June 11, 2020
Dear St. Andrew’s Families,
On June 1 we wrote to you in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the deep pain and unrest that followed that unjust act. Since then, protests against systemic racism and police violence have spread across our nation and the world. During this time, we have listened to and supported our students as they have processed their deep pain, frustration, anger, and uncertainty. We have also encouraged students to express their ideas for how St. Andrew’s can become a better, more inclusive community. We are writing to share some of the constructive actions underway, as well as to offer resources to support you and your family this summer.
Last week, leaders of the Black Student Alliance, Latinx, Student Government Association, Gender and Sexuality Alliance and other Upper School student leaders came together to identify areas for focus and suggestions for action. These students impressed all of us with their thoughtfulness, energy and commitment to working together and with the administration to push the conversation forward. To quote from the letter they sent to the Upper School detailing their collaboration: “We, as students, must work with each other to create change. We, additionally, will work with the administration to provide safe outlets for students to express discontent and frustration with the current political climate. We ultimately aim to both educate everyone so that each individual can form their own informed opinions, as well as be able to respectfully and mindfully express these opinions in a manner consistent with our
Community Norms for Discourse.
”
This past year, our Diversity Advisory Council – comprised of trustees, parents, faculty, and administrators – worked to create a
Statement on Civic Engagement
, which was also reviewed by student leaders this spring. This statement promotes civic engagement as one of the many ways St. Andrew’s lives our school’s mission and core values and prepares our students for transformative leadership. We also have formally adopted our
Community Norms for Discourse
, which students and employees have used frequently in recent years during challenging conversations in classrooms, assemblies, and workshops. These norms promote and expect respectful discourse in all school-related settings.
As we have continued to have conversations with students and faculty around diversity, equity, and inclusion, recent events both nationally and within our own school have helped identify areas where growth is needed in how we support discussions and educate all students through the lens of DEI to create an inclusive and equitable learning environment. Every year we audit our own curriculum seeking areas of improvement, and we will do so this year with the aid of student feedback with a particular focus on DEI. We will also look to create more opportunities to be in dialogue with our alumni of color, to support our existing Alumni of Color Network, and to build relationships between alumni and current students. Additionally, we will work with SAPA to offer additional equity-based educational and informational opportunities for parents.
Our student leaders have advocated a number of measures for consideration or implementation next year, including: expanding the reading of books like “Just Mercy” and “White Fragility,” currently taught in upper-level elective courses, to more classes or through summer reading; bringing in more speakers to share a diverse range of narratives and experiences; hold fundraisers to benefit Black Lives Matter organizations and black-owned businesses and to aid those who have been disproportionately impacted by systemic racism; and continue having grade-level activities to create spaces for challenging and important discussions and fishbowl activities.
As we head into the summer, this work will not be put on pause until school resumes. Our student affinity groups already have meetings scheduled for later this month, as well as July and August, with our Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the DEI team. We know this fall will be politically charged and we want our students prepared to have important, informed, factual, and challenging conversations.
We have always supported our students in learning about, and responding to, the world they are preparing to lead. We hope this moment is a catalyst for justice, and we know it needs to be more than a “moment” for our community. St. Andrew’s remains fully committed to recognizing, teaching, and changing the persistent inequities in our society, and to treating each student and all people with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Below you will find some DEI resources we recommend, as well as guidelines for preparing to utilize them. They are arranged for parents of different age groups and at different levels of understanding and experience with diversity topics. We hope these are helpful as you continue these conversations at home.
Faithfully,
