Dear BSA Community,
The time for all of us to speak out against racism and systemic bias is now. BSA unequivocally supports The Black Lives Matter movement and so we are called to action. Over the last several weeks, we have heard from current students, parents, faculty, and alumni about racial inequity within our BSA community. We are heart-broken to hear these stories of racism and the pain many of us have felt. We understand the urgency to see meaningful change within BSA and in the broader community. It is imperative that we all examine our own practices and together do more to promote equity and access at BSA.
I commit to the whole BSA community that the BSA Board of Trustees will work side by side with Dr. Ford and his team to identify and address racism at BSA, and to assess all policies and procedures as they relate to academic and arts curriculum, faculty hiring, professional development, school culture, parent support, and last but not least, student safety.
Our first step is the creation of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The purpose of this committee is to increase everyone’s (including the Board’s) awareness of racial inequity within school. The committee will meet to discuss, communicate, and offer support to BSA’s administration with the goal of enhancing the environment for diversity, equity, and inclusion across all of BSA.
Secondly, there will be a series of forums for BSA students, parents, faculty and alumni during the month of July. We will listen and we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of our students, employees and families.
Dates of these sessions will be as follows:
Students: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 7:30PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88498217043?pwd=QXA0aVY1YzVQMDMrQ2ZmK3M0OUV0Zz09
Parents: Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 7:30PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84395258464?pwd=SldneFdOWU5jYkMwZDFuRDg5Mnh0UT09
Alumni: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 7:30PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89885902588?pwd=UzJ1MjJ6UFNKTVByL2hPOEQrbE9Kdz09
Faculty/Staff: Thursday, July 23, 2020 at 7:30PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84178323607?pwd=MHNuVzI2Z0dqRHNxS0xiS2NhdTFFZz09
Please follow the link to sign up for a forum: BSA Listening Sessions
Feedback from these forums will be critical to our efforts to create a Board action plan and will be especially important as we begin the process of searching for a successor to Dr. Ford, who has announced his retirement at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. I hope you will continue to provide your feedback and I look forward to sharing more information about our work later in the summer.
We acknowledge that these steps are not enough and that there is much more work to be done. BSA is committed to do better, listen more, and represent our entire community with empathy and love.
Sincerely,
Li-Wen Kang
Chair, BSA Board of Trustees
BSA Class of ‘88
