About
Equity and Justice
Saint Andrew’s School is committed to the ongoing development of a culture that honors diversity and affirms the essential dignity of each member of our community. It is among our highest responsibilities to make our school a place that is safe and welcoming for all.
Core to OUR Foundation
We believe that the pursuit of equity and justice is core to the foundation of who we are as a school and central to our educational mission as an Episcopal School and member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools.
We seek to help young people develop cross-cultural communication skills and empathetic understanding across differences of age, ability, family makeup, socioeconomic status, culture, religion, sexuality, gender, language, national origin, and ethnicity. We intend that all members of our community--faculty, staff, students, and families alike--will value civil discourse and service to others, and we hope to graduate students prepared, as their circumstances may demand, to act with moral courage.
Partnerships and Activities
The Saint Andrew’s School strategic plan showcases the school’s commitment to the principles of equity and justice as guided by our partnerships with the National Association of Independent School (NAIS) and the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES).
Belonging
"Each and every day, from the moment I step on campus, I am greeted by a warm and welcoming community. The teachers and staff go above and beyond to create a safe and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respect."
-Sophie Bogen, Upper School Student
Partnership with NAIS
“NAIS schools value the representation and full engagement of individuals within our communities whose differences include—but are not limited to—age, ethnicity, family makeup, gender identity and expression, learning ability, physical ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.
NAIS welcomes and celebrates the diversity of our member schools. We expect member schools to create and sustain diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just communities that are safe and welcoming for all.
We recognize that to do so requires commitment, reflection, deliberate planning and action, and ongoing accountability.”
Partnership with NAES
“Today’s Episcopal schools are populated by a rich variety of human beings from increasingly diverse dimensions of identity and religious, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Episcopal schools are places that affirm these differences as sources of strength that build up common life, deepen our common humanity, and enhance the intellectual, social, spiritual, and moral development of all students. This mandate was succinctly expressed in Goal Four of the NAES 2012 Strategic Plan: to “articulate a core religious identity within the context of our multi-religious and inclusive Episcopal school communities by promoting values of justice, equity, service, civil discourse, and moral courage.”
Committee on Equity and Justice
Formed in 2018, the Saint Andrew’s School Committee on Equity and Justice is charged with ensuring a school climate and culture that respects, affirms, and protects the dignity and worth of each member of its community.
The purpose of the Committee is to create schoolwide and divisional ownership of strategic initiatives related to equity and justice. The Committee is composed of individuals who, by virtue of their roles within the school, have the training, authority, and support needed to influence key areas of policy development, decision making, budget, and management.
Saint Andrew’s School is aligned with the Principles of Good Practice on Equity and Justice as outlined by the National Association of Independent School (NAIS) and National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES).
“When love is the way, there’s plenty of room for all of God’s children. When love is the way, we actually treat each other, well, like we are actually family.”
-- Bishop Michael Curry
27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church