About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Dalton

Dalton Welcomes New Chief of Equity and Belonging

New Chief of Equity & Belonging Johára Tucker

We are pleased to announce to the Dalton community that Johára Tucker will be our new Chief of Equity and Belonging.

Johára is a transformative educator whose broad institutional vision for growth is rooted in relationships with all constituencies. Her colleagues compliment her collaborative, calm, and compassionate approach, honoring what is unique about different individuals and groups while also celebrating commonalities.

A native New Yorker, Johára’s passion for this work stems from her own experience as an independent school student where she learned firsthand what it means to feel part of a school community. Johára’s references praised "her ability to see where an institution has been and how to move forward in a way that preserves institutional knowledge but also takes into account the future one wants to see." How fortunate for Dalton that she will bring her invaluable experience and expertise to our school as we continue our work on this journey!

Johára comes to us from the Head Royce School in Oakland, California where she is the Director of Equity and Inclusion. Prior to this, she worked at several other independent schools directing Equity and Social Justice work and as the Dean of Students for Community Life. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Johára also taught History at the High School level and holds a law degree from New York Law School.

The Search Committee members were unanimous in their support of Johára for this role and are thrilled to welcome her to Dalton on July 1, 2022.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Dalton are represented in many different ways:

racial, religious, family structure, sexual orientation, and socio-economic. Preparing students for a complex and interdependent world requires an education that reflects the history, cultures, beliefs, and perspectives of the global society in which children live, as well as knowledge of an inclusive, democratic community derived from direct experience.

The diversity, equity, and inclusion mission embedded in the policy and procedures of the Board of Trustees is made explicit in the Strategic Plan, a multifaceted, community-wide agenda, which mandates the continued recruitment and retention of a diverse student body, faculty, administration, and staff, the development of inclusive curricula, ongoing education on complex cultural issues, measures to determine accountability and progress, and equal access for all community members to participate fully in the life of the school.

As we actualize this vision in the years to come, we remind ourselves that while much has been accomplished, diversity, like democracy, is not an outcome but rather a process that is never finished. Through conscious collaboration, hard work, and dialogue, Dalton creates and sustains a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning community, one in which we model leadership that moves beyond tolerance, to an understanding of our global humanity and a respect for diversity in all of its facets.