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St. Patrick’s is committed to the ideals of equity and diversity in all aspects of our program and community—in our curriculum, student body, and faculty and staff. We make this commitment clear in our Mission Statement, which closes with the assertion, “Through our efforts within a Christian community we enable children of all races, creeds, and cultural backgrounds to achieve wholeness in their intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual, and physical lives, in the present and well into the future” and in our ongoing effort to become a more diverse and inclusive community.
On a daily basis, St. Patrick’s students partake of a curriculum that fosters understanding of themselves and others, emphasizes the value of seeing issues from multiple points of view, and develops critical thinking about bias. Whether in a Grade 5 study of the Harlem Renaissance, a Grade 2 investigation of Plains Indian culture, a Grade 8 service learning project, a Kindergarten exploration of Mexico, or a focus on anti-bias in play and learning that begins in our Nursery School, curricular areas are crafted to challenge, embrace, and support all members of our community.
The St. Patrick’s Equity Committee (formed in January 1994 as the Diversity and Multicultural Committee) brings together faculty members with a focus on motivating and monitoring the school’s progress toward the equity goals that flow naturally from the school’s Mission Statement. St. Patrick’s faculty members regularly attend workshops and lectures, participate in community forums and discussion groups, and set specific equity goals. They are supported in this important work by the Day School’s Board of Trustees and its Equity Committee and by the St. Patrick’s Parents Association and its Equity Liaison officer.