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 continues to be proactive and progressive in celebrating diversity. Durham Academy’s diversity, equity and engagement team includes Board of Trustees members, administrators, division coordinators, faculty members, current parents, students and alumni all working together to drive and support the school's mission of diversity. 

Sheppy Vann Preschool Scholarship Fund 
In 2014, Durham Academy honored the legacy of long-time 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.  

Beth Crawford Lower School Scholarship Fund
In 2016, a scholarship fund was established in memory of Beth Crawford, who served as Lower School administrative assistant for 20 years. Crawford's sons, DA alumni Andy '97 and Matt '99, created the fund to honor their mother’s commitment to the Lower School and to demonstrate how much Durham Academy has meant to their family. The fund is perpetual and provides aid each year to a deserving Lower School student.

Affinity Groups
Several affinity groups — comprising students who are drawn together based on shared experiences and interests — exist for Middle School and Upper School students. All affinity groups have been created at the request of students; if a student wishes to be part of a group that does not yet exist, they are encouraged to contact their division's diversity coordinators so that a new group can be established.

Upper School RAISE Club
The RAISE (Raising Awareness for Inclusion and Social Equity) Club 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.

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 an ever-more accepting place for all students, faculty and staff. 

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.

Faculty of Color Recruitment
In 2013–2014, Durham Academy launched an aggressive initiative to recruit faculty of color. In the years since, the school has partnered with global and national recruitment firms for independent schools, and school representatives have traveled to take part in several independent school recruitment fairs. Along with several other Durham-area independent schools, DA helps host a diversity hiring fair each year to recruit teachers of color.

Training/Professional Development
New faculty and staff receive intensive diversity training upon joining the Durham Academy community. The school's commitment to cultural competency is reinforced through regular professional development days featuring speakers such as American Promise filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, diversity expert Rosetta Lee and DA parents. Trainings have centered around discussions about the realities and impact that race, class, culture, gender, religion and ability have on students in the Durham Academy community. 

People of Color Conference
Each year, several DA faculty and staff members, representing all divisions of the school, attend the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC), joining more than 2,000 participants from across the nation as well as international attendees. DA sends a group of faculty and administrators who are committed to equity work to the extraordinary annual conference.