Archmere’s 2020-21 academic year welcomes a variety of new faculty and staff members; however, none are in as unique of a position as Ms. Danyele Dove, the new Director of Counseling, Diversity, and Inclusion. 

What is a director of diversity and inclusion? Well, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and increased social awareness towards religion, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, Archmere is taking steps towards ensuring equality and preventing prejudice amongst the student body. This includes new ways to educate the students such as open group discussions, engaging activities, and consistent reminders that we can always learn more and be more open to each other and members of our community. 

Ms. Dove is prepped and ready to take on all these responsibilities. She plans to dedicate each month to a different cultural group or community to broaden interest and knowledge on life outside of the Archmere bubble. For example, Ms. Dove is excited to encourage new group seminars and open discussions for not only education but to help students have their “Aha!” moments. She’s working to develop programming on campus throughout the 2020-21 school year and beyond to increase awareness amongst all students and the larger community, rather than keeping discussions within the Archmere bubble.  

Additionally, Ms. Dove plans to combine her goals with other Archmere clubs such as Auks Podcast, Dive In, GSA, and STUCO to spread these aspirations of respect, comfort, and a desire to reach beyond judgment to as many students as possible. She wants to make sure that everyone is not only heard in the room but also that everyone understands the family heritage and backgrounds of each other to facilitate a welcoming culture at Archmere. 

Ms. Dove explained that she wants “conversations we take for granted” to strengthen bonds and foster more in-depth personal discussions between students. She recognizes the potential struggles she might encounter stating, “The conversations are going to be hard conversations, but they’re going to be conversations that help us grow.” However, she’s more excited to dive straight into the deep end of her position. “I think this role is going to help myself and a lot of others dig deeper into more meaningful relationships, and I hope that I help the students.” Her overarching goal beyond all these activities is to help every student understand every culture, and recognize stereotypes or hurtful terms, whether those cultures and experiences are predominantly represented or not in the Archmere community. 

Above all this, Ms. Dove is also an Archmere alum from the class of ‘93. She feels her history with the school will allow her to not only have a better understanding of the Archmere culture but also to recognize how far the school has come as well as how far it still needs to go. A great cheerleader for the school overall, Ms. Dove understands the Archmere experiences and has explained her appreciation for the effect the Archmere education has had on her professional life. All in all, she’s thrilled to be back on campus and welcomed with open arms. 

In a parting statement from Ms. Dove, she expressed that she believes her main purpose as not only a counselor but also as our new head of Guidance and Diversity is to give “students the tools and level of comfort in an environment where we’re open to having those conversations.” We as the Archmere community are sure to expect important events and conversations from our new Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the coming months.