Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

List of 5 items.

• Our Work: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan

  GOAL 1: DIVERSE COMMUNITY
  Foster a fully diverse and inclusive community.
  
  GOAL 2: EDUCATION
  Create immediate and longer-term School-wide initiatives regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion at Shipley. Prepare students to be leaders in a global society. Commit to sustaining a vibrant, inclusive, and caring multicultural community.
  
  GOAL 3: EQUITABLE EXPERIENCES
  Ensure an equitable experience for all members of the community.
  
  GOAL 4: ENGAGEMENT
  Involve all community voices from students, colleagues, families, and alumni. Ensure that cultural awareness and understanding are reflected in many areas of school life.
  
  GOAL 5: ACCOUNTABILITY
  Regularly review Plan strategies and tactics to ensure the effectiveness of these initiatives in both the near- and long-term.
  
  Read More

• Our Work: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs

  Students and colleagues participate in school-wide DEI programming aimed at building cultural awareness and celebration in our community throughout the year, including: 

  • Black History Month
  • Hispanic Heritage Month
  • Lunar New Year
  • National Day of Silence
  • Pride Week

• Our Work: Professional Development

  Shipley colleagues receive generous support from the school in their quest to learn more about the complex issues of multiculturalism and social justice. Over the past year colleagues have attended or presented at the following local and national professional conferences: 
  
  

  Local

  Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS) and Multicultural Resource Center @ ADVIS
  

  A founding and active member of the MCRC@ADVIS, Shipley works collaboratively with other Philadelphia-area schools to develop programs that promote and enrich diversity. The Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS) is a nonprofit organization representing independent private schools in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. 

  
  Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) 

  The Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) is a state association serving over 100 independent schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in Delaware. PAIS offers services including collaborative dialogues on important school issues, professional development programs, communication on governmental affairs as well as advocacy, and a rigorous accreditation process. 
  
  

  National Conferences

  Shipley regularly sends teaching and operational colleagues to national conferences supporting efforts in the DEI space, including:

  • National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference
  • National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Equity Design Lab II: Grading for Equity
  • National SEED Project
  • The Race Institute
  • White Privilege Conference
  • Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education
  • Building Anti-Racist White Educators (BARWE)
  • National Diversity Practitioners Institute
  • NAIS Online Inclusive Schools Network Institute
  • The Glasgow Group - LGBTQ+ Educators Retreat

  In-School

  Regular Professional Development Sessions

  Shipley teachers engage in weekly professional development sessions to encourage growth and learning around academic achievement, individual well-being, and collective well-being. During the 2022-2023 school year, teachers will have six sessions devoted to DEI topics.
  
  Teaching Resource Center
  The Shipley Teaching Resource Center is a place for teachers to pursue professional growth opportunities, working one-on-one or in collaborative settings to learn from each other and share areas of expertise. In particular, colleagues attend and present regular sessions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

  
  

  Colleague Reading Groups
  In addition to professional learning, colleagues have also participated in various diversity, equity and inclusion reading groups. Books that colleagues have read in the past or are currently reading include: 

  • Not Light, But Fire by Matthew Kay
  • White Privilege by Dr. Robin D’Angelo
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
  • Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books by Phillip Nel

• Our Work: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Groups

  Leadership/Governance

  Board of Trustees Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

  The Board of Trustees Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee serves as the primary provider of forward-looking DEI policy and strategy, and mechanisms for administrative accountability. 

   

  Affinity Spaces & Heritage Clubs

  Affinity Spaces are created by colleagues and students at Shipley to allow connection through shared identities. These spaces allow for individuals to feel safe and sometimes heal with each other. Heritage Clubs explore one's identity through cultural interconnectedness to allow for the advancement and advocacy for one's heritage. Heritage clubs celebrate diversity through events.
  
  

  Lower School Affinity Groups and Heritage Clubs

  Overview: Affinity groups in the Lower School serve to create a sense of belonging and affirm students' identities through gatherings and cultural celebrations.
  
  

  Connection & Belonging (PreK-Grade 2)

  Explores and celebrates everyone’s identities. Through stories, games, and culture sharing students can find connections amongst themselves and make everyone feel welcomed and included.

  
  Students of Color [SOC] (Grades 3-5)
  

  Focus on social gatherings, celebrations of holidays, and culture sharing, students connect and find themselves among peers with whom they share cultural identities and backgrounds.

  
  Students of Jewish Heritage [SOJH] (Grades 3-5)

  Focus on celebrating and supporting Jewish students. Through social gatherings, celebrations of holidays, and culture sharing, students connect and celebrate their shared Jewish identities.
  
  

  Middle School Affinity Groups and Heritage Clubs

  Overview: In the Middle School, we create safe cultural, racial, and heritage identity with gatherings, conversations, and celebrations. The Middle School supports programming with the Upper School. 
  
  Black Heritage Association (BHA)
  Focused on building cultural identity and celebrations of blackness. BHA supports and uplifts Black Student Union programs. 
  
  Jewish Heritage Association 
  A heritage association that focuses on cultural understanding and celebrates Jewish identity and history.
  
  Middle Eastern North African (MENA) 
  Focus on developing a positive racial identity and a community of shared understanding among students with MENA identities. Supports the Upper School MENA with programming. 
  
  Spectrum
  A space to gather and celebrate LGBTQ+ identities. The group supports programming with Upper School Spectrum.
  
  

  Upper School Affinity Groups and Heritage Clubs

  Overview: Affinity groups and heritage clubs in the Upper School are responsible for youth-led programming and celebrations focused on identity,advocacy, and advancement. Their goal is to promote interconnectedness and understanding amongst the students.  

  
  African American Male Association
  A well-rounded outlook on what it means to be an African American Male at Shipley. Focused on supporting one another in cultural, social, and educational development.
  
  Asian Student Alliance 
  A pan-Asian affinity space that serves as a space for advocacy, promoting cultural understanding, and celebrations.
  
  Black Student Union
  Focused on promoting the well-being and cultural interests of Black students as well as educating and advocating around systemic issues in society.
  
  DEI Student Association (DEISA)
  Creating spaces for the Shipley community to advance identities through cultural interconnectedness. Promoting cultural understanding and advancements through actionable goals. 
  
  Jewish Heritage Association
  A heritage association that focuses on cultural understanding, celebration, and advocacy of Jewish identity and history.
  
  Middle Eastern North African (MENA)
  Developing healthy cultural and racial identities. Celebrating and promoting positive understandings of culture, history, and advancement among MENA students.
  
  Spectrum
  A space for LGBTQ+ students and allies to gather to celebrate their identities, discuss current events, and plan campus programming.

  
  

  Colleague Affinity Groups and Heritage Clubs

  Overview: Spaces created for colleagues with shared identities to come together to celebrate and build community with each other. This creates affirming and positive environments at Shipley. 

  
  LGBTQ+ Colleagues
  The LGBTQ+ Colleague Affinity Group provides a space for colleagues to gather in community and discuss LGBTQ+ events and news. 
  
  Jewish Heritage
  The Jewish Colleague Affinity Group provides a space for colleagues to share company, celebration, and support (and snacks) while navigating being Jewish in the Shipley community and beyond.
  
  Colleagues with Kids at Shipley
  The Colleague-Parent Affinity Group provides an opportunity for colleague-parents to provide support for one another and to help the School to understand our unique experiences and perspectives as colleagues with children enrolled in the school.
  
  Colleagues of Color
  Composed of BIPOC teaching faculty and operational colleagues. Focused on monthly meetings to create community as well as to connect, support, and network within the school. 

• Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Resources

  Articles

  • We talk about race everywhere but the classroom. Why? – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  • 6 Things White Kids Say About Race That Parents Should Call Out Now – Huffington Post
  • What Is Social Justice Education Anyway?” – Education Week
  • Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here’s What to Do Instead) - by Holiday Phillips
  • Confronting Prejudice: How to Protect Yourself and Help Others - OnlinePsychology@Pepperdine
  • What Anti-racist Teachers Do Differently - The Atlantic

  Books

  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys by Eddie Moore Jr, Allison S. Michael, and Marguerite Penick-Parks
  • Just Mercy: : A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • Beyond the Golden Rule - A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice by Dana Williams

  Podcasts

  • 1619, The New York Times
  • Code Switch, NPR
  • Talking to Your Child About Race and Racism, My New Life episode featuring Julie Lythcott-Haims 
  • Inclusion Solutions: How Schools Can Evolve to Make Everyone Feel Safe, Featuring Middle School Teacher Ace Schwarz
  • Equity in Education with Dr. Nicole Christian Brathwaite ’99: Why Individual and Collective Flourishing Requires Just Systems

  Resources for Students

  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram Xendi - A teen-friendly spin on Ibram Xendi’s Stamped from the Beginning
  • 7 Anti-Racist Books for Middle School Children - Recommended by Janifer Wilson, owner of Sisters Uptown Bookstore in Harlem, New York
    
    

  Resources for All

  • "How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion," Ted Talk by Peggy McIntosh
  • "Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable," Ted Talk by Luvvie Ajayi
  • "The Urgency of Intersectionality," Ted Talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw