Community & Belonging

Saint Mary’s Community & Belonging Taskforce was formed in the spring of 2017.

Under the leadership of then Associate Dean of Students Jennifer Rundles, a student branch and a faculty/staff branch of the task force were established. The task force dedicated its first year to gathering data about Saint Mary’s strengths and areas for growth through the National Association of Independent Schools’ Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM). Based on the data collected through the AIM survey, the task force developed an action plan emphasizing professional development and curriculum around topics such as implicit bias, facilitating difficult discussions, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and equity.

In 2019-2020, the student branch of the Community & Belonging Taskforce developed the Inclusion Ambassador program to build bridges across the school community and further ensure student input on diversity and inclusion at Saint Mary’s. The ambassador program was implemented in the fall of 2020 with 14 inclusion ambassadors.

As an educational institution, Saint Mary’s School has the opportunity to “be the change we wish to see.” Education has always been a place for this kind of positive, forward momentum. Outlined below is a plan of action for strengthening the academic department’s equity-centered approach to teaching and learning.  

Curriculum Review: The academic department is building a knowledge base to support a curriculum review through an equity and anti-racist lens. With this shared knowledge base in place, each department will complete a comprehensive review of all curriculum and resources being used in its work with students, including novels, textbooks, online resources, individually created resources, etc. The goal of this review is to allow each department to design and implement equity-centered and culturally competent practices and changes to its curriculum over time.

Assessments: Saint Mary's continues its efforts to ensure equity-centered grading policies and practices are in use at the school. Inspired by Joe Feldman’s book, Grading for Equity, the academic department has implemented policies to better support and operationalize equity in our grading processes.

Professional Learning: Faculty continue to utilize the knowledge acquired in a collective reading of Zaretta Hammond’s book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain. This research-driven resource provides important information and tools to assist faculty in designing culturally competent and culturally responsive learning experiences. Culturally-responsive teaching designed for all learners is central to the school’s pedagogical practice and teachers are expected to embed these principles into their work with our students.

Saint Mary's faculty and staff are continuously involved in relevant professional development. The following is a sample of the professional development learning opportunities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in which Saint Mary's faculty and staff participate:

• FACTUALITY the Game
• Cultured Enuf
• National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) Equity Design Lab 
• NAIS People of Color Conference
• N.C. Association of Independent Schools Diversity and Inclusion Conference
• National Association of Episcopal Schools’ Diversity and Inclusion Conference 
• National Coalition of Girls' Schools Symposium: Building Inclusive, Anti-Racist School Communities
• N.C. State University: Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity: Cultural Competency and Inclusivity Certificate Program
• Teaching Tolerance: Facilitating Critical Conversations Workshop
• SafeSchools North Carolina Conference for Educators and School Communities