Dear RWA community,
As everyone is aware, we are living in very unprecedented times. In addition to the challenges that we have been facing based on COVID-19, the impact of the recent death of George Floyd has been felt across the globe. This senseless tragedy has sparked a conversation across nations that has prompted us to acknowledge systemic injustice, racism and police bias.
We acknowledge that members of our community experience incidents of systemic racism personally, and our students of colour specifically, experience trauma as a result. We, as a school, will evaluate how we address the topic of race and culture, and more broadly, how we can make a better effort to ensure that our Black students and, in fact, all of our students of colour feel supported by our school environment. We acknowledge that we have not put emphasis on Black history, anti-racist issues, and indeed, other topics that are important to lack students and other students of colour. We recognize that these omissions have marginalized our students of color and denied all of our students the opportunity to benefit from a richer understanding of the complex historical and current issues of race and culture.
Our goal is to strive to learn and move forward in a positive, constructive manner. We must make educating our students on anti-racist issues a priority. We will look to provide all of our students with opportunities, both in and out of the classroom, to learn and discuss issues that affect people of colour and highlight the historical context of these important topics.
Our students of colour have made a great impact in helping us to modify our practices here at RWA in order to help ensure better inclusivity. Some of our Black students met with RWA Administration back in February and presented positive solutions on how we could improve the situation at our school. Their feedback and initiative were greatly appreciated and have inspired us to take action and implement changes in our school. Some of these changes will involve increasing awareness of cultural diversity, emphasis on Black History Month, discussions with teaching staff to include these topics within their classroom environment and developing activities of cultural significance. We are, as well, committed to creating solutions and continuing this discussion with our students, staff and larger community.
It is the responsibility of all members of our school community to promote diversity, tolerance and anti-racism. With that in mind, we wish to provide a list of resources that can be accessed by everyone in order to help us deepen our understanding of racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. Just as our political leaders, law enforcement, and citizens can evolve as a society, we will look inward and do the same.
Sincerely,
Royal West Academy
Resources
