Skip to main content

Mission-Driven Efforts to Promote an Inclusive Community with Dr. Derrick Gay



At Saint David's, we believe the development of compassion, kindness, and empathy builds and strengthens connection and belonging among all our boys--whatever their belief traditions, backgrounds, or family circumstances. In service of this imperative, Saint David's is in its sixth year of collaboration with Dr. Derrick Gay, an internationally recognized consultant on issues of Diversity and Inclusion, and Global Citizenship. These efforts to promote empathy, cultivate cultural competency, and deepen inclusion are grounded our school's mission and values, and in the shared values of our families. 

On Friday, Dr. Gay was the featured speaker at our Parents Association Meeting, giving parents an inside look at the work done during developmentally sound assemblies he leads with all grades. Dr. Gay shared some of the videos he screens in various classes to spark discussion, and provided strategies and approaches parents can also utilize at home. 


The approach taken in sessions is empathy-driven, focused on developing in boys the capacity to understand and care about the feelings of others and to appreciate each other's similarities and differences. Our mission's central ideas of "critical analysis" and "deliberate moral introspection" undergird discussion related to belonging and inclusion--whether the topic be "consequences of words or actions," "feeling left out," "identity," "hurtful jokes," or any other. During these sessions, boys are not told what to think or believe. Instead, kindness, fairness and moral action are stressed, and boys are encouraged to critically analyze and deliberately reflect upon the topics and scenarios. 

As Dr. Gay observed, his several years of collaboration with Saint David's have enabled the boys and him to know each other. This allows for a classroom environment of comfort in being candid and honest. In addition to conducting visits with students, he collaborates with Saint David's teachers on the empathy and inclusion elements of Sophrosyne, our Pre-K through Grade Eight social-emotional health and well-being program, and leads sessions for faculty and staff. We thank Dr. Gay for the work he does with our boys, faculty, and parents to promote our continued growth and development as an inclusive community in which all members feel recognized and valued for who they are. 

 

 

 

 

 


Popular posts from this blog

The Wisdom Within - A Matter of Trust

The Teaching Boys Initiative (TBI) is a cornerstone of Saint David’s School’s strategic vision, aimed at developing a robust framework of evidence-based best practices in boys’ education. The initiative’s primary goal is to empower educators with the knowledge, skills, habits, and dispositions of reflective practitioners, enhancing their professional growth and the overall quality of teaching and learning for boys.  In TBI's new quarterly blog series, "The Wisdom Within," our faculty share stories that inform, inspire, and encourage reflective practice using evidence-based approaches in teaching and learning for boys.  The following inaugural entry, "A Matter of Trust," was written by reflective practitioner and Master Teacher Tom Ryan, who has been inspiring generations of Saint David's boys for more than 53 years. A MATTER OF TRUST …but, I digress. I cannot possibly begin any writing piece, and/or class, without some digression that, as I have said to my s...

Jack Mullin '12 : Reflections on a Mom's Love

The Chapel talk tradition at Saint David's provides faculty and alumni with the opportunity to share with our boys meaningful and inspiring personal stories: their experiences, lessons learned, challenges overcome. The annual Fifth Grade Mother-Son Chapel gathers our fifth-grade boys and their mothers or mother figures for a special shared pre-Mother's Day experience; a Chapel Talk by a young alumnus who reflects upon the role his mother has played in his life. This year, we welcomed former Student Council President Jack Mullin '12. Jack's family has deep roots with school. His older brother Patrick graduated in '08 and his dad, Terry, in 1973. Jack's talk centered on the impact both his alma mater and his mother, Immy, have had on his development into the man he is today. Below are excerpts that I would like to share: "My family's multi-generational lineage is a testament to the incredible sense of community Saint David’s fosters, and I too hope I have...

Strong Values

You can feel it in the air: the indescribable yet readily recognizable excitement of the start of a new school year - in our boys, teachers, families, administrators, and staff. Below, I share excerpts from my opening letter that speak to our 2024-25 school-wide theme, "Strong Values:" "To-morrow I cease to be a puppet, and I become a boy like you and all the other boys."* We teach boys. That’s what we do. And we want our boys to think for themselves. And we want that thinking to be rooted in and guided by “strong values”—our school-wide theme this year, found in the last line of the mission’s second paragraph. In keeping with the school’s classical tradition, these strong values are shaped at Saint David’s by the cardinal and theological virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and courage, along with faith, hope, and charity. To many Western philosophers, possession of these virtues makes a person good, happy, and thriving. Something we want for all of our sons. ...