DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Heritage Hall Diversity Committee's mission: to promote, celebrate, and serve all members of our community. To fulfill this goal, the Committee – consisting of faculty and administrative staff from each division – collaborates with various members of the Charger community to create curricula and programs representative of our School's diversity. 

Supporting Our Asian Community

Our Heritage Hall Diversity and Inclusion Department would like to acknowledge the violence and threats of violence against our sisters and brothers of Asian descent.  We share our grief for the loss of the eight people, including six Asian women who were recently murdered in the Atlanta area.  Although we know that discrimination against people of Asian descent in America is nothing new; we cannot ignore that there has been an increase in xenophobic, racist incidents and anti-Asian hate crimes in the last year during our coronavirus pandemic.  This has been supported by a recent study based on police department statistics across major U.S. cities that have shown a nearly 150% surge in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020.  

Ms. Preston, Coach Corry and I continue to be committed to diversity, inclusion, human rights and social justice and we stand in solidarity with our Asian community here at Heritage Hall as well as in our nation.  We would like to be a support in any way possible and we encourage everyone to continue to uphold the human rights of all people and to take action against acts of hatred and discrimination rather than be silent bystanders.  

2019-20 Initiatives

List of 4 items.

  • Lower School

    • Charger Spotlight 
    • Día de los Muertos Celebration 
    • A Place for All (No Place for Hate)
    • Unity Day

  • Middle School

    • Diversity Club 
    • International Day 
    • No Place for Hate
    • Unity Day

  • Upper School

    • Diversity Club 
    • GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) 
    • Unity Day 
    • No Place for Hate

  • No Place for Hate/A Place for All

    No Place for Hate is a self-directed program helping all of the stakeholders take the lead on improving and maintaining school climate so all students can thrive. To be designated No Place for Hate, a school must complete the following:
    • Needs assessment
    • Formation of a No Place for Hate committee
    • Signing of the Resolution of Respect
    • One A World of Difference® Institute anti-bias or bullying prevention training program (optional in some regions)
    • Design and implementation of three school-wide anti-bias or bullying prevention activities

2018-19 Initiatives Overview

List of 1 items.

  • 2018-19 Overview

    COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS
    Courageous Conversations are a sustained, open, honest dialog about diversity challenges that we are facing in our community. These conversations are led by LS Spanish Teacher Whittney Darko and former Director of Diversity and Justice Michael McDaniel, along with guest speakers/presenters. Many of the talking points will be derived from the documentary America to Me and the Pacific Educational Group. Since April, the Conversations have opened up to parents in addition to faculty and staff. 

    To date the topics of these conversations have been:
    • Implicit Bias
    • Privilege
    • Family Dynamics
    • Microaggressions

    CHARGER SPOTLIGHT
    Charger Spotlight is designated to highlight the many cultures that exist in the Heritage Hall community as well as in our surrounding community. The mission statement is, "We are all different but we are one Charger Family." The program has also established a relationship with the University of Central Oklahoma International House SPICE Program, which gives access to the diverse groups of students that they have on their campus and who are willing to come and share their uniqueness. 

    Presenters that have come to visit our second, third, and fourth grade students during the 2018-19 school year were from the following countries: 
    • Han Seth Lu, Myanmar
    • Ana Alves, Brazil
    • Su Kyeong Cheong, China
    • Jane Liu, China
    • Chen Cheng, China
    • Olamide Peter Sonubi, Nigeria
    • Tom Gardner, England
    • Faez Ahmed, Pakistan

    BLACK HISTORY MONTH
    Lower School initiatives: 
    • Variety of books provided that were appropriate for each grade level
    • Third graders were assigned a famous African American to research throughout the month of February. The bulk of the people who were researched were from Oklahoma. 
    • LS Counselor, Allison Morris, visited classrooms throughout February to share lessons focused on friendship. She also shared a book with the students about the friendship between Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. 
    • Special Charger Spotlight that combined Black History Month and Women's History Month. There were four speakers brought in: 
      • Janet McLain
      • Alina Wilson '19
      • Willie Joyce Webb
      • Russell Perry

    Middle School initiatives:
    • Students in grades 6-8 are engaged in a curriculum that highlights the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
    • T.W. Shannon spoke to 8th grade boys to share the history that lead him to become Oklahoma's first African American Speaker of the House
    • Dr. George Henderson, from the University of Oklahoma, was brought to speak to the whole Middle School. 

    Upper School initiatives: 
    • All Upper School students are engaged in a curriculum that highlights the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 
    • The Langston University Concert Choir came out to perform traditional songs and hymns from the African American community, including the Black National Anthem

    AFFINITY GROUP
    Over the last year the Upper School Counselor, Samantha Kobs, has established several affinity groups that meet the needs of our community. 

    – Gay Student Alliance (GSA)
    • Meet one to two times per month
    • Hold three to four charity movie nights
    • #FeelGoodFridays - Music is played during passing periods over the loudspeaker on Fridays. Students will donate $1 per song and all proceeds go towards Sisu Youth Shelter. 
    • At least three times during the 2018-19 school year, members have gone to Sisu Youth to volunteer to help clean and organize. On April 18, 2019, students went to Sisu to help with their one year anniversary open house event. Items were donated for a raffle and helped with serving food during the event. 

Photo Gallery

Diversity & Inclusion Staff

List of 3 members.

  • Photo of Teresa Turner

    Teresa Turner 

    Director of Diversity and Inclusion
    405.936.3116
    University of Oklahoma - B.A. and M. Ed.
  • Photo of Whittney Preston

    Whittney Preston 

    LS Spanish, Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion
    University of Oklahoma - BA
    Southern Nazarene University - M. Ed.
  • Photo of Corry Smith

    Corry Smith Sr. 

    Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Strength and Conditioning, Head 8th Grade Boys' Baske
    Northeastern State University - Health and Human Performance
    University of Central Oklahoma - Wellness Management

Additional Resources

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1800 NW 122nd Street, 
Oklahoma City, OK 73120
PHONE 405.749.3001   FAX 405.751.7372

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Heritage Hall is a co-educational college preparatory school in Oklahoma City. As one of the few secular private schools in the state, we offer a challenging academic curriculum for students from preschool through grade 12, as well as unique leadership opportunities, a wide spectrum of athletics, and a well developed fine arts program.

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