Dear Gwynedd Mercy Community, 

Through productive exchanges with Gwynedd alumnae and parents, over the past week I have come to a greater understanding of the toll – the hurt, the anger, and the exhaustion – injustice and oppression takes on the Black community. With each conversation, note, and message, there was a consistent thread: a shared desire to learn and to do better. I am encouraged and truly inspired by the many members of our community from all backgrounds who want to be part of our efforts to eradicate all forms of discrimination and racism. 

I have been watching, listening, and learning with an open heart focusing on what I can do to improve things. What I have learned for sure is that with humility, caring, and grit we can make the change the world needs now. As President of Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, and as a Mercy Girl myself, I am committed to advancing the cultivation of a Gwynedd community for today and tomorrow, one that is diverse and inclusive, where all members are welcomed and supported. I recognize that real change starts at home.

Today I reshare with you an important goal that we set in our Connection pillar of our strategic plan, "She is the Future," launched in November 2019. 

GOAL

"To open doors for her, we will unite our community, expand our diversity, and grow connections locally and globally. Gwynedd's great differentiator is our strength of community infused with Mercy spirit. Our genuine desire to help one another succeed empowers the whole to make an even greater impact in the world. To widen and deepen our circle, we will mobilize our Gwynedd family through our global Mercy network to share our story and create a more vibrant, diverse, and engaged school community where all feel welcome, supported, and purposeful. Through a commitment to faith, service, and inclusion, our students will forever ground themselves in Mercy values, calibrating their moral compass for life."

Steadfast in our focus and commitment to building bridges and creating an educated, culturally-competent community, over the last year we have worked to develop our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan (DEI) entitled, "As Catherine Did" (ACD). The ACD plan includes more than 80 steps, and related accomplishments will be shared with our school community annually. The following are initial steps currently underway.

ACTION STEPS

1. Stewarding the efforts of Connection pillar.  "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela
   
   A professional development program for faculty and staff related to diversity and inclusion was initiated this past academic year. Three completed sessions conducted focused on diversity, microagressions, and hidden biases. 
   
   Our students can also be leaders of this vision for racial justice and peace in our world, but only if we engage them and our faculty and staff in challenging conversations about racism, bigotry, and white privilege. Over the past year, a beautiful foundation has been laid for this effort through curricular studies, visual displays, a month-long, school-wide celebration in February for Black History Month, and a guest speaker, Elizabeth Johnson Rice – a civil rights activist and member of the Richmond 34, a group who worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. This is simply the very beginning of a process to do better.
    
2. Building a DEI Committee. The DEI Committee is comprised of subject matter experts, alumnae, faculty and staff, who have pledged to steward the efforts and implementation of the ACD plan. Recognizing that we need more outside representation on the DEI committee, we will be adding members this summer.
    
3. Achieving ACD goals in an accelerated timeframe. The ACD plan has set forth ambitious goals for progress. The original schedule charted a four-year path to reaching the goals, but in true Mercy fashion, we are confident that we can do better. With the same goals in place, the target for plan implementation is now two years, 2022. This will require the increased efforts of many members of our school community.
    
4. Hiring a Diversity Coordinator. Last month, we approved the addition of a Diversity Coordinator role, which will focus solely on these efforts. On Friday, I was pleased to share with our faculty and staff that thanks to the generosity of an alumna who is passionate about diversity, this role will be funded. Our Mercy women continue to impress and amaze me, as they share their time, talent, and treasure with today's Mercy Girls.
    
5. Selecting Racism as our Critical Concern. Each academic year, one of the five Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy is chosen as the school's collective study and action. This focus will be incorporated into curriculum, specialized programming for our community, and service to non-profits that are essential in the fight to eliminate racism.
    
6. Expanding our relationship with The Office of Black Catholics of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Gwynedd added a scholarship program in collaboration with The Office of Black Catholics to identify students within the archdiocese who are interested in attending Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School. 
    
7. Creating a DEI Student Advisory Council. In addition to our DEI Committee, the Council will bring together students to collaborate with the DEI Coordinator on ways that we can advance progress both internally and externally. This will empower our students to have a seat at the table, to inform and to contribute to building our plans.
    
8. Expanding the Diversity Club. Gwynedd's student Diversity Club is expanding to broaden its efforts to strengthen its impact. The club will focus on ensuring all Gwynedd students and members of our community have a voice and a place to feel safe and respected.

As stated by Layla Saad, author of the New York Times bestseller, Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor, we recognize that, "Allyship is not a one-week performative act. It is a lifetime commitment to educate yourself, listening to constructive criticism, learning from your mistakes, doing research, and staying aware."

Together with the Sisters of Mercy, we commit to action and affirm together:

WE pledge to examine our own biases and positions of privilege through self-reflection, and earnestly work to resolve them.

WE pledge to live by compassion and be consciously inclusive of all individuals.

WE pledge to affirm the value of diversity.

WE pledge to promote understanding, inclusion, and mutual respect, and thus build community within all races, ethnicities, and cultures.

WE pledge to transform our institution into an authentically anti-racist and anti-oppressive community of action.

WE pledge to advocate for justice, demand equal opportunity for all and so help create a beloved community for everyone to share.

Our foundress, Catherine McAuley, reminds us that, "We can never say that it is enough." My hope is by first focusing on our efforts inside our school while also working with others in our community, we will continue to make progress. Each of us can make a difference, but together we will impact change. Please join us in this mission of Mercy.

 

In Mercy,

Denise Marbach
President