The end of the school year typically marks a period of reflection. This letter usually celebrates the Lowell community’s triumphs and accomplishments, while also recognizing the faculty and staff who are moving on to new adventures and introducing those who will be joining us in September. That letter will come. But as I reflect on my first year leading a school that educates in ways that prepare students to be the next generation of anti-racist, social justice advocates, I feel an urgent responsibility to address the shifting context in which our work is taking place.

 

Since my June 1 letter, a sea change has started to occur in our country. Sadly, we must add Elijah McCain, Manuel Ellis, and others to the list of Black men killed by police because they could not breathe. Daily mass demonstrations for racial justice continue to impact cities nationally. Schools are being renamed, the Mississippi state flag is being retired, and statues representing our country's historical exaltation of white privilege are being torn down. Perhaps hitting most closely to home, over the last few weeks, Black students, alums, and faculty and staff from independent schools have created the @blackat[school name] initiative on Instagram. This effort exposes the racist experiences that have been endured at predominantly white institutions, experiences that have gone unnoticed or been disregarded by schools. While we do not know of a Lowell page as described above at this time, we cannot assume that Lowell will be immune from this conversation or that students and others have been immune to such experiences on our campus, and that is the reason I am writing to you today.

 

Students, and others committed to an anti-racist society, are declaring that enough is enough. Our responsibility as a school that strives to create an intentionally inclusive community in which every individual belongs demands that the Lowell School community engage in self-reflection and hold ourselves accountable to a new standard of action.

 

Lowell is known locally and nationally for its diversity work and integration of social justice into our curriculum, even at the earliest ages. Our longstanding belief that students should see themselves in the curriculum and the adults around them is evidenced by our successful efforts to broaden the diversity of our faculty and staff, and the integration and documentation of our social justice standards. Our Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives (DEI), led by Michelle Belton, has made important strides and was recently reinforced by the addition of a DEI Leadership team. This year the team planned professional development for faculty and staff, implemented programming for students, and worked with individual faculty and whole divisions on reviewing instruction and content through an anti-racist lens. From the Board of Trustees to our faculty, staff, and parents, training and interracial dialogue concerning race have been an ongoing initiative over the years.

 

At this moment in our country’s history, however, none of our past work should imply that we have permission to rest on our laurels. We are not perfect. The members of our school community breathe the same air of racism and oppression as every other American; it is not unreasonable to assume that people have been exposed to moments of implicit bias, discrimination, and pain on our campus. We must deepen our efforts. The work is never finished.

 

On May 28, I announced my intention to bring people together in conversations around the impact and experience of race in our school and our community. In my June 1 letter, I challenged us to acknowledge that we must not only continue to do the kind of radical diversity, equity, and inclusion work that has always been a part of Lowell’s history but that we must work to create a more anti-racist school. Listening is an excellent first step, but it is time to have a different kind of conversation.

 

We will accomplish this work in many ways. I will be working with Allison Evans, our Assistant Director of Development, Special Events, and Alumni Relations, and Michelle Belton, to invite and arrange for families with alumni of color and the alumni themselves to share their Lowell stories. Michelle and I, along with her team, are also developing a yearlong series of conversations and presentations for parents to bring people together in dialogue and learning. In addition, we encourage people to contact our DEI team at LowellDEI@lowellschool.org to share their stories and ideas.

 

Other steps we are in the process of planning and implementing in the coming year include:

 

 

One of the foundational assumptions of my training as a SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) facilitator was that the work of inclusion, equity, and understanding starts with theoretical and analytical awareness. True internalization does not occur, however, until one’s heart has been impacted by the stories of another. Once one’s heart has been impacted, there is little choice but to act. In other words, when you know better, you must do better. This idea of head-heart-hands is deeply ingrained in who I am as a leader, and I believe we must continue to ensure that it is ingrained in the ethos and mission of Lowell. Moving from empathy to action is how we will advance our efforts to make our community whole.

 

I welcome you to engage in this journey with me as a first step to moving Lowell forward in our continued goal to dismantle the systems that oppress us all.

 

In peace and solidarity,

 

Donna

 

PS - To help our community deepen their awareness, and to have these difficult discussions with your children, Lowell has compiled a list of resources you may find helpful.