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A Welcoming
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Diversity, Equity & Engagement
Throughout its history, Durham Academy has recognized that diversity enriches learning. Co-ed since its founding in 1933 and one of the first schools to integrate in Durham, DA has committed itself at every level — from the boardroom to the classroom — to the dual pursuit of excellence and diversity.
A Community Built on Belonging
- 49% of Durham Academy's students identify as a member of the Black, Indigenous or Person of Color (BIPOC) community, putting DA in the top third among peer independent schools for diversity.
- 22% of DA teachers are faculty of color.
- The percentage of students identifying as a member of the BIPOC community has increased from 30% to 49% over the last decade.
- DA awarded more than $4.9 million in financial aid for the 2024–2025 school year
- The school's financial aid budget has more than quadrupled in size over the past 20 years.
- 20% of DA students receive financial aid.
- Need-based financial aid awards range from $500 to nearly a full year's tuition and do not have to be repaid. The average award in 2024–2025 was $19,545.
Diversity, Equity & Engagement Team
Jason Mundy
Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Bonnie Wang
Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity & Engagement
Upper School Mandarin Chinese Teacher
Ashlee Bailey
Preschool DEE Coordinator
Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
Jazmin Garcia Smith
Upper School DEE Coordinator
Senior Dean of College Counseling
Sarwat Husain
Lower School DEE Coordinator
Third Grade Teaching Assistant
Dr. Uma Mahajan
Upper School DEE Coordinator
Upper School Science Teacher
Candice McCray
Middle School DEE Coordinator
Middle School Dean of Student Life and Language Arts Teacher
Pamela McKenney
Lower School DEE Coordinator
Lower School Art Teacher
Dr. Cindy Moore
Middle School DEE Coordinator
Middle School Learning Specialist
Dr. Michelle Rosen
DEE Curriculum Consultant
Preschool/Lower School Librarian
Kristin Stroupe
Lower School DEE Coordinator
Preschool/Lower School PE Teacher
Kelly Teagarden
Upper School DEE Coordinator
Upper School Humanities Teacher
Zakia VanHoose
Middle School DEE Coordinator
Assistant Director of Extended Day
DEE News @ DA
On Jan. 24, five Durham Academy Upper School students and a Middle School faculty member delivered This I Believe speeches in Kenan Auditorium as part of an annual assembly to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The speeches — inspired by radio essays from the CBS program This I Believe, which aired in the 1950s — adhere to simple yet powerful criteria: Tell a story about yourself, name one core belief, be personal and be vulnerable.
Mundy — who will take the helm of Durham Academy Middle School on July 1 — has served as DA’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Engagement since 2022, overseeing the launch of the school’s three-year DEE action plan in 2024. But before he made an outsize imprint on diversity work, Mundy was, first and foremost, a middle school educator
Durham Academy believes Diversity, Equity & Engagement provides the foundation for producing moral, happy and productive graduates. It is inseparable from the identity — and future — of DA. And now it has a definitive future, courtesy of a new action plan.