Lessons Learned from SDLC

Via Stuart Country Day School

In December, the School’s six student representatives participated in a national meeting called the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), where students from different racial and cultural backgrounds gathered from around the U.S. to discuss building a community and designing effective strategies for social justice.

While coming back, The School’s student ambassadors expressed their love for the trip. They raved about the deep connections they made, valuable experiences gained, and, most importantly, a changed stance on the School’s teachings. Senior Ishmael Gossett-Salahudeen elaborated, saying, “I wanted it to be longer, and it was good to meet so many new people of color (POC) from across the country.” 

Although the School does a solid job of bringing people of diverse backgrounds together, the students who went to SDLC learned about ways the School can improve. Sophomore Eva Muhl explains, “We need better teacher diversity at this school. All of our English and History teachers are mostly white, and it would be helpful if we had a diverse teacher selection for controversial subjects.” Gosset-Salahudeen also elaborated on English and History classes, saying that “the Just having trigger warnings over sensitive topics isn’t enough. We need to also have a stronger History department because we can’t just slap a sensitive label on it[certain topics] and not teach the rest.”

One crucial understanding from the conference was the distinct characteristics of different environments that foster individuals from diverse backgrounds. Muhl explained that she “learned a lot about school curriculums and how we can and should integrate diversity education into the curriculum, such as covering topics like cultural awareness and social justice.” Similarly, junior Millie Moon discussed her struggles in reaching out to culturally diverse teachers by explaining how “there are some diverse teachers at the School, but it would be helpful to have them be more accessible to kids who need them. I feel like I didn’t know where Ms. Strong was until she told me. I think making teachers of color more accessible to students if they need that support system is necessary.” Having systems that support diversity such as with teachers is vital in assisting students like Millie who want it.

Overall, the SDLC meeting positively impacted students, as they fostered essential connections with peers and ultimately changed their stance on the School’s diversity efforts. Students now value diversity in leadership and education. Additionally, the attendees appreciate conversing with other students from different backgrounds.