Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Hill School

The Inclusion and Diversity Council is a student group designed to oversee programming related to issues around inclusion and diversity on campus. The Council is comprised of students who have expressed interest in inclusion and diversity work, while also representing various groups on campus. The Council meets regularly with faculty representatives to discuss how to address issues on campus and help foster an inclusive community. The Council is responsible for promoting and creating both on and off-campus events, programs, and discussions around inclusion and diversity. 

This position was established approximately five years ago.  The Rev. Khristi Adams, Hill's Firestone Endowment Chaplain (kadams@thehill.org), is serving as the interim director.

A week-long series of workshops, speakers, and events to increase awareness and address issues relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in classrooms, student life, hallway conversations, and everywhere else in our lives.  In addition, student and faculty leaders annually attend the NAIS People of Color Conference.

In recent years, The Hill has reviewed and updated reading lists and curricula, particularly in English, Humanities, History and Social Science, and Religious Studies and Philosophy. Students should learn to appreciate different perspectives and embrace diversity in a socially responsible way, as well as demonstrate tolerance and sensitivity in their words and actions towards others. Below is a partial list of those modifications as reflected in our current course offerings.  For more information, please contact Academic Dean Katy Hudak at khudak@thehill.org.

• English and Humanities: Identity, Perspective, Empathy, Non-White and Underrepresented Authors, Intersectionality, Race as Social Construct, English 4AP Service Learning (social justice, empathy, perspective)
• Religious Studies & Philosophy: Caste system, Anti-Semitism, LGBTQ discrimination, Islamophobia, Religion and Social Justice, Slavery, Racial Discrimination
• History & Social Science: Civil Rights, Roe v. Wade, Feminism, Non-Christian Faith traditions, African and Middle Eastern History, Women’s Suffrage, Slavery, Immigration, Native American History, Gerrymandering

The Hill offers a variety of clubs and student groups focused on increasing awareness, understanding, and cultural appreciation. Following is a list of current clubs and student groups:

SOCA (Students of Color Association), GUTS (Girls Understanding Their Strengths), Black Student Life, Hispanic Student Alliance, International Students, HASOGI (Hill Advocates for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity), South Asian Student Association, Women of Color Association, Muslim Student Group

The Hill is proud to partner with the following organizations that provide financial assistance to high-achieving students from lower income families.

Prep 9, NJ SEEDs, Russ Wight Foundation, A Better Chance

The Hill School has policies and processes regarding student infractions around hate speech and identity-based discrimination. Hate speech covers many forms of expressions that spread, incite, promote or justify hatred, violence, and discrimination against a person or group of persons based on how they identify.

The Hill School is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.  We also apply the same standards to admission policies. 

Hobart's Run is a collaborative neighborhood improvement initiative launched by The Hill in 2016 to support a clean, safe, and inclusive community; strengthen Pottstown residential development and homeownership; and generate positive, sustainable commercial and retail development

*The Rev. Khristi Adams has been appointed the School’s Dean of Spiritual Life and Equity, effective July 1, 2021. Read more. 

The Hill is committed to hiring a full-time Director within the next year. The Rev. Khristi Adams, Hill's Firestone Endowment Chaplain, currently serves as the interim director. 

Hill has established a committee consisting of faculty and staff working to build an inclusive environment at Hill, challenge discrimination and bias, and provide guidance on equality and diversity-related issues in all areas of School culture. We have designated a faculty lead for each respective area of community life.

*The Student Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was formed with a group of 21 Hill students led by co-presidents Iha Chikkala '21 and Naomi Ude '21.

The committee will be comprised of 17 students, fourth through sixth form.  Select students from this committee also will serve on Disciplinary Committees convened to address hate speech and identity-based misconduct, while two students will sit on the Black Link of Independent Schools Summit Board.  The committee will also work with the DEI Faculty and Staff Committee to create a more confidential and transparent system for reporting instances of discrimination, hate speech, identity-based misconduct, or bias incidents by school employees, as well as to increase employee training, incorporate more Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work into the existing curriculum, lead workshops for incoming students, and plan activities for students to fulfill the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion activity requirement.

The School will review hiring practices to create to be more inclusive to BIPOC candidates; the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will sit on the hiring committee.  The Board of Trustees will also work on increasing diversity.  We will establish specific BIPOC hiring and representation goals for employees and the Board of Trustees. 

Any discussions around diversity in our School must include curriculum to show our collective commitment to dismantling racism alongside our appreciation of diversity. As such, The Hill is reviewing reading lists and curricula, particularly in English, Humanities, History and Social Science, Religious Studies and Philosophy, Eudemonia, and the H-Term.  We are committed to incorporating more authors of color and narratives of black experiences, as diversity education can teach students to appreciate different perspectives, teach tolerance and sensitivity, and show students how to embrace diversity in a socially responsible way.

Through the Counseling system, we will create programming that connects students of color with their student peers and faculty, including a new student working group to help foster the importance of mental health and well-being among students. Please contact Lisa Roethling, director of counseling, at lroethling@thehill.org, for more information.

The Hill is committed to action, not just words or empty promises.  We will be fully transparent and expect our students, alumni, employees, parents, and Board of Trustees will hold us accountable.  We will update our website with initiatives; include updates in our student, parent, and alumni newsletters and Hill Ties magazine; and share a DEI annual report each July at the conclusion of our school and fiscal year.

The Rev. Khristi Adams shared the following resources with Hill School faculty and staff:

Watch

• 13th- Netflix
• The Hate You Give – Cinemax
• When They See Us- Netflix
• King in the Wilderness- HBO

Read

• Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley & Christopher Benson
• Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice - Paul Kivel 
• An African American and Latinx History of the United States, by Paul Ortiz (2018)
• Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

Listen

• “1619” is a New York Times audio series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that examines the long shadow of American slavery. Listen to the episodes below, or read the transcripts by clicking the icon to the right of the play bar. For more information about the series, visit nytimes.com/1619podcast.

• Code Switch is NPR’s flagship podcast about race and culture, so it definitely contains multitudes. It takes on race and racism across a spectrum of identities and offers personal stories, historical context, and impactful analysis on the challenging past and present of race in America. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/