Thetford Academy is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion on our campus and in our community. Our mission “to celebrate the unique worth of all students, to nurture their strengths, and to challenge them to fulfill their potential” is at the center of what we do every day, and provides a foundation for this work.
In 2020, TA’s Board of Trustees launched an Anti-Racism Task Force to assess Thetford Academy’s current ability to create a safe and welcoming school for BIPOC students and employees, and to identify recommendations to maximize the school’s effectiveness in becoming an anti-racist institution. Following nine months of intensive work, the TA Antiracism Taskforce presented their findings and recommendations to the trustees in August 2021, and then finalized their report and shared it with the wider community in October 2021.
With the task force recommendations, the Board continues its commitment to follow through on TA’s ten-point pledge made after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which recognized that: “The trustees and leadership of Thetford Academy acknowledge the need to dismantle interpersonal and structural racism in ourselves, our school, and our community.” A new diversity, equity, and inclusion council that includes TA faculty, administrator, and trustee representatives is now guiding next steps to integrate the recommendations into our school’s strategic plan and actions.
In addition to our renewed focus on anti-racism work during the past two school years, Thetford Academy continues its important, ongoing work of equity and inclusion. From our inclusive educational practices to fostering student advocacy groups such as the Queer Student Alliance, we strive to achieve our mission and live our values in ways that support all students.