Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

List of 3 items.

• We are a safe community that empowers the exploration and expression of our true selves.

  Through methodologies such as Responsive Classroom, structures such as Upper School advisory groups and the House system, and beliefs such as the Community Code, we create a safe environment that fully supports children’s social-emotional development and self-expression. Teachers work to understand children’s stories, identities, belief systems, values, cultures, and backgrounds, and are well equipped to have meaningful and sometimes difficult conversations with them. We challenge all of our community members—students, employees, trustees, and families—to acknowledge and accept the full range of identities that individuals may express at Shore, and we use inclusive language to demonstrate that all forms of identity expression are welcome here.

• We thrive because we confront bias and honor the diverse identities of all people.

  We condemn bigotry, harassment, and discrimination; we name the privilege and conscious and unconscious biases that exist within our community; we examine our own blind spots; and we educate ourselves and our children to understand and respect differences including age, ethnicity, family makeup, gender and gender expression, learning style, physical ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. We aspire to attract and retain employees, students, families, and trustees that represent this diversity. We believe that a diverse and inclusive environment makes our school culture stronger by fostering safety, critical thinking, self-confidence, and personal integrity and by enabling a community that honors the humanity and potential of each of its members.

• We pursue individual and systemic cultural competence in order to model equity leadership in a complex world.

  We examine individual and institutional practices and belief systems—such as hiring practices, curricula, and school traditions—through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we commit to creating a more equitable and inclusive community through concrete actions. These include providing relevant training for all community members, supporting community groups focused on equity and inclusion, incorporating equity and inclusion into our strategic plan, reassessing the curriculum at every grade level and in every department, and elevating issues of equity and inclusion to a Board-level committee, which created Shore’s Equity & Inclusion Commitment. Through these actions, we seek to build equity and inclusion into the very fabric of our school as we prepare the members of our community to engage and succeed in an increasingly diverse society.