Dear Members of the Lake Forest Academy Family,
I hope this message finds you healthy and well in these extraordinary times. It has been wonderful seeing the majority of our students make their way to campus for preseason and we are excited for our first day of classes on Monday. Although school looks different in many ways as a result of our health precautions, it is clear that the Caxy spirit is stronger than ever in our community.
Along with leading our re-opening efforts, I have been engaged in other very important work in the life of the school. On June 2, 2020, I wrote a letter to the community in response to the killing of George Floyd, inviting our African-American community members to connect with me. Since then, I have engaged in conversations with current Black and African-American student leaders, faculty, and staff. I have also interfaced with over 100 of our Black and African-American alumni. These conversations have been moving, sobering and inspiring. I am deeply honored that our community has entrusted me with their perspectives.
From these conversations, it is abundantly clear to me that LFA must do more to support our Black and African-American community. While I knew this before George Floyd’s death, that historic moment led to many community members speaking up about their experiences and concerns. Too many commonalities emerged between the experiences of alumni from the 1980s to our recent Class of 2020 graduates. Concerns around accountability, microaggressions, curricular offerings and lack of student support came across through the generations. Moreover, some of our alumni reported feeling long-term negative impacts that came as a result of the difficulties they encountered at LFA.
Please note that these conversations also featured moments of great love and appreciation for LFA. Personal experiences can be complex, and conversations about equity are not binary. The prevailing message in these conversations was this: LFA must work harder and more strategically to fully meet its mission and ensure a more equitable experience for all of our students.
Our mission’s four pillars demand we take action. Character means that we lead by example by not tolerating racist language and actions in our community. Scholarship means that students should engage with important issues around race nationally and globally. Citizenship means that nobody should feel like a second class citizen. Responsibility means being present for community members who need support.
Below were some of the key recommendations from our community members; these recommendations align closely with what the Academy’s administration believes would be meaningful in making LFA more equitable:
- Greater student and adult accountability after racist and biased incidents
- Recruitment and retention of Black and African-American and other faculty and staff of color
- Structured curricular evaluation to diversify content
- Expansion of LFA’s existing dialogue program
- Increasing student support systems for students of color
- Conducting cultural competency training for all community members
- Restarting our Black Alumni Council
It is important to acknowledge that LFA has already identified and made some progress on the above goals. Our 2018 strategic plan called for a review of our curriculum through a multicultural lens. Since 2015, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni have held an annual summit to review data and plans reflecting LFA’s commitment to the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff of color. However, as I have noted above, there is still much work to do to make the LFA experience for all of our community members, especially our Black and African-American students, the best that it can be.
Therefore, this year, we will create a community task force dedicated to finding short-term and long-term solutions to our challenges with race and discrimination. After conducting surveys and having conversations with our community, this task force will help make actionable plans related to the seven goals I have identified above, goals that will position LFA as an anti-racist community that believes deeply in the value and worth of all of our students. I will report back on this group’s work on a quarterly basis.
In the meantime, I have taken immediate action steps. I have shared what I learned through my conversations with members of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, our Deans Council, and faculty and staff. I am interviewing consultants who will work with the school on our diversity and inclusion efforts. The Head of School Office will also meet with our student affinity groups quarterly, while the Office of Multiculturalism and Pluralism will retain a high focus on student support while helping to develop strategic objectives.
I am honored and humbled to lead a school that seeks to create an environment where all students - no matter their race, gender, nationality, political beliefs, sexual orientation, economic class or religious beliefs - can come and seek intellectual adventure and excellence while making life-long bonds. As a community, we should not be intimidated by these challenges; becoming more equitable will only help us achieve our mission at a higher level and help positively impact even more lives.
Thanks as always for your attention. I look forward to the important work ahead in service to our extraordinary students.
Sincerely,
José De Jesús
Head of School
