Shady Side Academy hosting Zoom sessions to discuss any inequities on campus
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Shady Side Academy president Bart Griffith told his school community this week that it’s time to move past talking about social injustices and focus on action.
The Black Lives Matter message that has spurred protests across the region in recent weeks has students, alumni and parents challenging the school to do more to acknowledge and rectify “longstanding inequities in our own community,” Griffith said in a release.
“Last week, we expressed our grief and outrage over the killing of George Floyd and the systemic racism that persists in America,” he said. “We pledge to you that SSA will confront honestly the realities of any racial inequity that exists within our community and do the work that is required to make all of us better.”
The school will host a series of virtual conversations, beginning Thursday, that focus on unity, inclusion and moving forward.
The sessions include:
– Black Student Union (BSU), 1:30 p.m. Thursday. This dialogue is for all black SSA students and alumni, and will be led by the president and vice president of the Senior School’s BSU.
– Diversity Leadership Council (DLC), 3 p.m. June 15. The student-led council invites all SSA students and alumni interested in the following question: What can I do to help? The session will be led by the faculty advisor of the DLC and its members.
– Community-Wide Listening, 7:30 p.m. June 17. Led by Griffith and Lillian Grate, SSA’s director of equity, inclusion and community relations, this session gives parents, alumni, faculty, staff and students to share their experiences, perspectives and concerns as it relates to equality at SSA.
Griffith said that it is painful to hear accounts of bigotry and racial bias on campus, but the school aims to acknowledge them and use them to fuel change.
“We appreciate the courage of those who shared their stories to help our community become better,” he said. “As they have for many institutions, the unjust death of George Floyd, the ensuing peaceful protests and the authentic conversations that have taken place over the last couple of weeks have made us look inward at ways we can and must improve.”
Shady Side Academy established the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Community Relations in 2017 with the goal of helping students become confident, responsible leaders who care about and are prepared to ethically engage in society.
Early initiatives have included developing equity plans for each campus and establishing equity curriculum. The school completed an internal audit of its Senior School history and English courses with a focus on more racially diverse representation, and leaders formed an Academy-wide faculty equity and inclusion committee.
Griffith said the school also launched a Black Alumni Advisory Council and re-established the African-American Parent Group to support a range of parent affinity groups at the school.
“While we are proud of these initiatives and optimistic about the impact of this work moving forward, we know that there is much more work to be done and that to make continued progress we must listen and learn,” he said.