Making Mission Matter More

{MATTER MORE MAKING MISSION MATTER MORE 2020-21 SCHOoL YEAR THEME { Use Your Voice for Good ENCOURAGED FOXCROFT GIRLS TO

USE THEIR U USE THEIR VOICES FOR GOODVOICES FOR GOOD

By Josie Ross, Assistant Dean of Residential Life and Rebecca Wise, Director of International Student Services

When Miss Charlotte founded Foxcroft School in 1914 with the goal of educating hardy young women in preparation for college, she couldn’t vote. Miss Charlotte, a woman heralded for being progressive, outspoken — a trailblazer for women — couldn’t participate in the most basic ritual of democracy. It’s hard to reconcile these two points. It wouldn’t be until 1920, after having graduated six senior classes from Foxcroft, that Miss Charlotte and her graduates would be granted that right.

As we worked to come up with a theme for the 2020-21 school year, we kept in mind the presidential election, the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage, and more generally, the many ongoing struggles for civil rights being fought in our country.

Ultimately deciding on “Use Your Voice for Good: Civic Service and Social Action,” we then asked: How do these events come to fruition? How is momentum built behind a candidate, behind a movement? How does the theme support the School’s mission of helping each girl explore her unique voice and develop the skills, confidence, and courage to share it with the world? In short, how can we teach and encourage our students to use their voices for good?

By breaking down the arc of a social movement we’ve been able to demonstrate for our students what it takes to effect change.

Emergence

First, there is the “emergence” stage, where individuals learn to recognize their unique voice and try it out in the world. For our community, this stage included inviting three different women to engage with our students and provide context for civic engagement. Dr. Marcia Chatelain, professor of History & African American Studies from Georgetown University, presented the Black Lives Matter movement within the historical context of other civil rights movements in the United States. Deborah Lee James, the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force, spoke to our students about using her voice on her path to leadership in a maledominated industry. Finally, Thyannda Mack, founder of Inclusive Resolutions, LLC led us through exercises that asked us to think more deeply about who we are and what that means as we navigate our own communities. Dorm leaders also facilitated intentional conversations between roommates, allowing students to articulate their needs and consider the needs of others before signing roommate contracts.

Continued on page 10.

Coalescence

The next stage of a movement is “coalescence,” when people start to come together around a shared cause. Several Foxcroft students came together through Empowering Female Voices (see article on page 16). With the support of faculty members Erika Page and John Scharfenberg, students were given the opportunity to engage in civil discourse with other young women from schools around the country. Closer to home, students rallied around their dormmates in our Battle of the Dorms competitions and conversed with each other about democracy and civic engagement at various election day workshops.

Movements transition from coalescence to the “bureaucratization” phase, in which members express themselves with purpose. Our student leaders were trained in navigating conflict and gave a workshop to the student body in small groups. To celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Office of Student Life challenged students and faculty to share their visions in our “Dream for Foxcroft and the Nation”

Bureaucratization

school-wide project. During a Morning Meeting presentation, alumna Kassinda Usher ’93 shared the dreams for Foxcroft of some of her fellow alumnae. Students also worked on strategizing self-care through our Wellness Week activities which included topics such as time management, chair yoga for distance learning, and self-care through civil rights.

Finally, movements experience a “decline” period, in which leaders pass the torch and envision the next evolution of their work. This spring, students went through the leadership application process for clubs, internships, Student Council, Fox/Hound, and other key roles on campus. In this phase, our current leaders mentored rising students and set them up for success. The work they facilitated in their time at Foxcroft will continue as their legacy for future students, their voices continuing to do good for years to come. This culminated in our graduation events as we looked back on a unique year that allowed all of us to grow in unexpected ways.

Women were not given the right to vote in 1920 — they demanded it, and even then poll taxes, literacy tests, and other discriminatory laws made it difficult for women of color to vote. Not until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act would all women achieve voting equality. Our predecessors earned their place in America’s democracy through a decades-long movement of women supporting women, working tirelessly to raise their voices and capture the attention of a nation.

Today, the work is not done. Our students are entering a world rife with challenges that must be met by coalitions of individuals working together for a shared vision. With

Foxcroft’s mission and our values of Respect, Integrity, Kindness, and

Service as their guideposts, our students can make an impact that lasts generations. We are excited to help our students recognize their own place in this world and to send them forth to use their unique and wonderful voices for good. •

Decline

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AN INnOVATIVE APpROACH TO CIVIL DISCOURSE

Foxcroft’s leadership around the election and civil discourse was recognized on the national stage when Head of School Cathy McGehee was asked to serve on a panel for the final TABS “Election 2020” Educators series. TABS, or The Association of Boarding Schools, is a North American association that includes schools in the U.S. and Canada, and Foxcroft was one of only two schools invited to participate on the panel.

“I was honored to represent our expert, innovative, and dedicated faculty for their work on civic education in and out of the classroom, work that was on display throughout the TABS series,” says McGehee. “Almost half of Foxcroft’s teachers attended the TABS virtual annual conference about ’Building Community Amid Political Polarization’.”

Our faculty spoke to how they incorporated election themes into their courses throughout the fall — in history classes, persuasive writing assignments, statistics and math projects, and even biology, as well as through dorm activities and guest speakers. The day after the election, teachers planned several special programs and activities which students could attend.

In addition, McGehee was delighted to represent Foxcroft’s student body, who through Student Council, Honor Council, and clubs such as Model United Nations, Hispanic Culture Club, the Black Student Union, and We the People, continued to work hard throughout the year to bring our mission and values to life and to use their voices for good.

Our faculty offered workshops on a variety of topics such as:

The Basics of Our Government: How Does our Electoral College Work?

Famous/Infamous Past Election Results

What Does the Election Mean for International Students?

Left and “Write,” Journaling Time About the Election

Data, Data, Data: Analyzing the Results

The voices of our students and faculty connect in the classroom and in the dormitories, forming common ground and an atmosphere ripe for learning. “Educational goals related to civic formation and civil discourse essential to our democracy are always an important part of Foxcroft’s curriculum and co-curriculum,” says McGehee. “Our theme remains urgent not only during an election year but every year.” • Spring/Summer 2021 Spring/Summer 2021 11 11