“Walker’s is [what] changed my life.”
Diversity at Walker's
The Ethel Walker School is a community that values difference. We know the presence of multiple perspectives enhances our curricular rigor and our relevance to the "real world." We recognize that our goal of shaping the leaders of tomorrow requires that our students learn to value cultural perspectives different from their own as well as to understand the ways that systems of inequality shape society. The Walker's community includes people of different ages, abilities, interests, nationalities, racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, family structures, sexual orientations, religious traditions and political affiliations.
Our Focus on Equity and Social Justice
In Fall 2009, Walker's changed its "Diversity Director" position to "Director of Equity and Social Justice." This change reflects the School's commitment to not only having a diverse community, but also its commitment to work toward a community that is equitable and just for all members. This name change also reflects the goal that all Walker's students will aquire both the knowledge and desire to work against systems of social inequality such as sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, and religious oppression.
We are a Work in Progress...
We know that creating a truly inclusive campus does not happen overnight. In order to make progress, our equity initiatives focus on two specific areas:
- Providing support and resources for students from underrepresented groups. Read more about support initiatives.
- Providing educational opportunities for the entire campus community on issues of social identity and inequality related to race, class, gender, sexual orientation and religion. Read more about educational initiatives.
We invite students, alumnae, parents, faculty and staff to provide input as we move forward in this process.
SPHERE
The Ethel Walker School is a member of SPHERE, a consortium of ten independent schools from the greater Hartford area.
The mission of SPHERE is to help the member schools collaborate in becoming and remaining culturally diverse, inclusive, and responsive environments for teaching and learning. To this end, the member schools, individually and collectively, seek to achieve diversity in faculties, staff, and student bodies, to create within each school and among the member schools a climate of respect for differences and multi-cultural perspectives in curricular and extracurricular programs.
SPHERE schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, or ability in the administration of their hiring, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, academic, athletic, or other school-administered programs.
Useful Resources
Teaching Resources
A selected list of social justice related books, websites, films and articles.
For more information, please contact Dr. Sheri Lyn Schmidt, Director of Equity & Social Justice via sheri_schmidt [at] ethelwalker [dot] org (email) or at 860.408.4287.
About Dr. Schmidt
Dr. Sheri Schmidt joined Walker's in 2009 after 17 years experience in Diversity and Social Justice Education at the college level. She taught in the Schools of Education at both UMass Amherst and Springfield College, teaching pre-service teachers about issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and religious oppression. She was also an Assistant Professor in the School for Social Work at Smith College, where she taught Social Work students about racism.
Prior to her work in the classroom, Schmidt served as The Coordinator of Diversity Education at Texas A&M University, where she developed co-curricular Diversity Education programs for faculty, students and staff. She has presented numerous workshops for professional and student conferences, universities, and social service agencies.
Schmidt earned her doctorate in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research and publications have focused on teaching about systemic racism, Inclusive Leadership and the intersections of stratification beliefs and conceptualizations of racism. Schmidt lives on campus with her partner Stephen Dunn and their son, Jason.
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