About

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A diverse, inclusive, equitable community

Ransom Everglades School is an inclusive community that welcomes diverse experiences and perspectives. Our students and faculty embrace multiculturalism and appreciate the unique potential of each individual. During their time at RE, students learn from each other and benefit from the contributions of each member, while honing skills and sensitivities that prepare them to excel and lead in a global community.

The commitment to diversity at Ransom Everglades informs our curriculum, community outreach, co-curricular activities and admission process. We implement programs, offer workshops and craft learning opportunities that reflect our core beliefs. Living by this philosophy ensures that our students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be productive global citizens.

Recent News

DEI Spotlight

List of 1 news stories.

  • RE’s Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement Wendell Graham '74 and alumna Victoria Beatty ’00, chair of the Anti-Racism Task Force

    DEI at RE: REsolute and REaffirmed

    Our school’s founder Paul C. Ransom asked that his students commit themselves to belonging to what he described as the world’s third class: people who do not live for themselves, but rather seek to serve their God, their country, and their fellow man with all their heart, mind and strength. Ransom Everglades School was built to nourish and expand this third class. Today, with the increasing interdependence of world economies, the rapid spread of technology, and the growing cultural and ethnic diversification of the United States, we are hard put to continue cultivation of this class without a clear, unfettered and uncompromised commitment to a diversified faculty and student body, a robust and inclusive curriculum and a campus culture that cultivates a true sense of belonging.
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N. Patrick Range II '95

"Having the opportunity to meet different people from different walks of life, being able to share those experiences, that can only enhance the richness of the academic experience. I don't think there are many things more important than diversity, particularly at a place like Ransom Everglades."

DEI Action Groups

List of 5 items.

  • Anti-Racism Task Force

    The Anti-Racism Task Force, which was established by the board of trustees in June 2020, released its final report in June 2021 and then a follow-up annual report in June 2022 to conclude its work. The task force included representatives from all constituencies: alumni, parents, trustees, faculty and Ransom Everglades Black Alumni (reBa). Chaired by alumna Victoria Beatty ’00, RE’s Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement Wendell Graham '74, parent/board member Stephanie Dua and faculty member Dr. Brandon King, the task force worked to ensure that Ransom Everglades School’s core values, as articulated in the school’s mission and particularly as they relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion, are fully integrated into the school's curriculum, programs and culture.

    Read the Anti-Racism Task Force Annual Report (June 2022)

    Read the Final Anti-Racism Task Force Report (June 2021)

    Read the Anti-Racism Task Force Short-Term Recommendations (March 2021) here

  • Board of Trustees DEI Committee

    The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Board of Trustees reviews and implements broad policy issues that support the RE DEI Mission Statement as follows: Ransom Everglades is committed to providing students with an outstanding education and promoting the ideals of honor and excellence. A culture of inclusion and diversity will encourage students to pursue these ideals in an environment where i) students can be themselves; ii) students are exposed to and challenged by a broad range of perspectives; and iii) students can develop values of respect, integrity and compassion, and a commitment to social responsibility.

  • Board of Trustees Student Life Committee

    The Student Life Committee of the Board of Trustees reviews and implements broad policy issues, exclusive of the RE academic program, which support the maintenance of a healthy and vibrant school community. The committee works with both the board and head of school to review current guidelines set forth in the Ransom Everglades Student Handbook and to provide support relevant to student development and wellbeing.

  • DEI Committee, School

    The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is charged with helping to develop and implement the vision for DEI at Ransom Everglades. The committee is comprised of members from the faculty, staff and leadership who represent both campuses and all areas of the school. The committee advances ongoing DEI initiatives, such as the Booker T. Washington Senior High / Ransom Everglades exchange; offers professional development for faculty (most recently, a presentation on microaggressions); and develops new programs to continue to ensure that students, employees, alumni, trustees, volunteers and parents can fully contribute to and benefit from the opportunities, culture and experience at Ransom Everglades.

  • Diversity Council

    The Ransom Everglades Diversity Council is comprised of students and faculty members. Its mission is to raise awareness of cultural differences and other diversity-related issues. The development of cultural competencies is vital to any excellent educational experience. Members of the council seek ways for faculty, staff and students to make Ransom Everglades an inclusive community that takes full advantage of its multicultural strengths. Intent on combating discrimination and celebrating difference, the Ransom Everglades Diversity Council encourages critical thought about any and all issues relating to race, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability/disability, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, nationality and other cultural identifiers.

Student and Faculty Development in DEI

We are committed to the professional development of our faculty and educational advancement of our students in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion. We have a long, consistent history of sending a faculty and student cohort to the annual National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference and the simultaneous Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Ransom Everglades also has hosted practitioners from High Resolves and JONES (a national leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting) to work with our students, faculty, administration and trustees. Since the summer of 2019, faculty and administration have participated in the NAIS People of Color Conference, the University of Miami School of Business Diversity and Inclusion Conference, the Georgetown Certificate in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management, the NAIS Diversity Leadership Institute, Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education's Conflict Management Seminar, the Gardener Carey Leadership Institute, the Stanley King Institute, and the following courses: "Leading for Excellence and Equity" (Harvard Graduate School of Education), "Teaching Civics, Identity, and Action" (Facing History),  "Black Writers in American History" (Gilder Lehrman Institute) and "Anti-Oppression Teaching and Leading in Schools" (Klingenstein Institute). The faculty and administration jointly read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo in 2021, and Black, White, and The Grey by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano in 2022.

List of 2 items.

  • Questions? Contact Us

    Photo of Wendell Graham
    Mr. Wendell M. Graham '74
    Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement
    Columbia University - B.A.
    University of Miami - J.D.
    305 460 8889
     
    As Director of Inclusion and Community Outreach, I am responsible for our efforts to maintain a welcoming environment where every member of the school community can live, study, and work at their highest level of creativity and productivity. I practiced law for 38 years serving as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, arbitrator, mediator, and County Court Judge. I graduated from Ransom School in 1974, received my B.A. from Columbia University, and J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. I love music, fishing, and the outdoors. My wife runs a non-profit for children aging out of foster care. We have one child in college and the others are adults working in the Armed Services, Arts & Retail, and Education.

  • Student Organizations and Sponsors

    • Diversity Council / Jeannine Lehr and Carla Hill
    • American Sign Language / James Monk
    • Asian Students Association / Mandira Bose-Nyberg
    • Black Students Association / Teagan Thompson
    • Brazilian and Lusophone Club / Felipe Marin Vaz Amaro and Drew Cardinale
    • Chinese Culture / Xiaohong Teng
    • Christian Students Association / Shellie Perdigon
    • French Club / Dominique McKenna
    • Gender and Sexuality Association / James Monk
    • Jewish Students Association / Rabba Gollan
    • Latin American Students Association / Claudia Jolivert and Alfredo Palacio
    • Persian and Arabic Students Association / Arthur Hoffmann
    • Women Empowerment / Jenny Carson
    View all student organizations

Middle School

2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133
Phone: 305 250 6850

Upper School

3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133
Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.