Belonging & Community: The Heart of This Work

from Perspectives Fall 2021

DEIB Strategic Plan

The establishment of Country Day’s DEIB Strategic Plan includes a new staff addition to the Office of Diversity Planning aimed at supporting the director of Diversity Planning and ensuring the strategic plan’s strategies and approaches are met across each division. In the spring of 2021, the Board of Trustees approved the development of an associate director of Diversity Planning position for Country Day. After a thorough search, the Office of Diversity Planning welcomed back Tianna Butler for this important role.

Tianna previously joined Country Day in 2013 as a Hearst Teaching Fellow from Davidson College, working closely with Bonnie Duckworth (retired) in the Lower School theater program and with Jenny Goodfellow, who directed the Middle School theater program at the time. Tianna became the Lower School theater director from 2014–16 working with students in junior kindergarten through fourth grade. After five years away in Washington, DC, working first as a second-grade teacher and then as National Presbyterian School’s associate director of Admissions & Diversity Coordinator, Tianna is thrilled to be back in a community she loves doing the work she is passionate about.

In this new role, Tianna strives to build relationships and community in a multitude of ways. “My goal is to touch every area and every corner of this school as a support system, as a friend, as an encourager, as an inquirer, and as a builder of community,” she says. “That means active listening and an openness to a variety of perspectives, thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. I want to find the fibers of our community that connect us, but also recognize the fibers that highlight the beauty of our differences and begin to build a community-wide quilt of belonging.”

**Tianna Butler, Associate Director of Diversity Planning**

Examples of how Tianna is connecting with students across divisions include playing a game of Gaga ball with second graders during recess, hanging out with fifth- and sixth-grade students during School in the Woods, and experiencing the critical-thinking skills of the math students in Mr. Stuke’s ninth- and tenthgrade Honor’s Geometry classes. In just a few months,

Tianna has shown she understands that relationships are the heart of this work—on the playground, in the classroom, and in the community.

Institution-wide Commitment

While Country Day is fortunate to have the guidance of a Diversity Planning office, the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is an institution-wide commitment, and it’s important for each division to have the support they need to carry out the goals of the DEIB Strategic Plan. With this in mind, a restructuring of DEIB teams and team leaders occurred across divisions to ensure a high level of support and guidance for students, faculty, and staff.

Division leaders and members regularly meet those in their respective divisions and across divisions to check in and discuss the alignment of goals, strategies, and opportunities to develop a rich and inclusive academic and social experience for all students at Country Day. Between administrative and divisional leadership, Country Day is poised to continue the great work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all in the school community.

Divisional DEIB Teams

These DEIB team leaders work to ensure a high level of support and guidance for students, faculty, and staff across all divisions. In Upper School, the team leads respective subcommittees dedicated to student support and curricular support of DEIB work.