Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News

After learning about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and watching a professional South Indian dancer at the Lewis Family Auditorium, dozens of RE upper schoolers leaped out of their seats to join in the May 16 cultural celebration. At the invitation of dancer Narayani Maharaj, students rushed to the foot of the stage and formed an impromptu chorus line of sorts, all attempting to follow Maharaj's direction and execute Bollywood-influenced classical dance.

Brazilian Indigenous leader, preservationist and activist Arassari Pataxó shared the traditions and travails of the Pataxó Indigenous tribe – one of 380 tribes in Brazil – on both RE campuses during Earth Week to inspire students to take action to protect the Amazon and the Earth. Wearing traditional dress and speaking in Portuguese through a translator during his April 18 visit, Pataxó explained that he spoke on behalf of his tribe's elders, who "are very worried about the destruction of the environment."

The officers of a new RE student club – the American Sign Language Club – provided their upper school peers a primer on the history, growth and importance of sign language and demonstrated some simple signs during an assembly in honor of National American Sign Language Day April 15. Under the leadership of president Emma Quintane '23, vice president Carson Stanton-Sharpless '23 and secretary Zubin Kamlani '25, the new club seeks to give students the opportunity to learn sign language, spread awareness about deaf communities in the U.S. and provide resources to deaf organizations in need of assistance. Twenty-nine upper school students are members of the club, whose advisor is World Languages Department Chair James Monk.

Former Miami Shores Mayor Crystal Wagar and Dutch photographer Femke Tewari P’23 ’25 headlined RE’s celebration of International Women’s Day by sharing their thoughts on women’s advances and achievements – and the work yet ahead – during an upper school assembly March 7.

Wagar, an attorney who was the first African-American female to be mayor of Miami Shores, and Tewari, who authored the coffee-table book Miami Women, joined Women Empowerment president Olivia Drulard ’23 on the stage of the Lewis Family Auditorium and reflected on their careers, lives and the state of women in the world.

Whether clapping, foot-tapping or dancing to the beat of a Bahamian junkanoo band, a Trinidadian steel drummer or a marching band from South Dade Senior High, RE's faculty, staff and students enjoyed the rhythms of Black History Month Celebrations on both campuses. They also visited art and jewelry displays, author tables and hair-braiding booths, and enjoyed African/Caribbean cuisine prepared by Sage Dining.

Haitian-American novelist Edwidge Danticat addressed upper school students on Feb. 7 in honor of Black History Month by doing what she does best: She told stories. She described her journey from Port-au-Prince to New York City as a youth, explaining how her childhood memories, experience as an immigrant and connection to previous generations inspired and shaped her writing.

Former NASA astronaut and Coconut Grove native Winston Scott launched Ransom Everglades’ celebration of Black History Month with out-of-this-world talks to Ransom Everglades students on both campuses, telling stories about his days as an astronaut – specifically a space walker – on two space shuttle missions.

Girls Who Code CEO and founder Reshma Saujani visited the Ransom Everglades Middle School on Feb. 2 and answered questions from panels of middle schoolers about her upbringing, approach as an author (she wrote Brave, Not Perfect) and experience working with teen girls through Girls Who Code, the non-profit she founded to help close the gender gap in computer science.

The granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor shared her grandfather’s story of tragedy and survival with Ransom Everglades upper school students in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Brought to campus by RE’s Jewish Students Association, Caryn Pardo detailed the horrific childhood journey of her “Zaida” – Harry Feldzamen – through five concentration camps.

Ransom Everglades rang in the Lunar New Year with educational and memorable celebrations on both campuses that were organized and executed by members of RE’s Chinese community. The Chinese Parent Committee, the Chinese Culture Club and RE’s Chinese language students joined forces to organize fun festivals of food, dance, acrobatics and music that brought RE students and families together on both campuses Jan. 24-25.

More than 175 members of the RE community and friends joined Ransom Everglades' annual day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, making dresses and shirts for children in Haiti, packing meals for local food banks and picking trash from the mangroves. Students, parents, faculty, administrators and friends arrived to the upper school throughout the day on Jan. 16, participating in the local, international and environmental service projects.

A nationally recognized diversity trainer held interactive workshops with various Ransom Everglades constituents from Jan. 9-11 with the goal of advancing the school’s mission and values in an ever-changing world. Visiting speaker Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee met separately with students, faculty, leadership team members, trustees, alumni and parents over three days, offering age-appropriate sessions designed to further RE’s long tradition of fostering students’ cultural and character development and sense of identity and community to help them lead productive lives.