13 minute read
You Belong at Cheshire Academy
Since the mid 1800s, Cheshire Academy has opened its doors to students from all over the world. Even at a time when diversity was not celebrated or at the forefront of conversation, CA recognized that a diverse student body was integral to the growth and development of future leaders.
That mindset remains: this year, students from 11 states and 21 countries call Cheshire Academy home. Inside the Gideon Welles Dining Commons, more than 60 flags hang on the eastern wall, representative of the students who attended campus over the past two centuries.
Even earlier, in 1794, the school’s original constitution noted that “female education may be attended to in this institution, by such instructors and under such conditions as the trustees shall direct.” International students were welcomed in 1850, at a time when such practice was not commonplace. CA returned to its coeducational roots in 1969 after a constitutional change converted CA to a boys-only school in 1836.
CA has long been home to students from a range of racial, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Even still, the viewpoints, mindsets, and opinions of past generations have left us with structures, systems, and practices of institutionalized racism — something CA has been working to dismantle.
Every day, at all levels, Cheshire Academy strives to be a truly inclusive, diverse, and anti-racist school.
“This is the right thing to do for human beings,” states Head of School Julie Anderson P’19,’23. “There shouldn’t be a fear of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our school. Doing what is right for students is what we have to do as a school: making sure that they all feel safe, that all of our students feel like they belong.”
Meeting Cheshire Academy’s goal of being an anti-racist school benefits all students, employees, parents and families, alumni, and the greater CA community, Anderson says. “Every student here should feel like they can work hard and be supported by the adults on this campus to achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve, and not feel that any part of their identity will hold them back.”
Anti-racism is just one aspect under the umbrella of DEI efforts at CA, which allow all in the community to acknowledge and embrace their uniqueness. Anti-racism at CA is about more than race. It means that each student can be who they are and feel safe and supported. It starts conversations around how identities like having a learning difference, physical disability, or differing socioeconomic status might hold students back from believing they can achieve their goals — and how to shift this perspective while bolstering students in pursuit of their dreams. Diversity, equity, and inclusion at CA covers a beautiful and wide array of differences that are not only to be supported, but celebrated.
Picking up the pace
Dr. Aleesha Grier-Rogers ’90 was hired in 2019 as the school’s first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In her role, Grier-Rogers was able to respond directly to members of the CA community who had concerns about racism as well as inclusion practices, among other issues. As a professional practicing psychologist, however, Grier-Rogers had to step back from her position at CA to serve an ever-growing need for care as a result of the mental health crisis that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alumna Tanasia Lea ’09 was then hired to continue the work. During the transition, an evolution of the DEI director role took place, expanding it to be more comprehensive and to look at systems across the entire school. To assist Lea in this effort, two faculty members serve as DEI associates, and three students as DEI interns.
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was established to support all members of the CA community, available for anyone seeking resources and support. The office seeks to establish meaningful relationships and partnerships across all school constituencies. DEI encompasses the symbiotic relationship, philosophy, and culture of acknowledging, embracing, supporting, and accepting those of all racial, sexual, gender, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds, among other differentiators, explains Lea.
CA publicly made a strong commitment in 2022 to explore DEI in all aspects of school life and programming. Anti-racism falls directly under CA's DEI commitment as it strives to promote racial and ethnic safety and equality. While work was being done behind the scenes with students, faculty and staff, parents and families, and alumni for many years prior, with support from the Board of Trustees, CA has moved forward more intentionally, strategically, and comprehensively toward this goal.
Initial steps included educating the Trustees and senior leadership team on what being anti-racist means. And with Lea at the helm as director, any fear around the term anti-racism quickly dissipated. Training was then introduced across the community to CA employees, with purposeful decisions being made at all levels.
“This is who we are as a school,” Anderson says. “This is who we have always been. It’s just that, now, we’re being very clear in our message and actions.”
Lea is transitioning from her role as Director of DEI at the end of 2024 to pursue athletic opportunities with a goal of competing in the 2024 Olympics. Lea will continue to remain engaged with CA as a consultant while the school seeks a new director.
In all aspects
In essence, anti-racism is the active opposition to racism. It’s more than just not being racist; it is about actively working to dismantle the systems and structures that perpetuate racism. At CA, this is done through education, advocacy, and activism.
Changes are taking place throughout campus, in written and spoken word, in all departments, in new programs and clubs, and in so many areas of school life.
Language such as “grandfathered in” and “senior masters” has been eliminated and replaced with “legacy” and “senior faculty,” among other changes. Dress-down days, previously requiring students to make donations for a chosen cause, are now optional with clear language stating that a donation is not required. Recognizing that students come from varied socioeconomic backgrounds at CA, this is just another way the Academy is striving to create a more equitable experience for all.
The leadership team continues to participate in professional development wherein part of the agenda concerns anti-racist work, specifically about identity, and structural and systemic racism. For all employees, professional development priorities are focused on enhancing personal, interpersonal competencies to engage in the work. Employees are encouraged to continue pursuing professional development opportunities offered through education associations like CAIS and NAIS.
I’m proud of the work Cheshire Academy is doing to systematically dismantle unjust policies, procedures, and practices while fostering understanding and building bridges with all community stakeholders to strengthen its renowned culture and long history of inclusivity. This work isn’t performative at CA. We’re intentionally ingraining the values of belonging, engagement, collaboration, and growth into our community culture and creating an environment where diversity and inclusion are not only the norm but celebrated.
- Angelina Casanova ’00, DEI subcommittee co-chair
Clubs are an integral part of a student’s life, where they find like-minded individuals, with similar stories and backgrounds, and interests and passions. A conscious effort has been made to increase affinity groups on campus, adding religious-based affinity groups and a group for those who identify as Latinx to the Black Student Union, Asian Student Union, Gender/ Sexuality Alliance, Black Girl Coalition, International Student Union, The Coleman Group, and others.
Cheshire Academy’s mission is critical today and will become even more important in the future as the world becomes more interconnected and technologically advanced. CA graduates who have the ability to truly understand, listen, develop meaningful connections, and recognize the value that people from different backgrounds bring to any conversation will be the ones who find success and become leaders. The DEI work that CA is doing helps our students begin to develop the emotional intelligence needed to succeed in a multipolar and multicultural world.
- Todd Savage ’98, DEI subcommittee co-chair
An affinity group has been formed for employees who identify as LGBTQ+, and another is in the works for employees of color. Senior leadership represents a diverse group of individuals, and the number of employees and the number of administrators who identify as people of color has increased. One third of the Board of Trustees identifies as a person of color.
Lea and Director of Human Resources Kristin Welage P’19,’21 monitor Ethics Point, the school’s online reporting system for bias reporting. Any member of the CA community can submit anonymous and non-anonymous reports, which Lea and Welage review and then determine next steps. Responses to reports range from a conversation, an investigation, education and/or disciplinary consequences if the incident violates community expectations set in the Student, Family, and Employee handbooks. The tool is one method to understand the gap between where we are and where we want to be as a community, one that strives to align with diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices.
Even the Student & Family Handbook and CA’s curriculum have undergone some changes, such as changes to rules and policies, and the addition of new courses — including IB Geography and El Norte: Latinx North America — that provide students with perspectives that are not Eurocentric.
A place to call home
Building a more just and equitable society means working to create a world where everyone has the same opportunities and access. This effort connects directly with CA’s mission, vision, and core values of belonging, engagement, collaboration, and growth.
“We believe that if our students embrace our core values, then they will be poised to be better global citizens who are prepared to continue the work they learned here at CA,” Anderson says. “They will play an important role in creating a world where everyone can reach their goals without fear that their identity will hold them back.”
The five closed community weekends planned for the 2023-2024 academic year include themes of belonging and engagement. Most recently, Diversity, Equity, and Justice Community Weekend enhanced the community’s understanding of how systems have shaped society, and inspired action to intercept and dismantle unjust systems.
Cheshire Academy immediately stood out to us when seeking a school for Kris. Having a diverse, international student body was very important and wasn’t available in many of the local schools where we lived. Being an immigrant from a different part of the world, I felt that it was very important for my child to be in an academic environment that was diverse, encouraged education of everyone’s backgrounds, and is making an effort to shift the paradigm around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Nancy Daoud P’11
Where we’re going
Cheshire Academy has accomplished quite a bit just this past year, but there is still more to do.
“Working toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive school is an ongoing process,” Anderson says. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach. However, by taking small steps every day, we can all make a difference in the fight against xenophobia, racism, ageism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination, stereotyping, and injustice.”
Continuing the school’s work to becoming a truly anti-racist school requires an effort to do the work comprehensively, with a positive impact on all members of the community — students and adults alike. Everyone on campus and all those connected to the school should feel like they belong, and that differences are seen as assets, not deficits to the community.
“A comprehensive and collaborative approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion will take us from being a symbolically multicultural school to a transformed, inclusive school,” says Lea.
CA strives to implement structures, policies, and practices with participatory decision-making and other forms of powersharing at all levels, and commit to seeking deeper awareness in contributing to a more racially equitable and human-centered community with a strong sense of joy, trust, and gratitude.
Cheshire gave me the confidence to meet and interact with kids from so many different cultures that it shaped my life’s work and passion, and that was way before diversity, equity and inclusion were words to identify what Cheshire was already all about back in the 1950s.
- Lew Shomer ’55
The hiring, retention, and admission processes are additional areas in which CA has conducted a thorough review. Through these reviews, CA will foster a more supportive educational and work culture for students and employees. Collaborating with the Admission Office and Human Resources, the Office of DEI will strive to address and eliminate potential bias in the hiring and enrollment processes.
“These are just two areas of many where we as a school are currently focused,” Lea says. “Some things can be resolved quickly, while others require weeks, months, years of dialogue and work before change can take place. Anti-racist work is critical to the mission of our school and to nurture students who can think critically and engage purposefully with the world around them.”
DEI COMMITMENT STATEMENT
“Cheshire Academy has been, for 230 years, an internationally minded community that celebrates the uniqueness of the individual while encouraging curiosity, interest, and appreciation for other cultures, traditions, backgrounds, and experiences.
Our students and families, faculty and staff, and alumni represent multiple identities, among them race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, gender identity and expression, ability, sexuality, learning style, and family composition. We know that as individuals, we are better and stronger for understanding, knowing, and appreciating others.
We are committed to fostering an environment of belonging, safety, and connectedness that actively seeks to dismantle systems that create policies and procedures which favor one group over another, through an inclusive and anti-racist lens. Diversity in perspectives, worldviews, and experiences allows our students to grow increasingly able to thrive as global citizens.”
- Head of School Julie Anderson P’19,’23
CHESHIRE ACADEMY MISSION STATEMENT
“Cheshire Academy is an internationally minded college-preparatory school that challenges its students to maximize their potential by developing the confidence, character, and critical thinking skills that enable them to thrive as global citizens.”
