Promoting a sense of belonging and safety is foundational to HB

Dear Hathaway Brown Community,

For the past few months, we have been emailing every Monday like clockwork, updating you about all the exciting things that have been happening in our remote learning environment. Today, we had intended to bring you all up to speed about our virtual Commencement ceremony on Friday and the amazing words of our student speaker, Anya Razmi.

There will still be time for us to reflect on the close of our school year, but the events of the past week should not pass without acknowledgment and reflection. People across the country and in our own community are hurting. Calls for racial equality and justice have been blurred when protests turned violent. As a community, we are struggling to identify and articulate our feelings.

As an educational institution, it is part of Hathaway Brown’s mission to give students the tools they need to contend with the world beyond our walls. As a community of students, parents, and educators, we embrace and honor diversity in all its forms, and we are proud of the tapestry of perspectives that defines our school environment.

Promoting a sense of belonging and safety among all in our community is foundational to Hathaway Brown and is one of the school’s core values. This is a place where all perspectives are honored and welcomed. This is a place where young people learn and grow together. It is a place where leaning into uncomfortable conversations is encouraged. It is a place where we gain insights from textbooks and from each other. It is a place where we learn not for school, but for life.

This is an important moment in our country’s history. Lives have been and continue to be affected by fear, isolation, economic uncertainty, poverty, sickness, and death due to COVID-19. These issues have been exacerbated by the outcomes of the events in Minnesota and across the United States, accentuating very real tensions and frustrations held by many here in Cleveland and beyond. We are committed to supporting everyone in our community through our words, actions, compassion, support, and kindness. We will, as we always do, continue to develop more ways to educate ourselves and our students about what is happening in our society and how we all can be agents of positive change.

There is no summer vacation from living our school’s values. Please know that we are here for you always.

Thank you for your partnership and contributions to our community, today and every day.

Fondly,

Fran Bisselle
Head of School