King School is delighted to welcome Dr. Clyde Beverly III as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) starting on July 1, 2021.

Beverly shared his enthusiasm by stating, "I'm excited to join the King community and continue the work started by Dr. Jean-Baptiste. I'm looking forward to working with Carol Maoz, Interim Head of School, the Board of Trustees, the leadership team, and the DEI team to continue to create an environment at King that is safe, inclusive, and affirming for all members of the King community including students, families, faculty, staff, and alumni."  

In celebration of Women's History Month, middle school advisories organized an appreciation for women by acknowledging the wonderful contributions made by women at King School. The advisors identified a woman at King, referred to as a celebrant, that they would like to get to know better and prepared questions for an interview with her. Information about the celebrant is then featured on a dedicated bulletin board.

Members of the Upper School's Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs interviewed Congressman Jim Himes, who represents Connecticut's fourth district. The meeting took place on March 10, and in the spirit of bipartisanship, the two clubs worked together to develop their questions.

On Wednesday, February 17, King School hosted inspirational speaker and inclusion advocate Schuyler Bailar as the second guest in the new King Reads Together Series organized by the Parents’ Association and the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion.

"I think it is really interesting that we are learning about different people who were heroes before, during, and after the civil rights movement," states Middle School Co-President Anya Anderson '25. "We are trying to learn more about people who may not have been better known so that we can show greater respect for them," she adds.

Guided by their teacher, Ellen Eagleton, grade 3 students are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about and empathetic to social issues in the world. Adom Bedu-Addo is inspired by César Chávez because "people would still be treated like slaves on farms" without Chávez's advocacy on behalf of farmworkers. "People can now have freedom, though there is more work to be done to have people treated equally," Adom adds.

A group of dedicated Upper School students joined Middle School students during their morning advisory time to share the civil rights activity created by the Upper School's human rights cohort.

Author, speaker, and activist Julie Lythcott-Haims engaged members of the King School community in a thought-provoking virtual conversation about race and identity that revolved around her memoir Real American. The book tells the author's journey of acceptance as a Black and biracial woman living in predominantly white communities.

The presentation, which took place on January 28, was part of the 2021 King Reads Together series sponsored by the Parents' Association, in partnership with the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at King.

Giana Mazotas, Grade 4 student, feels she "likes music class because there are so many songs that you can learn and instruments you can play. You can work with friends and practice independently when you're playing the ukulele. It helps me learn when we can talk to each other and move around the room to keep ourselves active. Because we know so many chords and songs, I feel like I can keep playing the ukulele even after we stop playing in music class."

When the Upper School's newly formed human rights cohort was asked if they would like the opportunity to create community programming for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the answer was a resounding "yes." Together, students worked to create an interactive board game style activity designed to uncover unsung Civil Rights heroes and stories.