Dear MS Families,
It's a wrap! We ended our distance learning in proper fashion with a virtual dance party on Calhoun Radio and a 3rd floor-style countdown before heading off into summer. I hope you and your family are able to enjoy some time off — your Middle Schoolers certainly need it. You all need it. The teachers, too. We've been riding a rollercoaster that we didn't get in line for over these past few months, and it's time for a break. I thank you for your incredible partnership through this journey. You've shown patience and understanding amidst so much uncertainty. We've weathered new technologies, new schedules, entirely new ways of being.
As we continue to plan for the fall, we do so having amassed a wealth of lessons, in large part because of feedback from students, faculty and families. And we have much work to do. That work is not limited to the ins and outs of hybrid learning; it goes much deeper. As our nation reckons with living up to its promise, so too, must we. I need not look far for guidance. Our mission tells us that we are committed to:
- Openly acknowledging and naming social inequities with a particular focus on racial inequity as a historical and foundational component of U.S. culture. We commit to the critical analysis and dismantling of racist attitudes, beliefs and policies inherent to our school and society.
- Responding to social inequities through the creation of a variety of mechanisms to validate, support and respond to the varying needs of our diverse community.
- Reflecting on the various lenses through which we view our students and each other — that means, confronting the prevalence of bias (personal and institutionalized), its impact on our self-perception, our teaching, our choices of and (dis)comfort with various kinds of curricula, and how we live in and experience the world.
As an institution, we do not view this work as tangential, but as an integral component of our program and who we are. This is who we say we are — our charge has been articulated. Our work now is to interrogate that further, to ask ourselves where we live up to our mission and where we fall short. Words are just that without action.
There is much work to do. And I'm grateful to be part of a community committed to doing the work. As always, please reach out about anything you or your children need. Take care of yourselves, all.
Warmly,
Andrea