September 9. 2020, the first day of school
Dear LREI Community,
I write to you just after the first day of school in this most novel of years. Not surprisingly, there was much about today that felt just so typical and so much that felt atypical. On the typical side of the equation were the smiles we saw in peoples’ eyes (their actual smiles hidden by masks), the warm greetings (hugs prohibited), and excitement for the year to come (100% Covid safe!) On the atypical side were the differing ways students started or will start the school year (in-person, outside, online, or online in person beginning next week), the presence of masks and the absence of hugs, handshakes and the like, and the many new health procedures and protocols (thank you for all remembering to fill out your wellness surveys). The similarities between this year’s LREI experience and years past will continue as will the vast differences between them.
As we look ahead, I want to share four big picture topics that are on our minds. These areas of focus are interwoven with our daily work and our ongoing development of the academic and co-curricular programs.
- Ongoing Responses and Adaptations due to the Pandemic – We will, each day and over the course of the year, plan for and respond to the needs of the community and the program in the pandemic era. While balancing the students’ need to be with each other, the needs of the academic curricula, and health and wellness requirements, we will plan for the best program possible. We will adjust our plans as is necessary to accomplish this, keeping an eye on balancing consistency and the benefits of change.
- LREI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan – Following on Blackatlrei and acknowledging where we have not lived up to our mission, we created and shared our plan in early July. We have spent considerable time this summer addressing the plan and preparing for the school year. We will communicate our progress regularly and want to share progress towards one primary goal now.
- I have been working with a group of parents on an anti-bias policy. Ultimately, the policy will guide the school’s response to incidents of bias between students, between students and adults, and between adults. An interim policy is currently in place and very shortly will be found on the school’s website. I will alert you via email when you can access the policy. The interim policy is focused on interactions that involve at least one adult and occur after September 9, 2020. If you have concerns about interactions between students, for the time being please speak with your child’s teacher, advisor, principal or with any LREI employee with whom you are comfortable speaking. We are working on the student/student policy with a group of students and will have it in place soon. If you have concerns about incidents that happened before September 1, 2020, please speak with me, your child’s principal, or with any LREI employee with whom you are comfortable speaking. Thank you to those who have worked so hard to create these documents. We will find time to review the interim policy with the community in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned.
- The Election – The upcoming election will be a topic of discussion, in appropriate ways, throughout the institution. We will strive to make room for a variety of points of view in conversations about the issues. This has not always been our strong suit. An additional challenge is the state of this year’s campaign and the charged, divisive, and racist language and actions that “hit the newstand” everyday. While our students are well served when they are challenged to examine pressing national issues through a variety of lenses, they are not well served when we do not name dishonesty, hate, intolerance, and bigotry for what they are.
- New York City, Now and in the Future – New York City finds itself in a moment of great transition. We are headed towards great challenges and towards great opportunities. One of these opportunities is for our students to imagine the evolution of our city and to participate in shaping its future.
Addressing the issues outlined above, our successes during the spring’s debut of LREI@home, and our planning for all of the variations of a school day that we will have this fall is made possible by the dedication and talents of my many colleagues. They are truly the best.
We are in for a busy year. Busy is good. We are in for an unpredictable year. Unpredictable can be hard. Come what may, if we rely on the community, if we center the experiences of our students and their families – all of them, and if we stand up for justice no matter what challenges we face, we will be successful and at the end of the year we will be able to say that we have been guided by LREI’s mission and that we have more than met the challenges of this most unique of years.
Optimistically yours,
