By Dr. Ed Castro, Music Faculty and EICL Co-Coordinator and Bess McKinney, Social Science Faculty and EICL Co-Coordinator

One Afternoon in late May, twenty or so students gathered in the LPC, sat together, ate pupusas, Chakri, and fried chicken, and talked about how being a part of EPS affinity groups had changed their year for the better. Then, as we cleaned up and music played, some students danced. Not all together, not in a high school dance kind of way, but in a moment that felt like an expression of joy. As Maya Angelou said, “[w]e need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” That need for each other—for community—was evident on that May afternoon. And was a reminder that for all of us at Eastside Prep—students, faculty and staff, parents, and guardians—to feel a part of the community and thus feel that they can and want to engage, we all need to have spaces where we belong in all of who we are. Creating those spaces is a central part of equity, inclusion, and compassionate leadership work. If we are to not only engage but also lead compassionately, we must feel fully included, invited into, and part of the community. That work is evident in our student and faculty-staff affinity groups, in our Culture Night, and in our plans for new family nights next year. And, importantly, it was student engagement—indeed, student compassionate leadership—that created or inspired all these spaces and events.

Student affinity groups came out of student initiative and a desire to create more community at EPS, and in the 2022-23 school year took full root with student leadership. After EPS students participated in affinity groups at the National Association of Independent Schools’ Student Diversity Leadership Conference, they came back passionate about establishing these spaces of community at EPS. In 2022-23, students stepped into leadership roles in these groups, and they became spaces of true community. The Black Student Union, South Asian Affinity Group, Latine Affinity Group, GLAM (Gay, Lesbian and More Affinity Group), and others are all groups that offer thirty minutes out of students’ days to help them hear their own voices, celebrate joy, share stories and laughter, talk about common challenges, and feel a sense of community.

IF WE ARE TO NOT ONLY ENGAGE BUT ALSO LEAD COMPASSIONATELY, WE MUST FEEL FULLY INCLUDED, INVITED INTO, AND PART OF THE COMMUNITY.

Building community is also at the heart of our Culture Night. Since its inception, Culture Night at EPS has been a student-initiated and student-led event. Students envisioned a night where we gather to celebrate all the different cultures and backgrounds that make up our vibrant community, through food, music, images, stories, games, and conversation. They worked hard to create the first Culture Night (which occurred online in spring 2021), and then executed the first in-person event the next year. It has become a tradition that many parents, guardians, students, faculty, and staff have noted feels like it is built for all of us—a space to engage with the EPS community where everyone feels seen. Students at EPS are key to growing inclusion in our community engagement.

On another day earlier this school year, another group of students gathered in a TALI classroom over lunch to draft an amendment to the Student Leadership Council’s Constitution, adding Equity, Inclusion, and Compassionate Leadership Coordinators. EPS students continue to push us to think about ways to create a richer, more inclusive sense of community, one that has avenues for all of us to be engaged. And we, adults and educators at EPS, continue to think about what we know our community needs to grow and evolve—to continue to create community in which every
member can engage.

STUDENTS ENVISIONED A NIGHT WHERE WE GATHER TO CELEBRATE ALL THE DIFFERENT CULTURES AND BACKGROUNDS THAT MAKE UP OUR VIBRANT COMMUNITY, THROUGH FOOD, MUSIC, IMAGES, STORIES, GAMES, AND CONVERSATION.

This continued evolution is particularly true given our dedication to a diverse EPS, as set out in the Strategic Priorities. A more diverse EPS is a better EPS. As Ken Robinson, the author and education scholar said, “human communities depend upon a diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability. And at the heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and intelligence.” And, diversity is a fact. Inclusion, on the other hand, requires action. Ensuring that a more diverse EPS is a more inclusive EPS requires us to lay the groundwork now for those who will join our community. We, in our roles as EICL Co-Coordinators, together with the Senior Leadership Team and the Well-Being Group at EPS, continue to brainstorm how to lead inclusion efforts—inspired by our students’ engagement and compassionate leadership. In the 2022-23 school year, this meant spending significant time in Program Development Days discussing what EPS culture is and is not, how to make it more inclusive, and how to foster a greater sense of belonging in the day-to-day of school—in classrooms and hallways. This coming year, we will look to engage in these conversations with parents and guardians more fully. On October 10, we will have an Upper School New Families Night to discuss EPS culture and well-being. Following this event, on January 24, we will host an EICL Family Night for all parents and guardians to further explore
who we all are and how we contribute to the EPS community.

The EPS community has witnessed remarkable transformations and growth over the past twenty years. As the school navigates through a substantial transition and looks to the next twenty, we also have the opportunity to engage further and fully in creating environments where students, staff, and faculty, regardless of their background or circumstances, feel fully part of the community, able and excited to engage.