STUDENT DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

BY DR. NATASHA MURRAY-EVERETT, DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

This past November, Tower Hill selected six students to attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in San Antonio, TX.

The theme of this year’s conference was, “We The People: Leveraging Our Community to Preserve Our Humanity.” The conference brings upper school student leaders from all over the U.S. together who make up diverse backgrounds to self-reflect on their identities, form allies and build community with one another.

Students engaged in experiential learning activities as well as built communication skills necessary to dialogue effectively across racial, social and cultural differences. Students also took part in both large group sessions as well as smaller dialogue groups known as SDLC family groups and home groups.

Our students shared how impactful their participation at the SDLC conference was on learning more about their identities and the identities of others.

Below are some reflections from our students who attended this year.

Aili Inquito ’24 said, “Attending SDLC was an empowering and life-changing experience that made me feel truly visible, like I had an important voice to share that mattered. For me, one of the best parts of the conference was the affinity groups because of the supportive environment and the connections I made with other students at SDLC.”

“SDLC was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for teens from all over the country to be exposed to people with different backgrounds and experiences, as well as meet people with shared struggles and affinities,” described Shosi Satran ’24

“What I’m seeing as a student at Tower Hill is the attitudes we have towards talking about social justice, or having tough conversations about race, gender, sexuality etc.—I think that before you can even have those conversations, you need to make it clear that nothing can change unless people are willing to be uncomfortable. If no one wants to be there, nothing is going to change. Getting comfortable being uncomfortable in a trusting and safe community is the only way we can see change happen,” as expressed by Bryce Twyman ’25.

Attending this conference allowed our students to grow as leaders and bring back the knowledge gained from SDLC to the larger Tower Hill community and consider how we can continue to make Tower Hill a more inclusive and equitable community. Students will present their learnings at a social justice assembly this spring.

The NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of upper school student leaders (grades 9-12) from across the U.S. and abroad. SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. Led by a diverse team of trained adult and peer facilitators, participating students develop cross-cultural communication skills, design effective strategies for social justice practice through dialogue and the arts, and learn the foundations of allyship and networking principles. In addition to large group sessions, SDLC “family groups” and “home groups” allow for dialogue and sharing in smaller units.

Tower Hill School is excited to be taking the lead and announce that it will be the first Horizons National affiliate in the state of Delaware.

This summer, Tower Hill will take action to fulfill the promise made in its Strategic Plan to “build and engage a more diverse and inclusive community” by launching a summer program designed to advance educational equity. Capitalizing on its many strengths, Tower Hill will become Delaware’s first Horizons National affiliate.

About Horizons National

Since its start more than 25 years ago, Horizons has expanded to 74 sites across the country and has engaged over 10,000 students from pre-K through high school, who return to the program each year for project-based literacy, art and STEM learning, field trips, swimming, healthy living and community building in a joyful, supportive environment.

Horizons sites ensure students experience the joy of summer (and beyond) infused with diverse, new learning experiences. Horizons’ hallmark is an intensive six week summer learning and enrichment program. In small classes led by professional educators, students dive into a rich, culturally inclusive and responsive curriculum, and benefit from the incorporation of social-emotional and whole-child teaching practices. Throughout the school year, Horizons programs maintain connection with students and families by offering Saturday programming, special events and community reunions.

Horizons works with students and families to help transform the way students see themselves and their future. Their reading and math skills improve significantly. They return to school excited to learn. They graduate from high school and go on to attend college or other post-secondary training. With a network of support behind them, Horizons students embrace a more expansive view of what’s possible.

Horizons At Tower Hill Summer Launch

Tower Hill will welcome its first cohort of Horizons students in the summer of 2023, with an initial group of 15 rising first graders. An additional grade will be added each following summer. An important goal of the program is to retain students, and Horizons at Tower Hill expects to see the same participants return year over year. Students will be recruited from the Wilmington community and will attend at no cost to them. Using Horizons National’s proven model, each incoming class is intentionally balanced with twothirds of students performing below grade level and one-third performing at or above grade level, driving peer support and nurturing long-term growth.

The initial administrative needs for Horizons at Tower Hill are being covered by the school, as the new program builds its board to oversee operations and fundraising. Horizons National will be instrumental in supporting Tower Hill’s start up activities and will remain an active partner in its first-and-only Delaware program.

Executive Director

Violeta Castro Stolpen ’05 will lead Horizons at Tower Hill as its founding Executive Director. Ms. Stolpen is a Mexican American immigrant based in Pennsylvania on Lenapehoking (Lenni-Lenape) Land. Dedicated to community and economic development, she has served in the nonprofit and for-profit spaces helping historically marginalized individuals and entrepreneurs access affordable capital and supportive services. Her career has taken her from supporting garment manufacturers and designers with the Council of Fashion Designers of America in New York City to securing $65 million in grant funding for community services and affordable housing for individuals experiencing homelessness in the American West and Indian Country with Clearinghouse CDFI. She holds a Masters in Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Geology from Bucknell University.