2020 communications to our community

September 15, 2020

Dear Thayer Community,

As leaders of an institution dedicated to a mission "to inspire a diverse community of students to moral, intellectual, aesthetic, and physical excellence so that each may rise to honorable achievement and contribute to the common good," we embrace the opportunity to ensure that our mission is realized through the lives of each of our students and to stand, in word and deed, fervently against the baneful effects of racism.

To those ends, The Thayer Academy Board of Trustees has approved a Strategic Plan for Racial Equity and Justice. This plan will evolve over time as we identify additional ways to strengthen further our school culture, but already coursing through the entire document are the core areas of emphasis critically important to success: Transparency, Accountability, Representation, School Cultural Expectations, and Antiracism Education.  

We invite you to visit our website, both to review how the plan was developed as well as the goals and action steps that comprise it. Furthermore, on October 1 at 7 p.m., we will host a webinar to provide an in-depth explanation of the plan and to solicit additional input. You are always welcome to email us with your thoughts and reactions at dei@thayer.org as well.

As you well know, even a thoughtfully developed plan is meaningless unless we sustain our commitment. We acknowledge readily that we are responsible for the plan's execution in accordance with our larger purpose and in concert with each member of our community.

We look forward to working with all members of our community to better serve the needs of each and every one of our students.

Sincerely,
Thayer Academy Board of Trustees and Head of School Ted Koskores '70 P '10, '13

June 25, 2020

Dear Thayer Community,

We are writing as a follow-up to communications sent earlier this month regarding Thayer's commitment to strengthen our school culture in ways that affirm the value of our Black students and, indeed, all our students of color. 

Over this time, many concerns have been expressed in direct conversations with administrators and teachers. We heard moving stories from Black students and parents shared at the June 2 vigil, and we read a thoughtful call-to-action in a petition signed by more than 1000 people. And most recently, the painful stories so bravely posted on the Instagram account @blackatthayer have further highlighted the important challenges we must rise to meet.

To deepen the discussion and provide a foundation for understanding and action, we are scheduling, as promised, a series of forums over the next two weeks. The goal of all the forums is to invite additional perspective on how our school has fallen short in its support of Black students and other students of color and how we can take steps to become a more inclusive community. This process will begin with outreach to our Black community members. The Head of School, members of the Board of Trustees, and Senior Administrators will be present at all forums listed below to listen and to embrace the opportunity to address the needs of our students going forward. Invitations for these forums have already been sent or soon will be sent.

Forum schedule:

• Friday, June 26, at 4 p.m.: Black Upper School students (Classes 2020-2023)
• Monday, June 29, at 4 p.m.: Black Middle School students (Classes of 2024-2027)
• Monday, June 29, at 7 p.m.: Black parents and guardians (Classes 2020-2027)
• Tuesday, June 30, at 7 p.m.: Black alumni
  • This forum will be facilitated by Lawrence Alexander. Mr. Alexander works as the lead search consultant for Carney Sandoe & Associates' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practice. He facilitates in-house training on best practices around implicit bias and equitable decision-making. He also develops educational opportunities for school partners. Mr. Alexander will be retained by Thayer Academy for the upcoming year as an objective outside expert in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to facilitating this forum, he will help in the diversity training of our faculty, the refinement of the curriculum, and the full audit of our diversity program. Mr. Alexander comes to us with a wealth of experience. He has spent a decade as a college counselor in both public and independent schools. He has worked for The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria, The Business of Sports School, Ross School (NY), and The White Mountain School (NH). For the last three years, he has also served as the Director of Equity and Inclusion at The White Mountain School and has established himself as an industry leader through his work in with East Woods School (NY), Brown University, the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE), and CS&A. He also serves on the editorial board for Insight Into Diversity magazine. Mr. Alexander received his bachelor's degree from Kean University in finance and his graduate degree from Montclair State University in Counseling in Higher Education.

Please note that the school will continue to solicit input from others, including other people of color and the White members of our community, as we move into the fall semester. Importantly, the school has already begun work on several initiatives that will be in place for the start of the school year. While they will be additionally informed by the forum discussions, we want to share some of the steps we are taking across the Thayer experience:

• Social Justice and Antiracism Curriculum: We will implement required workshops this fall for all students to engage in study that increases awareness of racial and systemic oppression and promotes understanding, knowledge, and respect for one another.
• Social Studies Curriculum: We will execute a unit at the beginning of the year that will be part of every Social Studies class that will focus on the historical context of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• American History Curriculum: We will strengthen the presence of the rich narrative of the African American experience in all our American History courses.
• Community-building and Antiracist Culture Development: We have contracted with Mr. Alexander (see above) to help facilitate community discussions regarding racism, design the aforementioned workshops, and lay the foundation for a thorough audit of how racism impacts our personal interactions on campus and what action plans are necessary to combat it effectively. In addition, the administration, under Board oversight, will review the comments on social media describing blatantly racist and racially insensitive behaviors at Thayer and will take appropriate action to address our shortcomings and strengthen the foundation of an antiracist school culture.
• Faculty and Staff Professional Development: Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White, will facilitate mandatory faculty and staff workshops this fall to enhance our understanding of how implicit bias and privilege impacts interactions with and between students.
• Roles and Responsibilities: Plans are underway to provide the Office of the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with an additional administrative officer to help design and direct multicultural programming and to create expanded opportunities for faculty and staff to support various DEI initiatives. Here, too, we look forward to working with Mr. Alexander to develop a clear needs assessment and to act prudently to meet those needs.
• Hiring, Admissions, and Legal Reviews: We will facilitate mandatory workshops conducted by an outside expert to review school hiring and admissions policies and practices. In addition, we will be conducting a legal review of our complaint procedures regarding racial discrimination. 

We invite you to visit the Diversity page on our website periodically where you will find ongoing updates about the plans and action steps Thayer Academy is pursuing.

This is an important time of reckoning across the full breadth of our cultural life. We reaffirm the need to do better and be better. Black Lives Matter.

Sincerely,

Ted Koskores '70 P '10, '13, Head of School
Melissa Bayer Tearney P '14, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Michael Joe P '17, '20, Chair-Elect of the Board of Trustees (term commences July 1)
Jennifer Welch, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

June 4, 2020

Dear Thayer Community,

We write this letter to affirm Thayer Academy's commitment to stand against the racial inequalities and injustices that permeate our broader society and to do all we can to address resolutely opportunities within our own community to do better and to be better.

We were touched by the brave and moving comments of students and parents during Tuesday night's vigil urging the entire school community to embrace the collective responsibility to combat racism against the Black community through purposeful and timely action. Similarly passionate calls for action have been conveyed through conversations, emails, posts, and a petition that has been circulating through the community. We are listening, and we take all of these pleas for change and growth seriously.

Plans are already in place for faculty and staff workshops in the fall, facilitated by an outside professional. These workshops will be designed to deepen our understanding of how racial bias and privilege can impact the interactions with and between students; to explore ways we can use the curriculum to advance knowledge and respect; and to inform better the application process for prospective students and the hiring process for faculty and staff. In addition, Jenn Welch, our Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, will continue to welcome input from community members. In that vein, she will conduct a number of forums with students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff over the course of the summer to discuss specific steps the school will take to ensure that our mission serves all of our students. These additional action steps will be identified and implemented in the fall and will be reviewed by the Education Committee of the Board of Trustees. We will update the community further and in more detail in September. In the interim, we invite you to visit the Thayer Academy Diversity page on our website where you will find a summary of the school's programs to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Do note, as well, we will be posting periodic updates on the ongoing work of the school's Diversity Committee over the summer in preparation for the fall.

We thank those who have shared their sorrow, concerns, and hopes; we invite additional input to bring to light the very best ideas; we understand the need for thoughtful and timely action; and we know the issues which challenge us can only be effectively addressed when all of us accept the responsibility for the well-being of each of us. 

Sincerely,

Ted Koskores '70 P '10, '13, Head of School
Melissa Bayer Tearney P '14, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Michael Joe P '17, '20, Chair-Elect of the Board of Trustees (term commences July 1)

May 30, 2020

Dear Thayer Community,

The death of George Floyd while restrained by Minneapolis police officers and the resulting murder charges against at least one officer, coupled with other recent and unsettling events, lay bare once again that people of color in our society are, all too often, unjustly targeted and victimized. 

School communities hold special responsibilities in times such as these. Our cohesion is predicated on empathy and sensitivity, and our mission is focused on "the common good."  Certainly some members of our community are understandably experiencing accented feelings of vulnerability and anger as a result of recent events and long-term injustices; and just as certainly all members of our community should stand together in moments when the opportunity arises to uphold the principle that all people should be treated fairly and humanely and to express empathy and understanding when any of us might rationally question if society is committed to our safety and well-being.

To these very ends, Jenn Welch, our Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, has been in consultation with various students and faculty about meaningful ways that our community can stand together in support of each other and the values that all of us hold so dear. In the near term, this will include a Community Meeting that will take place on Tuesday, June 2, at 8 p.m. Longer term, the school will refine plans for the fall that were already underway to heighten student and staff awareness and responsibility in matters related to racial bias. Ms. Welch will follow up in the next few days with more details.

As we so often do at Thayer in times of disquiet and stress, we find ways to support one another and the values we hold in common, and I trust these unsettling circumstances will call forth the very best in all of us.

Sincerely,

Ted Koskores '70 P '10, '13
Head of School