Our Community and Belonging journey begins with knowledge, reflection, and affirmation, strengthening our resolve to become our authentic selves and to respect and honor the dignity of others while seeking peace and promoting justice. 

• Community to us means fostering meaningful relationships by engaging with and learning from multiple perspectives; belonging means we create a welcoming environment in which all are respected, supported, and accepted as children of God. 
   
• Our Community and Belonging work is derived from our Episcopal Identity, our mission, and our desire to educate the “whole student.” Good Shepherd helps students learn to love their neighbors as themselves and honor the dignity of every human being. 
   
• Formerly referred to as our diversity, equity, and inclusion effort, Community and Belonging focuses on continually strengthening our community and creating an environment where all members feel they belong.

Some examples of how we will implement Community and Belonging include reading age-appropriate books by diverse authors in order to share a variety of perspectives to promote a more inclusive environment. By sharing stories from many cultures, we help engage students in learning about how all of us are part of American and world history. We will also continue to enhance our interdisciplinary projects to spark students’ curiosity and guide their learning in age-appropriate ways.  

The intent of our Community and Belonging work is to create and sustain an inclusive school environment in which we proactively support one another and celebrate our unique selves, creating a place where every student feels seen, loved, and like they belong in our community. We believe a positive approach to inclusion will help our students grow in confidence, compassion, and courage in an ever-changing world, reducing negative interactions.

Diverse perspectives and environments increase academic success. Listening to multiple perspectives creates opportunities for deeper learning that will be beneficial in high school, higher education, and beyond.

As an Episcopal school—one still deeply connected to its founding church—we use our Episcopal Identity to guide all of our work, which includes the belief that every child is a beloved child of God and has dignity and worth. That is the core sentiment behind our Community and Belonging approach regarding Episcopal teachings.

No. We have not adopted any curriculum for Community and Belonging. Our goal is to integrate the sentiments described above naturally into our current curriculum. No Community and Belonging curriculum has been purchased.

No. One important point of clarification is the school is neither adopting, nor teaching students about, Critical Race Theory. We know we must consider everything through the lens of our Episcopal Identity and through what is age-appropriate for our students.

We are using age-appropriate ways to connect with students about history and the many cultures in our school, local and global communities. For our youngest students, we are helping them celebrate cultures and begin to understand the cultures in their families. For our middle school students, we are teaching them how to get to know each other on a genuine level so that they can appreciate each other and gain some perspective on the world they will encounter in high school and into adulthood. 

Our world is becoming increasingly complex. Students hear about concepts through a variety of means and ask questions at school. We need to equip our teachers to guide students' questions and discussions in a healthy manner. Further, our goal is to create a community where every child and adult feels as though they are seen and loved for who they are and feels as though they belong at Good Shepherd. Many of you feel that already, but not all in our community feel belonging. 

Our Interim Director of Community and Belonging will continue to evaluate and refine the quality of the Good Shepherd experience through the lenses of admissions, advancement, community outreach, and hiring to ensure our culture and climate foster belonging for all.

Fostering belonging for all supports our mission because it creates an environment for stronger learning, deeper compassion, and the courage to lead.  

GSES has already selected many books for the school library which represent the vast diversity of our country and world. This has been an effort for the last several years to increase diversity in literature and authors. In the past, student books in the library have been purchased by the librarian and will most likely continue in the future. Books that are selected for professional learning are selected from recommendations by school leaders, the Interim Director of Community and Belonging, and the Director of Curriculum. If questions about books used in our classrooms arise, parents should first speak with the child’s teacher for clarification and then the Director of Curriculum. Materials in the curriculum are reviewed and selected to prepare students for academic success and life in society as a whole.

We are proud to have a faculty and staff that is well-read and genuinely curious about our world. As individuals, our faculty and staff select reading that has meaning to them. Only curriculum and materials that are reviewed by our curriculum committee and that match the standards are introduced to students. We will also continue to equip our faculty, staff, and parents with the knowledge to spark students’ curiosity and guide students’ learning in age-appropriate ways.

At GSES, we are committed to increasing the representation of people of color in facets of leadership and staff, including the Board of Trustees. 

Learning about systems of oppression or systemic racism has always been a part of the history we teach and is part of the learning standards we use at Good Shepherd. For example, this includes teaching about the Holocaust, slavery, and segregation. We will continue to teach those standards and how people in history have dismantled those systems we study. 

Unfortunately, some of the language on the website did not properly and accurately communicate our goal in teaching Community and Belonging. We have removed this content so that we have a chance to better and more accurately describe our Community and Belonging work and clarify any misunderstandings and confusion. 

We will be communicating updates on our approach to Community and Belonging work directly to our community as needed. We regularly evaluate our policies and practices across all areas within our community, as we look for new ways to excel. In this spirit, we will continue to evaluate and refine the quality of the Good Shepherd experience through the lenses of admissions, advancement, community outreach, and hiring to ensure our culture and climate foster belonging for all.

We are also always open to hearing questions from parents and guardians. As parents and guardians, you can expect opportunities to be involved and walk alongside Good Shepherd and your children in our Community and Belonging work. Here are some of the ways we will be exploring community and belonging, and encouraging you to participate, throughout the school year:

• We are inviting all of our families to participate in individual, face-to-face, phone, or Zoom listening sessions with Ms. May, Interim Director of Community and Belonging. In these sessions, you will be able to share your experiences of community and belonging, excitement for the work, questions, and concerns.
  
  Schedule Your Family Listening Session HERE
• At Mini-School Night, your teachers will share the community and belonging work your children will experience in the classroom and how it contributes to learning and education. If other opportunities for community and belonging work arise throughout the school year, teachers will share these opportunities with you.
   
• Ms. May will also be available for questions and conversations at your grade-level Coffee & Conversations with Division Heads.

At GSES, we firmly believe a positive approach to Community and Belonging will help our students grow in confidence, compassion, and courage and that all students should have equal opportunities. We do not tolerate racist or exclusionary behavior, and we encourage any students or parents to inform our leadership should any issues arise. 

Our goal is to encourage our students to think and learn about the history, culture, and ideas that have shaped our world in order to develop them into well-rounded adults. We are not shaming any student or adult in our community for who they are. Our aim is to celebrate with each other while learning together.

As an Episcopal school, we adhere to the Episcopal Identity to guide all of our work. Thus, the Community and Belonging approach is conducted through this lens and promotes the love and acceptance of those who may not be Episcopal or Christian. We are not providing students with an alternative to their Christian or Episcopal faith.