Racial Equity
& Accountability
We understand that social justice is at once a process and a goal requiring both the capacity to envision the world we wish to see and the conviction and commitment to build it.
At Nueva, our vision for that future world is rooted in the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who boldly declared, “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”
This concept of the Beloved Community frames all of our equity and inclusion work at Nueva as we seek to make the changes—individual, institutional, and ideological—we need to fully embody Dr. King’s vision of a world “tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”
Our institutional commitment to anti-racism is an extension of the work of building the Beloved Community. Considering the profound ways in which we are interconnected also requires us to examine in what ways we inhibit, deny, or break those connections due to our perpetuation of multiple systems of oppression. This examination of ourselves is both painful and powerful as we peel back the layers of pedagogy, practice, systems, and structures that have enabled some students to thrive and other students to struggle. That struggle manifests in multiple ways—from a sense of isolation to not seeing oneself reflected in the curriculum to microaggressions and outright discrimination—and is deeply impactful on the social, emotional, and psychological health of our students and faculty of color.
As we continue on this path and process of quantitative and qualitative change, we find ourselves grappling with profound questions of purpose and praxis:
- How do we create an abiding sense of belonging for every member of our community?
- How do we decenter whiteness in favor of the rich and varied complexity of our multiracial and multicultural community?
- How do we respond to harm while embracing the capacity of each of us to transform?
Our work for years to come is to find our way to the answers of these questions.
As Maya Angelou said, 'Do the best you can until you know better. And once you know better, do better.'
The spirit of her words describes Nueva’s iterative approach perfectly—we investigate and change accordingly. Clearly, now that we see the pernicious effects of racism within our community, it is the Nueva way to do better.
– Lee Fertig, Head of School
Our Nueva community—faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni—is working collectively to take concrete actions toward being an anti-racist institution. Like organizations all over the United States, we have been complicit in regards to issues of systemic oppression. We know that we have critical work to do. We are committed to being an anti-racist organization—one in which we all develop a comprehensive understanding of how racism and oppression operate—and to dismantling racism within Nueva and in our larger community.
Click on the images below to learn more.
The Task Force on Racial Equity and Accountability
The Nueva Board of Trustees has created a task force to help elevate the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)–with a specific focus on the Black community. The task force is working alongside the Nueva Social Justice and Equity Team, as well as administration, faculty and staff, students, the Nueva Parents’ Association, the African American Affinity group, the board of trustees, and others.
Thanks and Giving (November 20)
Learn by Doing, Learn by Caring: Never More Important! (August 28)
Reaffirmation of Our Anti-racist Commitment (August 26)
Elevating Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (August 7)
The philosophy in early childhood education is to combine subject areas. We don’t say, ‘This is math time,’ or ’This is writing time.’ We combine many subject areas. I think it’s the same with anti-bias and antiracist education. We don’t have ‘anti-racist time.’
— David Robinson, preK teacher
At our core, Nueva is dedicated to possibility, creative potential, and the power of human empathy. What better time than now to imagine who we want to be and who we want to become as we confront the challenges that lie before us?
– Alegria Barclay, preK–12 director of social justice and equity
I think it's really incredible that Science of Mind is a class in Nueva. A class devoted to talking about injustices is really powerful. I'm grateful that it exists so that we have experience talking about these issues.
– Kaden K. '24
The fact that we have committed to having all of the Lit Club books be related to anti-racism, social justice, and building tolerance is huge. This is a very tangible way I see the school committed to anti-racism in our practices and in our teaching.”
– Sam Modest, Lit Club facilitator and sixth-grade humanities teacher
We want to provide students with mirrors and windows: stories that offer all of our students, especially our students of color, a chance to see their own cultures and identities reflected, as well as stories that allow students a view into someone else’s experience.
– Erin Longo, third-grade teacher
I want my students to learn that from a mechanistic level, the best way to approach conversations around race is through kindness and empathy, because it doesn’t provoke the anxiety system in our brains.
– Luke De, upper school biology teacher