*By signing this petition, you are supporting the following statements:*

In light of the recent statement shared by St. Catherine's School in response to the protests and police brutality, this petition was created to urge the school to uphold the needs of their Black students and continue their commitment to diversity through actionable, strategic initiatives. We believe that the school must:

• Designate a director position whose sole focus is Diversity. The Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion should also be a minority woman of color who can actually relate to and provide guidance for Black and non-Black students of color.

• Hire and actively retain more Black teachers and administrators to benefit both Black students who can see themselves within the faculty and non-Black students who can learn from staff with diverse backgrounds; especially in the Upper School where there are no Black teachers.

• Black students must have affinity groups, such as Unity, with institutional support and funding to provide Black students with the opportunity to share their experiences, form an understanding community, and grow in a space that is uniquely their own.

• Hold senior curriculum leaders accountable for incorporating Black authors and Black intellectual works into the main curriculum at all school levels to add a deeper dimension to their program, which currently only provides students with a limited opportunity to fully engage with Black thinkers in senior year English electives.

• Actively educate all students about privilege and institutional/systematic oppression, and create channels for Black and minority students to voice their concerns to the administration without retribution. The school must also hold the community accountable for racism and injustice from the student to the board level.

In the words of St. Catherine’s own motto “What we keep we lose, and only what we give remains our own.” #BlackLivesMatter