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.

Resilience in the Teaching of Languages

Above: The Nerf microphone ball enables boys learning remotely to hear their classmates well. The pandemic has challenged educators to reinvent and reimagine units of study to keep learning engaging, regardless of how it is delivered. The following article, written for Saint David’s Magazine by our Modern Languages Chair Dr. Victoria Gilbert and Lower School Spanish teacher Flor Berman, addresses how this was done in the Spanish immersion language program at Saint David's. Ms. Berman and Dr. Gilbert, recipient of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers' Ruth E. Wasley Distinguished Teacher Award, presented on the topic at NYSAIS’s Flexible Classroom Conference last summer. How Spanish Classes Have Bounced Back Resiliency implies an ability to bounce back, but as teachers working with the youngest learners in the school, we would reframe resiliency as the opportunity to reimagine. Whether boys are learning through a face-to-face experience or through the med

The Role of Faith in Social-Emotional Learning and Psychological Well-Being

The following article by our School Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine : During one of my first observations in a Saint David’s classroom 15 years ago, I witnessed two first grade boys in a verbal altercation. Although it was contained just between the two boys, their observant teacher had them talk it through and then shake hands on being in a better place for having done so. I was very impressed, and still am, with this approach that the school takes many times throughout the day. It helps establish a firm idea of how to behave, especially in social situations where emotions can be stirred and run high. Through this experience repeated consistently day in and day out, better, more productive ways of engaging become increasingly integrated by the boys as they develop socially and emotionally in interaction with each other. As the School Psychologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about the touch points for student and t

Storytelling Demonstrates Understanding

Their time had arrived. As the lights dimmed in our Otto-Bernstein Theatre, the astrophysicists, a mix of jitters and excitement, awaited their opportunity to share insights and stories about the workings of the universe. Which planets might support life? Is there water on Mars? What are Dwarf Planets? "Let's take a look at our closest neighbor, Venus," invited one presenter, before revealing that the planet - while ideal in proximity - has surface temperatures of 900 degrees F: "Imagine - standing on the surface would be like being burned alive!" Later that same day, in our Graham lunchroom, early 20th century immigrants of all ages from Italy, China, Ireland, Russia, among other countries, waited, with hope and determination, their turn to be interviewed for admittance to America. It wasn't going to be easy. They would be asked pointed, potentially life-altering questions by various processors. "What's that cough? It doesn't sound good,&qu

David O'Halloran, Headmaster - Saint David's School, New York City

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