SOCIAL JUSTICE

In 2022, Shady Hill unveiled a new and revitalized Mission Statement which proclaimed our commitment to “honor difference, challenge prejudice, and strive for racial and social justice.” These words recognize the ways in which striving for racial and social justice is embedded within Shady Hill’s program and core values, and serve as a promise for our continued growth as an antiracist community.

At Shady Hill, multicultural practices and social justice principles are truly in the groundwater, infused in every part of our program. Conversations begin with our youngest students, who learn to recognize and honor what makes each of us unique, while also making connections with each other across our differences. As children move through our program, these conversations grow with them, building in nuance and complexity. What begins as an exploration of skin color in Kindergarten builds to learning about enslavement and the Black Freedom Struggle in Third Grade, and culminates in analysis of structural racism throughout history and in current events in Seventh and Eighth Grades.

Our long-standing exploration of different perspectives has expanded over the past two years as we adapted the Pollyanna Racial Literacy Curriculum. With the ultimate goal of advancing systemic change through stronger communities, this all-school curriculum is designed to support students in building self-awareness and to empower them to engage in productive, age appropriate conversations about race and racism. Using Pollyanna’s direct yet compassionate approach, Shady Hill educators strengthen and enrich our students’ understanding of racial and social justice.

Engaging our youngest children in equity and justice work begins with empowering them to realize their capacity as changemakers and requires structured opportunities to transform their learning into action. In the Lower School this year we launched The Week of Social Action where we honored the role of Black activists in the struggle for racial and social justice and empowered our young learners to see themselves as upstanders and agents of change. Students celebrated the joy and diversity of Black life and learned about the expansiveness of Black contributions to our community. They wrote letters to Black changemakers–Alma Thomas, Mari Copeny, Gee’s Bend Quilters, Farmer Will Allen, and Bayard Rustin–and engaged in art projects inspired by artist and illustrator Ekua Holmes ’70. Ultimately, our Lower Schoolers shared their work with other community members during our Black History Assembly. Through this experience, each student saw themselves positively reflected in our programming and realized the pivotal role they play in building a better world.

Middle School’s annual Social Justice Day provided students in Grades V-VIII with an opportunity to participate in an on-campus conference-style experience full of workshops organized around a common theme and facilitated by Shady Hill teachers. This year’s Social Justice Day theme was “Start Here, Start Now,” inspired by Liz Kleinrock’s text of the same name. After hearing a keynote address by Liz Kleinrock herself, students participated in two of the more than 20 offered workshops that spanned a range of social justice topics. After their workshops, students created action items and phrases for themselves and inscribed those on the backs of the Social Justice Day t-shirts…a poetic nod towards the importance of collective action and collaborative accountability as we strive for a more just world.

With our mission as our North Star, our faculty are dedicated to helping children realize their capacity as changemakers within our world. From exploring hair diversity and practicing consent in the Beginners Salon, to piloting our Social Justice Spotlight series in the Middle School, to engaging faculty in workshops to identify and interrupt microaggressions, Shady Hill’s commitment to antiracist education is clear. Each day we strive to be better and to reaffirm our promise to “honor difference, challenge prejudice, and strive for racial and social justice.”