By Amy Golden-Shepherd, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Tower Hill Social Justice Department, now known as the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), has experienced growth in the 2024-2025 school year, building upon the tremendous efforts of the previous Directors of Social Justice, the division coordinators and the entire faculty and staff.
The new Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is staffed by unwaveringly passionate educators in all divisions—Jeannie Snyder in the preschool, Melinda Martin and Anna Elliott in the Lower School, Caroline Feldman in the Middle School, Andrew Brown in the Upper School, Anna Miller whose focus is religious and cultural holidays, and Molly Elton who co-facilitates the Seeking Educational Equity in Diversity (SEED) training program with All-School DEI Coordinator, Louise Cummings.
As the Director of DEI, I lead the team. My background is in early childhood and elementary education as well as state government administration, with a focus on equity and inclusion.
Framed by the three pillars of the strategic plan, and fueled by the faculty’s summer read, Never Enough, the Office of DEI is spending the year really getting to know the students, families, faculty and staff. We are listening
to the needs, hopes and dreams the community has to keep our school a warm and equitable learning institution, as well as a leader in truly inclusive Tots through 12 education.
Focusing on identity, kindness, empathy and inclusive history, each division has had memorable and engaging learning experiences, creating an environment where people feel comfortable listening-to-learn from others, as well as sharing their beliefs and what makes them who they are. We know that each of us creates diversity in our community.
In the preschool, students gathered to listen to stories and participate in activities about community, family, kindness and manners, and learn about holiday celebrations. Parents visited classrooms and shared important aspects of their identity and culture, creating a rich and immersive learning experience for all.
Lower School students learned about many aspects of identity including names, interests, abilities, culture and family. They also discussed the impact of words, and students agreed that they want to be positive influencers at Tower Hill.
The thread of identity awareness and the importance of names continued into Middle School as it successfully hosted another Leaning into Equity Awareness and Diversity (LEAD) conference for regional seventh and eighth grade students with a focus on the importance of names. The conversation was led by Dr. Javier Ávila. Students from Lancaster Country Day, Nativity Prep, Sanford, St. Anne’s, Tatnall and Tower Hill came together to share personal stories and learn from listening to the experiences of peers from neighboring schools.
Another achievement in Middle School has been the launch of our affinity group program. Affinity groups are voluntary safe spaces held once or twice a month for people with an identifier in common, usually a group that is underrepresented in the community. Students have enjoyed coming together for food, fun and fellowship. In our Community Conversations course at the beginning of the year, students were asked to write down the topics they wanted to learn about this school year. The top three responses were LGBTQ+ topics, race and gender equity in sports. Guest speakers this year included Delaware State representative DeShanna Neal, who shared about her experience raising her daughter, Trinity, Mr. Sonny Knott, who shared about his experience attending the segregated Hockessin Colored School #107C and speakers from STRIVE, who shared their knowledge regarding gender equity in sports.
The Upper School has been equally as active. The assembly docket has included topics such as microaggressions and overcoming their impact with micro affirmations, learning about the Lenape experience in Delaware from guest speaker Kesha Braunskill and inclusive history topics such as the Black History Month assembly recognizing the 2025 theme, African Americans and Labor, with a presentation delivered by Black Student Association students and faculty honoring the legacy of Black laborers. In December, four 10th and 11th graders had the opportunity to attend the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference. The conference was a moving experience for our attendees, opening their minds and hearts to the experiences of students from across the country and beyond.
DEI has also been woven into the experiences of adults in our community. With support from the administration, affinity groups have been launched for faculty and staff. This unique opportunity allows employees to encourage each other and share ideas across departments. Concurrently, new faculty and staff from all divisions are engaged in required SEED training each month throughout the school year. Topics have included: gender stories, oppression, systemic racism and class. In the fall, the College Counseling Office, in partnership with the Office of DEI and PAATH (Parents of African Americans at Tower Hill), held its annual HBCU Programming with a new twist—dinner and networking. This year’s panel was comprised of student facilitators, Bryce Twyman ’25 and Reagan Squire ’25 and panelists: Burgundi Allison ’97, Morgan State University ’01; Lorin Dale-Pierce, HBCU Week Chief of Staff; Jillian “JJ” James, JPMorganChase recruiter focused on HBCUs; Joyce Kasiama, Miss Junior and student life representative for Delaware State University; and Morgan Thornton, Admissions Counselor at Delaware State University. Stories shared by the panelists were well-received by attendees and the students were grateful for the connection.
In collaboration with our parent groups, PAATH and the Office of DEI celebrated Black History Month with a dinner recognizing Delaware’s important role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case and honoring the legacies of those who were directly involved.
The focus was on the Hockessin Colored School #107C, created in 1920 by Pierre S. du Pont. The legacy of the nearly 90 schools created by Mr. du Pont is enduring and his efforts had a tremendous impact on the educational experiences of students and entire communities in Delaware. In addition, we recognized the foresight, discernment and bravery of Chancellor Seitz, who had the courage to declare that segregated schools were in fact not equal, making Delaware a leader in the fight to end school segregation.
That evening, there was a screening of the documentary, Return to Hockessin Colored School No. 107C and a panel discussion with Mr. Sonny Knott, a former student of the very first class at #107C in 1937, Tower Hill Board Chair Benjamin duPont ’82, and current board members of the Historic Hockessin Colored School, William Allen, MBA, Dr. Ray Blackwell, Dr. David Wilk and Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz, Jr. ’76.
DISTINCT has held two community meetings. The first gave parents the opportunity to share their experiences raising children who are neurodivergent, and the second gave parents the opportunity to share about the experiences of children in the LGBTQ+ community. Both sessions were well attended and greatly appreciated by participants.
The Office of DEI is just gearing up and greatly
looking forward to the community connections and learning opportunities to come in the remainder of the school year.
