Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
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At the heart of GAC is the desire to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).
GAC stands against racism in any form, whether in word or deed, whether overt or systemic. Racism is a sin against our fellow human beings, and against God. We will teach our children to stand against racism, hold ourselves and our students accountable surrounding racism, and continue to change ourselves and our practices, as we continue to learn more. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” We make a lasting commitment to keep learning about inequity, and to improve ourselves and our school to more fully live out the love of Christ for all people.
Our goal is to make meaningful progress now and for the future of our children. We are listening to our parents and students, past and present. We are grateful for their hearts and their desire to help GAC move forward. We plan to continue to provide opportunities to listen to members of our community.
- Dr. Scott Harsh, GAC President
Celebrating Diversity on Campus
![Charles Edwards]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1574176637/greateratlantachristianorg/w6ilgupr9ksx02xnb9gl/charlesedwards.jpg","width":215}])
Charles Edwards
“We know that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable. It’s in challenging times like this that we must forgo comfort and convenience in order to continue the hard work of creating a climate and culture where every member of the GAC community feels supported and uplifted. This will be the ultimate measure of our mission and the legacy we leave behind—how we love and honor Christ through the way we fully love and honor one another.”
Director of Diversity & Inclusion
Did You Know?
GAC is blessed with a diverse school community that strives to be a reflection of Christian Atlanta. We remain committed to continuing to grow in our hiring and retention of a diverse, highly qualified, faithful team.
Breakdown of Student Body Demographics
In addition, 38% of recent hires have been faculty/staff of color
Meet our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Team
Commissioned in the fall of 2018, the primary goal of the GAC Inclusion Task Force is to improve the school’s cultural climate for all students, faculty, and staff. Meeting regularly, the task force seeks to identify needs and implement initiatives that reinforce God’s values of diversity and inclusion throughout the GAC community.
Charles Edwards
Director of Inclusion
Jermaine Fields
Teacher & EDI Coordinator
Susan Kim
Teacher
Natalia Medina
Teacher
The Manley Family: A History of Diversity
Learn What Makes GAC Unique
![GAC Welcomes Dr. Howard, Professor of Ethics and Reconciliation, on Campus]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1628616559/greateratlantachristianorg/yc2uc5xaldgrpxa7yw2g/AaronHoward.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1628616559/greateratlantachristianorg/yc2uc5xaldgrpxa7yw2g/AaronHoward.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1628616559/greateratlantachristianorg/yc2uc5xaldgrpxa7yw2g/AaronHoward.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1628616559/greateratlantachristianorg/yc2uc5xaldgrpxa7yw2g/AaronHoward.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1628616559/greateratlantachristianorg/yc2uc5xaldgrpxa7yw2g/AaronHoward.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1628616559/greateratlantachristianorg/yc2uc5xaldgrpxa7yw2g/AaronHoward.jpg","width":2200}])
"Let's teach children to celebrate their differences and to embrace the Imago Dei within each other. Let's free them from the burden of hate by showing them Christ's love." - Dr. Aaron Howard
![Black History Month Chapel]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1615302346/greateratlantachristianorg/i2h1s5t8kqqhvofx1eub/BHM.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1615302346/greateratlantachristianorg/i2h1s5t8kqqhvofx1eub/BHM.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1615302346/greateratlantachristianorg/i2h1s5t8kqqhvofx1eub/BHM.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1615302346/greateratlantachristianorg/i2h1s5t8kqqhvofx1eub/BHM.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1615302346/greateratlantachristianorg/i2h1s5t8kqqhvofx1eub/BHM.png","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1615302346/greateratlantachristianorg/i2h1s5t8kqqhvofx1eub/BHM.png","width":2200}])
Every year our community looks forward to celebrating Black History Month with a special, student led Black History Month Chapel. The theme this year was "Take You To Church" and the event included worship led by the chapel band, dance performed by the GAC dance team, an interview between Director of Inclusion Charles Edwards and his godmother and a powerful message by Pastor, Gospel Artist, and former GAC Parent, Charles Jenkins.
![GAC Alumni Hunter McIntosh '19 speaks at Black Solidarity event and call for an end to racism at Elon University]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1599847658/greateratlantachristianorg/echxx58mveam8sec5gpc/HunterMcIntosh.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1599847658/greateratlantachristianorg/echxx58mveam8sec5gpc/HunterMcIntosh.jpg","width":440}])
The event provided the opportunity to commemorate lives lost to police brutality while making a vocal and united call for change...Hunter McIntosh ’23 stepped to the microphone, noting that the expansive crowd he saw before him demonstrated that this is a time of unity at Elon. He offered insights to members of the White community, explaining that there is a difference between sympathy and empathy. “Empathy is showing up, showing you care, showing you will be here for us as we struggle,” McIntosh said.
![GAC Alumni Passes Georgia Anti-Hate Crimes Act]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1598276631/greateratlantachristianorg/ftkj7vxnmxhczy3gf1qn/hatecrimebill-2.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1598276631/greateratlantachristianorg/ftkj7vxnmxhczy3gf1qn/hatecrimebill-2.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1598276631/greateratlantachristianorg/ftkj7vxnmxhczy3gf1qn/hatecrimebill-2.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1598276631/greateratlantachristianorg/ftkj7vxnmxhczy3gf1qn/hatecrimebill-2.jpg","width":1024}])
GAC alumni Chuck Efstration (Class of 2001) authored and helped to pass Georgia’s new Anti-Hate Crimes Act, which received national attention this year and was recently signed into law. Georgia previously had been one of four states without a hate crime law.
![A Letter from Dr. Harsh]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1596653073/greateratlantachristianorg/enm8qo4rudxt6xpuqeh8/FamilyGraduation-32.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1596653073/greateratlantachristianorg/enm8qo4rudxt6xpuqeh8/FamilyGraduation-32.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1596653073/greateratlantachristianorg/enm8qo4rudxt6xpuqeh8/FamilyGraduation-32.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1596653073/greateratlantachristianorg/enm8qo4rudxt6xpuqeh8/FamilyGraduation-32.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1596653073/greateratlantachristianorg/enm8qo4rudxt6xpuqeh8/FamilyGraduation-32.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1596653073/greateratlantachristianorg/enm8qo4rudxt6xpuqeh8/FamilyGraduation-32.jpg","width":2200}])
Dear GAC Alumni,
I hope you and each of your family members are healthy and well. This is a busy time on the GAC campus as we prepare for the start of another school year. As we are planning for the opening of school in August, this summer’s preparations have required additional careful considerations to provide for the health and safety of our students in new ways.
![A Letter from Dr. Harsh]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592852740/greateratlantachristianorg/gwua0msncjtfqjb83hrc/83071283_10158913502052526_7647828902827524096_o.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592852740/greateratlantachristianorg/gwua0msncjtfqjb83hrc/83071283_10158913502052526_7647828902827524096_o.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1592852740/greateratlantachristianorg/gwua0msncjtfqjb83hrc/83071283_10158913502052526_7647828902827524096_o.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592852740/greateratlantachristianorg/gwua0msncjtfqjb83hrc/83071283_10158913502052526_7647828902827524096_o.jpg","width":1099}])
Dear GAC Family,
I continue to be brokenhearted by all that has unfolded in recent weeks across our nation. I grieve with others for the families of victims like Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd and those whose names we do not know who have suffered needlessly. I wish that racism, and the violence that rises from it, hadn’t caused their senseless suffering and deaths. I want to continue to move to a place where all members of our Black community feel safe and valued. Yet “wishing” things were different brings no progress. We’ve got real work to do. In America. In every institution. In the Church. In every school and college. And, yes, absolutely—in GAC.
![A Letter from Dr. Harsh]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592921885/greateratlantachristianorg/axwlb3dzgmnopidgkbih/GAC-2019-11231.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592921885/greateratlantachristianorg/axwlb3dzgmnopidgkbih/GAC-2019-11231.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1592921885/greateratlantachristianorg/axwlb3dzgmnopidgkbih/GAC-2019-11231.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1592921885/greateratlantachristianorg/axwlb3dzgmnopidgkbih/GAC-2019-11231.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592921885/greateratlantachristianorg/axwlb3dzgmnopidgkbih/GAC-2019-11231.jpg","width":1284}])
Dear GAC Family,
During the past two months, we have faced the hardship and challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic together. The disruption and loss have been real. Our GAC community experienced the loss of family members, economic hardship, interruption of daily life, and uncertainty about the future. But we stuck together, transitioned to online learning, stayed connected, and finished the year unified. Now, in the midst of this ongoing health crisis, we’ve been reminded of another crisis, one that has been going on for far too long. Like all of you, I have struggled to process the senseless, heartbreaking killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. And so many other needless tragedies, less well known, but just as agonizing.
![GAC Student Leaders Use Music to Highlight Black History]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1582918502/greateratlantachristianorg/nvln0c7wqiyqmimpmxsp/4I9A9862_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1582918502/greateratlantachristianorg/nvln0c7wqiyqmimpmxsp/4I9A9862_1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1582918502/greateratlantachristianorg/nvln0c7wqiyqmimpmxsp/4I9A9862_1.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1582918502/greateratlantachristianorg/nvln0c7wqiyqmimpmxsp/4I9A9862_1.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1582918502/greateratlantachristianorg/nvln0c7wqiyqmimpmxsp/4I9A9862_1.jpg","width":1500}])
“Music embodies the words we can’t express. It comforts us during our deepest tragedies and fuels us during our greatest triumphs. More importantly, it unites us. Black History Month is not just for African Americans. The music you will hear today is woven into all of our lives” shared Simone Roberts, GAC’s Student Leader of Unity, who then proceeded to further describe the reason for the day’s special chapel assembly.
![International Student Program: The Wilsons and Jacky Zhang ‘18]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1592858632/greateratlantachristianorg/ymqkacd74jcnjjzdpwmi/Jacky2.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1592858632/greateratlantachristianorg/ymqkacd74jcnjjzdpwmi/Jacky2.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1592858632/greateratlantachristianorg/ymqkacd74jcnjjzdpwmi/Jacky2.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1592858632/greateratlantachristianorg/ymqkacd74jcnjjzdpwmi/Jacky2.jpg","width":960}])
Hosting an international student forms one family out of two.
While school nurse Kristen Wilson was palming warm foreheads and administering inhalers to Elementary students, back at home there were two Crock-Pots slowcooking dinner for her family. The newest addition, Zhang '18, was an active six-foot teenager who ate like one.