ANNIE WRIGHT SCHOOLS
Alumni Newsletter
APRIL 2020 A Conversation with Future Head of Schools Jake Guadnola Supporting our Families through COVID-19 The New Face of Annie Save the Date for Alumni Weekend Meet our Alumnae Trustees Focus on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
A Conversation with Future Head of Schools Jake Guadnola Jake Guadnola ’90MS, who will succeed Christian Sullivan as Head of Schools on July 1, reflects on his long history at Annie Wright Schools, how he plans to lead, and what he is excited about for the future. Listen to the full conversation with Communications Director Lisa Isenman at www.aw.org/guadnola. LI: Tell me about your family history at Annie Wright. JG: My family history begins back in the early eighties. My mom was hired to be director of communications under Bob Klarsch. I was at Washington Hoyt public school up on Proctor and 26th. And my mom comes to school one day—she hadn’t told me about this—and says, ‘I need to see Jake,’ and she takes me out and she says, ‘You’re going to go to a new school and we’re going to go visit it.’ She drives me over here. I was still pretty little at that point in time and I hadn’t ever remembered seeing Annie Wright. And I walk up and it’s just this…it’s a castle, right? I mean, I can’t even imagine that this place is a school. I’m suddenly scared to death. I get walked inside and I get plunked into Jean Schneider’s second grade class, and what I didn’t realize at the time is sitting in that classroom were four or five boys who would end up being very good friends of mine for a long time. We would have some really tremendous, impactful, transformative experiences as we worked our way through Annie Wright. So my history began then. I then had Miss Reeves for third grade, Mr B. [Jan Buennagel] for fourth grade, Jane Robinson for fifth grade. Then Bob Klarsch approached my mom and said, ‘We’re really thinking about having boys in the Middle School and we
think this might be a good class to do it with.’ We were generally good students, and I think we were a group that they were excited to keep. And so they did. They opened up the doors to sixth grade, and we went. Through that Middle School experience we got to feel, I think, in some ways similar to the way the boys in the current Upper School for Boys feel. We were that first group to make our way through, and it was exciting, and it had that pioneering feel, and yet you still felt like you were part of this bigger, longer history. It was a profound experience for us, and for me in particular. I came back in the late 1990s/early 2000s in different capacities. Susan Bauska for no reason that I can understand decided to hire me to be the college counseling director. It was the 2000–2001 school year. I started in that role, and I’ve been here ever since. My wife, Stacey, got a job as a dorm parent here, before joining the admissions office, and then development. We started a family. Gus [Grade 5] and Luke [Grade 3] have been here since Preschool, since they were three years old. Their whole lives have been associated with Annie Wright. It’s fun to see them feel this place the way I felt it as a kid, to the point that Jan Buennagel has now taught me, Gus and Luke. So to say that we are all in as a family would be an understatement. This IS my family. LI: I know you’re in touch with some friends from those days. How did they react when they heard the news of your new position? JG: They were generally very excited for me. I think they feel the same way about Annie Wright. The place becomes who you are, right? And so for them, the thought of
me being in this role is both hilarious and wonderful. And I think, to them, perfect, in the sense that how great that someone who knows and cares so much about the school can be in this role. They tease me that I’ve never left—it’s time to graduate and move on. We get a good chuckle out of that, but I think they’re all really excited. I think they feel, here’s somebody who really knows and cares about the place, and Annie Wright really is one of those things that we pivot and orbit around. LI: You must have a lot of feelings about your new position. Will you talk about some of those? JG: I couldn’t be more excited, and the excitement stems from what I attribute to the deep heavy lifting that Christian and the Board have done in the last ten years that has been transformative. We’ve moved into this space where I think there is a lot of positive momentum. I’m really excited to keep that momentum going. On the flip side of that, there is now an expectation. So I’m excited about it, but I also realize there’s a lot of work to do. I think of how my grandparents were. They were depression era folk. I always remember my grandfather was kind of weird about money, because they remembered a time when it was bad. And oddly, I sort of feel that way. I remember that at Annie Wright. I worked here for a decade when it was tough. I’m actually really glad that I had that experience, because I think if I were to come into Annie Wright now, without that experience, I might come in and I might be tempted towards complacency. We’re not going to be complacent; we’re going to keep driving forward. We’re going to be the best school that we possibly can be, and we’re going to be student-centered and financially well-run.
from left: Jake in Grade 5 with Mr. B.; with his wife, Stacey, and sons Gus and Luke; in Middle School; with Upper School students.
So am I excited about this? Yes. And do I realize that there’s a challenge in there and am I motivated by it? Absolutely. LI: You and many of the adults in the building have been thinking about this transition of the Head of Schools. But I think the transition that many students are thinking about is your role out of Director of Upper School for Girls, which is very impactful. How do you feel about that, and what are you sad to leave? JG: I think the challenge you bring up is how can I make sure that this transition is as seamless as possible. The first thing is to get a good person in place, and I am so thrilled that Eireann Corrigan is joining the ranks as Director of Upper School for Girls. From the minute we spoke with her, she did nothing but radiate exactly what we believe in. I think my challenge is how can I remain supportive and involved, but also be removed. If you asked me the things I’m going to miss, the truth is everything. I’m going to miss sitting in that office, and class is getting out, and kids tumbling by and saying, hi. Terah Gruber walking by with a silly joke and Cady Hale coming in just to talk. You get a whole bunch of kids and faculty who you spend so much time with, and you really feel like you know them. One of the things I’ve realized about
administration is every level that you go up, you get more and more removed from kids. As Head of Schools, my job is to make sure that the faculty have great relationships with kids, not for me to have great relationships with kids. I still want to, but that’s not my job. My job is to get a team of people who care and deliver really well on that mission-centered initiative. So I think I can do that. I’m excited to do it, but I will look longingly down the hall at the Upper School for Girls. I mean, that place is just so fundamental to who I am. LI: What are some of the things that you’re particularly proud of having achieved in your role as Director of Upper School for Girls? JG: I love our (s)Electives [after-school deep-dive activities] program. I love the way our schedule has changed over the years. I love the late start. I love the curricular decisions that we’ve made. I love the way we’ve worked in terms of building out things like college week. I can point to those things, but those are all born from a way of approaching the work that we do. It’s not that one thing. It wasn’t like a new light bulb went off. It’s that we try to constantly ask ourselves, how do we do this better? What are the problems that we’re seeing? How can we improve student engagement and performance and satisfaction? I love the way we function as a faculty. I love the
way we function as an admin team. It has been amazingly generative. The culture that the kids have is astounding. I don’t want to say I’m proud of this, because I don’t know exactly what hand I had in it. Instead, I think this is more that the kids themselves built a culture of communal expectation of each other, one that is wrapped in empathy. And so suddenly everybody gets excited about investing, but not just in their schoolwork. When we say do the work, that means coming to Inkwell [journalism (s)Elective] and coming up with a podcast idea and executing on that. It’s voluntary; there’s no credit given. They’re just kids who are doing these things because they want to, and once they got that ball rolling, it really picked up steam. So now these kids are everywhere doing everything on their own initiative, and that’s something I’m extremely proud of, if that’s the right way to put it. It inspires me to see the way the kids engage their daily lives, and that was very much a collective effort. LI: How would you describe your leadership style? JG: I think anytime someone answers this it is probably aspirational. I try to value process. I try to listen and I try to understand problems, so if there is an issue, I want to understand all of it. And then when we try to solve it, I think we need all the voices of the stakeholders in
helping us better understand that issue and coming up with potential solutions. The challenge that I have is I often get going with ideas, and I can run really fast. And so sometimes I have to really try to slow myself down and say, okay, let’s make sure everyone is involved and aware. When I do that, I feel like I’m a very effective leader, and when I get going too fast, sometimes I could be right, but sometimes I’m not. So I try to listen. I try to be empathetic. I try to lead in a way that is people centered. LI: Hopefully you’re going to be here for a long time. What are you looking forward to doing and where do you see Annie Wright going under your leadership? JG: I have pondered that a lot, as you can imagine. The school is in such a wonderful
our culture. We love the culture that we have. We know that invariably there will be slight modifications here and there, but I would love for Annie Wright in ten years to be a place where we had a clear articulation of what coordinate was and where we had been able to maintain the culture that we currently have. At the same time, we’re going to have questions about the Lower School and the Middle School. We are already hitting capacity there, so we have to figure out how we can have more applicants than we have space and how can we work to craft a class that is the type of class that we’re really excited about moving through this school. That will be a tremendous opportunity, but that is not as easy as it sounds. It’s actually really complicated and exciting work. We’ve got an athletics program that is running wild right now and in a positive way. What about the arts? I think we
more focused externally, especially reaching out to our alumni community. Can you talk about what your hopes and plans are for connecting with them? JG: I believe there are a lot of people out there who had the same sort of experience going through Annie Wright that I did. There were amazing adults who cared deeply about me and invested themselves; you look at [Diane] Soucey and [Jim] Timson; I mean, they invested a lifetime, multiple lifetimes in this institution. And those people matter. They mattered to me. I think they matter to a lot of alums. Likewise the friendships that were born. I think there are so many alums that are still in contact with one another, and again, Annie Wright is the thing that they orbit around. I think we can really try to reignite that engagement. For a lot of reasons, the last handful of years for some folks has been complicated. The boys’ school was not
To say that we are all in as a family would be an understatement. This IS my family. place. Christian and I were together the other day, and we were asked, ‘If you could describe the school in one word, what would you say?’ His response to that question was ‘ambitious.’ And my response to that question was ‘ready.’ And I think it’s interesting when I look at where the school has come from historically and where we are now, we are in such a good place, but we have things that we have to do. We can remain firmly committed to the single gender experience in the classroom, and we can begin to understand how socially and in some extracurricular spaces we can have the boys and girls together, so that I truly believe they can get the best of both worlds. How do we do that? What is the speed at which we do that? Those are going to be amazingly important decisions for the school, because we don’t want to change
have a strong arts program now, but even though it’s strong, it doesn’t feel to be on the same level as the sports program. So how do we get it there? We’ve also got important work around diversity, equity and inclusion. We have to understand who we want to be. We have to work collectively as a community to understand where our holes are. I think it’s really important that we hear from our constituencies. And so in ten years, if we could be a space where we have collectively defined and understood what strong DEI culture and community looked like at Annie Wright and we had the metrics to tell us whether or not we were achieving that, that would be profound. LI: A lot of what you’ve been doing in your current position and what we’ve been talking about have been focused internally, and part of your new role is going to be
something that some alums were really excited about, although there were many who were, and I think that’s okay, and I can understand that. If there are alums who feel, ‘That’s it for me and Annie Wright,’ that’s okay. But I want to make sure that anyone who is open to re-engaging that commitment or that relationship with the school has the opportunity to do so. We will be putting together opportunities and programs so that we can re-engage with those people. I’m so excited to see where that all goes in the future. I think there’s going to be great opportunity, and I’m very much looking forward to being a part of that reconnection if it is a reconnection for some folks or to deepen the connection that already exists for those who are still in a relationship with the school.
Supporting our Families through COVID-19 The Annie Wright Schools community is thinking of those around the world affected by the coronavirus, and we are abundantly grateful for the efforts of those who are on the front lines of prevention and treatment. Several of these individuals, including medical personnel, first responders, military service members, humanitarian aid workers, civil servants, and more are part of our community, and we thank you all for your service. In addition, we thank parents and teachers, whose lives just got a lot harder. Before school closed on Thursday, March 12, Assistant Head of Schools Sandra Bush led a faculty-wide effort to develop a comprehensive Online Academic Continuation plan. The following Monday, classes resumed virtually. Teachers approached the transition with Annie Wright Schools’ characteristic pioneering spirit: with creativity, determination, warmth and a continuing standard of excellence. Read on to see what virtual learning looks like at Annie Wright.
NOT JUST ONLINE LEARNING Across all grades, and especially for younger students, experiential aspects of learning extend beyond the screen, with teachers encouraging students to read, communicate and engage in authentic learning experiences, while continuing to be physically active. The goal for virtual school content is 1-2 hours per day for Preschool-Grade 2, 2-3 hours for Grades 3-5, and 4 hours for Grades 6-12. Some online experiences are in real time, for example group work and class discussions using video conferencing software, while others are available at any time, for example prerecorded teacher videos and learning apps.
IN A NUTSHELL For Lower School, email and class blogs provide lessons, resources, ideas, activities, games, challenges and assignments in literacy, numeracy and multidisciplinary areas. In addition, music, PE, Spanish and library teachers provide a range of activities that continue to support their current programs. A range of technology resources which they already know well supports learners in Grades 1-5. Some ways they’re staying connected: • Morning meetings and video greetings of each student by name • Video story time with the classroom teacher • Virtual lunches with the whole class
In Middle and Upper Schools, both off- and on-screen learning activities engage learners, and all teachers continue to deliver their curricula on set class schedules. Classes continue to meet through video conferencing, as do advisories, tutorials, activities and other community groups. In addition, PE teachers provide resources for staying active, and counselors and advisors are available to support students with academic, social and emotional needs. Some ways they’re staying connected: • One-on-one check-ins with students • Collaborative projects using video conferencing • Engaging videos and fun challenges • Daily emails and videos from the Directors and Deans Students have responded well to the new normal, and teachers are working harder than ever to deliver their expertise, passion and love even as their own circumstances are challenging. And it is heartening and inspiring to witness how everyone in this community is continuing to put students at the heart of all we do, from strength to strength.
clockwise from top left: Preschool story time, morning meeting, sharp uniform (even at home), cooking project, Lower School siblings hard at work with their dad, and practicing letters.
The New Face of Annie Veronica Sauer ’86, a Seattle-based artist who retains strong ties with Annie Wright Schools, returned to campus last fall and took a tour of the new Upper School for Boys building. Though originally not a proponent of boys and girls sharing the same campus, she felt strongly about supporting her alma mater and maintaining the history and traditions she and her schoolmates hold so dear. To that end, she thought of Annie, and of art. After touring the building, Veronica felt something was missing, and that something was Annie. Using her signature style rich with daring color, this time with a nod to the beloved ties of red, green, blue and yellow, she created a new, vibrant rendition of the traditional portrait of Annie Wright that still hangs over the “senior stairs” above the front hall. Like her other portraits, she prioritized
shape, shadow, scale and light, using abstract realism to offer a new perspective on Annie’s iconic face.
Win a Personalized Original
Inspired by legendary Annie Wright teacher Bev Brown, V eronica studied art history in university and traveled around the seminal art museums of Europe, where she was drawn to the vitality of expressionism & fauvism. It was not until after a corporate career and the interruption of her active life by a sports-related accident, however, that she followed her passion for creating her own art. Veronica began with a self-portrait and went on to paint people she admired, was motivated by, or for whom she was thankful.
Donate $250 to the All in for Annie effort for scholarships and receive a canvas tote bag with this beautiful image. You will also be entered for a drawing to win a 24” x 36” original portrait by Veronica, valued at more than $1,750. Simply send her a photo of your choice – yourself, a family member, a famous person or even your pet, and she will create a vibrant personalized commission that you will treasure forever. See more examples of Veronica’s work at veronicasauer.com.
Veronica’s Annie honors the history, inspiration and namesake of our beloved institution while capturing a vibrant and bold future, from strength to strength.
Veronica adds layers of vibrant color, focusing on Annie Wright Schools’ tie colors of red, green, blue and yellow, as she forms the iconic face of Annie Wright.
Join us as we go
All in for Annie Wright Schools Your support of scholarships gives the gift of an Annie Wright education to deserving students. During this time of exceptional financial insecurity, funding an Annie Wright education is especially challenging for many families. As alumni, you know the true value of an Annie Wright Schools experience. This is your opportunity to support families in need and invest in the learning, traditions and relationships that propel our students from strength to strength. The tie color tradition began in 1938 with the first class of Green Ties, and loyalties run deep! Join decades of Blues, Reds, Yellows and Greens in showing your tie color pride with a gift today. Learn more and participate in honor of your tie color:
www.aw.org/All-In
"I’m all in for Annie because Annie Wright is in my heart. I’m grateful for the relationships I’ve built upon its foundation. I also value the new friends I’ve made as an alumna and trustee. I give to honor Annie Wright’s legacy and because I’m excited about where the school is headed."
Merritt (Klarsch) Pulliam, Blue Tie Class of ’92 "I enthusiastically support the Annie Wright scholarship fund because attending Annie Wright more than 60 years ago was a huge gift to me. It enabled me to have a solid academic foundation, life long friends, and an appreciation of family.The Annie legacy of family will always be with me."
Cordie (Hartwell) Puttkammer, Yellow Tie Class of ’57 "As the recipient of a scholarship to Annie Wright which truly changed my life, I’m proud to do my part for young women and men yearning for the dynamic and warm environment I enjoyed in the Upper School for Girls."
Alyssa Harvey, Red Tie Class of ’06 "I support Annie Wright because of family, friendship, tradition and education as well as looking to the future and helping to give others the same experience."
Dee (Cragin) Hanich, Green Tie Class of ’63
SAVE THE DATE
Alumni Weekend September 24–26, 2020 My history, my experience, my
Annie Wright
Alumni Weekends Ahead We welcome and encourage all alumni to attend. We will especially honor:
We are excited to welcome Annies from around the country and world to Alumni Weekend 2020. This timing will provide opportunities for alumni to see firsthand your alma mater’s exciting changes and enduring traditions, attend sports and theatre events, and most importantly, connect with classmates and schoolmates from your Annie Wright days. While we welcome all alumni, we particularly encourage the 10th reunion Class of ’10, the 25th reunion Class of ’95, and the 50th reunion Class of ’70 to join us.
2020 Classes of 1970, 1995 & 2010 and all Yellow Ties 2021 Classes of 1971, 1996 & 2011 and all Red Ties
The Ties that Bind New for 2020, Alumni Weekend will also celebrate all alumni with the same tie color as the senior class. Next fall the senior class will be...YELLOWS! So bananas, starfruit, grapefruit and all you other yellow fruit, please join your fellow yellows at Alumni Weekend 2020.
2022 Classes of 1972, 1997 & 2012 and all Green Ties 2023 Classes of 1973, 1998 & 2013 and all Blue Ties
WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS Thursday, September 24
• Welcome! Evening athletics competitions and performances in the Kemper Center.
Looking to Reconnect?
Friday, September 25
• Opportunities to attend classes, athletic competitions, and other special events on campus. • Meet and greet with new Head of Schools Jake Guadnola 4:00–5:00 pm, Great Hall • Cocktail party, 5:00–7:00 pm, Bamford Commons
Saturday, September 26
• Memory sharing service, 9:30–10:30 am, Raynor Chapel • Champagne brunch, 10:30 am–12:00 pm, Great Hall Stay tuned for further event and hotel information. Specialized tours and individualized class events, with opportunities for family gatherings, are available and encouraged. Contact Maddy Mancuso at maddy_mancuso@aw.org or 253.284.8603 to help plan your class reunion or gathering of yellow ties across the generations.
During this challenging and isolating time, we have heard from many alumni who are eager to help the AWS community as well as connect with fellow Annies. To support our alumni community, we have launched a new digital space via the Annie Wright Schools Alumni Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/ groups/AlumniAWS. We look forward to sharing news and events and engaging with you in this new space. Discover more ways to reconnect at www.aw.org/connect or email alumni@aw.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
Meet our Alumnae Trustees The visionary stewards and leaders of our school, Annie Wright Trustees have several vital responsibilities. These include setting policies, vision and strategic direction; ensuring financial health and sustainability; and monitoring programs and services the school provides. Currently a third of the trustees are alumnae of the school. Here is a snapshot:
Elizabeth Appling ’63
Judith (Yengling) Forkner ’63
Merritt (Klarsch) Pulliam ’92
Sally (Peterson) Atherton ’66
Sarah Kaiser ’93
Pamela Hyde Smith ’63
Stephanie Cook ’88
Marjorie Oda-Burns ’66
Aliya (Merali) Virani ’96
Elizabeth Appling ’63
Judith (Yengling) Forkner ’63
Merritt (Klarsch) Pulliam ’92
Retired Episcopal parish priest
Retired editor and development director
Professional photographer and writer
How your Annie Wright experience inspired you My time at Annie Wright has been an immeasurable part of the fabric of who I am as a woman, as a priest, and as a musician. The learning – both academic and communal – was also integral to my role as founding director of an arts organization for young girls.
How your Annie Wright experience inspired you My time at Annie Wright prepared me well for the world beyond. I arrived at college with confidence and curiosity and unafraid of challenges. And I was definitely better educated than most of my classmates at Vassar!
How your Annie Wright experience inspired you Annie Wright gave me the confidence to develop my own voice. I learned to think critically and to be curious about the world. I also made lifelong friends who inspire me every day.
Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees I was asked by the Bishop of Olympia to be his representative on the Board.
Sally (Peterson) Atherton ’66 Retired biomedical researcher; current consultant and scientific grant writer How your Annie Wright experience inspired you I did not think that there was anything that I could not do because I was female. Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees I wanted to be a part of the growth and excitement at AWS as well as to give back to AWS so others would have the same opportunity for an excellent education that I did.
Stephanie Cook ’88 Management consultant in dentistry How your Annie Wright experience inspired you First and foremost, my education at Annie Wright inspired in me a genuine desire and willingness to learn. Annie Wright also fostered the benefits of setting clear-cut goals, critical thinking, patience and the sometimes long-awaited benefits of discipline. Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees My experience at Annie Wright as student, as an alumna and now as a parent has truly molded the person that I am today. I feel it is my responsibility to pay it forward so that future generations may also benefit from all that Annie Wright has to offer.
Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees After meeting Christian in 2013, I knew the school was in good hands. When asked to join the Board of Trustees, I was eager to be part of the AWS community again. Little did I know what adventures lay ahead. It has been a great trip!
Sarah Kaiser ’93 Owner of a corporate event company How your Annie Wright experience inspired you It was nice to start college with a strong academic background and foundation. It also gave me confidence in my abilities in general which has been good for my life in many areas.
Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees It is an honor to play a small part in helping ensure the long-term success of the school. I am excited to be part of that process.
Pamela Hyde Smith ’63 Retired U.S. foreign service officer and ambassador; current docent and board member at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art How your Annie Wright experience inspired you Annie Wright kindled my intellectual curiosity and broadened my horizons immeasurably.
Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees Christian asked me to re-join the board after a long hiatus. (Sarah served 200814 and rejoined in 2017.)
Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees My mother, grandmother and cousins attended Annie Wright, and my father served on its board, so I wanted to continue the family connection and my own link to Tacoma and the school.
Marjorie Oda-Burns ’66
Aliya (Merali) Virani ’96
Retired orthopaedic surgeon
Educator, Lower School Director at the Bush School in Seattle
How your Annie Wright experience inspired you The strength of the AWS curriculum in the liberal arts forced me to widen my intellectual pursuits. Literature and art history were particularly influential in my development and interests as an adult. Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees I appreciate the ability to participate in considering what education means in the 21st century and how to prepare students for a life of learning. I’m looking forward to participating in the evolution of a school that will enrich the present and future lives of its students, as it has enriched mine.
How your Annie Wright experience inspired you The care and intentionality many of the educators took to understand who I was as a learner deeply resonated with me and led me to teaching. Why you decided to join the Board of Trustees I wanted to stay connected to the institution that led me to my career choice, supported me as an individual and a learner and brought me two mentors (Susan and Christian) and two of my closest friends.
Encore!
Community Pours Support into Kemper Theatre In 1983, financier, civic leader and philanthropist R. Crosby Kemper II (19272014) created an endowment at Annie Wright Schools to honor his mother, alumna Enid (Jackson) Kemper ’15. This generous gift funded construction of a new performing arts and athletic center, the Enid Jackson Kemper Center, opened in 1986. Since then, the Kemper Theatre stage has been the backdrop for dozens of plays, musicals, speakers and film screenings. From stage parts big and small to playwriting, set design, music, lighting, choreography and more, the Kemper Theatre is a place where students of all ages find a role. Now, thanks to the exceptional generosity of the Annie Wright Schools community in the 2020 Auction Fund-A-Need, which blew through even its stretch goal of $120,000, the Kemper Theatre will receive essential improvements including safety upgrades for the rigging system, new stage curtains, an updated sound system and LED lighting. Thank you to the alumni, parents, faculty, staff, trustees and friends who have contributed to the future of the performing arts at Annie Wright Schools.
Hoopsters Fly
High
In the most successful basketball season in Annie Wright history, the Upper School for Girls varsity basketball team won league and districts and came 4th in State. Record-breaking scorer Julianna Walker sank an astounding three pointer from beyond half court at the buzzer to win their final match of the tournament on March 7.
Replay the moment at www.aw.org/basketball
Go Gators!
Focus on Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion year, faculty have been exploring this question with colleagues and students, with the goal of recognizing and augmenting meaningful inclusivity in our community.
Director of Auxiliary Programs Alicia Mathurin (left on screen), who is of African and Native heritage, welcomed more than 7,000 attendees at the opening ceremony of the People of Color Conference with a land acknowledgment honoring the Duwamish Tribe. The Senior Leadership Team, Board of Trustees and faculty committees continue to champion Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), a key initiative of Annie Wright Schools’ 2016-21 Strategic Plan.
At the beginning of the year, the DEI faculty and staff Curriculum & Practice group presented a school-wide provocation to all faculty and staff: What does inclusivity mean to us? Throughout the
Professional development also continues to be a key component in furthering DEI. Alison Park, a San Francisco-based expert in organizational diversity initiatives, held workshops with the Board of Trustees in September and all faculty and staff in February. The school also sent 11 people to the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference in Seattle last December. Alicia Mathurin, Annie Wright’s Director of Auxiliary Programs, served as the conference’s local Committee Chair.
Our Mission
In Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We acknowledge the fact of diversity as a vital source of Annie Wright Schools’ strong community. We recognize all identities as part of our diversity, including both underrepresented and over-represented groups across ethnic, racial, and regional identities; language and learning profiles; religious and political beliefs; socio-economic and family make-ups; and gender and sexual identities. Among our community, we cultivate shared rights and mutual stewardship. We safeguard individual identities by recognizing that diversity alone does not lead to inclusion. We strive to develop practices to ensure all members of our community have access to safe, equitable, and brave spaces. We welcome opportunities to challenge cultural assumptions of what is “normal” and to broaden our sense of identity; seeking to actively advance the culture of the institution by continually examining the tension between tradition and transformation.
We nurture responsible, global citizenry in a pluralistic and rapidly changing world by encouraging and being willing to respectfully engage courageous conversations. We purposefully examine cultural distinctions and implications across programmatic and curricular practices. As an institution, we seek to practice on-going, reflective learning processes, including routine practices of self and community care. The practices named above extend through all facets of our community, including but not limited to organizational structures such as institutional leadership, recruitment, admissions, hiring and retention; educational spaces such as curricular and extracurricular programming; as well as community partnerships and communications.
