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Mission

Diversity & Kinship

Regis Jesuit High School’s Catholic faith and values affirm that every person is created in the image of God and that we are transformed through genuine encounters with people from a broad range of backgrounds, identities, perspectives and experiences i.e. the many gifts of the Holy Spirit.
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.”  - Corinthians 12:12-24

List of 1 items.

  • Our Commitment to Diversity & Kinship

    Regis Jesuit is committed to graduating students who are
    intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving and committed to doing justice.

    In pursuit of this goal, the programs and initiatives of the Office of Diversity & Kinship cultivate a diverse community by contributing to an environment that reflects and nurtures the recognition and appreciation of human dignity and multiple perspectives while embracing and celebrating our shared experiences–in a word, by creating a community of kinship.

 
The vision of the Office of Diversity & Kinship is to cultivate a diverse community—one that thrives when we each experience a healthy sense of self, respect and care from others…in a word, when we each experience the sense of kinship.

Diversity & Kinship at Regis Jesuit

Our efforts around building Diversity & Kinship consist of a multi-faceted and transformative approach seeking to enact the recommendations of the school's Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan that was approved by the Board of Trustees and President David Card in 2016 and spearheaded by the school's diversity directors in collaboration with the Assistant Principal of Mission, Ministry & Diversity and mission team.

List of 8 items.

  • Diversity Strategic Plan

    The Regis Jesuit Diversity Strategic Plan was developed during the 2015-16 school year in an effort led by the school's diversity directors. It consisted of extensive information-gathering from all key community constituents and stakeholders including the students, alums, faculty, parents, donors, school administration and board members over a period of several months. The process produced a five-year diversity strategic plan that was ratified by the President and Board of Trustees in 2016.
    View the 2016 Diversity Strategic Plan
    Read More
  • Kinship

    Kinship, as defined by Britannica, is the system of social organization based on real or putative family ties. Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ puts it more simply by saying “Kinship is we belong to each other.” He continues, saying that “we seek to create loving communities of kinship precisely to counteract mounting lovelessness, racism, and the cultural disparagement that keeps us apart.”

    Kinship helps to make clear that sense of community and family through that core Ignatian value of Finding God in All Things, which roots us in the awareness that God can be found in everyone, every place and everything. It helps to create that culture of encounter that Pope Francis invites us to in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. If we “belong to each other” then we should be more curious and passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges and planning projects that include everyone.
  • Demographics & Fast Facts

    At the turn of this century, Regis Jesuit was an all-boys school with an enrollment of approximately 600 students consisting of just under 10% of students of color who came primarily from the cities of Denver and Aurora.  Since then, we have added an all-girls program to create the first known Jesuit high school that offers single-sex instruction to both boys and girls on the same campus, educating approximately 940 boys and 760 girls every year.

    Our goal is to enroll a student body that is reflective of the community in which we educate and one that helps prepare our students for leadership and service in the multi-faceted world they will move on to upon their graduation from Regis Jesuit.

    Demographic Overview

  • Timeline & History of the Program

    As a school, we have long recognized that a diverse student body is critical to forming the whole person and better preparing our students to work in an increasingly multicultural world, one in which local, national and international tensions are often grounded in cultural, religious or linguistic differences. Almost immediately following the move from North Denver to Aurora, Regis Jesuit committed itself to elevating the diversity of the student body and expanding the holistic and intersectional concept of diversity for students, parents and faculty and staff. Here are the efforts and actions undertaken in support of that goal:
    • 1993 Parent Diversity Group is formed
    • 1996 First Diversity Director hired
    • 2006 First Annual Diversity Day Conference held
    • 2010 Student-led diversity programming incorporated into advisement program
    • 2016 Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan ratified by the Board of Trustees
    • 2018 Assistant Principal for Mission, Ministry & Diversity is hired
    See All Key Diversity Dates and Initiatives
  • Outreach & Support to Families

    Parent Diversity Committee 
    Dating back to the mid 1990s, our Parent Diversity Committee (PDC) is for interested parents and guardians to join together monthly in a supportive community that fosters an environment reflecting the challenges of inclusiveness and respect for everyone including students, parents, faculty and staff. With the understanding that learning about and appreciating a diverse community is a lifelong learning process, this community continuously promotes this value at Regis Jesuit. The focus of the work of this committee is always determined by the parents and guardians in the group and specifically addresses the needs they bring. If you want to learn more about the PDC, please contact Christina Vela.

    Support for ESL Families
    We have a dedicated staff member as part of our Admissions team to help guide Spanish-speaking families through the application and enrollment process. Then, Spanish-speaking parents and guardians of students accepted to Regis Jesuit are supported by a committee, established in 2017 and led by our Director of Diversity & Kinship along with our family liaison, that brings together all our ESL families regularly for support with admissions, onboarding, retention and communications throughout their four years at the school. If you have any questions, please reach out to Carmen Quintanilla.
  • Hiring for Mission

    Hiring and Equity Policies
    Hiring for diversity is hiring for our mission. Regis Jesuit is committed to hiring the most talented, diverse and caring faculty and staff to guide our students. We have made tremendous strides in building a more diverse student population. One of our strategic goals currently is to assemble a faculty and staff that better reflects the growing diversity of our students. Thus, prospective employees who will help us meet the aims of inclusivity and diversity are encouraged to contact us, even if a particular position does not appear. 
    We have implemented a schoolwide policy to help ensure that candidates from diverse backgrounds are included in our hiring process. We have paired this with a policy focused on equity to ensure that we are upholding the values of our mission promise in how we conduct ourselves from the standpoint of diversity and inclusion. 

    Faculty and Staff Formation
    Opportunities for professional development pertaining to diversity and inclusion are numerous and offered year-round at Regis Jesuit, are an expectation for all faculty and staff and include:
    • Faculty and Staff Diversity In-Service Days
      Occurring at least yearly focused on diversity topics and issues 
    • Culturally-Responsive Teaching Training 
      Culturally-responsive teaching training is the instructional practice of teaching that recognize, honor and leverage cultural diversity in educational settings, with the goal of ensuring the academic success of all students, challenging us to ask ourselves: How can we validate the many aspects of identity through our teaching?
    • Implicit Bias Training
      Required for all hiring managers and department chairs
    • Diversity Conferences and Workshops
      Faculty and staff are always encouraged to attend conferences and workshops to further their understanding of Diversity & Kinship work
    • Diversity Book Clubs and Discussion Groups
      Offering faculty and staff the opportunity to read a book or have a discussion based on a Diversity & Kinship subject area to hear and learn from a variety of perspectives
    • Faculty Diversity Committee
      Participates annually in a discussion and review of the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan
  • The Profile of the Graduate at Graduation

    Jesuit education is, has been and continues to be focused on whole-person education—mind, body and spirit—achieving this through cura personalis (personalized care and concern for the individual) and a holistic curriculum. Jesuit education aims to form lifelong learners imbued with an Ignatian approach to living shaped by the knowledge, understanding, and use of the interplay of experience, reflection and action (the dynamic at the heart of the Spiritual Exercises). Jesuit education also aims to graduate students with the desire and the personal resources to be Men and Women with and for Others.
    In their growth through the pillars of the Graduate at Graduation, students learn to “appreciate diversity within our community and work to achieve an inclusive environment” by being:
    • Loving
      "Has begun to come to grips with personal prejudices and stereotypes, communicates more easily with others, especially peers of other races, religions, nationalities, and socio-economic backgrounds.”
    • Intellectually Competent
      "They will therefore be exposed to curriculum and experiences that will help them grow in “awareness of local and global social problems and their public policy implications and moral ambiguities.”
    • Committed to Doing Justice
      "If it is to graduate students 'committed to doing justice,' as the Profile calls for, Regis Jesuit itself must model inclusion by providing greater access to under-represented ethnic, racial and economic groups."
    • Open to Growth
      “Is becoming more flexible and open to other points of view; recognizes how much one learns from careful listening to peers and significant others; and recognizes one’s biases, limitations, and thinking patterns.”
  • Resources for Catholic Jesuit Mission-Based Diversity Work


 

Our Diversity & Kinship Team

List of 3 members.

  • Photo of Christina Vela

    Ms. Chris Vela 

    Director of Diversity & Kinship | Spanish Teacher
    (303) 269-8065
  • Photo of Luis Paez

    Mr. Luis Paez 

    Coordinator of Student Retention | Social Studies Teacher
    (303) 269-8000
  • Photo of Carmen Quintanilla

    Ms. Carmen Quintanilla 

    Diversity & Kinship Parent Liaison
    (303) 269-8084

Program Opportunities

List of 4 items.

  • Diversity Action Group

    The Diversity Action Group (DAG) is a student-centered club that provides a forum for students to discuss issues of importance to them and the greater school community. Diversity and respect for others extend beyond their DAG involvement as members are actively involved in the community of Regis Jesuit through clubs, sports, music, student government and other areas of student life. DAG students seek to both learn from and educate their peers about a range of diversity issues within the school and the world. DAG is a co-divisional club in which a team of boys and girls work together toward a common goal and mission to plan events including speakers, dialogue sessions and conferences for both divisions. The club also works within each respective division where students also meet separately to focus on topics that surface in that division.
  • Parent Diversity Committee

    Interested parents and guardians join together monthly in a supportive community that fosters an environment reflecting the challenge of inclusiveness and respect for everyone including students, parents/guardians, faculty and staff. With the understanding that learning about and appreciating a diverse community is a life-long learning process, this committee continuously promotes this value at Regis Jesuit. We often invite faculty and staff members to discuss items relevant to diversity and the issues of equity and inclusion.
  • Speakers and Events

    LUNCHTIME SPEAKER SERIES
    The Lunchtime Speaker series is a quarterly program that brings in speakers to present on topics that help our students recognize that the impact that multiple perspectives and cultural differences have on their life, the life of the school, the city, the nation and beyond. At these events, Regis Jesuit students can explore a wide range of issues and begin to build bridges of respect through sharing their opinions with their peers in a respectful, educational environment. Diversity of thought is welcomed, encouraged and affirmed in these sessions.

    ADVISORY PROGRAM
    A few times throughout the year, the Diversity Office is in charge of integrating activities into the IMPACT (advisement) curriculum for both the girls and boys. These activities range from small group discussions and activities to speakers and outside guests. All activities are designed to support our students as they work to embody the Profile of the Graduate at Graduation—open to growth, intellectually competent, loving, religious and committed to doing justice.

    CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
    Each year, the Diversity & Kinship Office seeks opportunities for our students to further their growth and formation around issues of diversity and inclusion. These include local, regional and national conferences or immersion experiences that allow students to change the lens of their perspectives and expand their worldview. In the past, opportunities have included the CIRCLE Conference, Cherry Creek Diversity Conference and Jesuit Regional Diversity Conference. 
  • RJ Diversity Day Conference

    Since 2006, Regis Jesuit has hosted a day-long conference around a central theme that has become an integral part of how we educate our students. The day, held annually in the spring, features a keynote speaker followed by scores of workshop sessions designed to expose students to new perspectives and increase their cultural awareness and understanding.

    Students are challenged by myriad outside presenters on issues ranging from race to immigration to homelessness to gender to adaptive sports. They also have the opportunity to see their peers present on topics about which they are passionate, and they expend some energy and are exposed to new experiences in a variety of active workshops such as learning the fundamentals of Capoeira, Salsa dancing, Chinese calligraphy and many more.

    Students spend the day learning about and discussing issues, as well as searching for ways to get involved in creating a stronger Jesuit community through the lens of diversity. Through the conference experience, we explore what Regis Jesuit High School is—pushing beyond what we see daily to apply what we learn about the experiences of others to everyone we meet and every community of which we are a member. 

    The Diversity Day Conference is an experience that students carry with them throughout their high school careers and beyond. We often hear from alumni that they enjoyed Diversity Day while they were students, but it was after they had graduated and moved out into the 'real world' that they fully understood and could embrace its impact on their lives. Visit the Diversity Day Conference webpage to view a listing of presenters and workshops and to learn more.

    If you are interested in being a workshop presenter at our next conference, please contact our Director of Diversity & Kinship, Christina Vela.  
“Kinship is we belong to each other” ~ Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ

19th Annual Diversity Day Conference

We were honored and thrilled to welcome keynote speaker Lori Frisher to our 19th annual conference on March 5, 2024.

Lori Frisher, founder and executive director of Ready or Not! Media, is a leader, disruptor, entrepreneur, athlete, cancer survivor and public speaker who dares to dream beyond present circumstances to what is possible. Born with severe hearing loss, she spent more than 30 years relying on hearing aids and now wears two cochlear implants. Ms. Frisher shared her story of being born hard of hearing, how she learned to navigate in a hearing world and the wisdom she has learned through her experience as a Division I college athlete, cancer survivor and entrepreneur in corporate America. She has learned to excel beyond her disability and is passionate about bringing people together to make clear the power and potential that lie within the disability community. As we recognized National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March, we welcomed the opportunity to hear from such an incredible advocate and storyteller to help disrupt traditional narratives of disability and promote equality and empathy to create positive change for the future. 
Learn more about our Diversity Day Conference

Diversity & Kinship News

List of 2 news stories.

  • RAIDERS RECOGNIZED BY COLLEGEBOARD NATIONAL RECOGNITION PROGRAM

    Congratulations to the 26 current RJ students, a mix of juniors and seniors, who were recognized by the CollegeBoard in one or more of their five national recognition programs—National African American Recognition Program, National First-Generation Recognition Program, National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program and National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program. Learn more about CollegeBoard National Recognition Programs here. We are proud of you, Raiders!
    Read More
  • RJ AND THE LATINOS UNIDOS CLUB CELEBRATE NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

    On Thursday, October 3, the Latinos Unidos Club organized a colorful and fun cultural festivity on John Sheridan '76 Quad in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Students learned more about various countries through challenge questions from tables that represented Colombia, Ecuador, Espana, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru. Members of the Latinos Unidos Club shared their cultural attire, great homecooked food, a mini-mercado of goods as well as played music in honor of our community's Hispanic/Latin culture which also represents the diverse and vibrant Hispanic/Latino culture locally and globally.
    Read More
View All News

Regis Jesuit High School

Regis Jesuit High School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other school-administered programs.
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