St. Margaret’s once again had a large delegation attend the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual People of Color Conference and adjacent Student Diversity Leadership Conference, both of which took place last week in Denver. 

 

The PoCC and SDLC events are the flagship of NAIS’s commitment to equity and justice in teaching, learning, and sustainability for independent schools. St. Margaret’s had 27 adults and six Upper School students travel to Denver, where they took part in workshops, affinity spaces, listened to keynote speakers and built community among 6,000 educators and 1,500 students from independent schools across the country. 

 

Seven St. Margaret’s educators also took on leadership roles at the conference, organizing workshops that each had more than 80 attendees. They included: 

 

 

Among the 33 Tartans at PoCC, which had a theme of “Meeting the Moment: Anchoring and Enriching Our Education Futures,” were educators from every division at St. Margaret’s as well as counselors, administrators and Breakthrough SJC leadership. 

 

In addition, six Upper School seniors who are part of the Tartan Inclusion and Diversity Education (TIDE) student leadership group attended the SDLC, which focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies and building community. The theme of this year’s SDLC was “Lifting As We Climb: Elevating Our Schools Through Love and Justice.” 

 

St. Margaret’s has been part of the People of Color Conference for many years, advancing St. Margaret’s work around its Core Value of Equity and Inclusion, which states “We embrace and celebrate the identity of every human being, and advocate for equity, inclusion and justice.”