Equity & Justice Center
The best ideas are the most complete. Necessarily, this means as wide a range of perspectives as possible are included. Every one of us has something unique to contribute, and the process by which we go about creating consensus and collectively shaping our future is paramount.
That’s why Wooster actively works to shape its community to embrace diversity of all types and ensure equity and access to a life-altering Wooster education.
Joulé Bazemore
Director of the Equity and Justice Center
Joined Wooster in 2014-2015
Social Impact
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day, we had a day of service on campus. Students and faculty completed service projects for Operation Gratitude, Letters Against Isolation, and Hour Children, Inc. It was a great day to celebrate and remember Dr. King.
Culturally Responsive Curriculum
Our Middle School held the first Witness Stones Installation Ceremony in the city of Danbury on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at the Long Ridge United Methodist Church at 201 Long Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06810.
The Witness Stones project is a "K-12 educational initiative whose mission is to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.
Wooster School Equity & Justice Commitment Statement
We at Wooster School aspire to consistently and emphatically foster a respectful and dynamic community that is anti-racist, inclusive, safe, just and equitable for all. As we evolve with the world around us, we recognize our past blind spots and strive to embrace every opportunity to more fully understand what it means to responsibly represent all cultural points of view. We will seek to remediate bias in our daily interactions, learning strategies and service to others. We will purposefully continue to develop and grow our culture and educational model so that inclusivity is at its root, and is the basis from which all knowledge stems.
In pursuit of this, the Wooster School is committed to:
Respect. Being a school where students, faculty, staff, families and alumni feel respected and valued for being their authentic selves.
Curriculum. Ensuring that our curriculum reflects our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), in the pursuit of social justice.
Culture. Cultivating a collegial culture where learning from our mistakes, seeking differing perspectives and withholding judgement when possible are woven throughout the daily life of the school, and where dispositions toward action in the service of change is a lived reality.
Diversity & Inclusion. Fostering the school’s diversity and inclusion across faculty and students to celebrate, include and respect the identities and voices of all community members. This includes cultivating an environment where students from all backgrounds can be members of Wooster’s unique, compassionate, rigorous and student-centered educational environment.
Training. Providing ongoing training and support of cross-cultural competencies for all members of our community, including students, all school personnel, Board of Trustees and parents.
Accountability. Maintaining a process in which the school will keep its leaders accountable with regular reviews to ensure that we are reaching and fulfilling our desired DEI and Social Justice goals.
Non-Discrimination Policy. Sustaining a nondiscrimination policy applicable to the administration of all of its programs and policies, in full compliance with local, state, and federal law. The school makes the law the foundation — not the ceiling — for establishing itself as a diverse, inclusive, safe, and welcoming community for all students, staff, and families.
Wooster School has always intended to be a deeply equitable place built on relationships --a place that examines bias, values each individual, and prepares our students to be “gentle, generous, truthful, kind, and brave.” From its inception, Wooster School has sought to provide opportunities for students from all walks of life to benefit from this educational mandate. Each year, we commit anew to maximizing our student opportunity to find a deeper understanding of these ideals. We will constantly seek ways to be an effective and benevolent force in the forward movement of our own community and the wider world in which it exists.
