Diversity, Equity, and Belonging

Our Mission and Vision

The SAS Mission and Vision speak of inclusivity, opportunity, voice, empowerment, and the health and well-being of each individual in our community. SAS strives to build a community of individuals and families from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, races, religions, and sexual orientations to prepare our students to live in and serve a diverse and multicultural society. Our goal is a truly inclusive school community that welcomes and supports all of its members. We believe that the work of inclusion is the responsibility of all members of our community.

At SAS, we interact with individuals, but we also interact with their cultures and their beliefs...There is no way we could possibly leave these interactions without being changed.”

ALUM Sophia Patterson, matriculated to Trinity University

An Inclusive Christian Community

Since the beginning of our school’s history, our identity as an “inclusive Christian community” has remained central to our mission. We believe that inclusion is more than just the tolerance of difference. Rather, with the guidance of the Episcopal Church, the vibrant presence of differences in belief, gender, sexuality, faith tradition, race, ethnicity allows our community to grow more fully into what Desmond Tutu calls “God’s dream:” a community in which diversity is strength, where each child knows themselves as infinitely worthy and beloved of God, and where justice and forgiveness prevail over hatred and prejudice. As political divisions and systemic racism fray the bonds of our human family, we strive to make God’s dream a reality as an inclusive Christian community.  

...we need not be paralyzed by our past or our present. We are not slaves to fate but people of faith. That work of racial reconciliation and justice – what we know as Becoming Beloved Community – is happening across our Episcopal Church...and it is work that belongs to all of us.

At SAS,

• Students represent a wide range of faith traditions. One-quarter of our students are Episcopalian.
• The overall school community is characterized by openness, trust and forgiveness.
• The School Chaplain, an Episcopal priest, is a full time employee of the school and serves as pastor to the school community. 
• Students and faculty attend regular chapel services in the 100-year-old St. Andrew's Chapel. An all-school Eucharist is celebrated on Wednesdays as a means of gathering and focusing the entire community at the beginning of each week. Music is an important part of our worship. Boarding students also attend a Compline service on Sunday evenings. As we are able, we will also provide transportation for students to additional worship services in the Episcopal church and/or other faith traditions.
• All seniors take a one year course focusing on the religions in the Abrahamic traditions. The course culminates in each student writing a Creedal Statement addressing the student's ultimate concerns and beliefs.
• Senior Chapel Talks are opportunities for members of the senior class to offer the gift of wisdom, truth, and encouragement to fellow students, faculty, and staff. Family, friends, and community members are encouraged to attend.
• With the help of our Chaplain, students may prepare for baptism or confirmation in the Episcopal Church.

At SAS, we are striving to make God’s dream a reality as an inclusive Christian community. We still have a lot of work to do, especially in the area of recruiting a faculty and Board of Trustees that better reflect the diversity of our student body. It is work to which we are committed."

KARL j. SJOLUND, HEAD OF SCHOOL