The National SEED Project at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s

St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s began its first SEED group in 2012, and since then, nearly 150 members of our community including faculty, trustees, and parents have participated in the year-long dialogue that uses self-reflection and structured group conversations to examine topics of diversity and equity. Led by trained parent and faculty peers, SEED leaders and colleagues use their own experiences and those of their students and children to widen and deepen school curricula and, ultimately, to serve the needs of our diverse community.

  • 80+ faculty members have participated in SEED since 2012
  • 60+ parents have participated in SEED since 2015
  • Five leaders (faculty and parents) have been trained as SEED facilitators

Founded in 1987 by Dr. Peggy McIntosh, author of the classic paper, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” SEED is a peer-led program that promotes change through self-reflection and interpersonal dialogue and builds capacity for more equitable curriculum, campuses, workplaces, and communities.

SEED’s unique methodology involves:

  • Facilitating ongoing, structured, group conversations in which all voices can be heard
  • Examining how our own stories relate to social systems
  • Learning from the lessons of our own lives as well as from texts
  • Turning oppression and privilege into agency and action

Click here to learn more about the National SEED Project.

The St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s Community's SEED Experiences

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I am grateful that because of SEED, colleagues become friends and we are given a space to share meaningful experiences with one another. Each meeting is a way to explore the development of our own identities and reflect on the ways in which those intersect and impact our teaching and more importantly, our students. It has stretched my understanding and given me more insight into what my students may experience in my classroom. Faculty SEED Participant

As much as I clearly enjoyed the experience, I value even more the effect of SEED. With my students, I listen to difficult questions more actively. I articulate challenging thoughts more clearly. I find ways to enable all students to speak out for themselves. Every day, SEED helps me transmit the educational values that informed the founding of St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School. Faculty SEED Participant

SEED solidified my belief that St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s is the right place for my son and our family. Parent SEED Participant

The SEED program puts into practice the school’s deeply rooted belief that learning takes place in a world of diversity, but is animated by a unifying love. The old truths of St. Augustine have been brought, through St. Hilda & St. Hugh, by Mother Ruth to a new world very much in need of them. SEED helps us to articulate who we are, what we value, and how we live. Faculty SEED Participant 

I wanted a safe space and dedicated time to think about issues of race and class. The goal: to gain better insights that I can impart to my young child. Parent SEED Participant

St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's works very hard to promote diversity in all aspects of its endeavors. Diversity is not a separate part or component of its identity; it is embedded in all aspects of its work. My family feels St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's is like our second family, and our fellow students, families,  and the faculty are like extended members of that family. Keith Taylor, Parent 

 

 

When discussing issues of race, identity and social justice, it is easy to intellectualize these matters. SEED puts faces and experiences to theories and concepts, making them much more concrete. I have learned so much from my experiences in SEED, and I am grateful to be at a school that cares about it as much as I do.” 

Faculty SEED Participant