Dear GDS Community,
In the past few weeks, we have had the opportunity to hear individual stories from some of our current and former students, parents, and faculty/staff who identify as Black, and who have shared through social media or other means painful personal experiences from their time at GDS. Whether in the past or more recently, through the BlackatGDS Instagram page or shared directly to GDS, these stories call on us to acknowledge that pain and take action.
On behalf of the School, we write today to apologize for the pain you experienced at GDS. We understand that many of you intentionally chose GDS because of its diversity mission and the promise that GDS would provide a sense of belonging for your child and your family. These stories reveal that GDS has not always lived up to that promise. You should have every expectation of safety, of support, of success, and of being heard within this community. Your stories have been amplified by the voices of so many who have called upon this institution, about which we all care so much, to do better.
And, we commit to doing better. We recognize that acknowledgement and apologies are not enough. Taken together, the stories we have gathered allow us to identify areas of our work ahead. Here are some of the themes we have identified from the stories shared that will support us in our deep inquiry and action planning:
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Use of bigoted language, including use of the N word.
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Colorism, from beauty to hair to dating to cliques, and the ways in which this in particular impacts the experience of Black girls.
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Cultural ignorance and assumptions, including about the socio-economic status or intellectual capacity of Black students.
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Concerns about the GDS curriculum—about whether it reflects the stories of all in our community, inappropriately portrays the Black community and other communities of color as victims, appropriately incorporates the positive contributions of members of the Black community, and tells those stories in ways that can be heard and understood.
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A recognition that the entire GDS community—including members of the white community, students and parents, faculty and staff—must commit to engaging in the intentional work of fostering an antiracist environment.
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Concerns about student support—about who is thriving and who isn’t and why; about whether student supports are equitable and effective for our Black students; and about whether there is sufficient understanding of how best to support diverse voices in the classroom.
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Concerns about diversity and inclusion within student groups and activities, including student leadership opportunities, and whether student groups feel inclusive to all members of the community.
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Concerns about GDS disciplinary policies—about whether discipline is transparent, consistent, and effective.
This list is by no means comprehensive—rather, it is a high-level synthesis of stories of pain and calls for change. In categorizing themes, we can develop concrete steps in response to what we have learned—with respect to programming, professional development, and policy. In June, the GDS Leadership Team shared a
Call to Action letter, which provided a preliminary list of plans you’ll see us undertake, in addition to our regularly scheduled programming, for the 2020–21 school year.
Since then, we’ve had the chance to hear from our community with more questions, and we’ve been heartened as well by the many requests from all members of our community to be a part of the action steps we will take as an institution moving forward. We believe strongly that forward momentum can neither occur in a vacuum nor without our collective voices, and so our work this year will be meaningfully informed by continuing partnership and engagement with our entire community.
In that spirit, we have been in communication with our Black Parent Resource Group and our Black faculty and staff, as they have come together as affinity groups and lifted up opportunities for partnership. We welcome that outreach and have already begun engaging. We commit to ongoing engagement and to ensuring that these efforts inform any changes or decisions we make.
We have begun outreach efforts to members of our white community and others who do not identify as Black, and will be exploring ways to better ensure that our entire community commits to making GDS an antiracist institution. We understand that our work cannot be effective without meaningful engagement from, and partnership with, members of our white community and others who do not identify as Black, and we are committed to ensuring that such engagement and partnership occurs.
Along with the co-chairs of the Board Diversity Committee, we have begun planning for ways in which the Board can play its critical role in ensuring that we fulfill the GDS mission and for ways in which the Board can serve as a source of oversight and accountability for the important work to be done. We understand that the Board must be engaged in this work. The Board Diversity Committee has been instrumental in helping to drive and support institutional change at various moments in School history. We see this as another such moment and look forward to sharing plans for this work.
While some steps already have been taken, and we have begun the process of formulating an action plan with specific and concrete short-, medium-, and long-term goals and targets, we believe it is important to receive and incorporate feedback from our outreach efforts before announcing or seeking to implement such a plan. Importantly, our goal is to ensure a transparent, inclusive, and flexible process, but also to ensure that the process moves along with the urgency it deserves. Thus, you will be updated about our plans as we receive, synthesize, and incorporate this critical feedback.
There are a number of ways in which we will invite ongoing conversation and dialogue around these topics both during the summer and throughout the school year, so please stay tuned. Additionally, all three division principals are offering office hours for parents and students over the rest of the summer.
In the next week you will receive a Q&A link that provides answers to some of the questions we received, but were unable to answer, during the July Summer Zoom as well as answers to questions on this topic we have received from members of the community. The Q&A will provide background information on initiatives that have been a part of this work at GDS.
On
August 7 at noon, Russell will deliver the second Summer Zoom, which will continue the dialogue on how GDS is committed to making Black Lives Matter at GDS, as well as provide more information around reopening plans. We invite you to continue to engage with us as we build a vibrant, connected, inclusive school community that prioritizes social justice and equal opportunities and specific, ongoing support for Black students, families, faculty, and staff.
We remain committed to Georgetown Day School being an antiracist institution. The work ahead will be difficult and will require courage, transparency, accountability, and communication. As parents of GDS alumni and current students, we have both shared the pain and sadness of so many in our community in recent weeks. Yet, as leaders of this special community, we are buoyed by the outpouring of ideas and support for this renewed commitment to ensure that GDS lives up to the promise of our mission. We thank you in advance for your partnership.