Drew School's Commitment to Equity and Social Impact

The Drew community recently participated in a series of impactful and thought-provoking events centered around equity and social impact. On October 28, a group of our community members, including alums, parents, teachers, trustees, students, and administrators, attended the Culture of Belonging conference developed by Pollyanna and hosted by the San Francisco Friends School. The day commenced with an inspiring keynote address by Jamil Zaki, a renowned Stanford Professor and the author of The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World. Following the keynote, our Drew representatives engaged with community members from San Francisco area independent schools. This was followed by a student panel that included one of our Drew students. The students shared their insights and experiences in independent school education with their teachers, parents, and peers. At the end of the day, our Drew group reconvened to discuss how best to foster an atmosphere of inclusion, unity, and belonging within our school.

On November 1st, Drew continued coalition-building within the Bay Area School Community. Students from the Shanti Alliance, Drew's social justice leadership group, joined forces with their Crystal Springs Uplands School peers to participate in a workshop dedicated to pursuing equity and belonging within our respective school environments. As part of their time together, the students explored this year’s Shanti Alliance theme: Stories We Inherit, Stories We Pass Down, Stories that Inspire Change. 

On campus, Latinos Unidos, Drew’s student-led affinity group for Latino identifying students, constructed a vibrant altar in our lobby in honor of Dia de los Muertos. The altar, adorned with papel picado crafted by Drew students during our campus-wide Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, paid homage to influential leaders from the Latino community. 

At Drew, we are immensely grateful for the dedication and engagement of our remarkable community. Together, we continue to foster an environment where equity and belonging are at the heart of our shared journey.

In Service to our Community, 

Alain Sykes, Ph.D.

Dean of Equity and Social Impact