Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity Committee is comprised of parents, teachers, school administrators and trustees.

Together, the committee supports the work of our Board of Trustees in ensuring that our school represents diversity not only in our students, teachers and trustees, but in our program, curriculum and lives.

Conferences for Educators, Administrators and Board of Trustee Members

Our teachers and administrators attend conferences and workshops through the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE) that engage in important discussions of white privilege, representation of diversity in our classrooms and curriculum as well as within our school community. 

The following introduction is taken from a recent AISNE Conference on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

“Embracing diversity and inclusion in education requires a pedagogical commitment to difference. This commitment demands we transcend race and difference to build relationships and view each other as an unlimited resource. We must infuse empathy into how we relate as global citizens and be willing to relearn the limits we place on others because of the way they look, act, believe, think or live.

Diversity practitioners at independent schools are charged with actively engaging in comprehensive, encompassing and relevant initiatives presenting diversity and inclusion as extensions of the school’s sustained identity of excellence in education.” 

 

Reading Requirements for School Leadership and Faculty

In 2020, the Board of Trustees advanced their individual understandings of racial identity and the ways this impacts each of our daily lives, by reading Waking Up White by Debby Irving, a racial justice educator. Faculty members engaged in similar reflection by reading White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, an academic and lecturer whose work has influenced our national dialogue on race.

 

• 7 religions are practiced by members of our community
• 12 languages are spoken in the homes of our families
• 12 of our families include first generation immigrants to the United States

Tower School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, handicapped status, sexual orientation, nationality, or ethnicity in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid programs, or athletic and other school-administered programs.