An Excellent Start for The New Dean of Inclusive Excellence

By Kristine Varney, Director of STEM Education and Catherine Jin '22, Chair of Honor Council

Meet Ms. Preston

The mission of Foxcroft is to ensure that every girl explores her unique voice, and my mission as the Dean of Inclusive Excellence is to ensure that those voices are heard and represented throughout the School. I'm here to help and serve any member of the Foxcroft community in any way that I can.

Name: Whittney Preston Job Title: Dean of Inclusive Excellence

Fox or Hound: Fox

Pet: Dog named Milo Residence: Spur and Spoon Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK Education: Bachelor’s in Spanish from University of Oklahoma, Master’s in Educational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University, currently working on Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Southern Nazarene University Favorite Dining Hall Meal: Macaroni and cheese

Fun Fact: I'm a cellist. I played for a long time when I was in school. I started playing in fourth grade.

Honor Council Chair Catherine Jin ’22 (CJ) and Director of STEM Education Kristine Varney (KV) recently sat down with Foxcroft’s new Dean of Inclusive Excellence Whittney Preston (WP). Following is their conversation, edited for space.

Ms. Preston comes to Foxcroft with a wealth of teaching and leadership experience, and her first few months have already been impactful for the community. We wanted to learn a bit more about this new role and get to know her on a more personal level.

KV: You are in a new role for Foxcroft. Can you tell us what exactly a Dean of Inclusive Excellence is? WP: A Dean of Inclusive Excellence is someone that works with every member of the School — students, faculty, staff, and parents — to make sure that they are fully represented throughout the foundation of our School.

So what does that look like? With our students, it’s making sure that they see themselves represented in the make-up of the faculty and the curriculum. That's why I work with the faculty, taking the phenomenal curriculum that they've created and ensuring that it provides a variety of perspectives for people to see themselves in and to get a more well-rounded view of the world. For our administration and our operations staff, it means ensuring that they have a voice in decisions that impact them. I work with Admissions — our outwardfacing Foxcroft champions — and the messaging that they're using to ensure that people who are not a part of our community know that we represent many voices and people from all walks of life.

CJ: Your role also connects to students. How will the Dean of Inclusive Excellence work with students, and how do you believe you will make an impact with students? WP: Part of that inclusive role is talking about DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) work. I hope that building relationships with students will help them to understand that I'm a resource, someone that they can come to if they have an issue, or when they feel as though they're not being included in some aspect of the School, and know that I'm going to do something about it because inclusion is action. That's something that I'm very passionate about. For example, I've had some students meet with me recently and we're going to be putting together some Courageous Conversations with the Foxcroft community. Any programming I do that is specifically diversity-related, I want it to come from the students and to be impactful and meaningful to them.

KV: Tell us a bit about some of the skills and experiences that you're bringing to your role here. WP: I've been working in independent schools for nine or ten years. My first little taste of diversity was when I taught Spanish because it was more than just teaching the language. I was introducing students to a culture and world outside of those they knew. About two years later, I began doing diversity work at Heritage Hall High School and started their diversity club.

Continued on page 18.

James Sweeney

STEM Teacher, Physics and Mathematics

Meet some new faces

Hometown: Huntingtown, MD Education: Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of South Carolina; B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science, Coker University. Greatest hope for my students: To instill a love and appreciation for mathematics, also that they continue to develop as mathematicians and thinkers. What excites me about the future of Foxcroft: The growth of the School and how we will continue to use our beautiful campus. Special skill I share with students: I love to bake and many of my students have taste-tested my recipes, including my wedding cake. Strangest thing I’ve eaten: Umeboshi, a salted Japanese plum that is supposed to be very sour. It’s actually extremely salty and I couldn't finish it. I’m still searching for the perfect sour food.

students Meet Our

This year Foxcroft has welcomed 159 students to campus!

Our girls hail from 17 states (CA, CO, FL, IL, KY,

MA, MD, NC, NJ, NM, NY, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV) and Washington, DC, as well as nine countries (Azerbaijan, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain,

Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States)! new kids

on the block

We have 64 New Girls, representing every grade — including post-graduate. Among them, Foxcroft welcomed:

• 15 ITs and Legacies

• Poets, gamers, animallovers, muscle-car enthusiasts, deep-thinkers, and world travelers, too! • Numerous artists, actresses, and musicians

• Top scholar-athletes in basketball, riding, soccer, volleyball, dance, and more

Strengthening the School's commitment to diversity and inclusion, 36% of our new students identify themselves as students of color, including:

2

Asian students

2

BIPOC students

7

Hispanic students

4

2 or more races

6

Other students

It has been so wonderful getting to know our new students and getting reacquainted with our returning ones, and watching them get to know each other.

Then I became the Associate Director of Diversity across the whole school, creating initiatives that are still going strong today.

I'm currently working on my doctorate in educational leadership. My dissertation is focused on diversity in independent schools and how that can impact the teaching experience.

KV: What are some of the things you've done in your first few months at Foxcroft? WP: One of the things that I've done is get a big taste of student life, stepping in for Ms. Young and Mrs. Ross while they were out having some precious little bundles of joy. I was happy that I accomplished getting to see what residential life and student life look like at Foxcroft.

Another thing that I set out to do was to meet one-on-one with all of our faculty and staff to get a better sense of their experience at Foxcroft and how I can support them, and I'm happy to say that I've almost gotten through that whole list! Not just faculty, but the Business Office, the Campus Safety team, and the Operations staff.

I also got to lead the student leadership retreat, which was a highlight because getting to be around students for a long period of time was great for me.

KV: A big part of your role is serving as a Dean of Faculty. How do you believe you will make an impact with the faculty? WP: By providing them support. I feel as though oftentimes in schools, the teaching faculty gets kind of overlooked. We, of course, are all here to support the students. But I believe as an administrator, it's my job to support the people that are directly impacting the students. I'm looking forward to supporting them more as I step away from student life and step more into that role.

KV: So as we said, you're in a new role for Foxcroft. How do you see that role evolving? WP: I see it being a sustainable pillar for our faculty, specifically, that they consistently have someone to go to and support them with anything they need involving the classroom. Right now, I work a lot with [Associate Director of Admission for Access and Inclusion] Krystyna Martin and we're kind of a dynamic duo. I foresee that potentially expanding to a whole DEI team.

CJ: What is your favorite thing about Foxcroft so far? WP: My favorite thing about Foxcroft is the community. From the moment I moved on campus, my “First Friend” [an assigned “point person” for each new faculty and staff member to help welcome them to campus] was there helping me move things off of the truck, and there's always someone asking me "Are you okay? Can I help you with something?" I also see that with the students. You all are so quick to want to help someone or make people feel welcome. That just let me know it's rooted in the culture here, and that's something I truly enjoy.

CJ: What is something you have discovered only at Foxcroft? WP: Fox/Hound — not just the rivalry, but that you do things with it throughout the year, and the alumnae come back and participate. I know it's sometimes difficult to get alumnae to come back to a school and participate in things. That's something Foxcroft does really well and that I haven't seen before.

CJ: It's part of your identity. WP: It is, it is! That's the first question I get asked — are you a Fox or a Hound? Well, I'm a Fox, are we still friends? KV: Looking forward, what are you most excited about in the year ahead? WP: I'm excited to continue getting to know the students and the faculty, to build relationships, and to appreciate the things that come from those relationships. With those relationships comes trust, and students and faculty are learning to trust that I will be able to deliver on things that they may need or things that they may ask for. •

Thanh Chau (Jade) Do

STEM teacher, Mathematics and Computer Science

Meet some new faces

Hometown: Saigon, Vietnam Education: B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Miami Greatest hope for my students: That our Foxcroft girls will become graceful women of courage and confidence as they discover new abilities, cultivate strengths, learn from mistakes, develop empathy, and exercise resilience in meeting challenges. What excites me about the future of Foxcroft: Foxcroft educators' creativity in designing new curriculums and their innovative approaches to teaching. Special skill I share with students: I share my experience in computer science programming and mathematics and hope that these skills may be valuable on their path to success! Best advice I’ve heard: Talk does not cook rice. (Fun Asian proverb!!)