Social Justice

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

BY AMY SCHREI, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Update to the Social Justice Program

Tower Hill School is committed to social justice, and it is our mission to prepare students from all backgrounds for full and creative engagement with a dynamic world. Diversity and inclusivity, in all aspects of identity, broaden and enhance the educational experience and are embedded within Tower Hill’s mission. Varied perspectives are a source of strength, creativity, enrichment and renewal in our community.

The social justice team was strengthened during the 2021-2022 school year with additional Equity and Inclusion Coordinators for a total of eight, two in each division and two in preschool. The team is led by the Director of Social Justice and the Assistant Dean of Recruiting and Social Justice. The coordinators worked with the Director of Social Justice to launch four new committees, who meet regularly to discuss and implement community-building ideas and educational initiatives.

Tower Hill School’s Social Justice Program also includes guest speakers, professional development workshops, community conversations and other initiatives that invite students to engage in courageous conversations about building and engaging a more inclusive and student-centered community.

Task Force Recommendations

During the 2020-2021 school year, three Social Justice Task Force subcommittees met throughout the year and developed specific recommendations to build a more inclusive, equitable school community. The subcommittees accomplished their goal of compiling a list of action items; however, the real work was in the thoughtful, honest and sometimes difficult conversations, which were possible due to the commitment, authenticity and vulnerability of the participants. More than 80 people—including students, alumni, parents, trustees, faculty and administrators—worked collaboratively for 14 meetings, with numerous emails, many hours studying resource materials and dozens of working notes. Tower Hill extends sincere gratitude to all who participated.

Curriculum Subcommittee

The Curriculum Subcommittee is committed to eradicating racist and biased curricula as well as expressions of racism and other expressions of bigotry. This subcommittee compiled three shortterm recommendations to be carried out in the 2022-2023 school year, which included detailed questions and notes faculty can use as a tool for reflection and revision. The recommendations are focused on immediate impacts for students and include the establishment of norms in each classroom, coursework that provides “windows” and “mirrors,” and student-centered syllabi that clearly states each teacher/department’s policy with regard to DEI.

In addition, three long-term recommendations, focused on the sustainability of culture change, were identified to be carried out in the 2023 academic year and beyond, as well as determine ways to evaluate and measure success. Time was dedicated during the February in-service day for departments to develop three DEI commitments to be implemented in their curriculum.

Recruitment and Retention Subcommittee

The Recruitment and Retention Subcommittee’s aim was to provide advice and make recommendations on programming, initiatives and services affecting the recruitment and retention of faculty that is in alignment with Tower Hill’s strategic plan. The building blocks for many of the recommendations were already in place. For example, the school engages with Nemnet, an organization committed to assisting schools in the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff. The school is utilizing many of Nemnet’s strategies and best practices. Interviewers at Tower Hill have taken anti-bias training, and the school is exploring other ways to improve internal processes.

Retaining excellent faculty is a top priority for Tower Hill, which starts with making new faculty feel included and giving them the tools to make an impact. The school has a mentor program for new faculty, which has been strengthened with a detailed handbook. The subcommittee discussed ways to

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PROGRAM UPDATES

Lower Schoolers participated in a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly led by fourth graders Abigail Lewis, Mannie Esaka and Somerset Phillips. Students learned about the life and legacy of this important person. Phillips created a unity chain filled with every student’s name in the Lower School as a representation of MLK’s dream.

Seventh and eighth grade students participated in LEAD @ Tower Hill. Leaning into Equity Awareness and Diversity (LEAD) Day is an annual event hosted by Tower Hill School to bring students together for meaningful dialogue about equity, inclusion and diversity. The keynote performers this year were Hip Hop Fundamentals, a dance group that teaches the value of music and dance as an art form that can break down barriers and bring about connections between people. Tower Hill’s Office of College Counseling and PAATH collaborated to celebrate HBCU Week with a breakfast talk with alumni for current Upper School students, parents and faculty about their college experiences at various HBCUs. Also, Delaware State University invited Upper School students and their parents to attend its Homecoming.

Tower Hill faculty members, staff and administrators participated in anti-bias, anti-racism trainings at the beginning of the school year, including: virtually listening to diversity speaker and trainer Rosetta Lee during the MCRC@ADVIS Cheryl Irving Cultural Competency Institute; participating in professional development training led by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum (pictured above), author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”; and hearing a keynote lecture about curriculum planning by diversity, equity and inclusion consultant Penn Pritchard.

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

CURRICULUM

2021-2022 Recommendations

• Establish and adhere to norms in and beyond our classrooms • Vary coursework/classwork so that the curriculum can act as both mirrors and windows for all students • Adopt a student-centered syllabus/ class outline/class contract for all students

Progress

• Established detailed guidelines for questioning and analyzing to help create a culturally responsive curriculum for faculty, students and administrators • Made commitments by faculty departments to be undertaken during the 2022-2023 school year

2023 and beyond

• Challenge bigotry and racial injustice in the real world • Encourage and elevate student voices • Acknowledge and address challenging content

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Recommendations

• Anti-hate statement will be shared broadly

• Strengthen response protocols and reporting system for incidents of racism, bias and bigotry

• Outline a framework and establish a flowchart for who to contact and how the process will be documented and resolved

• Language in handbook, on policy and around traditions, will be suited to non-gender conforming language

Progress

• Anti-hate statement shared at opening assemblies and meetings

• Changes were made to both the student and faculty handbooks • Social Justice team met with ninth grade students during Freshman Seminar to review and discuss expectations around bias/bigotry

• Created a flowchart of the procedural steps that will be taken both for students and for faculty and staff • Designed an infographic for students to easily understand who they can turn to for help. This infographic is now in final review and will be displayed throughout the school.

• Policy and procedure changes are in place for the student handbooks to be published in the 2022-2023 handbook

Recommendations

Conduct an assessment/survey of inclusivity climate

Improve exit interviews with staff and families to enhance internal reporting

Continue internship/fellowship opportunities for prospective new teachers

Expanding DEI staff

Board involvement/outward reporting in hiring process

Improve mentoring program especially with faculty of color/ diverse faculty

Progress

• Students, faculty, staff and families participated in a school climate survey in April 2022. Results will provide actionable data that will lead to positive school enhancements.

• Exit interviews for faculty and staff have been underway for a few years, and interviewees have been expanded

Strengthened current relationships with: • University of Delaware’s Student Teaching Internship Program • Delaware State University’s School of Education • Fellows Program in the Lower School and in Upper School Science • Partnerships with Wilmington’s Eastside Charter - APEX Honors

Program in our Middle School

• Staff expanded to include Assistant Dean of Social Justice and

Dean of Hiring and the number of Divisional Equity and Inclusion

Coordinators increased from six to eight • Continue to work with Nemnet Minority Recruitment Services and other agencies that promote diverse candidates • Continue to provide anti-bias training for faculty and staff who are involved with interviewing and hiring

• Regular outward reporting to the Board of Trustees of open positions and hiring

• Created mentoring handbook • Continue to optimize mentoring program • Director of Social Justice meets regularly with new faculty of color • Director of Social Justice founded a multi-school affinity group of

LGBTQIA+ faculty/staff that meets regularly for both social and education events • Director of Social Justice founded a multi-school affinity group of faculty/staff of color that meets regularly for both social and educational events • Continue to sponsor the Delaware DEI Practitioners group made up of diverse faculty/staff that meets regularly

improve and expand upon the existing mentor program specifically for faculty of color. The Director of Social Justice has regular meetings with each new faculty member of color to establish rapport, provide support and answer questions that might ease their transition into Tower Hill and the Wilmington area.

The school is working to create a support system that

ONGOING SOCIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES

• SEED faculty training (Seeking Educational

Equity and Diversity) is in its fifth year

• AMAZE (young student anti-bias literature program) taught by all Lower School teachers

• LEAD @ Tower Hill (Leaning into Equity and

Awareness). LEAD is a multi-school Diversity conference sponsored and held by Tower Hill

School.

• Community Conversations (create a more aware and even kinder, more compassionate

Middle School community) once a month

• Upper School Student Voices Series (second year) small group chats with scenarios and discussion prompts - Upper School Diversity

Club, Social Justice Student Government and the Black Student Alliance

• The Symposium 2020: This is the third annual diversity, equity and inclusion conference held at Tower Hill School for Upper School students.

• PAATH (Parents of African Americans at Tower

Hill) and DISTINCT (Diversity and Inclusion at

Tower Hill) hosted many events this year

• Black History Month dinner/celebration with speaker

• Continuing Faculty/Staff Professional

Development

• HBCU events in fall and spring specifically embraces diverse faculty and staff. One approach being explored is establishing affinity groups to build connections within the school.

Policies and Procedures Subcommittee

The goal of this subcommittee was to identify and develop schoolwide policies and procedures for students, faculty and staff to swiftly and systematically respond to any instances of racism, bias and/or bigotry. One of the first tasks of the subcommittee was to modify divisional and employee handbooks, which have been updated to further detail what will not be tolerated with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion.

For the 2022-2023 school year, student handbooks will be adjusted to contain non-gendered language, and most awards and leadership roles will be nongendered. At the same time, the school will make sure there is an equitable distribution of awards.

To strengthen its response protocols around incidents of racism, bias and bigotry, Tower Hill has created a flowchart of the procedural steps that should be taken both for students and for faculty and staff. It was recommended that the Director of Social Justice be included and consulted throughout the inquiry and disciplinary process as necessary for the given incident. An infographic has been created so that students easily understand who they can turn to for help, and it will be displayed throughout the school.

Future Focus

Tower Hill’s work on creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive school is ongoing, and our Head of School, Board and school leadership are all deeply committed. The values of engaged citizenship, respect for others and critical thinking have always been part of Tower Hill’s mission and are the bedrock of our commitment to inclusivity. This work is fundamentally about ensuring academic and community excellence at the highest level.

While our progress is measurable, we recognize that we still have work to do. We look forward to advancing our social justice program and improving diversity, equity and inclusion, which will strengthen our community. To those who served on the task force, thank you for your strength, honesty, time and dedication to this important work.

After reading “The Circles All Around Us” by Brad Montegue, preschool teachers led an expanding circle activity, which started a discussion about how to expand our worlds with kindness and inclusivity—even if it seems scary or uncomfortable. For young children, the first six weeks of school are a time to transition into their new classroom family and begin to expand their circle of friends to include all preschool students and teachers.

THANK YOU TO OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE TASK FORCE MEMBERS

Carmen Wallace ’93, Trustee, Chair Dyann Connor, Director of Social Justice, Vice Chair

Rachel Ashbrook Suzanne Ashley Sam Barrett ’16 Nadia Belkadi Evelyn Brady Alaina Brandon Jane Chesson Christine Cirillo Gilbert Courtney Collier-Beyer Katie Conway Cristina Cooke Joseph Cooke Selene Costello Francine Davis-Motley Rick Deadwyler Yvonne Deadwyler Andy Dickerson ’99 Everett Dickerson ’97 Ellen Ellis Paityn Farrow ’24 Vickie Fedele Tara Fletcher Robert Freeze Shawn Futch ’16 Andrea Glowatz Jennifer Griffin Charles Habgood ’23 Art Hall Paula Hall Xiangdong “Hancock” Han Natalie Haskins Courtney Hayman ’14 Monty Hayman ’87 Diamond Howell-Shields Kelly Hunter Suchi Iyengar Olivia Jordan ’24 Aislynn Kator ’22 Saira Kazmi ’24 Dr. Saima Khan Jody Lanza-Gregory ’13 Emani Larkin ’23 Delaney Leonard ’22 Dr. Lauren Lineback Victoria Longo ’13 Carmen Martinez Dr. Nicholas Matlin Dr. Anna Miller Jalyn Miller ’22 Lois Miller Susan Miller Jasmine Minhas ’18 Natalie Moravek Rachael Morrison ’22 Zipora Morrison ’23 Paul Mulvena Dana Nestor Mikelle Phillips Anthony Pisapia Reece Ratliff ’21 Penny Rodrick-Williams Chloe Sachs ’23 Andrea Sarko Claire Saunders ’23 Andrew Scibilia Bertram Scott Sabrina Scott Shefali Shah-Munshi Stephanie Silverman Laura Simon Asha Smith Caitlin Smith ’23 Funke Soleye Bessie Speers Ilicia Strasser Ann Sullivan Katie Sullivan ’21 Dr. Sabrina Thomas Matt Twyman ’88 Bill Ushler Mary Warren Foulk ’87 Makayla Warthen ’25 Maya Warthen ’27 Michael Warthen Rikki Warthen Kaiya Whitfield ’23 Michelle Wrambel Alexis Wrease ’17 Roy Wright Hannah Zhao ’23 Jen Zuck

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

ASSIST SCHOLARS SHARE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AT THS

Q&A WITH AMY WOLF, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

CARINA FISCHER ’24, GERMANY

What has your experience been like as an international student at Tower Hill?

It’s been super fun so far. It’s been very exciting. It’s been great to get to know a new culture and learn how people in America go to school and what their lives are like on a daily basis. If you visit as a tourist, it’s completely different than if you actually live here for a year. All of the teachers and all of my classmates have been amazing. I’ve been enjoying everything, and I’m really grateful to be here.

What are some differences between Tower Hill and your school at home?

The academics are a lot more stressful than they are in Germany. There are a lot more tests. In Germany I would only have tests like three times a semester, but now I have one about every two weeks. That changes it up a lot. There’s a lot more homework and more subjects. The spectrum of academics is a lot bigger here, and you get to focus on what you want to do as opposed to having to do a general thing that everybody’s doing.

What have you learned from your experience as an international student at THS?

I’ve learned to be open to new things and to try new things, even if they sound a little weird or if it’s something you’ve never heard of before. Something here I thought was weird was Old Bay seasoning. I thought that was really weird and I’d never tried a seafood seasoning before, but one of my friends brought it to school one day and we tried it on the dining room food and it was really great!

What would you say to encourage a student to study abroad?

I would tell them about my experience so far and all of the things I’ve been able to experience that I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. It’s really a great gain for yourself, and it’s great to know that you can live in another country, and it’s an experience that is absolutely worth it. I would also tell them to be open to everything and engage in as many things as possible. If you’re in a class that none of your friends are in, try to talk to the person you’re sitting next to or someone you’ve never talked to before. Coming into a school where there are already established friend groups is kind of hard. When you first come here you have to find people to sit with at lunch, and you have to find people you know who are in your classes, but in the end it all pays off and is an amazing experience.

STEPANKA POVOLNA ’23, CZECH REPUBLIC

What has your experience been like as an international student at Tower Hill?

It’s been really great. I’ve met a lot of really friendly and amazing people, and it’s just been a great experience. I don’t think anything else could replace this experience. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that everyone should try at least one time in their life if they have the opportunity to.

Why did you decide to study abroad?

When I was in fifth grade, my parents decided that they wanted to host an international student from Mexico, and I got really close with her. It was from that experience that I decided I wanted to study abroad in the future. When this opportunity came up, I jumped right into it and I was really excited. I’m really happy I did it.

What are some differences between Tower Hill and your school at home?

I have to say it’s harder. It’s more complicated. You get more homework. It takes more of your time. It’s academically more demanding. But at the same time, I have to say it’s given me so much. It’s really different from the experience I had in my country, and I’m just really grateful that I get a whole year of experiencing this education. In my country, all of the subjects you take are mandatory, and you cannot choose anything except language, while here, you choose what you like. You take fewer subjects, but you focus more on those subjects. I’m really enjoying orchestra. That’s something that I wouldn’t take in my country in school. Those types of hobbies are done outside of school; it’s not part of school subjects.

What has your experience been like with sports?

Sports take a lot of your time because you have them every day, but at the same time, you get better so much faster because it’s so frequent. You go to practice every day, and it can be a bit tiring, but at the same time you can really see the improvement that you made. This year I did volleyball and swimming.

What would you say to encourage a student to study abroad?

I would say it’s definitely worth a shot. I’m definitely learning so many new things here, and it’s just an experience that everybody should go through. I don’t think there is any other school like Tower Hill that can give you the same experience. The dedication of the teachers at Tower Hill is what makes the school special. The teachers are always willing to help you. When you’re having a problem you schedule a meeting with them and they try to do their best to help you, and I really appreciate that. The teachers and students here are really friendly and outgoing, and I’m happy that I’ve met a lot of nice people here.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced this year?

I didn’t think the language would be a problem, but the subjects are made so that they’re challenging even for people whose native language is English, so for me the language was a bit challenging at the beginning, but over a few weeks I got used to it. It’s definitely not easy, but it’s worth it. You’ll go through times where you’re doubting it and you’re wondering if you made the right choice, but in the end you get so much from it that you’re not going to get anywhere else and you won’t regret it. The experience is worth it.