Want To Know More About the DEI Department and SHIFT?

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department at the Upper School is always working hard to ensure that all students feel welcome and comfortable in school, despite coming from different backgrounds. Teachers and students alike want everyone to feel included and part of the GCDS community, and the DEI Department, with the help of SHIFT Club, is doing everything possible to further develop a diverse, equal, and inclusive environment for all students. 

The purpose of SHIFT and the DEI Department is to spread awareness of the importance of diversity in school within different aspects: sexuality, race, ethnicity, and any backgrounds. In an interview with Sophia Tarbell-Arnaboldi, one coordinator of SHIFT, she said “We want to make sure people are seeing that (diversity) at school, even if their background is not the majority.” Mrs. Cólon Bradt had a similar thought when asked about the purpose of the DEI Department, “The goal is to build a community at school that reflects many identities and creates a space where all people can thrive and get what they need to have a full education.” The official statement of purpose is: Greenwich Country Day School aims to build an inclusive, just, and equitable community reflecting the multitude of human identities and perspectives in our world. 

Collaboration between students and teachers is essential to carry out the plans and ideas that come from SHIFT and the DEI Department. Though many parts of SHIFT are completely student-led, such as organizing meetings and events, teachers and administrators help out the club by making sure everything runs smoothly before heading off to carry out plans for the school. Although the DEI Department does an excellent job of implementing changes that are necessary at school, the department will often work together with students to help create that change. That being said, the administration team at GCDS also gets involved in certain situations where a change is being made. 

Of course, there is a process in which ideas turn into actions at GCDS. If a student wanted to change something at school in relation to the DEI program, they would first go to the SHIFT club. Sophia Tarbell-Arnaboldi referred to SHIFT as, “a sort of liaison in between the students and any issues they have and bringing it to the attention of the adults.” Once the SHIFT club has heard about said issue, coordinators or supervisors in the club will bring it up with someone in the DEI Department. Mrs. Cólon Bradt tells us, “It’s a lot of conversation and communication, and that can be tricky because from there many compromises have to be made.” From there, administrators at GCDS such as Adam Rohdie, get involved as well. This is all part of the process to make sure that students get their voices heard when it comes to feeling comfortable and safe at school. 

Coordination with other schools in the area is a huge part of the DEI Department’s job as well. By meeting with the DEI Departments at other schools, the schools can coordinate, help each other with certain issues, and compare policies and rules. Mrs. Cólon Bradt, as director of the DEI program at GCDS, is actually part of a group called The Fairchester Diversity Practitioners Network. “At conferences we work together and plan events such as SDLC, and look at the area and how we can improve our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at our schools,” Mrs. Cólon Bradt told us in an interview. Collaborating with other schools brings a lot more to the department at GCDS, and makes sure that it is always growing and improving. 

Both SHIFT and the DEI Department are always busy working hard on the next thing to conquer, and now is no different. At the moment, Mrs. Colon Bradt and the rest of the DEI Department are going through a series of interviews with every candidate for a job at GCDS. The interviews asure the school of what justice and equity mean to each candidate and how they wish to implement that in their classrooms. Other things both SHIFT and the DEI Department are working on, are upcoming events and activities for Women’s History Month. March is Women’s History month, so the club and department have their hands full with planning assemblies for the Upper School, activities, and possibly speakers. There is a lot to look forward to this month from the DEI program!

For anyone interested in joining SHIFT, it is a productive and interesting club! Each meeting is different, depending on history months or certain topics that want to be brought up. Sophia explained, “An example of one of these topics is like black fraternities and sororities. At the meeting we learned about it and drafted questions for the speakers coming to talk to us.” Some of the topics coming up soon will be: discussions about sexuality in school, discrimination in workplaces, and women’s empowerment, since March is national women’s history month. There are so many different topics that are talked about at SHIFT and it’s always interesting to dive into them.

Everyone in SHIFT and the DEI Department works incredibly hard every day in order to produce only the best for the GCDS community, and it does not go unnoticed. Plenty of work is being done, despite COVID-19, and the program is looking great this year, with more to come!