Call for Change at NA

INTRODUCTORY NOTE:

SIGN A PETITION HERE; EMAIL ADMIN HERE

The action items included in this document (split into 5 sections below the contacts section) were the result of hours-long conversations between current students and alumni, and reflect input from dozens of current and past Newark Academy students after days of tweets and posts about racism at #NewarkAcademy. Collectively, the NA student body and alumni community recognize the pressing need for institutional change to address the deep-rooted problem of systemic racism at NA, and urge the school to engage in active anti-racist practices.

Thank you to Oluwadamilola Oshewa (‘16), Asia Moore (‘16), Kayla MacKay (‘18), Gebereal Baitey (‘15), Adebisi Adetoye (‘18), Sammi Powell (‘19), Kiran Damodaran (‘17), Isaiah Merrit (‘17), Radhika Mohan (‘20), Ruqaiyyah Lucas-Caldwell (‘20), Selah Dungey (‘22), Lucy Alaeto (‘22), Yasmeena Sharif (’23) and dozens of other alumni and current students who contributed to the list of changes outlined in this document.

Special thank you to the hundreds of alumni, current students, and and many other allies who contributed time, ideas, and support to these discussions.

NEWLY CREATED: Newark Academy Black Alumni and Current Student Network

Live-streamed Video of Black Lives Matter x Newark Academy Speakers

KEY CONTACTS:

Full list of trustees here, and full list of administrators here.

CALL, EMAIL, WRITE TO THE SCHOOL. SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES. DEMAND THESE ACTIONS. EXPLAIN THAT YOU WILL NOT FINANCIALLY SUPPORT A SCHOOL REFUSING TO ADDRESS RAMPANT SYSTEMIC RACISM. TELL YOUR FRIENDS, PARENTS, FELLOW ALUMNI, AND ESPECIALLY DONORS, TO DO THE SAME.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

David D. McGraw, Chairman; Marika Alzadon; John H. Bess; Patricia Budziak; Samuel W. Croll III; Lauren Hedvat; Wayne D. Kent; Patrick Wang; Larry S. Wieseneck

KEY ADMINISTRATORS

Donald Austin, Head of School (daustin@newarka.edu); Gardy Guiteau, Director of Equity & Inclusion (gguiteau@newarka.edu); Von Rollenhagen, Dean of Faculty (vrollenhagen@newarka.edu); Pegeen Galvin-Scott, Dean of Students (pgalvin@newarka.edu); Richard DiBianca, Upper School Principal (rdibianca@newarka.edu); Tom Ashburn, Middle School Principal (tashburn@newarka.edu)

KEY DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE AND ALUMNI RELATIONS STAFF

Sam Goldfischer, Director of Business and Finance (sgoldfischer@newarka.edu); Lisa Grider, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs (lgrider@newarka.edu); Lou Scerra, Director of Institutional Research and Strategy (lscerra@newarka.edu); Lisa Mulligan, Director of Development (lmulligan@newarka.edu); Evan Nisenson, Director of Alumni Relations (enisenson@newarka.edu)

ACTIONS N.A. MUST TAKE, LISTED BELOW:

Communications

1. Acknowledgment of, and apology for, harm done to members of the NA community.

• This harm has both accumulated over time and been directed towards distinct individuals and communities in specific moments — it is a result of an intolerant culture that supported racism rather than denounced it, and that failed to support underrepresented community members.
• Acknowledgment and authentic apology is powerful. This is not about naming specific names.

2. Offer clear, measurable commitments to increase transparency and accountability, as well as commitments to righting past and present wrongs.

• Address the action items discussed in this statement. Commit to accomplishing them.

Meetings

1. Host a student-led series of discussions with the NA Board of Trustees about race, equity, and inclusion at Newark Academy without the head of school present.

• These meetings will include presentations from and discussions with current and former Black students to address the unique problems Black NA students face.
• There should also be a series of presentations from and conversations with current and former Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students.
• Some of these meetings should include employees and administrators, but must also include conversations without employees and administrators present.
• Discussion topics should address issues facing Black nonwhite BIPOC students at Newark Academy.
• Students must be guaranteed protection from repercussion and retaliation.

2. Hold several discussions between the Head of School and Black students.

• These discussions should not have any other adults in the room. Students should have the undivided attention of the Head of School.
• Alumni should have the opportunity to participate in these discussions.
• These discussions should also occur between the Head of School and nonwhite BIPOC, but there must be an opportunity specifically for Black students to speak with the Head of School.

3. Succession Committee Composition & Goals

• Succession committee should be MAJORITY non-white and non-male, and should have meaningful representation from the Black and LGBTQ+ community.
• Extra emphasis should be given to filling all administrative leadership positions with candidates who are nonwhite and non-male.

Policy Changes

1. Implement a zero-tolerance policy for teachers displaying racism at NA.

• Newark Academy’s “restorative justice” approach may be appropriate in incidents involving only students, but there is absolutely no excuse for racist teachers at NA. In these cases, “second chances” create repeat offenders and a power dynamic in which students feel unable to report.
• Every single incident involving a teacher should be written up, investigated, and discussed by a committee of qualified faculty and students to determine appropriate disciplinary and correctional measures.
• There must be clear and transparent, publicly-visible standards outlining inappropriate behavior by teachers, the disciplinary process, and repercussions.

2. Create a formal reporting process for incidents of racism.

• There needs to be increased accountability for teachers, faculty, and administrators, and protections for students coming forward to report incidents.
• Provide a clear, structured channel through which students can report instances of racism.
• Provide students with the opportunity to make these reports anonymously as well, so that if students feel uncomfortable in the moment, they know where they can safely report an incident.
• These reports should be reviewed and discussed by Mr. Guiteau or other Diversity, Equity & Inclusion staff, who will maintain a formal written record of each. All reports will be kept on file permanently, and each report will be given to the Board.
• If the report describes an incident involving a teacher, faculty or staff member, a DEI staff member will discuss the report and any recommended actions with the Board, the supervisor of the offending teacher/faculty/staff member, and senior administrators at the school.

3. Design and implement professional development specifically educating white and non-Black teachers and staff on race and racism in the classroom.

• Clearly, the diversity training seminars are not working if Black teachers continue to leave the school due to poor treatment by other teachers, administrators, staff and faculty (as well as students).
• White teachers and staff should be required to participate in ongoing professional development that specifically focuses on white privilege, implicit bias, coded language, and other issues of which they may be unaware.
• All teachers should be required to undergo professional development training on issues related to race and education. This development should highlight challenges that disproportionately impact Black students, including the ways in which implicit racial biases can skew teachers’ perceptions of students’ intelligence, disruptiveness, etc.

4. Implement educational responses to instances of racism.

• Educational curricula should be customized and designed in response to specific racial incidents. If the incident occurred in a classroom or other group gathering, such as a sports team practice or group meeting, the educational response should include a guided discussion with all students present.
• It would be valuable to host community-wide discussions as well, as many egregious incidents quickly become fodder for gossip.
• Establish a council separate from the Honor Council with the purpose of dealing with incidents of discrimination or prejudice (i.e. racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist actions)
• Council of peers to review these incidents when perpetuated by a student.
• The response to incidents perpetrated by a student should include meeting with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff several times to ensure that the student fully comprehends the weight of their actions and learns from the incident.
• No free passes.

5. Create a more equitable system of disciplinary action and response.

• Maintain clear anonymized record-keeping of all disciplinary incidents (including dress code violations, detentions, and honor code violations) that includes the type of violation that occurred and the discipline administered, as well as the student’s self-identified gender and race.
• This information should be publicly available to the entire community and regularly analyzed to ensure that disciplinary actions do not disproportionately impact Black and BIPOC students.

6. Do not cherry-pick which protests are allowed and when.

• NA provided excused absences for students attending the climate strike, and encouraged/required students to walk out for the March for our Lives, yet discouraged BLM peaceful protests.
• Let students peacefully protest. Keep a consistent standard.

7. Stop tokenizing Black students (especially Black women) for photo ops, open houses, and tours.

• If anything, students should be compensated for their participation in these promotional materials and events.

8. Work with external consultants to increase the number of Black and BIPOC students.

• Set quantifiable admissions goals.
• Develop action items to increase accessibility for underrepresented demographics.

Curriculum Changes

1. Incorporate courses on race, class, intersectionality and privilege in both the middle school and upper school curriculum.

• There need to be more curricular initiatives to teach about racism, hate, privilege, and classism in addition to courses dedicated to these topics.
• Include Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility” in this curriculum to ensure that white students understand their privilege, and critically examine how it biases and influences their perspectives and roles in the community.
• Discussions and lessons on these topics need to be continued throughout students’ education every year, and not just presented once in a freshman year course.
• Newark Academy must take steps to address broader issues of classism in the school’s culture.
• All types of courses, including maths, sciences, humanities, and the arts, should incorporate intersectional perspectives into their curricula.

2. Increase the number of Black & nonwhite BIPOC authors and scholars taught in every class.

• Highlight the work of Black & nonwhite BIPOC scholars in science classes.
• Do not exclusively include literary texts referencing the plight of Black people (i.e. texts focused on the tragedy of Blackness) in English courses. Highlight Black joy too.

3. Provide training and guidelines for the way Black texts — especially texts containing racial themes or language such as the N-word — are presented to students in courses.

• Develop set guidelines and curricula modeling how this material can be appropriately presented.
• Emulate the structure used by Ms. Hamilton (who left this year) in her English class, which included a text containing the n-word. She required students to read several pieces discussing the historical significance of the word and its different uses, and then held class discussions on those topics before even reading the book(s) containing the word.
• Zero-tolerance policy for teachers/students reading the n-word out loud in class.
• When racial tropes or slurs are presented in literature, they must be accompanied by thoughtful and carefully-planned course discussions.

4. Change the way Black & nonwhite BIPOC cultural materials are presented in NA music/art programs

• It is imperative to provide cultural background, education and context to any piece of material used. This does not mean one or two sentences prefacing a song, but rather a careful and thoroughly informed discussion of all material.
• Avoid singling out students who may share a cultural background with the piece being discussed/performed, and do not ask said students to provide context/education about the piece if they have not explicitly volunteered to contribute information or expressed clear interest in doing so.

5. Give back to the Newark community and educate students on NA’s historical relationship with Newark, as well as Newark’s history itself.

• Work on actively contributing to the Newark community.
• Incorporate history of the city of Newark into curriculum or co-curricular activities.
• Modify the field trip to Newark so that it becomes an educational opportunity for discussing racism, the history of the city, and Newark Academy’s role in the white flight that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.

Hiring/Staffing/Personnel Changes

1. Hire and work with an external consultant on retention of Black & BIPOC teachers.

• Conduct a thorough professional investigation into which specific components of NA’s administrative culture contribute to the high turnover rates of Black and nonwhite BIPOC staff and faculty.
• Implement policies to actively combat racism from students and parents towards Black & nonwhite BIPOC teachers.

2. Make NAPA (Newark Academy Parents Association) more accessible & diverse.

• Having an organization with meetings in the middle of the day excludes working parents and often cuts off a large portion of the non-white BIPOC parents at NA.

3. Hire more staff to support Mr. Guiteau’s equity, inclusion & diversity work.

• Hire staff who are explicitly trained in diversity, equity, race, and inclusion in educational institutions whose specific role pertains to addressing current issues of equity, inclusion & diversity at NA and providing resources.
• To ensure that staff can be fully dedicated to fulfilling these roles, and have training in these fields, do not rely on existing teachers taking on additional roles to fill these positions.

4. Diversify the Board of Trustees.

• Within the next two years, the composition of the Board should be at least one third nonwhite and at least one third non-male.
• Stop tokenizing Black and non-male board members. The Executive Committee, which is composed of the most significant and powerful Board positions, should be at least one third nonwhite and at least one third non-male.

5. In all hiring and selection processes, actively search for non-white, non-male candidates.

• For every new teaching position, at least 50% of the candidates interviewed should be BIPOC, and at least 50% of the candidates interviewed should be non-male.

6. Hire one or more college counselors of color.

7. Hire a guidance counselor or therapist (preferably POC) who has specific training and expertise in working with BIPOC mental health & support.

• Almost every BIPOC student at a predominantly-white institution goes through some form of trauma or experiences mental health issues.

END NOTE

Although the demands of this document center on specifically addressing issues of institutionalized racism at Newark Academy, it is important to note that race does not exist in a vacuum. It intersects with other aspects of identity such as gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, physical ability, etc. To create a truly equitable atmosphere, NA must also work against other institutionalized and interpersonal forms of discrimination such as classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. It is time for Newark Academy to engage more authentically in thorough self-examination.

SIGN A PETITION HERE