BELONGING AT SMH
Our learning community at Saint Mary’s Hall is intentionally—and authentically—diverse.
To achieve our goal of sending off confident graduates prepared for college and the world, it is essential that our students learn how to understand varied backgrounds and perspectives, examine biases and understandings, and develop empathy. These competencies are increasingly critical in a changing, ever more diverse world. Our diverse community creates dynamic opportunities for engaging in challenging conversations, practicing the skills of civil discourse, and internalizing the habits of heart and mind that lead to self-awareness. We believe that education for today’s world, therefore, is best done within a community of belonging.
Our Commitment
To advance this mission, SMH commits to viewing our programs and practices through a lens that promotes conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through these conversations, we aim to cultivate empathy to understand human differences and similarities in developmentally appropriate ways. We seek to create an environment where we can safely speak about our beliefs and simultaneously demonstrate appreciation for the perspectives of others. We endeavor to respect family values, facilitate critical thinking, and nurture connectedness. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where every student feels a deep sense of acceptance and belonging, and therefore thrive in everything they pursue academically, athletically, artistically, and socially.
In 2018, through our strategic planning process, our community asked us to develop programming to support all students and specifically recognize the need to support under-represented students. Today, we are actively listening, learning, and sharing and the many conversations that continue in our community are essential to strengthening our great school.
For more information, email belonging@smhall.org.