Working Together to Create Change
As always, the strength, resilience and leadership demonstrated by our students, our faculty and our community continue to inspire us. The spring of 2020 was almost unbearably difficult for so many in our SL Network family as the COVID-19 crisis disproportionately impacted communities of color, shedding light on the many inequities that exist in our country. Our students not only confronted a global pandemic, but also faced a worldwide movement for racial reckoning, and as always, they rose to the occasion. These leaders of today and tomorrow remained relentless in the pursuit of their academic success and I’m so proud to report that our 2,545 New York City high school seniors would not be deterred, with 90 percent of our graduates accepted into colleges across this country!
It is also our responsibility to listen to our students. These future leaders are working tirelessly to demand and create change, and hold to account structures and institutions that stand in the way of the educational and social equity they deserve. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery were added to too-long a list of lives lost as a result of bigotry. As events unfolded across our nation and the world, we felt deeply the pain, frustration, and anger of the Black Lives Matter movement in our shared history. It is up to all of us, regardless of race, to do our part to bring about change and dismantle the generations of racism so deeply ingrained in the fabric of our country. Doing so will help give our students the chance to rewrite the narrative that continues to plague us.
As an organization, our focus continues to be on ensuring that students — especially the most marginalized — have access to educational opportunities that prepare them for successful lives. SL Network will use our platform in new and innovative ways to support those working alongside us, and authentically elevate and be informed by the voices of students and staff. Though this work has already begun, we are only at the beginning and SL Network is committed to the following action steps:
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Policies and Goals: At the start of 2020 SL Network partnered with an external entity with expertise in helping organizations model the diversity, equity and inclusion we want to see in the world. We have also brought in external experts to speak with our staff and students about racial trauma, and recently launched an internal DEI task force whose goal is to ensure that we address any/all blind spots and consistently approach our work through a DEI lens.
- Living Our Core Value of Inclusion with Intent: This upcoming school year, we are launching a “All in This Together” listening tour where we will hold round tables with teachers, students, parents, administrators and alumni to learn about their experiences, needs, and priorities. What we learn from these conversations will impact the way we operate moving forward. It has always been our goal to be an organization rooted in what’s best for the students we serve. It is our hope that by having these conversations, we will continue to grow and evolve as an organization and deepen our connections with our important stakeholders.
- Auditing Components of Practice: SL Network will undertake an introspective re-imagining and re-designing of our programs, partnerships, and professional development initiatives to ensure they are culturally relevant, inclusive and responsive to the voices and needs of our students.
- Working in Partnership with School Leaders: We will also work closely with TYWLS principals to create a plan for increased diversification and retention of teaching staff and support our schools DEI needs grounded in what’s best for students. Each of our TYWLS schools has outlined specific DEI and Restorative Practice goals for their school community and has elevated a DEI task force in their community. We will work to support the successful achievement of these goals and participate with them in the strengthening and healing of their school communities.
We at SL Network are immensely proud of our students who, in addition to maintaining their focus on their education in the face of so much disruption and uncertainty, have shown marvelous levels of empathy and civic engagement. We are dedicated to doing the work necessary to continue our vision of education equity, and merit the trust our community has placed in us to be a partner and ally in the fight for educational equity.
Always our best,