ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASPIRATIONS

KIT ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASPIRATIONS

We want to start by making very clear that Roeper takes full responsibility for and deeply regrets the racist incident that occurred when a recent classroom lesson included insidious and hurtful racist tropes — tropes that are irreconcilable with the Roeper Philosophy and our community’s core values

It was inexcusable

We know there is much work to do to take full accountability for it and to regain the trust of everyone affiliated with the school — most especially, our current students and parents We want to reassure you that in a world that is still plagued by systemic racism, it is our full intention and commitment to do the work internally to address how that shows up in the Roeper community We have fallen short of our founding, our mission, and our philosophy, but those will undergird us as we move forward We plan to demonstrate this by our future actions — including our commitment to educational equity in Southeast Michigan and beyond

A Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) audit was recently completed, and this exhaustive investment was designed to help us move closer to our aspirations and was more than a year in the making While we wouldn’t have ever wished this crisis at any level, we are grateful for the counsel and guidance that is now available for our implementation as we move forward

While moving forward, we will be keeping in mind the ways the school has prioritized the practice of racial and social justice throughout its history, so we can enlarge our commitment to building a more inclusive, more just, and kinder world

• Roeper was the first integrated independent school in Michigan

• We have sought to serve all socio-economic backgrounds, regardless of ability to pay, with a robust financial aid program • A long history of multi-cultural curriculum and extra-curriculum, with the establishment of important traditions like the annual

MLK, Jr Day observance, honoring local and national civil rights and justice leaders through the Roeper Gala and Golden Apple

Awards, hosting conferences on equity in gifted education, and developing communitywide anti-racism educational events, like the

Juneteenth anti-Black racism forum

• Creating and maintaining the country’s longest-running implementation of the nationally recognized SEED (Seeking

Educational Equity and Diversity) program for teachers, while expanding the opportunity to staff, parents, trustees, and students

• Using our camp facilities and staff to host

Make-a-Splash, a week-long summer program for Black and Hispanic children to learn lifesaving swim lessons

• Developing and funding A Matter of Equity, a long-term private/public partnership with

Detroit Public Schools Community District designed to educate and train Detroit public school and Roeper teachers, psychologists, and counselors on serving gifted students from underserved populations

None of the above excuses individual or institutional accountability for recent or past failings to live up to our community’s values We also know that no one asks harder questions about itself or demands more from itself than the Roeper community does about itself

As we strive toward our continuing aspirations to manifest George and Annemarie Roeper’s vision, we will continue to work to earn your support and commitment Your partnership is essential F While moving forward, we will be keeping in mind the ways the school has prioritized the practice of racial and social justice throughout its history .