Students and faculty attended the National Association of Independent Schools’ Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in Nashville, Tenn.
Diversity & Inclusion
Berkshire School strives to create a global community that reflects the world around us and the backgrounds, experiences, identities, genders, perspectives, races, religions and talents that each member brings to our school. We believe that a diverse and inclusive community supports and respects all cultures, ethnicities, languages, philosophies, political views and sexual orientations that exist within and beyond our school.
Virtual Town Hall
Berkshire School and the Berkshire Alumni for Anti-Racism group hosted a virtual Town Hall via Zoom on Thursday, July 2, 2020. The conversation and Q&A with school leaders including Head of School Pieter Mulder P’22 and Board of Trustees Chair Lara McLanahan '86, P’16,'16,'19, focused on how Berkshire School can become a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable community.
The goal of the meeting was to bring awareness to BIPOC students’ experiences with systemic racism and to share with the extended alumni community how Berkshire and the Berkshire Alumni for Anti-Racism group have been working together, and will continue to work together, to dismantle these systems. We invite all BIPOC and white alumni to join us in this work and to share their experiences, to listen, to learn, and to ask questions.
DEI Initiatives
COMMUNICATION UPDATES
Resources
Celebrating #LunarNewYear and the #YearoftheOx last weekend. Thank you Asian Affinity Club! #perkstobeingabear pic.twitter.com/8SqKHRcn5x
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) February 16, 2021
The GSA is hosting a movie night! Queer Eye at 8:30 pm, tonight in Allen Theater. Email Ms. Simmons to attend π» pic.twitter.com/EWwEKc1NaJ
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) February 5, 2021
Today we recognize Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the freedom of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in 1865. You can get involved here: https://t.co/EepZlys4Aj pic.twitter.com/ux0nsPLh0x
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) June 19, 2020
We support and value our #LGBTQ community during #PrideMonth and every month. #equalitymatters π³οΈβπ pic.twitter.com/oBnjPYnn8z
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) June 18, 2020
βWe best guide humanity by speaking our truth and listening and learning from what we hear. We are so proud of our BSU students celebrating and communicating their black experience 365.β ~ John Speer, Berkshire Faculty#myblackisbeautiful365 pic.twitter.com/2GteWzfVEF
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) February 21, 2020
Thank you for your time and leadership @AngelBPerez! The honor has been ours. #Diversity #Inclusion https://t.co/wOvqSwI6sL
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) January 24, 2020
Thank you to the Asian Affinity Group and Chinese Language students for helping us kick off our Lunar New Year celebrations! #YearoftheRat π π π² pic.twitter.com/LmFfZGJunR
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) January 23, 2020
Berkshire faculty shared a moving remembrance of Wil Smith with the all-school community on the 5th anniversary of his passing. Follow the link to learn more about Wil Smith's story and his contributions to the Berkshire community. https://t.co/6Ps3IR8H3l pic.twitter.com/JY1pY4ZCw8
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) February 26, 2020
It's International @womensday! In honor of this day and our 50th anniversary of coeducation, we celebrate all the contributions and achievements that women have made and continue to make at Berkshire and beyond. #IWD2020 #EqualforEqual #celebratingwomen #50yearsofcoeducation pic.twitter.com/Ue9XCFtJwq
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) March 8, 2020
Today is @GLSEN’s #DayofSilence, a student-led national protest where folks take a vow of silence to highlight the silencing of #LGBTQ people. Berkshire students and adults are joining in to support virtually all over the π this year! π³οΈπ #BreaktheSilence pic.twitter.com/9CAdry9asV
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) April 24, 2020
At morning meeting new Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Akilah Edgerton talked about the importance of kindness and respect in our community because we are βall in this together.β pic.twitter.com/vM6tqZ3DIs
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) September 30, 2019
Filmmaker Taylor Sharp (3rd from right) w/students and faculty after his Q&A and screening of @HoopsAfrica. Thank you for sharing your message. #UbuntuMatters #diversity #inclusion #WeWeek2019 pic.twitter.com/o4LhDfmJZ5
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) January 14, 2019
Students in the Slave Narratives and African American Studies classes traveled to the @brooklynmuseum today to view the βSoul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Powerβ exhibit. The exhibit features over 150 pieces that address the social conditions facing Black Americans. pic.twitter.com/xTu7yw0ntY
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) November 15, 2018
Last night, in honor of National Coming Out Day, Berkshire celebrated all who have come out as LGBTQ or as a straight ally for equality. #NationalComingOutDay #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/zYx5GefRLU
— Berkshire School (@BerkshireSchool) October 12, 2018
Diversity and Inclusion News

Poet Dr. Joshua Bennet, author of The Sobbing School and Being Property Once Myself: Blackness and the End of Man, finalist for an NAACP Image Award, recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the William F. Milton Fund, and the Ford Foundation, visited Berkshire on February 13th to give a reading of his poems to the School and work with our students on the craft of writing.
