A Community Enriched by Many Voices

At Triangle Day School, we are committed to fostering a community in which diversity is celebrated, equity is championed, and belonging is foundational to our mission.

We honor the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of every member of our school community. By embracing our differences, we strengthen our connections and cultivate an environment where care, empathy, and mutual respect thrive.

DEB Leadership Team

Kim Sue-Ling
Kim Sue-Ling

Board Liaison

Christine Herman
Christine Herman

Parent Liaison

DEB Committee

The Diversity, Equity, and Belonging (DEB) Committee is a collaborative group of parents, teachers, and staff who work together to foster an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming community for all students and families. The committee partners with school leadership to support a culture where every individual feels seen, valued, and experiences a genuine sense of belonging. By bringing together multiple perspectives from across our community, the DEB Committee provides thoughtful input on school policies, programs, and practices to help ensure they reflect our shared commitment to equity and inclusion.

The committee also supports community-building initiatives such as cultural celebrations, educational events, and facilitated discussions that promote understanding and connection across differences. In addition, the DEB Committee serves as a bridge between families and the school, encouraging open dialogue and helping ensure that diverse voices are heard. Through collaboration, education, and ongoing reflection, the DEB Committee strengthens our school community and helps create an environment where every student can thrive.

Celebrations of Belonging

The TDS community is enriched by the diverse backgrounds, traditions, and identities of our students, staff, and families. We host a variety of cultural celebrations throughout the year not only to honor this diversity, but to provide joyful, experiential learning opportunities that foster awareness, global citizenship, and a profound sense of belonging for every child.

Hispanic Heritage

Hispanic Heritage Fiesta

Our annual Hispanic Heritage Fiesta joyfully recognizes and celebrates the rich histories, vibrant cultures, and countless contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. By engaging with authentic clothing, music, food, and storytelling, our students move beyond textbook learning to experience the beauty of these diverse cultures firsthand. This celebration affirms the identities of our Hispanic and Latino families while teaching all students to appreciate the deep cultural roots that shape our broader society and local community.

Festival Of Lights

Festival of Lights

The winter season brings our Festival of Lights, a celebration that highlights the universal themes of hope, warmth, and community found in traditions across the globe. By exploring holidays such as Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and others, students learn to identify the shared human experiences that connect different faiths and cultures. We host this event to teach our students that while we may celebrate differently, the desire to bring light into the darkness and gather with loved ones is a beautiful, unifying thread across humanity.

Black History Month

Black History Month

Our Black History Month Celebration honors Black joy, excellence, and innovation. While the integration of Black history is a year-round commitment in our classrooms, we dedicate this specific celebration to amplifying the voices, artistry, and achievements of Black Americans. We host this event to ensure our students understand the central, indispensable role of Black individuals in shaping our nation’s history and future, and to empower all students to engage in ongoing conversations about racial equity and justice.

International-Week

International Week & Festival

As a school committed to raising global citizens, we host the International Festival to celebrate the tapestry of world heritages represented right here within our own school community. We host this festival to cultivate curiosity about the wider world, encourage cross-cultural friendships, and teach our students that our community is strongest when we learn from one another’s global perspectives.

Pride Festival

Pride Festival

We host our Pride Festival to affirm that every type of family and every individual identity is celebrated at our school. In a developmentally appropriate way, this event focuses on the core values of love, respect, and allyship, ensuring that students from LGBTQ+ families – and our LGBTQ+ students and staff – feel fully seen and safe. By celebrating Pride and family diversity, we teach our students the vital lesson that there is no single way to be a family, and that true belonging means embracing people exactly as they are.

Rooted in CARE

We believe that Compassion, Affirmation, Respect, and Empathy must be at the center of everything we do—guiding how we learn, how we interact, and how we grow together as a school family.

We recognize a profound and important distinction between simply being included and truly belonging. Whereas inclusion invites people into a space, belonging means that people within the community have agency and are invested because they have a shared responsibility to one another. At TDS, our goal is not merely to open our doors to a diverse community, but to empower every student, parent, and faculty member to actively co-create our school culture.

Through CARE, we intentionally cultivate a deep sense of belonging and shared ownership:

  • Compassion: We lead with open hearts, recognizing, supporting, and valuing the diverse lived experiences that enrich our community.
  • Affirmation: We celebrate every individual’s authentic self, ensuring that all identities—across race, culture, family structure, and background—are seen, validated, and uplifted.
  • Respect: We honor the inherent dignity of every person, teaching our students to be curious rather than judgmental.
  • Empathy: We seek to understand one another deeply, stepping into each other’s shoes to bridge differences and build meaningful, lasting connections.

By nurturing a culture where everyone has a voice, agency, and a stake in our collective well-being, we ensure that Diversity, Equity, and Belonging are more than just initiatives—they are the very fabric of our school. Together, we practice CARE, embrace our shared responsibility to one another, and create an environment where every member of the TDS community can truly thrive.

Definitions

An inclusive concept that recognizes the many ways people differ, including psychological, physical, and social dimensions. Embracing diversity allows us to learn from one another and move beyond tolerance toward genuine understanding, appreciation, and celebration of our shared and distinct identities.

Ensuring every community member has the support, access, and opportunities they need to be successful and thrive. Because each individual is unique, equity means meeting community members where they are and providing them with the tools they need to succeed.

The experience of feeling seen, valued, respected, and connected within a community so that every individual feels safe to be their authentic self and confident that they are an important and welcomed part of the community. Belonging also reflects a shared sense of ownership and responsibility within the community’s dynamics, where each person contributes to and helps shape the culture of the community.

The intentional actions and practices that ensure all individuals are meaningfully welcomed, supported, and able to fully participate in a community. Inclusion moves beyond representation by actively removing barriers, honoring diverse identities and experiences, and creating environments where everyone has voice, access, and the opportunity to contribute and thrive.

The principle of treating all individuals the same by providing the same resources and opportunities for, and assigning the same expectations to, everyone regardless of background or identity: Equality emphasizes fairness through uniformity.

While equality focuses on giving everyone the same thing, equity recognizes that individuals start from different places and may face different barriers. Equity seeks to provide the specific resources and support each person needs to achieve comparable outcomes. In other words, equality is sameness, whereas equity is responsiveness to difference in pursuit of fairness.

Safe Spaces for Community

Gender & Sexuality Alliance

The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) at Triangle Day School is a Support GSA — a non-judgmental, safe, and nurturing space where LGBTQ+ and allied students can share their experiences, learn about resources in their school and off campus, connect with others like them, and build peer support.

Parents of Students of Color

The Parents of Students of Color (POSOC) is a welcoming and supportive community for families with students who identify as learners of color at TDS. This group offers a space to connect, celebrate identity, share experiences, and collaborate on strategies to support our children in today’s world. It also serves as a platform to partner with school leadership in fostering positive change and building a stronger, more inclusive school community. While POSOC centers the voices and experiences of families of students of color, all parents who are committed to listening, learning, and contributing to this important work are invited to participate.

Students of Color Alliance

The Students of Color Alliance (SOCA) is an affinity group for grades 5–8, created to cultivate a safe, affirming community where students who identify as persons of color can share their experiences and address challenges they face both in and out of the classroom. While SOCA’s mission is to support and advocate for students of color, all students who wish to learn, listen, and stand in solidarity are warmly encouraged and welcome to participate.

Social Justice Parent Book Club

Titles discussed have included:

New Kid book cover
White Women book cover
So You Want to Talk About Race book cover