Dear Stone Ridge Community,
Two weeks ago, Stone Ridge sent you a letter uniting our community in a call against racism. I am deeply grateful for the response that we have received from many current and past parents, alumnae, students, faculty and staff, and members of the Board of Trustees who have expressed a sincere desire to engage fully in this work. At the conclusion of that letter, we referenced that we would be working to thoughtfully plan further steps and then communicate again with our families and community. That work requires careful discernment and collaboration and will be ongoing. Today I write with a current update.
It is apparent to me that the first step towards lasting change is to start at home––meaning both in our own Stone Ridge community and in our own families and hearts. While we have made slow progress on advancing conversations about race and implicit bias over the years, it is clear right now that we have not done enough. I personally need to invest time and attention to learn more, to listen deeply, to pray, and to take action. Simultaneously, I will set the priority and put the strategic and budgetary framework in place so that all the students, faculty and staff, members of the Board of Trustees, parents, and alumnae can work within a brave space to dialogue around their truths, to create a path forward, and to hold ourselves accountable.
In the past several weeks, I have received very thoughtful letters and outreach from many members of our community. Some of this outreach has been from Black alumnae and current Black students who have shared their trauma and pain because their experience of Stone Ridge was impacted by racism and implicit bias. I am deeply grateful to these alumnae and students for their courage in lifting up their voices. We are currently considering ways to further engage the voice of our community to gather the perspectives and experiences of current and past students, families, and employees around diversity, equity and inclusion. Please stay tuned for further communications about this.
This work requires deep discernment and engagement of our entire community with their full hearts and minds. My instinct as a school administrator is to come up with solutions right away, but clearly, that is not the way that we will build true understanding that will lead to transformation in our school culture. This work requires both a sense of great urgency and a sense of patience in knowing that the work will be ongoing and will require an investment of time, resources, courage, and honesty.
I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in our Stone Ridge community as we engage to more fully live our mission. We have a responsibility in this moment to look with great openness and honesty, to embrace authentic dialogue, and take actions towards change. On this eve of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, our Superior General, Barbara Dawson, RSCJ, asks us "to pray for each other that we will have the courage and humility to live the call to discover and make known the love of the Heart of Jesus, to act concretely where we are and as we are, each one and together as One Body.”
As one important initiative, the entire faculty and staff is reading How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi this summer. We will be engaging our entire adult community in discussion around this book throughout next year. I encourage all adult members, including parents, guardians, alumnae, and members of the Board of Trustees, to participate. Immediately below is a letter from Michelle Black, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Her note offers some resources as we all try to answer the question, “What can I do?”
I am praying for all of Stone Ridge, especially our Black community, at this time. I encourage you to join in this process of courageous conversation and action towards transformation. We will continue to communicate as we further engage in this work together.
In unity,
Catherine Ronan Karrels ‘86
Head of School
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Dear Stone Ridge Community,
I hope you are able to make time to enjoy moments of peace and relaxation during these first few days of summer. Last week, I sent a long letter to the faculty and staff asking them to have the courage to reflect and act on institutional and systemic racism as well as individual racism and bias. Currently, small groups within the community have begun to take an intentional, purposeful, and prayer-filled pause to have tough and long-overdue conversations about race, oppression, and complicity. We will continue to solicit the advice and counsel from our larger community and encourage all members of the community to take an inward look at their identity and role in the Stone Ridge community, the nation, and the world. While we commit to this work of identifying and dismantling racism, our community endeavors to take risks, inevitably make mistakes, learn, and keep going; aware that this work is never done until racist systems and white supremacy is dismantled. The Administration, in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will prioritize anti-racist policies and education for all.
Tomorrow is also Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a contraction of the date “June Nineteenth". This is a special holiday that marks the end of slavery in America. It’s largely believed that Juneteenth is primarily for the African-American community; however, I offer there is value for every American—regardless of race, culture, or background—to observe this holiday. We should care because the very fabric of our society depends on our shared religion of inalienable rights. A celebration of freedom for any American is a celebration of the ideals that make our country what it is today. On this day in 1865 in Galveston (then Texas’ largest city), Union General Gordon Granger issued General Order Number 3, which stated: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
In an effort to uphold our continued commitment to our community’s growth and development within racial justice practice and support partnerships that offer meaningful opportunities, I’d like to direct you to the “Parent/Family Resources” tab under the Summer Information & Back to School web page, which provides resources curated by members of the Stone Ridge community. I also would like to share details about this important event, which is taking place this evening on Facebook Live.
How to Raise & Teach Anti-Racist Kids
Thursday, June 18, 7:00 pm
In the aftermath of tragic events and traumatic experiences, children look to the adults in their lives—families, caregivers, and educators—not only to provide comfort and make sense of those lived experiences but also to offer guidance in how to imagine a better world. Adults don’t always have the answers. We, too, need guidance and support. The first half of the event will be a panel discussion hosted by Kwame Alexander with Q&A to follow.
Warm regards,
Michelle Black
Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
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