2020 has been an extraordinary, difficult, and hopefully transformative year. The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black and brown communities and the latest wave of violent police assaults on Black lives including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Jacob Blake have prompted long-overdue conversations about race nationally.

At Mastery, our discussions on racism have centered on the students and families that we serve. In order to meet our mission, we must fully acknowledge the traumas of racism that impact our students, families, and staff. As a school and public institution, how can we create an environment that pushes back against white supremacy, instead of subscribing to what has been the societal norm for far too long?

In response to this challenge, our senior leadership team and principals collaborated to develop a new Mastery Value – the first in 19 years – to guide our work against systematic racism as we strive to be a model anti-racist school district.

We are proud to include Pursue Equity as one of our Mastery Values:

We disrupt systemic racism and the inequities that limit our students’ choices. We nurture a culture where all staff, students, and families are seen and valued

As with all of our Mastery Values, Pursue Equity, will be embedded throughout our school culture in our actions and behavior every day. Leadership, staff, and students across our school network will embrace the new value together in a commitment to make our society, our schools, and the next generation of citizens more just and more free.

As we enter a new and different type of school year, join us in reviewing the Mastery Values, which can be found here on our website. We look forward to hearing, and sharing, stories of how our community has embodied these values, especially our newest addition, during this unprecedented time.