St. Margaret’s had a delegation of 15 professional community members and six students at the 2019 National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference and the adjacent NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Seattle last week.
The Tartan delegation included administrative leadership, representatives from all four divisions, admission, college counseling, human resources and Breakthrough SJC, along with Upper School students.
They participated in workshops and attended speaker events over four days in Seattle, leaning into St. Margaret’s ongoing strategic work around fostering an inclusive school community and developing cultural competency skills in students to effectively engage across cultures, perspectives and backgrounds.
NAIS People of Color Conference
The professional community attended sessions at the People of Color Conference with topics ranging from strategic design for equity and inclusion, instruction-specific workshops on culturally responsive teaching, hiring and retention that reflects the school community, and more.
“I was looking to learn more about ways to better support the students of color on our campus,” Upper School English teacher Kimberly Kim said. “I attended sessions that discussed the challenges that students face in a diverse classroom and ones that offered ways to better support them. I also went to workshops that looked at ways that schools are developing supportive identities across the curricular framework.”
Fifteen members of St. Margaret’s professional community attended the People of Color Conference, including Head of School Will Moseley, Assistant Head of School for Strategic Initiatives Ryan Dahlem, Director of Equity and Inclusion Victor Cota, Middle School Principal Jeannine Clarke, Early Childhood School Director Cris Lozon, Director of College Counseling Roland Allen, Director of Human Resources Caryl Hostetter, Admission Assistant for External Affairs Casey Comeau, world languages teachers Esther Hsu and Nancy Lopez, English teacher Kimberly Kim, math teacher Veronica Johns-Richardson, science teacher Andrea Chou, personal fitness and wellness teacher Staciana Winfield, and Breakthrough SJC Assistant Director Qunsia Daniel.
NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference
Six St. Margaret’s Upper School students—senior Shea Hueston, juniors Italivi Diaz and Kaelyn Dunnell, and sophomores Emma Chang, Parisa Khashayar and Sarah Tomeo—participated in the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference, joining 1,600 students in developing cross-cultural communication skills, effective strategies for social justice practice, and the foundations of allyship and networking principals.
Shea served as a Peer Facilitator, leading fellow student attendees in small group conversations.
The six St. Margaret’s students are all members of the Upper School’s Tartan Inclusion and Diversity Education (TIDE) student leadership group.