News and Media
Peck Students, Faculty Focus on Centering Student Voices at Local Anti-Racism Conference
On November 7, Peck students, faculty, and parents attended The Far Brook School’s fifth annual Widening the Lens diversity conference for New Jersey independent schools. The theme of this year’s online conference was Lift Every Voice: Centering the Student Experience in Building Anti-Racist Communities.
“It’s important to make safe spaces for students of color to express what they're really feeling. This will help students feel like their voices are being heard,” remarked attendee Lolade Aromire ‘21.
The Far Brook conference is notable for its emphasis on the representation of various constituencies from participating schools, including students, faculty, trustees, parents, alumni, and Heads of School. Peck’s “pod” consisted of members of the majority of those groups.
Breakout sessions were organized by constituency, and participants discussed a variety of topics that were unique to their group. Each group tackled specific questions and created action steps to take back to their schools. In particular, faculty discussed ways to further empower students to speak their truth by offering guidance and support; reimagining curriculum to offer counter-narratives to Eurocentric stories; and committing to cultural competency in classrooms and in the wider community.
There were also sessions geared toward all conference attendees, including a student panel that featured Peck students Aromire, Sofia Piljak-Hernandez ‘21, and Christina Silva ‘22.
“This was my second time attending this wonderful conference, and I am again in awe of the strong voices our students have in the way they speak of their experiences and desire to confront racial injustice and biases. The conference was charged with energy and compassion to support Black and diverse voices,” commented Kindergarten Teacher and Peck Inclusion, Equity, and Justice Steering Committee member Maribel Mohr.
The Peck pod met to share their takeaways from the breakout sessions and to explore different ways to help the Peck community become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive—such as implementing age-appropriate discussion norms to prepare students for challenging conversations. Key takeaways for the pod were to further mine the data collected from the NAIS Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism completed by the community last fall and to engage alumni on these topics.
“If there was one thing I learned,” said Silva, “it would be that we have to become comfortable having these uncomfortable conversations regarding topics such as inequality, police brutality, and systemic racism. Only when we are able to step outside of our comfort zones will real change start to happen.”
THE PECK SCHOOL
247 South Street | Morristown, NJ 07960973-539-8660
Northern New Jersey's timeless and transformative co-ed independent elementary and middle school education for grades K-8.
The Peck School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.