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!”
D-E Celebrates Pride Month
In the final days of the school year, D-E celebrated Pride Month with community-wide efforts to decorate the campus with Pride flags, banners, window decals, and a giant rainbow paper chain stretching from the Lower School (LS) and past the Upper School (US) to the...
Private Music Lessons Recital Highlights
An end-of-year D-E tradition, the Private Music Lessons Recital, once again proved to be a wonderful celebration of musicianship. This recent event, presented by the D-E Performing Arts Department faculty in partnership with D-E 360°, featured nearly 30 student...
Middle School Final Projects Wrap Up the Year
D-E Middle Schoolers were busy with end-of-year projects to cap off a productive year! For their American History class, 8th graders were each tasked with writing and illustrating a children’s book, based on a historical event from the 1960s. This was a pilot project...
D-E Alumni Return to Campus
D-E alumni recently returned to campus for a series of events, including a panel from recent graduates, speed networking with our class of 2025, a Young Alumni BBQ, and a gift dedication from the Class of 2024. During the Recent Alumni Panel, moderated by Eileen...
Congrats to Emma Hsu ‘25, Grace Dalgetty ‘26!
Cheers to Emma Hsu ‘25 and Grace Dalgetty ‘26, both of whom competed in the recent State Meet of Champions in Pennsauken, NJ (the highest level of high school competition in New Jersey),and made D-E School history in the process! Emma competed in both Triple Jump and...
Visiting Poet Dr. Joshua Bennett Inspires D-E Students to ‘Live in the Space of Imagination’
D-E was recently graced with a campus visit from renowned poet Dr. Joshua Bennett, a Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Bennett is the author of five books, including The Sobbing...
A Look Back: Poet Dr. Joshua Bennett Visits D-E
D-E was recently graced with a campus visit from renowned poet Dr. Joshua Bennett, a Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Bennett is the author of five books, including The Sobbing...
Wacky Water Day and Kindergarten Field Day Spark Joy for Lower School Students
Wacky Water Day was a blast for D-E’s 1st through 5th graders! The annual tradition gives Lower School (LS) students the opportunity to get into their bathing suits to participate in water activities on Mr. Rocky’s Field with their peers, while teachers splash them...
Kindergarten Zoo Highlights
A beloved annual tradition returned to the Lower School (LS) when the Kindergarten Zoo was set up on Mr. Rocky’s Field by LS teachers Ms. Tricia Fiore, Ms. Kristina Dellefave, Ms. Teresa Cali, and Ms. Meghna Mathur. Enthusiastic kindergarteners, donning safari vests...
D-E Celebrates Commencement 2025
The mood was joyous and a little bittersweet as D-E’s graduating seniors, their families, faculty, and staff gathered beneath a white tent on Leggett Field for Commencement 2025 on June 1. This momentous event was called to order by Student Government President-Elect Max Koppelman ’26. The processional followed, with the graduates led into the tent by a pipe band and the playing of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1” by the D-E Symphony Orchestra. …
