Community Engagement and Belonging
Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Community
Porter-Gaud is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable community in which all individuals can contribute to school life and develop a sense of belonging. In accordance with our Episcopal identity, we seek to honor the God-given dignity of every human being in our words, actions, thoughts, character, and habits.
We actively work to gain a deeper understanding of difference through openness, curiosity, and empathy, and we embrace diverse cultures, backgrounds, and ideas to broaden and enrich who we are.
Meet the Team
Openness, curiosity, and empathy
The Office of Community Engagment and Belonging
The diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are spearheaded by the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging (CEB). This office seeks to advance the school’s mission through relationship building, learning for all stakeholders, and equity-focused work. The overarching goals of the office are to celebrate the joy of coming together and identify the issues affecting the well-being of the members of our community.
The director of the CEB office is Dr. Yerko Sepúlveda, who joined Porter-Gaud in 2022.
Distributed Leadership Model
The CEB office has a distributed leadership model that connects all the divisions throughout the school.
Academic Programming
| Lower School |
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Porter-Gaud is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable community in which all individuals can contribute to school life and develop a sense of belonging (feeling safe, appreciated, supported, and accepted as a beloved member of the community). To further this commitment, the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging (CEB) offers intercultural learning lessons in the Lower School. Intercultural learning seeks to support students in their growth to communicate effectively with different people, be empathetic collaborators, and globally oriented citizens. In first and second grade, the intercultural learning lessons focus on the students' ability to discuss themselves and their families, describe their similarities and differences to one another, and recognize and respond to fairness and unfairness in work and play. In third and fourth grade, the lessons focus on the students' ability to describe themselves and embrace their family traditions, investigate and value their similarities and differences to one another, learn about examples of justice and fairness in history, and value others beyond their shared attributes. |
| Middle School |
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Porter-Gaud is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable community in which all individuals can contribute to school life and develop a sense of belonging (feeling safe, appreciated, supported, and accepted as a beloved member of the community). To further this commitment, the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging (CEB) offers lessons and programming as one of the components of Life 101. This programming includes celebratory assemblies (i.e., Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month). The students also have workshops on intercultural competence to develop the attitudes, skills, and knowledge to communicate effectively and appropriately with different people. The CEB office also oversees bystander intervention training to equip students with strategies to safely intervene for themselves and others in situations of harassment and bullying. |
| Upper School |
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Porter-Gaud is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable community in which all individuals can contribute to school life and develop a sense of belonging (feeling safe, appreciated, supported, and accepted as a beloved member of the community). To further this commitment, the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging (CEB) offers lessons in the 9th Grade Experience program and advisory. The 9th Grade Experience includes lessons on honoring human dignity, building on strengths for resilience, perspective-taking, calling in culture, and supporting others. The advisory program includes lessons on kindness, mental health, and celebratory heritage months (i.e., Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month). The CEB office also oversees bystander intervention training to equip students with strategies to safely intervene for themselves and others in situations of harassment and bullying. |
Students Organizations
The Office of Community Engagement and Belonging, anchored by our Episcopal Identity, supports open, positive, and constructive spaces for students to explore who they are, affirm their irreplaceable worth as recipients of God’s unconditional love, and “create an equitable and inclusive community in which all individuals can contribute to school life and develop a sense of belonging.” To this point, students have the opportunity to propose and be involved in school life outside of the classroom setting in student-led, faculty-advised spaces. These groups include:
| Special Interest Groups (SIG) |
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| A Special Interest Group (SIG) is used to bring together people who want to learn about, share, and engage in a special interest. This interest could be a specific topic or a space to stand in solidarity with specific causes. The 2023-2024 Upper School SIGs include Environmental Club, Gender-Sexuality Alliance, Kindness Counts, Mental Health Club, Moxie, Operation Smile, and Sports Marketing. |
| Dialogue Groups (DG) |
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A Dialogue Group (DG) is used to bring together people who can speak to the experience of being a member of a group from the “I” perspective and/or would like to explore different aspects of identities. The 2023-2024 Upper School DGs include:
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Identity-Based Incidents Policy and Protocol
True to its Episcopal identity, Porter-Gaud “seeks to be a community that celebrates and worships God as the center of life and loves our neighbors as ourselves, serving all persons, striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being” (Board Approved Episcopal Identity). The Office of Community Engagement and Belonging, anchored by our Episcopal identity, seeks to “create an equitable and inclusive community in which all individuals can contribute to school life and develop a sense of belonging” (Board Approved Statement on DEI). Human dignity and a sense of belonging are affected when identity-based incidents take place. An identity-based incident (IBI) is an intentional or unintentional situation that negatively affects individuals or groups based on one or several identity markers. Therefore, Porter-Gaud has established the IBI Report Protocol (“Protocol”) to champion a culture of inclusion and equitable experiences in alignment with our school mission, vision, and values.
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Engagement: Community and Beyond
The CEB office spearheads multiple internal and external initiatives for community building, student and adult learning, and collaborations with the Charleston community.
Examples of these initiatives include:
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| External |
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Alumni Engagement
In 2020, a group of alumni sent a letter to the Head of School and Board of Trustees seeking to understand the specific actions the school was taking to create a more equitable and inclusive community.
The Head of School and Board Chair offered a response and met with the group to continue the conversation. Since then, the school has strengthened its CEB strategy and documented its progress on the CEB web page. You can see the past communications below:
- Alumni Letter to the Board of Trustees and Head of School
- Board of Trustees Response To Cyclones For Change
Families for Cultural & Community Engagement
Families for Cultural & Community Engagement's mission is to help families grow in their understanding of diversity and cultural sensitivity, develop awareness and empathy, and recognize and appreciate the unique nature of our school community. This parent partnership is in support of our school’s mission and in building a welcoming and inclusive community.
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We would love to discuss your place at Porter-Gaud.