Tabor Community Pauses in Recognition and Celebration

On Wednesday, January 21, the Tabor community poured into Wickenden Chapel for a meaningful morning service honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During the service, the school recognized community members whose contributions have strengthened belonging and inspired positive change at the School by the Sea.

The Wickenden Chapel service, which was the highlight of the day’s programming, featured musical selections, including performances by the Madrigals and Mixed Chorus. Head of School Tony Jaccaci opened the service with a greeting, followed by Director of Diversity Equity, and Belonging RoseMarie Wallace.

English Teacher and Admissions Fellow Henry Tarr then introduced the day’s guest speaker, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin. McEachin is the first African American woman elected to her position, and she has spent more than 30 years working to advance public safety, restorative justice, and community-centered accountability. McEachin encouraged those gathered to envision their beloved community and to uphold the shared understanding that we all belong.

The ceremony then turned to the presenting of the Belonging & Change Awards. The Belonging & Change Awards were established in 2024 to celebrate alumni and community members who embody the values of belonging, equity, and transformative change.

• The Tabor Trailblazers Award was presented by Head of School Tony Jaccaci to Tabor Academy founder Elizabeth Taber (posthumous).

• The Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Excellence Award was presented by former trustee Tony Featherston ’80 to Dr. Samuel W. McFadden II (posthumous). Dr. McFadden’s widow, Nancy McFadden, accepted the award on his behalf.

• The Tabor Impact Award was presented by Connor West ’15 to his mother, Elizabeth West, a nurse and member of Tabor’s Health Center staff.

• The school also recognized two students with the Tabor Culture of Belonging Community Builder Award: Botond Varga ’27 and Haisu Zhao ’26.

“In order for a community to really understand change, they have to look at individuals like themselves who have influenced change,” says Wallace. “That’s where the Belonging and Change Awards come from; they recognize our alumni and community members for the change that they go on to affect from Tabor. I want our current students to know that there are people like them, who sat in the same seats that they sit in, who go on to affect change.”

In the school’s sesquicentennial year, Wallace says, “we find ourselves at a moment not only to celebrate our history, but to reflect on what it means to build and sustain a community, especially a boarding school community where our lives and learning are so intertwined.” She speaks to the Rev. Dr. King’s vision of “beloved community,” grounded in dignity, mutual care, and a shared belief that every person is worthy of belonging. These awards, she says, honor those who have helped make that kind of belonging possible at Tabor.

Elizabeth Taber, Wallace says, invites the community to reflect on the legacy of Tabor’s creation. Mrs. Taber imagined a “designed community where young people could live, learn, and grow,” Wallace says. “From the beginning, she understood that belonging must be built.”

Dr. McFadden, meanwhile, was a true “Tabor neighbor,” Wallace says. Although he was not a member of the faculty or staff, he is remembered for “his unfailing positivity, generosity, and mentorship — especially to young people, including many students of color at Tabor,” Wallace says. “His work reminds us that when we serve others, we create belonging, not just for them, but for ourselves,” she continues. “Our communities are strengthened when people take responsibility for one another and when care becomes a source of meaning.”

Elizabeth West, who joined the staff at Tabor in 2006, is one “who actually holds the community in her hands when it needs care,” Wallace says. “Education cannot flourish without care for bodies, minds, and spirits. Dr. King believed that what’s essential to a beloved community is care offered not as a task, but as a recognition of dignity.”

To close, the award presentation turned to Varga and Zhao, current students who, Wallace says, “shape our culture from within. They lead through care, collaboration, curiosity, courage and service. They show up as their whole selves.”

Before the award presentation service, students gathered in advisory to reflect on their own experiences and sense of belonging at Tabor. They contributed to a survey, now in its second year, which Wallace says has proven valuable. Last year’s survey, she says, prompted school-wide conversations about how belonging is experienced at Tabor. “We hope this year’s survey will continue to clarify where belonging is thriving, where it needs support, and how we can respond with intention,” she says.

After a break for lunch, the community gathered again to watch a screening of the documentary “Counted Out.” The film explores the increasing importance of math and numeric literacy to everyday life. It underscored the idea that those who have access to mathematics and are encouraged to mathematical literacy will have a greater understanding and harness on the world than those who do not. The film poses that disparity as a civil rights issue.

“’Counted Out’ talks about how math shapes your life,” Wallace says. “If you don’t learn math, it’s very difficult for you to do anything in the world we live in. There’s a social justice component to that because we talk about access, dignity, and equity.”

Wallace says that she hopes students came away from the day knowing that “they can affect change. First, you matter,” she says, “and second, start something that you believe in. Have conversations about what’s going on in whatever community you happen to be a part of. Take examples from today, not just lessons.”

Photos at top of page by Spencer Mazur '26

Slideshow photos by Spencer Mazur '26 and Maggie by the Millimeter