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A Sense of Belonging for Everyone: The Office of Community Engagement & Inclusion

Michelle Andrade
Threads of tradition woven with cords of innovation knit together the tapestry of belonging at Ensworth. Ensworth has offered a progressive educational experience since the 1950s and continues to be on the cutting edge of academic practices and technological innovation.
Threads of tradition woven with cords of innovation knit together the tapestry of belonging at Ensworth. Ensworth has offered a progressive educational experience since the 1950s and continues to be on the cutting edge of academic practices and technological innovation. Growing as a community also entails expansion beyond social norms, especially in the world of independent schools. Ensworth strives to be at the forefront when it comes to diversity, inclusion, and belonging, which resulted in the formalization and expansion of the Office of Community Engagement and Inclusion in 2020. 
 
David Whitfield, a fifteen-year veteran Ensworth teacher and community leader, is at the helm as its Director and has been doing this work at Ensworth and in the surrounding community for decades. Whitfield shares that “for Ensworth to reach its fullest potential, we have to develop the best practices and systems in relation to diversity and inclusion.” Best practices and systems stem from the threads of listening, being informed, engaging community members in conversations, and empowering said members to carry the reins. 
 
David Whitfield’s work at Ensworth has focused on education, mentorship, and engagement from the start. Although Mr. Whitfield was initially hesitant to have an official title, he knew that to grow the work, formalization was key. During the 2020-2021 school year, a group of faculty and staff members met as a part of the Inclusion Committee to have conversations on race, as well as to discuss the nature of things happening in the world, their effects on the Ensworth community, and how to respond. Parents were a part of many of these conversations. With dialogue, voices were heard and plans were made, but the mobilization of such efforts and desires was complicated. Considering COVID restrictions, communication challenges due to virtual connections, two campuses, and three divisions of the school, supporting the families, faculty, and community members in this way proved to require more than a single person or even one idea. 
 
At the conclusion of the 2020-2021 school year, the expansion of the Office of Community Engagement and Inclusion grew to include Hope Moeller (Grade 2 Teacher) as the Lower School representative, Maurice Hopkins (History Teacher, Service Learning Coordinator, and  Coach) as the Middle School representative, and the Parent Diversity Council. With David acting as the rep for the High School and the Office’s leader, all of the community had representation and voice. The students are the thread that entwines the entire mission. 
 
By offering academics and programs that encourage knowledge and awareness, the Ensworth community is hopefully drawn toward curiosity, which will encourage them to use their talents in support of the greatest good. The ultimate desire is to build unity. David says, “[we] want to build bridges, foster awareness, and develop the infrastructure that enables students and parents to grow in their avenues of understanding.” Ensworth builds people of integrity by continuing to offer students a safe space to process things happening in the world around them, as well as making programmatic shifts that support their growth in engaging with their community as a whole. Knowledge and encouragement fuse action and power, thus fostering the growth of the Ensworth experience and broadening the Ensworth community. 
 
Hope Moeller shares, “Our elementary classrooms naturally discuss and learn about who we are and how we treat each other in a community, and I can see that student demand is creating extensions to those conversations throughout the Middle School and High School.” She also believes, “There is a softness to what we are right now. [We are not trying] to put anything on people. Instead, we are trying to be open to what is needed.” Part of belonging is getting to know the school community and learning more about the communal Ensworth experience. “What do families in our community feel is needed and how can we respond to that?” she reflects. This work begins with listening to our diverse community and, in turn, informing the larger population. We all learn from one another. 
 
Maurice Hopkins says, “I want to directly engage the community where I am from with the community where I am.” He takes pride in merging the past with the present, demonstrating his mad history skills, and enticing students to engage with the knowledge they are obtaining. His excitement to engage students on a global level and to inspire them through storytelling comes through a culturally enriching curriculum. Maurice is also eager to bring such a global perspective to professional development opportunities for the entire K-12 staff that are geared towards this work. 
 
Building and mobilizing such efforts requires more than just faculty and staff. Thus, a vision was conceived to create an advisory committee composed of parents to support the internal efforts of the school. The Parent Diversity Council was established to weigh in, offer feedback, and come up with strategies for this Office to execute. Parents from both campuses would help to create an agenda, identify challenges facing the school, figure out ways to address these challenges, and offer insight into parental concerns. “We needed parental buy-in to help leverage human resources, build traditions, and overcome unfortunate legacies,” Whitfield shares. This Council is made up of fourteen parents from various backgrounds. The group is diverse by design, considering temperament, professional background, family structure, racial affiliation, geography, and personal politics, and each person has a unique perspective to bring. 
 
Eve Bowers shares that, “Diversity to me is having representation from across racial and cultural spectrums reflected in the staff, student body, curriculum, recreation, and more so that our kids, both those from the majority and minority, are best prepared for the world at large.” When asked what she hopes to bring to the table, she states, “My perspective as a person of color, and in particular, someone who has completed all of my schooling in predominantly White institutions, can be a source of insight. I understand some of the potential impacts the current status quo may have on students. I hope that we shift the culture within Ensworth to more readily celebrate diversity and invest in increasing our diversity.”
 
Another parent member of the Council Daphne Butler says, “As in any organization on the planet trying to meet the needs of a diverse population, two of the greatest challenges are 1) ensuring that every voice is heard and 2) promoting an environment that engenders a sense of belonging and safety for all parties.” She also states that Ensworth’s people are its greatest assets. “Ensworth’s faculty, administration, and families are populated with empathetic, supportive and optimistic people.” 
 
The overarching goal to empower movement and action by having a representative from each of the three divisions on the two campuses and varied parental representation is a strong move toward the goals of the Office of Community Engagement and Inclusion, as well as Ensworth School as a whole. Ensworth is gifted with powerful leaders with experience in their field. The Office of Community Engagement and Inclusion alongside many faculty and staff members who have a deep passion to continue the expansion of diversity, inclusion, and belonging at Ensworth are teamed up to expand and grow as a community, supporting students and families all along the way.
 
But how do we complete such lofty goals when it seems we can often have competing priorities? Educate. Celebrate. Activate. It begins with listening, being informed, and learning from the community even when it brings challenges. As Hope shares, “stepping into the conversation and being proactive about learning what [we] don’t know is worth that risk.” It continues with celebration and acknowledgment of the people both in our community and in the world. The initiation of such learning binds the mind to the heart, cultivating compassion and care for people. Finally, the hope is that this unity of heart and mind is activated to movement - both in continued appreciation as well as active participation creating a culture and space where there is a sense of belonging for everyone. 
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Red Gables Campus (K–8)

Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 383-0661

Frist Campus (9–12)

Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 301-5400
Ensworth is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade, independent day school.