Diversity at Solebury

Diversity Mission Statement

Solebury School promotes a profound respect for each individual and recognizes how diversity enriches a community. This deeply engrained philosophy dates to our founding in 1925. Our inclusive community of learners challenges assumptions and acknowledges differences of every kind, including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith preference, age, physical ability, and more. We value and actively cultivate our diverse composition of faculty, staff, and students on campus.

A Commitment to Inclusivity

   Students gather for the MARD conference.

Solebury School works to honor our Diversity Mission Statement in several ways.  

Field Trips
Each year, Solebury School sends students to outreach programs such as MARD and SCHout. Faculty, staff, and students also attend the People of Color Conference. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Group
Comprised of students and faculty and organized by teacher Jen Perez, the group hosts town hall meetings every three weeks to help uncover inherent bias(es) and to offer a supportive and encouraging environment to discuss everything from race, immigration, cultural exploration, and more.

DEI Days
Our next DEI day will be held on September 28, 2022.

Solebury also hosts the affinity clubs below...

Affinity Clubs

Biracial Buddies
An affinity group for students with mixed racial identities. The group was formed as a space for students who identify as multiracial, multicultural, multiethnic, or racially ambiguous to meet, discuss, and share experiences in their lives in and out of school.

Black Student Union (BSU)
An affinity group for students who identify as African Americans.
Advisors: Hadiyyah Graves and Keson Bullock-Brown

Intercultural Student Association
All international and domestic students are welcome to attend, meetings focus on how we can best share the diverse national backgrounds represented at Solebury School. A number of special events open to the entire school community are also planned by this organization.

LatinX
LatinX is one of the many affinity groups that Solebury School has to offer and is run by Jen and Dan Perez. LatinX is a safe space where anyone who identifies or is an ally to the community can come and just be together. In addition, as a club, we plan and organize fundraisers and cultural events such as coat drives or Day of the Dead cookie decorating to bring attention to issues we care about and to educate our Solebury community about our culture. Being able to be with people who understand your life experiences and in some cases have been through them too is just one of the many reasons that LatinX and all affinity groups are a crucial part of our community.   
Advisor: Maya Danner

Spectrum Club
Open to people of all sexual orientations, the club was created to  discuss and ensure safety and support on campus for all. We network with similar organizations at other schools, and we serve as activists for Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender causes.
Advisor: Stacie Anastasio

Blog & News

Diversity and Culture Share
Jeannette Eckhardt

Diversity and Culture Share is a new performing arts course for the winter trimester designed to celebrate the diversity of cultures represented by each person in our community. In this class, students will explore and exchange their personal stories and those of their ancestors through music, dance, poetry, song, and storytelling. The performance aspect will be cultivated from a regular practice of sharing with each other and will culminate with a music and dance concert at the end of the trimester. 

The Healing Path Forward
Tom Wilschutz

Human history is mostly evolutionary in its nature, punctuated by moments of life-altering revolutions. Upheaval and unrest are the engine of radical change—both positive and negative—for humans and the societies they create. Solebury students are now witnesses to such upheaval and unrest. A global pandemic has altered everything about how we work, learn, travel, vacation, eat, gather, recreate, interact, and on and on. Layered over this global threat, centuries of systemic racism that was built into the very fabric of our nation at its birth is being challenged in ways no American has ever seen.

For My Fellow Educators as We Move Forward Together
Gregory Lipscomb

In this moment, I think we educators have a powerful opportunity to impact the lives of our students, ourselves, and each other by creatively and thoughtful rethinking how and what we teach. Consider this: how can our course curriculums fully represent the diversity of human experiences and perspectives? In this moment, how can we make the Black voice more central?  It is not enough to simply include Black voices as I know many of you do…

Contact

If you'd like more information about any of the above, please email Maya Danner