Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Leader | Sacramento Country Day

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Country Day has long been committed to supporting and advancing an equitable and diverse campus, with the goal of fostering an environment in which all members feel appreciated, respected, safe, and prepared to be successful within and beyond our community.

At Country Day we celebrate difference — of race, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, points of view, among others — and we seek to provide a school environment that recognizes difference as our strength and of value to us all. Our guiding principle is that authentic learning thrives when we all discover, create, and collaborate within a diverse and supportive community. We are also dedicated to creating a campus that is reflective and inclusive of the broader Sacramento region, one of the nation’s most diverse communities.

Sacramento Country Day School Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Statement

Country Day believes that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment enhances one’s sense of belonging, is essential to academic excellence, and prepares students to collaborate in a dynamic, complex, and interconnected world.

Country Day aspires for all members of our community – students, parents, caregivers, faculty, staff, alumni/ae, and Trustees – to foster an environment in which everyone feels safe, known, seen, heard, and valued. We work with our students to develop the skills and habits of mind necessary to communicate and act across differences in order to lead in modern society.

In support of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, all members of the Country Day community commit to:

Share our unique stories and be open to others
Listen with humility and engage respectfully
Learn from different perspectives and experiences
Examine our biases and endeavor to overcome them
Take risks as they engage in courageous conversations
Demonstrate empathy and compassion for those around us

Country Day Definitions

Diversity

Diversity measures the number of different people in a group. It is determined by many characteristics including race, gender, ethnicity, culture, national origin, socio-economic status, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, family makeup, and more.

Diversity promotes understanding and empowerment through the representation of a wide range of community differences. Our Country Day community strives to represent the larger community of Sacramento, working toward inclusion, empowerment of individuality, and celebration of differences.

Equity

Equity examines the structural barriers and opportunities that create or stifle conditions for access. Understanding equity means acknowledging that not everyone starts from the same place and recognizing that adjustments must be made in order to ensure equitable access. Equity should be reflected in the policies, programs, practices, procedures, and traditions of Country Day. Action items are focused on naming, owning, and interrupting structures and conditions that contribute to inequitable access and outcomes and providing the tools or opportunities that will support individual development.

Inclusion

Inclusion aims to foster the creation of a community where everyone feels welcomed, respected, acknowledged, known, seen, heard, and valued. Practicing inclusivity invites a variety of contributions and voices. It requires a set of behaviors that focuses on how individuals experience belonging, and how we include each other as members of our community. If community members and the school are being inclusive, the result is an environment where people can feel like they belong.

Inclusive Education

At Country Day, an inclusive education means consciously valuing, teaching, and learning about a variety of cultures and perspectives across the curriculum and in all spaces throughout the campus. It means remaining open to a variety of stories and avoiding a “single story” narrative. An inclusive education makes space and time for authentic voices while being careful not to marginalize different perspectives or lived experiences.

Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance (IDEA) Committee

Sacramento Country Day School’s IDEA Committee educates our community to foster an environment in which all members feel appreciated, respected, safe, and prepared to be successful in a diverse world.

As an advisory committee of faculty, staff, and administrators the IDEA Committee meets monthly to discuss a wide variety of issues of concern to the community, including ways to support the students, faculty, and families at Country Day.

Since its founding in 2000, the successes of the Diversity Committee have included the following:

Organizing workshops for faculty professional development
Providing faculty with curriculum and resource materials via divisional meetings, newsletters, emails, and displays

For more information or to share an idea or concern, please contact the IDEA leadership team by email at diversity@saccds.org.

IDEA Leadership Team

Tara Adams

Middle & High School Learning Specialist

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Rachelle Doyle

Director of Advancement

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Jo Melinson

Middle & High School Librarian

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Affinity & Alliance Groups

Affinity groups create a space where participants can share identity and experiences. These group meetings can help students to feel more visible and more included in our community and in doing so they enhance our commitment to inclusiveness. Starting in the 2023-24 school year, we will work to provide organizational support for affinity groups in the high school. Our high school students have already met for initial interest sessions and to choose student leaders for the affinity group pilot program.

Affinity vs. alliance groups

Both affinity and alliance groups are intended to bring people together by forging deeper bonds of community. An affinity group is a space reserved for people who share an identity or life experience. An alliance group might be organized and led by people who share an identity, but allies are welcome to join. Both groups are intended to foster inclusion and belonging on our campus, and in doing so enhance our commitment to inclusivity.

Christopher Arns

Affinity & Alliance Groups Coordinator

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Asian/Pacific American Students Association

Black Girls Society

The Black Girls' Society serves as an affinity group specifically designed for Black young women within the Country Day community. The group exists to provide a space where Black girls can come to be heard, find support, and build community with others who look like them on campus. The Black Girls Society was founded by alumna Karabelo Bowsky '23. Director of Advancement Rachelle Doyle and Third Grade teacher LaTeeka Bradford are the group's moderators.

Black Student Union

Country Day’s Black Student Union (BSU) is an alliance committed to building awareness, education, and a new level of consciousness about being an African American or Black student in today’s society. The group was founded by alumni Naomi Turnbull '20 and Jewel Turner '20. Director of Advancement Rachelle Doyle and Third Grade teacher LaTeeka Bradford are the club’s faculty advisors.

Families of Color, Sacramento

Country Day’s Families of Color, Sacramento (FOCS) Affinity Group offers its members the opportunity to build community, strengthen inclusive practices, share resources, and connect on topics important to the development and support of children of color.

Affinity groups bring people together who share a particular identity (e.g. race, gender, religion, family status, etc.), so that they can speak to the experience of being a member of the group from the “I” perspective.

Affinity groups also provide space also provide space for members to explore issues of shared identity and experience, as well as affirm their emotional and intellectual responses to being part of a distinct subset of the community.

Country Day parents Maya and Lonnie Webb are the coordinators of this group.

To join FOCS, please use this link.

Gender & Sexuality Alliance

Country Day’s Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) works to support LGBTQA+ students and create a safe and welcoming environment for the community at Country Day. All high school students, parents, faculty, and staff are welcome to join the alliance. Jason Hinojosa is the faculty advisor for this group.

Gender & Sexuality Alliance activities have included:

Expressing Love is Love Valentines
Attending Sacramento Pride Festival
Fundraising and support for local and national LGBTQ groups such as Sacramento LGBTQ Community Center and The Trevor Project
Facilitating sensitivity training for Country Day employees on LGBTQ issues

Latinx Student Union

IDEA News

2020 AP CSA Female Diversity Award

Sacramento Country Day School has earned the 2020 College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science A.

Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Justice Training for Employees

Dr. Liza Talusan, a highly sought-after facilitator, educator, and scholar-practitioner in areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been working with Sacramento Country Day School to help us engage in community conversations about how to create a more inclusive and equitable school environment.