Latin continues to champion Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with both teacher and student-led programs amid a national wave of DEI setbacks in schools, nonprofit organizations, and companies. Microsoft laid off its DEI team on July 15, 2024. Boeing scrapped its entire DEI department on October 31. NASA terminated all DEI programs and fired the Chief DEI Officer. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), of which Latin is a part, recently announced that it was canceling its 2025 People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference.

Unlike many other institutions, Latin doesn’t face the prospect of losing significant federal funding. “As a result,” Head of School Thomas Hagerman said, “we are able to further the mission-aligned work we are doing to cultivate an inclusive learning environment that fosters belonging and values the rich diversity of individuals, cultures, and perspectives.”

Despite Latin’s unique position, students and faculty remain keenly aware of—and for many people, dismayed by—the nationwide trend toward curtailing DEI initiatives.

“I think there’s been an incorrect characterization of DEI as just based on either race and gender,” Upper School English teacher and DEI Curriculum Coordinator Brandon Woods said. “To me, diversity is really about looking at the people in your company or organization and making sure they can bring their full selves to work. So [this nationwide trend is] unfortunate, because it is falling prey to what I think are mischaracterizations of what DEI work is.”

In anticipation of disappointed reactions such as Mr. Woods’, some companies have tried to compensate by promising to directly address any DEI-related issues that arise. “I don’t think that is an effective model,” Mr. Woods said. “It’s better to address the root causes as opposed to waiting until something happens.”

Despite other organizations rolling back DEI programs, Mr. Woods remains dedicated to finding proactive solutions within Latin. As the DEI Curriculum Coordinator, he implements the school’s Social Justice Standards, which the school adopted in 2017. These standards contain specific goals for students to develop self-awareness, cultural understanding, and respect, and the ability to identify and address injustice in society. Mr. Woods’ role includes providing teachers and student leaders resources to weave the standards into classroom discussions, clubs, and affinities, and community engagement.

These efforts aim to foster a deeper understanding of DEI. “We want to make sure teachers understand that diversity is not just about race or gender,” Mr. Woods said. “Diversity is about acknowledging the identities of every student across a number of different markers [and] making sure all those students feel seen for the complexity of who they are.”

The next steps involve tackling specific needs, such as those of students with learning differences. “A lot of the work I do is tracking what resources we have and what resources we need if there’s a gap between that,” Mr. Woods said. “That’s everything from how the information is presented in class[es] to differentiating instruction to [explaining] to teachers the importance of understanding learning differences.”

However, approaching learning differences also highlights financial barriers, as testing for accommodations can cost as much as $5,000, according to Mr. Woods. “Our learning specialists are amazing, so they are filling that [financial] gap, but we need to make sure we can always fill that gap,” he said.

Beyond academic accommodations, DEI at Latin also extends to fostering a sense of belonging through affinity groups, which serve as safe havens for many students with shared identities.

For instance, senior Mel Butler immediately gravitated to the Black Student Union (BSU) during her freshman year. “Coming into Latin, it was very hard for me because I was coming from a predominantly Black school, so the culture was very different,” Mel said. “I was having a hard time fitting in, and I was losing my identity, just as me and also as a Black woman in the space.”

Now, as a head of BSU, Mel hopes to ease the transition to high school for future freshmen. “I think we need to talk more about what it means to be Black at Latin and what we wish would have happened in our underclassmen years,” Mel said. “So I’m trying to create a mentorship system where incoming freshmen have a buddy to feel connected with.”

While Mel’s initiative aims to ease the transition for Black students by building bonds, the broader issue of fostering open conversations about identity remains, as seen in the Asian Student Alliance (ASA).

Junior and ASA co-head Sebastian Lee-Yee said, “Although it’s healthy talking about identity, especially in a school setting, it can be really hard to push people to talk about it. Sometimes, trying to get these discussions going is really difficult and almost feels unproductive.”

He added, “Just providing this safe space is something that people can look forward to without feeling like they get really uncomfortable.”

Another challenge with affinities that Mr. Woods noted is the limitation for people with more than one identity, such as mixed families. “In any one affinity group, there could be a student who holds three or four different identities that [are] not represented by that affinity,” Mr. Woods said. “The way we have it now, they have to choose. That’s not great.”

Even with these drawbacks, Latin is progressing in its effort to increase affinity groups’ impact in the broader community. “The school is bringing in the affinities for the MLK workshop this year,” Mel said. “That’s really nice because in the past it has been more teacher-driven.”

Sebastian emphasized the importance of affinity groups in school events. “Affinity time is such a fortunate thing we have,” he said.

While affinity groups allow students to connect with those who share similar identities outside the classroom, Mr. Woods said these interactions should be integrated into the curriculum as well. “The goal [is] to make sure that students have access to classes and opportunities that reflect their interests and identities,” he said.

Sebastian agreed. “Sometimes it feels hard if I don’t see anyone [of] my own ethnicity in faculty roles, as you often look up to your teachers,” he said.

The lack of representation hasn’t directly hindered his experience, however. “I’ve never felt like my race or ethnicity [holds] me back at Latin,” Sebastian said.

Mel agreed and highlighted the improvement in the ethnic diversity of the student body. “With regard to seeing people who are like me in school, it’s definitely gotten better over the years,” she said. “No one makes me feel awkward in a class, even though I might be the only Black student there. I’m just another student in the class, which I really like.”

Her awareness of representation extended beyond her personal experience. When the school released a statement last year about the Israel-Palestine war, Mel spoke with Dr. Hagerman about how to center both Jewish and Palestinian voices. “As a school community, we can be biased, and it felt like the letter was very biased,” she said. “Even though I’m not a part of those identities, I felt like we needed to see both sides reflected in that.”

This approach aligns with the school’s broader mission of preparing students for democracy. Mr. Woods said, “We should be thinking about students’ identities and making sure they feel comfortable and confident in who they are so they can participate as fully as possible in this lofty mission of sustaining democracy.”

In line with this goal, Mel emphasized the importance of speaking up in DEI work. “Now that I found my voice, I’m never gonna stop using it,” she said.

Through affinity blocks, learning resources, and individuals’ actions to spark change, Latin seeks to retain its core values of advocacy even in the face of national regressions. “I am deeply proud of the work Latin has done to nurture a more equitable and supportive environment for our students, faculty, staff, and families and look forward to build[ing] on the important progress we have made.”

Similarly, Interim Director of DEI Kasey Taylor said, “We remain grounded in our stated commitments to DEI, which are reflected in every facet of who we are and aspire to be.”

This story was originally published on The Forum on April 15, 2025.