Dear LNC Family,
At LNC, we highly value our partnerships with families. As we have grown in size and space, we have strived to maintain a small school feel, and all of our stakeholders have been an integral part of helping us build a tightly-knit community of people with the shared purpose of nurturing every child’s academic, social and emotional growth. We celebrate the diversity of our students, staff and families as well as the opportunities to connect with one another through individual and shared experiences. In times of national tragedy, these connections become even more important.
Many of us have watched in horror at the news of the Atlanta shooting last week in which a gunman murdered eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. While this incident alone is horrific, there have been reports of increasing violence against Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities nationwide. According to the New York Times, “Stop AAPI Hate, an initiative that tracks violence and harassment against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, recorded more than 3,000 reported incidents from the start of the pandemic.” Additionally, NPR reported that “Hate crimes against Asian Americans in 16 cities rose by 150 percent in 2020,” citing a recent report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University.
LNC is committed to providing a safe environment for all of our students, and we are aware of the ways in which our students, particularly those of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, may be affected by what is happening throughout the country. As we continue to grow and develop our Global Diversity and Inclusion (GD&I) program, we try to equip our teachers and students with the knowledge and skills needed not only to process the injustices and discrimination faced by people of color, but also to help them actively speak out against racial, ethnic, religious and homophobic slurs as well as other types of prejudice. Our GD&I committee is very active in all three schools with providing resources, planning events and facilitating training that will help our teachers create an environment in which all students feel a sense of connection, belonging and responsibility to each other.
That said, combating racism, prejudice and hatred of those perceived as different or “other” takes all of our stakeholders working together. Similar to what we asked in the wake of the killing of George Floyd last summer, we are once again asking our families to talk with your children about the need to accept and celebrate each other as we are and to advocate for friends who are being targeted for any reason. We encourage you to have age-appropriate conversations with your children to help support our efforts at school, and we strongly encourage you to report any situations you hear of or witness in which students are being targeted for any perceived differences.
We understand that everyone has a different level of experience in talking with their children about topics such as race, discrimination and injustice, but for our students of color, these conversations and experiences are all too prevalent in their lives during formative years that should be filled with wonder and curiosity about the world around them, not fear of it. Should you be inclined to open up these conversations with your children and feel you need additional support, please see these resources that might be helpful. Thank you for taking the time to read this communication, and please reach out to your building’s administrators with any questions or concerns you may have.
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