Preparing Our Students to Return to School

8/22/2017

Dear Collegiate School Parents,
Opening Day is fast approaching and soon we will all be back on campus. I know I speak for our entire faculty and staff when I say that we eagerly await our young people’s arrival. The campus is not fully alive until their voices fill our hallways.

Sadly, school will resume in the midst of the fallout from the Charlottesville tragedy. In addition, it is likely that our city and other parts of our country may face similar challenges in the near future. As I shared with our faculty and staff last week, what happened in Charlottesville two weeks ago should alarm all of us. How can we not mourn the senseless loss of life and the many lives forever changed and abhor the hatred and bigotry that fuel hate groups like the neo-Nazis and KKK that spawned this tragedy? The events of Aug. 12 and the related incidents that have followed have painfully reminded us that there is more to be done to live more fully into the ideals and beliefs upon which our nation was founded. They are reminders that divisiveness, mistrust and anger may overwhelm us unless confronted by courageous leadership and moral clarity.

How do the events connected to Charlottesville directly impact Collegiate School and its students? Make no mistake that when our young people return to school next Tuesday, many of them will continue to digest recent events - seeking and struggling to understand how such things like Charlottesville can happen and why hate groups exist. Tension and anxiety may be high. Many of our young people may be hurting.

It is our collective responsibility to be prepared to help them navigate these times. We must model through all of our words and actions that there is no place for hatred and bigotry at Collegiate School or in a just society. We must strive to ensure that every single member of the Collegiate School community genuinely experiences the sense of belonging that makes us who we are. We must model how to engage in a healthy and respectful exchange of ideas and opinions, and how to civilly confront and help those members of our community who may fail to live up to basic decency and community responsibilities. All of our young people will be watching.

In anticipation of our students’ arrival, our faculty is preparing for the types of student conversations, questions and interactions that are likely to arise. We need our families to help as well. If you have not done so already, I ask that you talk with your age-appropriate child/children about the events that took place in Charlottesville. Remind them about the power of words and symbols and how painful unkind ones can be for individuals and groups within our community. Remind them of their responsibility to be respectful to their classmates and thoughtful and respectful in their actions and in their choice of words. Encourage them to avoid engaging in social media related to these recent events, reminding them of the dangers and significant damage that can arise through the inappropriate use of social media. To help with your family’s discussions, we have gathered several resources for you, which can be found on PawNet by following this link. Our young people will be listening.

Many years ago, our Board of Trustees unequivocally declared our School’s commitment to being an inclusive community:

Our core value of “respect” means that we believe in the worth and dignity of each individual regardless of differences. Making Collegiate a more inclusive community also upholds our dedication to excellence by equipping our graduates with the intellectual and interpersonal skills necessary for success in college and throughout their lives…. We will always strive to create a climate of inclusion in our school that fosters understanding among all members of our community. Together we have the unique opportunity to help our young people learn to navigate difficult and challenging times in a more healthy and civil way.

It is in times like these that our school community must come together, live out our core values and genuinely embrace the opportunity we all have to help prepare our young people for the world they will one day lead. It is in times like these that the Collegiate School community must be at its very best. If we do so, I have no doubt that our young people will respond and make us proud.

As always, your support of and commitment to Collegiate School are very much appreciated.

Stephen D. Hickman
Head of School

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