The genesis of “Beyond Empire” comes from a personal place. As a first-generation American of Trinidadian immigrants, who came to the US amidst Trinidad’s independence from the UK, Stephen Bailey finds that it is imperative to trace these stories. The central questions of the course ask, “What is it to move beyond empire? How do people understand themselves in a new context? How do you reacquire or reinvent yourself?” What underlies the curriculum is the belief that through investing in the literary worlds of other cultures, students can be world scholars and compassionate readers.
Stephen emphasizes reading a breadth of literary styles like poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc. to think critically about how language is used. With challenging material from authors and playwrights like Tayeb Salih and Lynn Nottage, Stephen asks for courage from both his students and himself; the courage to ask hard questions and to listen to different voices and opinions. “That is where true inquiry begins!”
Celebrating Black History Month
Black History Month celebrations continued this week in the Middle and Upper Schools with assemblies in Schenck Auditorium facilitated by the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Department. For the US Assembly, members of the Black Affinity student...
Author Visits Help Enrich MS Literary Units
Authors recently visited our Middle School (MS) to enrich current units of study. Seventh graders hosted a Q&A session with award-winning author Reyna Grande, whose memoir, “The Distance Between Us,” is central to their cross-curricular Anatomy of a Human Project....
D-E Celebrates Lunar New Year!
D-E rang in the Lunar New Year with dynamic assembly performances and a jubilant celebration in the Wharton Lessin Dining Hall, graciously facilitated by our Asian American, Chinese, and Korean Parent Affinity Groups. Festivities began in the Lower School (LS) with...
Kindergarten & 1st Grade Valentine’s Concerts 2026
In a beloved D-E tradition, this week our Lower School (LS) Kindergarten and 1st Grade students tugged at heartstrings during their Valentine’s Chorus Concerts for families. Hajjar Auditorium was decked with red, pink, and white balloon displays and paper hearts with...
D-E 360° LS Chess Team Competes at Scholastic Grand Prix
The D-E 360° Lower School Chess Team continues its winning streak with a fantastic showing at the recent Scholastic (K-9) Grand Prix, hosted in the D-E STEM Center. Players came from a wide range of schools across New Jersey and New York, and 28 students from D-E...
Economics & Business Finance Students Visit the Fed
Upper School (US) students in our Economics and Business Finance classes recently took a field trip to the Federal Bank of New York. “While there, they listened to a lecture on basic monetary policy and the role the central bank plays in managing the economy,” said US...
Basketball Student-Athlete Leo Colosimo ’26 Scores His 1,000th Point
CHEERS & CONGRATS to Leo Colosimo ‘26!!! Courtside dreams came true last night when Leo Colosimo ’26 scored his 1,000th career point in the Myrna B. Sherman Gym, where D-E’s Boys Varsity Basketball Team faced the Hackensack Comets. Congratulations to Leo on this...
LS Celebrates Black History Month
During their recent Lower School Assembly, the LS community celebrated Black History Month with storytelling, personal anecdotes, poetry, and a dance performance! The assembly began with a video featuring a reading of “That Swingin’ Sound,” a story about the musical...
We Heart Math: Connecting Through the All-School Math Problem
CHEERS to D-E’s All-School Math Problem, a long-time tradition and cross-divisional activity! This year’s problem focused on symmetry, with a theme apropos for the lead-up to Valentine’s Day—cutting out (and folding) paper hearts! Ms. Patti Barrett, Chair of...
Save the Date for TEDxDwight-Englewood School 2026!
TEDxDwight-Englewood School 2026 is almost here! The production team is hard at work getting ready for the second-annual event, being held on Thursday, February 19, at 6 PM in Hajjar Auditorium. This year’s event once again features D-E Upper School student presenters speaking on the theme of “Learning Unbound: Igniting the Future,” with a mission of “sharing ideas worth spreading.” Featured speakers are Cooper Carragher-Haim ’26, Megan Rhee ’29, Arnav Garg ’28, Kylie Karageozian ’27, Jason Lee ’27, and Tyler Pinniger ’27. Learn more about the event by clicking the link in our bio!