Diversity | Washington Episcopal School in Bethesda MD

Welcome from the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Welcome to WES! Here we celebrate all the beautiful and diverse identities within our school, and we know that being a part of a richly diverse and inclusive community is essential to growing into kind, confident, and prepared adults. At our school, your child will encounter students and faculty of many ethnicities, religions, nationalities, abilities, and cultures. The families in our community include households with same-gender parents, single parents, godparents, and grandparents. From our youngest learners to our oldest, we are proud to support our students in learning about their own identities, the varied identities that surround them, and the ways they can build a world where all people are understood and respected.

Kristen Tossell Pitts
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Kristen Tossell Pitts has worked in education in varying capacities for over a decade and brings her experience both as an educator and as an organizational leader to this role. She earned her bachelor’s degree and teacher certification through Furman University and her Master of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary, where she conducted research in marginalized identity theologies. She coordinates the Faculty and Parent Diversity Committees and works closely with other team members to support our continuing growth in diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a member of the LGBTQ+ and Disability communities, Kristen holds a personal commitment to equity and justice for all people that guides and supports her work within the WES community. She and her wife live in Maryland with their toddler, who they look forward to sending to WES. She and her wife are also active members of Rainbow Families, a local nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ parents, families, and prospective parents.

Diversity Mission Statement

Washington Episcopal School welcomes and embraces everyone’s unique identity and values individuality within our community. WES nurtures the growth of the whole child and cultivates their cultural proficiency to enter the wider world as a kind, confident, and prepared global citizen.

WES’s Commitments:

We endeavor to embody the Episcopal vow to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Some of the ways we demonstrate this include:
- Curriculum units that teach about historic injustices and help students connect those to current realities.
- Service learning projects that help students learn about structural inequity.
- Our Virtues of the Month program, which incorporates virtues like Inclusiveness, Humility, Generosity, Courage, Justice, Responsibility, Perseverance, and Hope–all of which are essential to the work of living into this vow.
We celebrate our similarities and differences in order to build understanding and empathy. Some of the ways we demonstrate this include:
- Curriculum units that invite students to share their own identities and experiences.
- Our bi-annual Global Fair, which invites children to explore the 44 nationalities represented in our school.
- Special Chapels that highlight the many faiths of our community members.
We value diversity in all its forms, including ethnicity, culture, age, learning style, neurodiversity, physical ability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and more. Some of the ways we demonstrate this include:
- Conversations in all grades that share the experiences of diverse individuals and communities.
- Middle School summer reading that focuses on a different range of identity areas each year.
- Elementary School summer reading that provides the opportunity for students to be exposed to a diverse group of authors and books representing a variety of global perspectives
We promote awareness and respect by engaging our students, families, and faculty/staff in ongoing dialogue around identity and justice. Some of the ways we demonstrate this include:
- Diversity clubs for students in Grades 4-8
- Affinity groups for students, families, and faculty/staff
- Internal and external school-wide Professional Development focusing on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Parent speaker series that highlights diversity topics
- Grade-level identity projects

Our Program

Classroom Experiences

Students participate in a variety of rich and engaging learning experiences to help them better understand who they are and the world around them.

Diversity Clubs

Kaleidoscope and Kaleidoscope Jr. are diversity clubs for students in Grades 4-8. Students use the space to learn about diversity in our community and beyond.

Committees

Parents and Staff can participate in diversity committees to help inform and establish DEI initiatives for the school. Both committees meet monthly.

Professional Development

All WES employees participate in DEI training. Opportunities are regularly provided and many seek external programs to attend during the school year and each summer.

Speaker Series

In collaboration with the Parent Association and Family Diversity committee monthly workshops are held with guest speakers on a variety of DEI and general family support topics.

Resources

Want to learn more about different DEI topics? Click here to access a number of resources on social identity topics.

Recruitment and Hiring

Knowing that our students’ education depends not only on curriculum and lesson plans but also on who they encounter, WES is committed to a diverse and inclusive community and regularly seeks applicants who will contribute to an environment in which all are valued and supported.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion