16. Equity and Inclusion: Diversity

Current efforts to enrich the community through diversity aim to create an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all.

The diversity among students currently enjoyed at Dalton has antecedents in the earliest days of the school; at its founding, there was interest in creating a community comprising students of different backgrounds. Jewish families were a significant presence at Dalton during the early twentieth century when many independent schools enrolled few, if any, Jewish students.

A decade before Brown vs Board of Education, Dalton recruited several Black students whose families were professionals and the school employed Black teaching assistants to facilitate the children’s transition. In 1968, the school recruited a small cohort of Black and Puerto Rican children from families in need of full tuition assistance. These students shared a neighborhood, which, along with the addition of a social worker, was meant to offer increased supports. Unfortunately, most of these students did not remain at Dalton, perhaps because more far-reaching institutional transformation remained elusive. Nevertheless, students of color continued to enroll at Dalton during the late 1900s, contributing to the community and going on to lead successful lives.

Beginning in 1995, administrators, faculty, and families combined forces to cultivate a critical mass of students of color. Additionally, there emerged the broader goal of diversifying both the student body and the faculty. Current efforts to enrich the community give attention not only to race and ethnicity but also to ability, neighborhood, parent occupation, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background. Of course, diversity alone is insufficient; our aim is to create a learning environment in which all members feel included and able to participate on equitable footing.
—Lisa Yvette Waller, PhD, Assistant Head of School for Progressive and Inclusive Practice