Diversity, Equity & Engagement

Durham Academy's DEE team facilitates events and activities throughout the year to increase cultural awareness, sensitivity and knowledge with the purpose of preparing students to be successful members of a diverse society with global perspective. The DEE Director also works with academic leaders to ensure the school's curriculum includes a variety of voices and perspectives so that students can see positive reflections of themselves and others in the topics they are learning. 

Assemblies, Author Visits, Celebrations, and Cultural / Religious Holidays

The DEE team works within each division to create grade-level appropriate special assemblies, displays, programs and meaningful remembrances for a variety of cultural celebrations. These special events include different heritage months and religious and cultural holidays. As with curricular efforts, the goal of these celebrations is to highlight the unique cultures, traditions, and beliefs that frame the rich history of our community.

Dia de los Muertos Altar Project

Each year, the main entrance to the Upper School’s STEM & Humanities Center sees the addition of brightly colored ofrendas, or altars, created by students to honor deceased scientists from a range of racial, ethnic backgrounds and gender identities. In the tradition of Día de los Muertos, students include photos and drawings of the honorees; details about their lives and contributions to science; and physical altar offerings that represent the scientists’ lives in some way.

Dragon Boat Races

Under the leadership of Upper School Mandarin teacher, Bonnie Wang, and captained by upper school librarian, Shannon Harris, DA fielded its first racing team in 2022. This yearly event is part of Triangle Area Asia Fest in Cary. DA’s twenty paddlers, with only two practice sessions, came in seventh in a field of 22 boats which included professional travel teams.

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year celebrations at DA started in 2021 in the Preschool and Lower School when the Upper School Chinese Club visited to perform and parade with a Chinese Dragon, a symbol of good luck, strength, health, and the male element Yang. Other activities include students reading good books and creating crafts and art projects connected to the celebration of Lunar New Year.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Every year students are reminded of the impactful contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to our nation and the world. These observances can be divisional assemblies, whole-school celebrations, or community-wide service projects. Speakers include off-campus experts and guests as well as student or faculty led performances and talks.

Rise Against Hunger

Rise Against Hunger is an international organization that strives to reduce global hunger. DA’s Rise Against Hunger club works to support this goal through occasional drives in service of an annual MLK Day food packaging event organized in partnership with Rise Against Hunger.

Unity Day

Unity Day in the Preschool and Lower School is filled with special assemblies, art, fun, music, and the addition of parents and caregivers on campus to solidify school spirit and the understanding that we are a community where everyone belongs and contributes. Unity Day is also the kickoff for a yearly service project.

'What Matters to Me' Workshops

"What Matters to Me" workshops take place in the Upper School each spring during a half-day set aside for students to share their passions with their peers. With topics ranging from Bhangra dance to the diversity in lacrosse to a campaign to stop sexual assault, these student-led workshops provide an opportunity for dialogue and student-directed learning across grade levels.

Annual Student Conferences

Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC)

Each year, the National Association of Independent Schools, brings together more than 2,000 independent high school students from around the nation for a unique conference experience. A diverse team of trained adult and college student facilitators lead participants through team building activities to help students more deeply appreciate their own identities, build effective cross-cultural communication skills all while networking with peers.

North Carolina Association of Independent Schools

In 2023, NCAIS began to include students in their annual Diversity and Inclusion Conference. In the first year open to students, Durham Academy students in the Crossing the Divide club led two sessions, one for students and one for faculty members, providing strategies for how to civilly discuss hot topics in class. This annual event will allow Durham Academy student leaders to share their expertise with students from across the state.

Triangle Diversity Alliance Conference

Durham Academy is part of a consortium of five local independent schools providing an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to affirm their identity, share perspectives and cultivate leadership skills. Each year, member schools take turns hosting a student conference that brings hundreds of middle and high school students from around the Triangle together to discuss topics of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Durham Academy is committed to an ongoing process to increase the diversity of our community and to implement policies, programs and practices under which all members of our community feel welcomed, empowered, responsible and safe. The diversity, equity and engagement team includes members of the Board of Trustees, administrators, division coordinators, faculty members, current parents, and alumni — all working together to provide the support that everyone in the DA community needs to thrive.

Sheppy Vann Preschool Scholarship Fund

In 2014, Durham Academy honored the legacy of longtime Preschool Director and kindergarten teacher Sheppy Vann by establishing a need-based scholarship to make the Preschool accessible to a wider range of families. Vann's career at DA spanned 30 years as a kindergarten teacher and 24 years as director of the Preschool. During that time, she championed diversity as one of DA's top priorities, especially at the school's largest entry point.  

Affinity Groups

Several affinity groups — comprising students who are drawn together based on shared experiences and interests — exist for Lower School, Middle School and Upper School students. All affinity groups have been created at the request of students and are led by student leaders with faculty mentors. The DA Parents Association also sponsors over a dozen affinity groups for parents and caregivers that meet regularly during the year.

Gender and Sexuality Alliance

The Upper School Gender and Sexuality Alliance works to raise awareness about issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and works toward making the DA community a more accepting place for all students, faculty, and staff. 

Upper School RAISE Leadership Team

The RAISE (Raising Awareness for Inclusion and Social Equity) Leadership Team strives to promote a more inclusive and equitable community schoolwide, pre-kindergarten to Upper School. Club members present at student assemblies in all school divisions about religious and cultural holidays, as well as other topics related to inclusion.

HBCU College Tour

Dr. Cindy Moore partners with local independent schools to take a group of upper school students to Atlanta for the annual Triangle Diversity HBCU Tour. In addition to formal visits at Morehouse, Spelman, Clark Atlanta, students visit with alumni who attend those institutions to hear first-hand about their experiences.

Engagement Nights (Fall / Spring)

Twice per year, the entire Durham Academy community is invited to campus for programming designed to bring people together in dialogue around issues of identity. These evenings also allow members of the DEE team to provide updates on important student programming and upcoming events.

Bias Incident Reporting

At Durham Academy, we know that when young people feel welcomed, empowered, responsible and safe, they are more likely to thrive intellectually and socially in an academic community. We are committed to providing ways for students to report incidents of bias and harassment to foster a safe and inclusive learning environment. We also know that there is tremendous potential for continued education and personal growth in the school’s response to incidents of bias and harassment on campus.

Durham Academy has created valuable partnerships with the following institutions and associations:

Associations

• Triangle Independent Schools Consortium (TISC) member schools work together to host a school fair each fall to recruit students of color to local independent schools. Several Durham-area TISC schools also jointly host a diversity hiring fair to recruit faculty and staff of color.
• Durham Academy is also a member of Triangle Diversity Alliance, a consortium of five independent schools providing an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to affirm their identity, share perspectives, and cultivate leadership skills. Member schools share responsibility in hosting a yearly student conference along with other opportunities for students from different schools to socialize and an HBCU college tour every fall.

School Partners

• Durham Nativity School aims to educate and empower each child to reach their full potential. Without regard to race, religion or ethnicity, the school provides a tuition-free, enriched learning environment for middle school boys. Founded by the late Joe and Ann Carole Moylan (parents of six Durham Academy alumni), Durham Nativity School is now led by a board that includes DA alumni, trustees, and current and alumni parents. 
• Hill Learning Center began as a program of Durham Academy with the mission to transform students with learning differences into confident, independent learners. Hill now serves students in grades 1–12 through school, summer, and tutoring programs in the Triangle.
• The Lerner School provides students with an outstanding secular education, infused with a strong Judaic Studies and daily Hebrew program. Students are empowered to explore their world guided by a rich integrated curriculum and caring teachers.
• Maureen Joy Charter School is a K-8 public charter school, with students of color making up 98% of their scholars. The school demonstrates increased academic strength and is dramatically outperforming other public and charter schools in the area.

Community Partners

• The Augustine Literacy Project is working to improve the reading, writing and spelling abilities of economically disadvantaged children who struggle with literacy skills. Durham Academy offers a class in which students learn researched based reading instruction techniques so that they can participate as volunteers and provide one-to-one instruction to Durham Public School students. In addition to their classroom work, DA tutors teach approximately three lessons a week at a local elementary school.
• Jack & Jill of America (Durham Chapter)  dedicates its resources to improving the quality of life of children, particularly for African American children, by providing social, cultural and educational opportunities for youth. 
• Mocha Moms (Durham Chapter) is a support group for moms in the Raleigh/Durham area raising children of color, serving as an advocate for mothers and encouraging the spirit of community activism within its membership.
• Students 2 Scholars empowers promising students from under-resourced communities to access and excel in independent middle schools, preparing them for success in high school and college.
• Student U is a college access organization offering year-round, free, academic enrichment for middle and high school students. Student U creates a pipeline of services in the summer months, hosted at Durham Academy, and after school to support students and ensure they develop academic skills and personal well-being. 
• Other community partnerships include the Hayti Heritage Center, El Centro Hispano, Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Special Olympics NC.

DEE Transfer Goals

Beginning in the 2021–2022 school year, Durham Academy teachers began a project to add more diverse voices and perspectives to their formal curriculum. Faculty members worked to enhance existing units, projects, and activities by connecting them to the transfer goals below, which are based on the Learning for Justice Standards and Domains.

TRANSFER GOAL #1 (FROM IDENTITY STRAND)

Develop positive social identities and learn to negotiate these identities in multiple cultures (the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures) while respecting all.

TRANSFER GOAL #2 (FROM DIVERSITY STRAND)

Build empathy, respect and understanding for and connection to people in both their own and other identity groups by exploring diversity in multifaceted ways and exchanging ideas with an open mind.

TRANSFER GOAL #3 (FROM JUSTICE STRAND)

Recognize the roles that power and privilege play to uplift some and disenfranchise others, while understanding that injustice has and does occur at both personal (e.g., bias) and systemic (e.g., discrimination) levels. Students will also explore how they have been affected personally by these dynamics and how they might change them in the future.

TRANSFER GOAL #4 (FROM ACTION STRAND)

Confront bias, exclusion and discrimination with courage and respect, taking individual and collective actions based on examination of the most effective strategies.

NAIS People of Color Conference

Each year, several Durham Academy faculty and staff members, representing all divisions of the school, attend the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference, joining thousands of participants from across the nation as well as attendees from international schools.

National SEED Project

Several Durham Academy faculty and staff members have completed leadership training with The National SEED Project. SEED seeks to promote conversations and dialogue with community members to move towards equity and diversity within institutions to drive lasting change. DA’s SEED leaders facilitate these conversations as a part of ongoing training to support and enhance DA's DEE mission. 

Professional Development

New faculty and staff receive diversity training upon joining the Durham Academy community. The school’s commitment to cultural competency is reinforced through regular professional development throughout the year including local and national facilitation from DEE experts. Featured speakers have included American Promise filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson, diversity experts Rosetta Lee, Jennifer Bryan and Sarah-Soonling Blackburn, and training from local organizations like we are and the Racial Equity Institute. Many of our professional development days include time for faculty and staff members to have lunch together in affinity spaces.

Additional cultural events and opportunities for continued learning, curated by the school, are available for all community members on the DEE Resource Calendar.