The Lower, Middle, and Upper School Multicultural Teams consist of faculty and staff who come together to learn about identity development through book or article discussions. These professional learning groups support the Pingry School’s Mission Statement of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and belonging by developing cultural competency skills and helping us to create a more inclusive school community. In the Lower and Middle Schools, the Multicultural Teams also support student-centered programming.

Pingry faculty are strongly encouraged to engage in professional development on a regular basis. The expectation for continued skill development extends to Diversity and Cultural Competence. Support in the form of time and financial resources is generously provided for attendance at professional conferences. In addition to NJAIS local conferences and workshops, faculty and staff have attended the following: Center for Racial Justice in Education, Raising Race Conscious Children, the GSA Forum, the National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) People of Color Conference, the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, and the White Privilege Conference.

At Pingry, we recognize that the work of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging belongs to everyone. In addition to the School's partnership with Blink Consulting on a series of school-wide educational talks, every year, every employee engages in on-campus DEIB-related professional development and in-service days, the themes of which include:

• Owning Antiracism at Pingry (an introduction to antiracism)
• Building Baseline Fluency of DEIB Terms with the DEIB Team (microaggressions: how to  spot and then interrupt them; privilege; antiracism)
• Book discussion: How to be an Antiracist, by Ibram Kendi
• Antiracism in Practice
• School-wide discussion: Why is DEIB Important at Pingry?

Our People Operations Team is always on the lookout for talented and motivated educators and professionals. Pingry understands the value of students seeing themselves reflected in the faculty and staff who steward their social, academic, and athletic growth. Our People Operations team has welcomed a number of highly experienced, qualified, innovative, and stand-out faculty and staff members with diverse experiences and backgrounds to help us drive key strategies and initiatives. We are committed to continuing to identify and hire talented and diverse faculty and staff. Pingry is committed to providing anti-bias training for all hiring managers and employees frequently involved in hiring decisions.

Affinity Groups have been part of Pingry’s culture for several years. These spaces bring together people around a common identifier such as gender, religion, race, and ethnicity. The groups gather to talk about experiences common to their shared identifier for affirmation and to build community. Pingry supports Affinity Groups for students, parents, alumni, and employees. 

Affinity Groups for faculty and staff include:

• Pingry Employees of Color

• Black Employees of Pingry

• LGBTQ+ Employees of Pingry

• Jewish Employees Affinity Group

An Affinity Group is a gathering of people who share an identity (i.e., race, gender, family status, religion, etc.). Affinity Groups provide time and space for participants to reflect, share experiences, share resources, and celebrate their identities. Although individuals in the group share an identifier, not everyone may share the same experiences.

Affinity Groups are available to our Upper and Middle School students and they may join any group with which they identify. These groups are designed to be safe spaces for students to learn more about their various identities and to discuss their questions, comments, and concerns with other students who share that same identity. Affinity groups meet twice a month in the Upper School and are led by students and faculty who share the identifier. In the Middle School, affinity groups meet each week. 

Our Affinity Groups are offered based on racial/ethnic identities (Black/African-American, Latinx/Hispanic-American, White/European American, East Asian-American, South Asian-American, Middle Eastern, and Multiracial), religious identities (Muslim, Christian, Jewish), gender identities (boys and girls), and LGBTQ+ student affinity group.

 Middle School students may choose to participate in one of seven affinity groups: Asian, South Asian, Latinx, Black, White allyship, Gender and Sexual Orientation Alliance and Affinity Group, and a Jewish student affinity group.

The advisory program provides workshops—designed by our faculty Multicultural Teams for Grades K-5 and 6-12—for students to hone their skills of cultural competency. 

Lower School cultural competency programming focuses on social-emotional learning, self-awareness, and social impact through the lens of developing our school community. 

Middle School advisory programming delves deeper into cultural identifiers, including ethnicity, race, and age (Grade 6); ability and religion (Form I); and gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status (Form II).

Upper School advisory programming centers around the intersectionality of identifiers as well as the impact of privilege, power, biases, and microaggressions.

Pingry’s Upper School Student Unions are open to anyone in the community to join their classmates to learn about the experiences and cultures of the sponsor organization. These groups invite students into conversations, hold informative (and fun) events, and sometimes cross-collaborate. Pingry has four student unions:

• Black Student Union
• Asian Student Union
• Latino Student Union
• Gender and Sexuality Alliance

A valued resource within the school community, The Student Diversity Leadership Committee is a selective leadership opportunity for Upper School students who create cultural competency programs and deliver training to other Pingry students during selected advisory periods. The SDLC also goes off campus to work with other schools who may not be equipped to teach cultural competency.

Among its initiatives, SDLC has collaborated with Pingry’s Honor Board and Peer Leadership group to highlight how skills of cultural competency impact leadership in those areas. SDLC also works through the advisory program, visiting advisory groups throughout the year to hold discussions about inclusivity and belonging. Members of SDLC have attended the People of Color Conference and other diversity trainings. 

Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network offers programs and training
opportunities designed to empower LGBTQ+ and allied students to organize and advocate for a safer school community. GSA leaders attend the GSA Forum and other diversity workshops and conferences.

The Pingry Allyship Collective’s mission is “To create, promote, and facilitate an environment that encourages productive diversity-related discussions among all members of the Pingry community.” This group was originally composed of the student leaders of Diversity-centered clubs and groups, and has expanded to include any Upper School student who wants to participate.

In August 2020, The Pingry School began to examine, evaluate, and improve DEIB efforts in athletics in several ways:

• Personnel specifically designated to work in athletics and DEIB
• Have a diverse, equitable, inclusive lens on the various pieces of the athletics experience: transportation, scheduling, uniforms, celebrations, optional team gear, etc.
• Trainings and Diversity Dialogues for coaches with a strong focus on the adjunct coaching community

Students presenting during the 2020-21 Holocaust Remembrance Day Assembly.

In addition to Pingry students and employees, alumni also have the opportunity to be part of an Affinity Group. Our alumni Affinity Groups include:

• Alumnae of Pingry
• Alumni of Color
• LGBTQ+ Alumni

Student- and faculty-led programming that marks Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Pride Month, and Women's History Month, among other annual occasions, in addition to regular assemblies and guest speakers, provide the opportunity for us to observe, learn, and celebrate diversity within our community. 

The Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in collaboration with division directors, regularly hosts speakers and consultants to support the intentional and strategic skill development as outlined in our Mission Statement. Speakers and consultants have included:

• Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.: The James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton, Dr. Glaude is one of the nation’s most prominent scholars. An author, political commentator, public intellectual, and passionate educator, he examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. His writings take a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States, and the challenges we face as a democracy.

• Alison Park, Blink Consulting: Ms. Park, who has keynoted at numerous conferences, including NAIS's People of Color Conference, has led consulting efforts as well as professional development for our faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees to further the work of our DEIB mission. 

• Musicworks: Musicworks integrates music from across the globe to make diversity, equity, and inclusion topics accessible and engaging for students. Founder Jesse Neuman approaches DEIB with the assumption that students of all ages are poised and willing to tackle tough conversations and are open to more expansive perspectives through exposure to quality artists and movements, and carefully moderated discussion.

At Pingry, diversity is more than race. We certainly recognize that the social construct — race — is important to discuss. However, we also recognize that to simply focus on race significantly limits the scope of diversity and can marginalize our students and their families, as well as our faculty and staff. Instead, our community recognizes and seeks to have conversations about many cultural identifiers:

• ability
• age
• ethnicity
• gender
• race
• religion
• sexual orientation
• socioeconomic status (class)
• body image
• educational background
• academic/social achievement
• geographic/regional background
• language
• learning style
• beliefs (political, social, religious)

These cultural identifiers are introduced in Grades K-4, and are explored more in depth beginning in Grade 5.

Pingry’s Lower School Multicultural Team facilitates campus-wide diversity activities, which are tailored to the developmental maturity of each grade. Students in grades K-5 also dig into cultural competency work through the Decisions class which covers topics related to diversity, identity, and cultural connection at the local and global level. These lessons are designed to help students develop skills for engaging in conversations around identity, equity, and inclusion by introducing vocabulary related to social identifiers (e.g. gender identity, race, religion, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, etc.).

The Middle School advisory program incorporates conversations about identity development, familiarizes students with common cultural identifiers, and building a positive self image. Our Middle School Multicultural Team facilitates activities that allow for a more intentional and specific focus for conversations about identity. Students have the opportunity to question how they interact with others who are different from themselves and explore ways in which they can work to better the school community as a whole. In addition, a cultural competency curriculum is integrated into advisory beginning in Grade 6.

In addition to the grade-specific curricular work below, our Student Diversity Leadership Committee (SDLC) facilitates conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion through
the Upper School advisory program, with the goal of fostering a more inclusive and welcoming environment.

• Gilberto Olvera P '29, ‘33, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Alexa Lopez, Upper School Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Taunita Stephenson, Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Strategic Initiatives at Basking Ridge
• Regina Hardatt, Lower School Assistant Director of Inclusive Teaching and Learning

Through continuous self-reflection and an orientation toward learning about current best practices in DEI, the Board of Trustees DEI Committee educates Board members and acts as a resource for other Board committees to ensure they adopt best practices and policies. The primary function of the DEI Committee is to partner with the Head of School to realize the aspirational goals of Pingry to become a school that engages in DEI best practices, including actively opposing racism and other forms of bias in all their manifestations. In addition:

• The Committee ensures that DEI is a strategic and institutional priority.

• The Committee and Director of DEI design and regularly review a DEI dashboard to provide data to the Head of School and Board of Trustees around effectiveness of the school’s DEI programming.

• The Committee meets a minimum of six times per year.

• Committee Members Include:

  • Mr. Donald C. Mullins, Jr. P '15, '20 - Chair
  • Lori Halivopoulos ’78, P ’23 - Vice Chair
  • Betty Galvan P '25, '29, '31
  • Pingry Board of Trustees Chair Ian Shrank '71
  • Janice Beckman P '15, '19, '19
  • Jeff Edwards ’78, P ’12 ’14, ’18
  • Lisa Billington P '20
  • Maggie O'Toole '05
  • Denise Grant P '23
  • Michael Nitabach '84
  • Kevin Eng P '24, 26
  • Carolyn (Cookie) Mason P '21, 24
  • Melissa Moriarty '87, P '23
  • Kevin Schmidt '98, 

Created in 2020, Pingry's Antiracism Task Force (ARTF) is committed to identifying and eradicating all forms of racism and its legacy and dismantling racial hierarchies that exist at Pingry. With a focus on cultivating mindsets that question and challenge systemic racism, the ARTF works to reduce racial bias within the community. 

Members Include:

• Brad Poprik P ’24, ’24 (he/him/his)
• Emily Glatter (she/her/hers/Ms.)
• Frank Morano ’97 (he/him/his/Mr.)
• Gilberto Olvera P ’29 — Co-Chair (he/him/his/Mr.)
• Jeff Cohen P ’21, ’24 (he/him/his)
• Julia Dunbar — Co-Chair (she/her/hers/Ms.)
• Kat Andersen ’21
• Keara Hailey Gordon (she/her/hers/Mrs.)
• Lindsay Holmes-Glogower ’99, P ’33 (she/her/hers)
• Maggie O'Toole ’05 (she/her/hers/Ms.)
• Marcus Alston P ’21 (he/him/his)
• Margaret Kelleher ’01 (she/her/hers)
• Nitin Bhat P ’20, ’23, ’29 (he/him/his/Mr.)
• Ore Shote ’21
• Osa Fasehun ’14 (he/him/his)
• Weiwei Yu P ’26 (she/her/hers)