and the power of words. Students were engaged and thoughtful in sharing their personal experiences and offered suggestions for how to make our community more inclusive so that everyone truly feels they belong. After the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, we wrote letters to our community on Rumsey’s stance regarding hate. We shared our plans regarding work the school has done and is committed to doing going forward. We received feedback from several alumni after those communications – thank you! Some were rightfully upset and some shared the positive experience they had while they were here. All were willing to jump into the work and help break down our own systems of oppression. As time moves forward and we listen to divisive words and witness violence all around us, we are committed to standing beside those in our Rumsey family and in the world who are pushed to the margins of society, to upend systems and policies that rob them of opportunity and peace. We look forward to hearing more from alumni and to working with our entire community in our antiracist work. – Kim Mandl and Craig Ough How did Rumsey’s initiative towards Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) begin? Where did your involvement start?
CRAIG: The kids were telling us they needed more from their experience at Rumsey. They were having conversations about inclusivity and overall awareness regarding the school. These percolated up in different ways, such as Morning Meeting announcements and student led awareness campaigns. Even conversations among the adults indicated there was something missing in the climate of the school. The initiatives led by students wishing for a better community experience regarding multicultural awareness had to be amplified by mentors and school leaders. The foundation of my involvement in DEI really started from my work in community engagement and character education. Middle school students should practice the skills 28 Rarebits
of discussion, reflection, and listening to others. About three years ago, I attended the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute as a professional development opportunity to invest in a character and leadership program at Rumsey Hall, as well as improve my Challenge 20/20 community engagement class. The mentors of that program wove diversity and multicultural intelligence in with their character curriculum and lessons about developmental needs and communication skills. I was excited to bring these techniques to our teachers. I offered what I could to faculty workshops that start our term and organized a Character Day which was an exercise in deliberate teaching of character skills, but also cultural awareness and anti-bias. The Challenge 20/20 class certainly was infused with these new lessons, but more importantly the value of giving and receiving feedback. While all of this was going on, Kim and I worked together, compiling our experiences and
