WiNK

Hi, my name is Jillian Schnaudigel and I'm the Chapel Prefect Equity & Justice Prefect! You may have heard that the Chapel program is temporarily postponed due to the new circumstances of these ever changing times. But, this situation has created so many amazing changes and has allowed time and the opportunity to reimagine our commitment to creating a space of belonging. The creation of the Equity and Justice Center (EJC) is Wooster's new addition to our community focused on equality and inclusivity. This week, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about the EJC and the exciting things we're planning. In each upcoming week in WINK, I will be sharing an Equity and Justice topic, current event, or helpful advocacy tips.

The Equity & Justice Center was created under the guidance of our Board of Trustees, Head of School, and Equity and Justice Committee with Ms. Bazemore serving as its director. The EJC transformed the previous Equity and Inclusion center to make vital changes to Wooster's inclusion initiative. The EJC is a group of student leaders and Ms. Bazemore with various roles and responsibilities. Center for Social Impact has centralized with the EJC which allows for more consolidated efforts. The overall goal of the center is to create a positive change centered environment that makes everyone feel safe and empowered. Some smaller goals that we will be focusing on are finding our passions and putting them into action, engaging in difficult conversations, and growing together to become better Generals.

I was originally the leader of Equity and Justice education through the Chapel program. Due to social distancing, having everyone in Chapel is not a possibility. But, this change presented me with a very exciting opportunity! I was able to transition into the role of EJC prefect with my primary responsibilities being community education and conversation facilitation. My passions include Racial Justice, Gender Equality, and Disability/Mental Health awareness. I'm also a safe person to come to for any Equity & Justice questions or concerns and I will help troubleshoot with you.

Jaya Singhal's role as the Social Impact prefect is pretty similar to past years but has transformed slightly when it became part of the EJC. You may remember that Social Impact handles community service. But this year the community service requirements have become much more intentional. This year, community service has been rebranded as "Hours for Others" with the intention of reducing feelings of obligations around service but rather making it part of Wooster's culture (more details are coming soon). Jaya is, "so excited for Social Impact to be working with E&J because we were both doing amazing work and now we can collaborate and achieve more! We have a fantastic team." Her role also includes organizing school partnerships, curriculum integration, and student-led initiatives. Jaya's passions include (dis)ability awareness, racial justice, education, and gender equality.

Isha is the Social Impact proctor. She assists in the development of action-based service and impact through partnerships and hours for others, along with social impact education. Isha is, "excited and ready to work on creating social impact with a focus on equity and justice! I am so excited to see all we do when Social Impact and the Equity and Justice Committee come together!" She is very knowledgeable about service as she runs her own non-profit, The Green Sleep Project! Isha's passions include gender equality and racial and environmental justice.

Last but not least, Ms. Bazemore is our Equity & Justice Center director. Many of you know her as one of the Bridge teachers/ Co-Coordinators and someone who is always willing to lend a helping hand. EJC is so lucky to have someone who is so passionate and change focused as Ms. Bazemore advising us. She oversees all DEI&J initiatives for the Wooster Community like Governing Body, Administration, Faculty & Staff, Students, Families, and Alumni, as well as serving as an advocate for community members. Ms. Bazemore explains, "having Equity and Inclusion and Social Impact under one umbrella is extremely important. I feel that this shift unifies both groups and creates a stronger sense of collaboration amongst everyone and greater alignment with our Purpose, Promise, and Belief statements. We want to honor the great work that has been done so that we can fully actualize our vision for a more inclusive, equitable, and just community". Her specialties include Neurodiversity, Inclusive Education, Equity Literacy, Race Relations & Civil Rights, Mental Health/Social Emotional Learning and Social Services. Her overall goal is to make sure every single person feels safe and accepted.

It's so amazing to see so many senior leaders and departments come together to get vital work accomplished. We plan to work seamlessly with one another to ensure Wooster is a place of positive change and that we all feel safe through the process. A short example of how that may play out is as follows: Equity and Justice (Jillian) will be focusing on informing the community and having productive conversations, with Health and Wellness (Bob) we will recognize and work through feelings and emotions that may come up and lastly Social Impact (Jaya and Isha) will put the information that we have learned into action by partnering with our community. This is all centered around us, the Generals, because for change to happen we need everyone's participation.

There are many exciting things to come with the Equity & Justice Center. This is going to be a year of action for Wooster School and we'd be so happy for you to be a part of it! Stay tuned for my weekly updates and everything social justice related. If you have any questions or just want to touch base please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Bazemore, Jaya, Isha, or me.