Ninth Grade Leaders Attend National Diversity Conference

Eight Country School ninth graders traveled to Indianapolis for the annual Student Diversity Leadership conference. “In the 21-year history of this conference, there has never been a more important time for us to convene,” said National Association of Independent School president John Chubb as he opened the conference.  
The event, which took place the morning after the Eric Garner grand jury decision, and in the wake of riots in Ferguson, addressed issues of racial, ethnic and cultural identity and equality. 

This year’s conference theme “Leadership at the Wheel, Riding at the Speed of Acceptance,” a nod to the NASCAR capital, was attended by 1,600 9th-12th graders from all over the country.  Students heard from author and professor Dr. Michael Eric Dyson about race relations in America, civil rights activist Cheryl Brown Henderson, the daughter of Rev. Oliver Brown who filed the historic lawsuit Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario about immigration. The students also worked with trained facilitators to share their stories and brainstorm ways to improve their school communities.
 
“SDLC focuses on self-reflection and community building, “ said Director of Community Development Lynn Sullivan. “We want students to develop an appreciation of their own identities and to consider their roles in shaping the future through empowerment and leadership.”
 
Students will share reflections of their experience with the entire Upper School and make suggestions on how to create a more inclusive school community.
 
Ninth grade participants included: Gabriel Byan, Ari Fleuriot, Dana Mills, Scout O’Donnell, Clay Prawl, Kate Tapscott, Carson Teitler, and Nick Toldalagi
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.