About Friends

Inclusion and Belonging at Friends

Core to Quakerism is honoring that of God in everyone, and this belief informs all that we do at WFS. When individuals feel respected, heard, and included, they have an opportunity to reach their fullest potential. As is true with many beliefs, embracing an ideal is certainly critical to its fruition, but its achievement can be evolutionary and complex. 

List of 2 items.

  • Events and Programs

    Highlights
    Below are some highlights of some of our DEI-Related Programming and Events throughout the school year. 
     
    Lower School
    • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and peace march
    • Inventions unit in 2nd grade highlighting underrepresented inventors
    • Immigration unit and corresponding field trip to NYC in 5th grade
    • Highlighting People of Color and diversity of religious thought and celebrations during Lower School gathering throughout the school year.
    • Service activities including Food on Fridays food drive and annual Mitten Tree
    • Concerts featuring diverse composers, themes and with a focus on student input
     Middle School
    • DEI Skits in collections several times a year with performances by staff/students regarding various DEI topics
    • International Day of Peace/Diversity Day
    • Potluck Dinner with middle school Boys of Color and Sisters of Color Groups joint with US Black Student Union
    • 7th grade trip to Holocaust Museum in DC
    • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Meeting for Worship and collection
    • Black History Month collection and activities
    • Advisory units including, but not limited to: ableism, religious diversity, privilege, LGBTQ+, cultural competency and perspectives
    • Meeting for Worship queries and collections throughout the year to recognize MLK Day, Black History Month, AAPI Heritage Month, and other DEI related topics
    • Service Days/Trips for each grade
    • Concerts featuring diverse composers, themes and with a focus on student input
    Upper School
    • Diversity Orientation for incoming 9th graders and new students
    • Service Day for 9-11 grades
    • Opportunities for students to attend various diversity leadership conferences
    • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of celebration speaker and workshops
    • Activities to celebrate AAPI Heritage month and Black History Month
    • Meeting for worship queries and collections to recognize MLK Day, Black History Month, AAPI Heritage Month and other DEI related topics
    • School sleepovers (Lock-ins) for affinity groups
    • Gender Sexuality Alliance Day of Silence
    • Concerts featuring diverse composers, themes and with a focus on student input

    Faculty and Staff
     
    • ADVIS Cultural Competency Institute included as professional development for new faculty
    • SEED cohorts (Seeking Education Equity and Diversity)
    • Ongoing divisional and all school professional development opportunities
    • Opportunities for national conferences such as People of Color Conference

    Families
    • Events sponsored by the Engagement, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee

  • Student Groups

    Clubs and Committees
    Many of our student clubs and committees in middle and upper school have a DEI focus. Most clubs take place once a week during the school year. Clubs are student-led and supported by a faculty member. 
     
    WFS recognizes the need for students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and girls to gather in a safe space to discuss issues specific to their shared experience, and to have a space where they can be themselves free of any judgment. To that end, some of our student groups are affinity groups--a gathering of students who all have a particular shared identity. 
     
    Middle School Student Groups with an identity focus
    AAPI Lunch Group
    Gender Sexuality Alliance
    Jewish Student Affinity Group
    Boys of Color
    Sisters of Color
     
    Upper School Student Groups with an identity focus
    Asian Student Union
    Black Student Union
    Female Athletic Advocacy
    FIND (Friends Identifying as Neurodivergent)
    Gender Sexuality Alliance
    Italian Heritage Club
    Modern Women
    Spanish Club
    STEMinist
    Women of Color
Creating an inclusive and equitable culture at WFS for all individuals is something we have always regarded as critical work, but in the past several years have renewed a more focused initiative to better understand the extent to which this culture exists, and the extent to which it doesn’t. 

In the 2022-2023 school year, using the results from an immersive climate assessment as a foundation, the Diversity Steering Committee and the Administrative Team created and approved a path forward for the school’s DEIJB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging) work: DEIJB Vision Priorities and Action. This work has been affirmed by the School’s Board of Trustees. This plan consists of overarching goals, objectives, and action steps that we believe are most needed by our students and school community at this time. While we have prioritized and outlined a series of next steps to take in the upcoming three years, we recognize that this work is never truly complete. We also recognize that these action steps may evolve with time.


    

Our Goals

List of 5 items.

  • Ensure just outcomes and equal access in WFS policies and practices

    Objectives:
    • Perform a thorough review of WFS policies, processes and outcomes for discipline in each division.  
    • Perform a review of the WFS admissions process. Identify opportunities to maintain and/or increase the percentage of applicants of color.
    • Complete an audit of IB curriculum and IB diploma program every 5 years. 
    • Complete an annual review of the hiring process. Identify additional recruitment pathways to broaden and diversify the applicant pool and include anti-bias training for all people involved in the hiring process.
    • Complete a thorough review of WFS handbooks, policies, publications, and social media through a DEIJB lens.

  • Increase Quaker and DEIJB programming for families and alumni

    Objectives
    • Increase opportunities for families to learn about the school’s mission and Quakerism.
    • Provide opportunities for families to grow their own DEIJB understanding, cultural competence and responsiveness. 
    • Establish affinity groups for parents/guardians/families.
    • Identify pathways to diversify the alumni board and increase involvement with alumni of color. Identify pathways to engage alumni of color in school events and volunteer opportunities.

  • Review and strengthen curriculum and programming for students

    Objectives:
    • Complete an audit of curriculum from a DEIJB lens every 5 years. 
    • Review WFS service learning program and its connection to curriculum and mission. Identify alumni to connect with as well.
    • Create clear pathways and support for students to pursue DEIJB leadership
    • Assess and strengthen advisory programs for middle and upper school. Develop  similar programming for LS students (affinity, SEL, etc.). 
    • Develop and implement annual programming in each division that reviews current awareness of what constitutes bullying, harassment, cyberbullying, and hate speech.

  • Strengthen DEIJB growth opportunities for all employees and trustees

    Objectives:
    • ​​Increase DEIJB professional development and DEIJB responsibilities for all administrators, department chairs, and the board of trustees.  
    • Provide ongoing meaningful opportunities for all faculty/staff to participate in consistent DEIJB-related activities and professional development. Develop opportunities for faculty/staff to become DEIJB leaders inside and outside of the WFS community.
    • Review evaluation procedures for all employees and include DEIJB engagement as an expectation in admin/faculty/staff evaluation.
    • Create programming for faculty to reflect on how to create a more inclusive classroom and curriculum.

  • Strive for equity, inclusion and belonging for all

    Objectives:
    • Increase the number of affinity/alliance groups in each division and strengthen their effectiveness and promote awareness. 
    • Establish affinity/alliance groups for faculty/staff.
    • Create DEIJB committees for students to discuss issues/curriculum/programming/policy/events from a student perspective. 
    • Routinely assess the physical, emotional and social needs of marginalized groups within the WFS community.
    • Review aspects of school life and programs/events for students and alumni from a DEIJB perspective, with a focus on social class. Explore and propose more inclusive and cost-effective alternatives where needed



    

Steering Committee

Our all-school committee, clerked by the Director of Equity, Justice, Community, and Engagement, collaborates to implement and support the school's initiatives related to creating and sustaining a diversity, equitable, and inclusive community.

Erica Childs, Director of Equity, Justice, Community, and Engagement (clerk)
Ken Aldridge, Head of  School
Melissa Brown, Director of Admissions
Tina DiSabatino, Assistant Director of Development
Aminah Finney, Lower School Learning Coordinator
Eddie Gallagher, Assistant Head of School for Academics
Logan Goodwin, MS Dean of  Student Life
Jon Huxtable, Head of MS
Danielle Litterelle, MS/US Counselor
Chris Loeffler, Head of LS
Patrick McKinley, LS Teacher, LS Diversity Committee Clerk
J.R Neiswender, Head of US
Peter Tinaglia, US Mathematics, US Diversity Committee Clerk
 
Additionally, the lower school, middle school, and upper school each have their own diversity committee or task force to oversee initiatives in each division.
101 School Road, Wilmington, DE 19803
302.576.2900   |   info@wilmingtonfriends.org
Preschool - 12th Grade
Statement of Nondiscrimination as to Student Enrollment
Wilmington Friends School admits students of any race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of these schools. Wilmington Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.