Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Ursuline

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Ursuline: It takes a Community

We are a school community endeavoring to cultivate lifelong learning, spiritual growth, integrity, respect for all and dedication to Serviam. Central to the philosophy of The Ursuline School is a concern for the student as an individual and a commitment to the education of the whole person. This philosophy includes the statement, “With a diverse student population, the Ursuline community promotes a respect for the multicultural world and provides a range of opportunities through which students develop a global perspective.”

Our commitment is guided by the principles of our mission, which include fostering a diverse school population of students and adults, and teaching the skills, modeling the behaviors, providing the resources, and cultivating an environment of equity and inclusion that affirms all perspectives and backgrounds within our community.

Some alumnae may remember the after-school multicultural celebrations organized over the years by various clubs. Clubs are an integral part of student life at The Ursuline School and a number of them provide opportunities to celebrate various

by Renata Cioth Mulder P’17

cultures and histories such as the Black Essence Club, Asian Appreciation Association/Chinese Experience Club, Bollywood Club, Italian Society, Gaelic Society, Spanish Club, French Club, Anime Club and the clubs of many dance genres.

Classroom education and experiences are enriched with our Guest Speakers, Visiting Authors, and our Global Education & Serviam Program.

We hosted our first Diversity Summit, an offsite two-day workshop, in November 2017. A group of students explored self-selected topics, such as race, gender, voting rights, colorism, homophobia, and privilege. At subsequent annual Diversity Summits, we welcomed students from Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, and studied Title IX, gentrification, Antisemitism and Islamophobia.

The aim at these Summits is for students from a wide variety of backgrounds to learn from one another, share ideas, and work collaboratively to ask and discuss some of the most complex questions facing our communities and nation. While some of the conversations are quite complicated, these discussions promote responsible citizenship and, ultimately, enhance the living, learning and school/working environment of students, faculty and staff.

We believe that when we engage our differences with mutual respect, we will expand our awareness of the world and how we can serve it.

The summer of 2020 brought to our attention that we have work to do. It was the time of widespread national protests and many frank conversations about race.

At Ursuline, during June and July

Students at the 2021 Diversity Summit. More photos and reporting on our school website, in the School News.

2020, the Administration heard from numerous alumnae, current students and parents of the sometimes painful experiences of exclusion or diminishment encountered at our school, simply because of the color of their skin. Most of these experiences were told by our alumnae who are Black or African American community members, but White alumnae also spoke up about what they had observed. People spoke out of a genuine desire for our school community to grow and thrive in today’s complex world.

In response to the initial feedback, we offered Listening Sessions with our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Team and an outside facilitator, and we gathered more input.

We are very grateful to all who courageously and patiently offered constructive recommendations and heartfelt support. We value every one of our community members. As a direct result of these conversations and feedback, we made a commitment to improve. We will continue to joyously celebrate multiculturalism and cultural differences but we also committed to intentionally taking action to make our school community more just, equitable and inclusive. We formulated a new set of initiatives, in the summer of 2020, which we view as vital for the entire school. We named these initiatives Better Path Forward Together. This is our blueprint for building an anti-racist and fully inclusive community. What does a “fully inclusive” community look like? It is an environment “ We believe that when where every person is welcome and included in our we engage our differences community. It with mutual respect, we will means we make expand our awareness of the a conscious world and how we can serve it. effort and ” take deliberate action to provide equitable opportunities for everyone. It involves establishing a time-bound set of actions on an individual and also on a systemic level. It means stepping out of our comfort zones and engaging in dialogue and training.

The path to improvement starts with educating ourselves. Our DEI Team - Adrianna Robertson, Doretha Buster, and Kim Tietjen ’89 - led a voluntary summer 2020 discussion group for faculty and staff to read and discuss anti-racism resources. Professional Development sessions for all faculty and staff took place at various times throughout the 2020-21 school year. Junior and Senior Peer Leaders participated in a facilitator workshop and, in turn, led a Freshman workshop on “cultural stereotypes.” We introduced units from Pollyanna, a Middle School curriculum that helps to present racial literacy curricula and increase cultural competence. The older students again facilitated a workshop entitled “Intent vs. Impact” for our sophomores and another for our freshmen.

Our Administration and DEI team had recurring meetings with Dr. Donna Andrade, Dean of Mission & Ministry at Fairfield Prep and consultant to all Jesuit schools in the United States on issues of Diversity and Inclusion.

Systemic actions have included a review of the student/parent handbook and employee manual with a zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background or sexual identity. We are undertaking a multiyear review of curriculum. Very importantly, we commit to attracting and retaining a broadly diverse group of faculty, staff and students. We will continue to evaluate our processes and progress, keeping in mind the insights shared by our students, alumnae, and parents.

We are thrilled that Tamisha M. Chestnut has joined us in the new position of Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She will be responsible for the overall inclusion strategy and will work collaboratively throughout the school to assess and enhance Ursuline’s institutional infrastructure on equity, inclusion and educational excellence.

This undertaking, to live our mission more fully, will take many years to blossom. Deepening our understanding of an equitable and inclusive community is a process. Nevertheless, we are steadfast. We approach this work with optimism, joy, and kindness - TOGETHER.

Welcome, Our New DEI Director

President Eileen Davidson was extremely pleased to announce that Tamisha M. Chestnut has joined The Ursuline School as our inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Ms. Chestnut will lead Ursuline’s initiatives to cultivate a fully inclusive community, building upon the steps described in the DEI action plan that we developed last summer, Better Path Forward Together. She will bring her expertise to our work in numerous areas, including school policies, enhancing curriculum, and broadening faculty recruitment. Ms. Chestnut and the DEI team will design student workshops, organize faculty education programs, and create affinity and alliance groups. She is a member of the Administration and reports to the President. She officially began her new role on March 1, 2021.

Ms. Chestnut is a seasoned executive with a broad range of experience in all aspects of human resources and diversity, equity and inclusion.

She began her work in this field at Morgan Stanley, where she served as Director of Human Resources & Diversity for the Global Wealth Management Group. Most recently, as the Director of Human Resources at The NightingaleBamford School, she was responsible for providing vision and executive leadership to fulfill the school’s mission and strategic human capital planning initiatives.

The Ursuline mission is already well understood and lived out by Ms. Chestnut as she is an alumna of Academy of Mt. Saint Ursula.

She is enthusiastic about once again being part of an Ursuline school community and bringing her skills to our school. She stated, “The creation of the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position at Ursuline demonstrates an intentional action towards transformational change. In this historical moment, Ursuline stands ready to identify, build and nurture a culture of equity and inclusion that addresses the needs of the community with purpose and passion. My professional, educational and spiritual experiences have prepared me for this moment. I am honored to be the first in this position to lead social change and to collaborate with the Ursuline community to move the equity and inclusion agenda forward.”

We warmly welcome Tamisha M. Chestnut to The Ursuline School community.