Greetings from the Head of School

Joe Marshall and Stripes greet students before they enter the AWAC to have their temperature checked.

Dear Trinity Community,

Since its beginning in 1951, Trinity was designed to be a haven for young children. A welcoming place for them to learn, to grow, to flourish. We continually strengthen our program and pedagogy with our deep understanding that learning cannot occur unless children feel included, accepted, and loved; safe to take risks and make mistakes; and confident and capable. The wellbeing of our students has been and always will be Trinity’s top priority, and this focus is crucial during a period of crisis. Since last March, the world at large, the United States, and Trinity have been consumed with developing, implementing, and diligently following new health and safety practices to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. I am proud of our school’s response to this impossible situation and am appreciative of our resources, small class sizes, ample facilities, and creative and flexible thinkers who have made it possible for us to conduct on-campus and optional at-home learning. As I have heard many times over the past several months, we are flying the plane as we are building it. While it is not perfect, I see how our teachers, students, and families are adapting to a new way of teaching and learning, and I see them soaring amidst the turbulence.

While there will be some long-term changes due to the pandemic and uncertainty remains, we all know that the COVID-19 virus will have an eventual end. Once we overcome this pandemic, we must continue to combat an even bigger and more significant struggle: confronting historic and persistent systemic racial injustice. Throughout Trinity’s history, we have been proactive and have displayed moral courage in our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Our website proudly proclaims: Trinity welcomes children of diverse backgrounds and provides experiences that foster acceptance, mutual respect, trust, and cooperation among the students, their teachers, and their parents. As an inclusive community, we celebrate diversity, multiculturalism, and the value of every individual. Additionally, we strive to have diversity, equity, and inclusion be an ever-present, integrated part of the school day; to value the power of conversation and dialogue; and to embrace an attitude of continual growth and learning. Trinity’s community is enriched by the diversity of its families, teachers, and students. Learning derives from listening to and sharing one another’s stories. Integrated throughout the curriculum, diversity is celebrated throughout the year, and students are encouraged to bring their full selves to school, to ask questions, and to be accepting of each other’s differences as an integral part of a learning community. As our country continues to face its past and efforts to create a more just and fair society for all, Trinity recognizes the critical importance of being intentional in promoting and supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment in our school. We have renewed our commitment to examine our policies, practices, and programs through a DEI lens to ensure that we are being inclusive of the experiences of our entire Trinity family. Trinity has formed a DEI Steering Committee to set the

strategic goals and initiatives for the School’s important DEI work. This group of academic and staff leaders will also ensure that those strategies are implemented throughout the School to grow our culture of understanding and belonging.

Our faculty members are also examining additional ways to bring the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion to our curriculum, programs, and traditions. We are committed to using the Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework in our curriculum. You can read more about this framework in Sarah Barton Thomas’s article about growing students’ long-term commitment to DEI. This year, the Faculty Staff Leadership Team is working to improve teachers’ understanding of these frameworks and to give them the tools to engage in age-appropriate conversations with students about all elements of diversity, including race, gender, identity, history, and justice topics. Each year, the Trinity School Parents’ Association DEI Committee hosts a series of Parent Chats focused on a variety of DEI topics. These important parent education events will continue to provide opportunities for Trinity families of all backgrounds to connect and to feel more equipped to lead our children through an increasingly diverse world. Finally, I am grateful for the constant support of Trinity’s Board of Trustees, which has introduced a DEI committee this year. Their guidance will be invaluable as we continue to monitor and coordinate our DEI initiatives throughout the School, from policies to curriculum enhancement, from professional development to community member support.

In this time of turmoil and unpredictability, it has never been more important for us to cherish our students’ childhood while developing their intellectual and social-emotional ability, including a commitment to DEI. To provide a secure place for each student to make mistakes and build character to, as our mission states clearly, achieve his or her unique potential as a responsible, productive, and compassionate member of the School and greater community.

The year of 2020 will be remembered as a year of anxiety and tragedy. My hope is that it will also be remembered as a year of growth, strength, and discussion. As we believe that respectful communication around difficult topics is vital for personal and societal growth, Trinity works diligently to create a safe climate for open, honest dialogue among all our community members. It is through education, knowledge, understanding, and discourse that we can all learn to appreciate each other on a deeper level, to increase our feeling of belonging, and to champion for justice for those in need. Sincerely,

Joseph P. Marshall Head of School @JosephPMarshall