Equity Statement
The Hamlin Robinson School community strives to ensure each student and their family has access to the supports they need within an inclusive environment that recognizes and honors all aspects of identity. We aspire to create an equitable environment for each student, family, faculty and staff, and all members within our community where everyone thrives and knows they belong. We are committed to this journey which requires continual self-reflection, vulnerability, intentionality, and accountability from each of us.
Hamlin Robinson School prides itself on supporting the marginalized communities of students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences so they have an equitable opportunity to succeed academically, and, by extension, in life beyond school.
We also recognize that dyslexia and language-based learning differences do not discriminate. To fulfill our mission, Hamlin Robinson School is committed to addressing the legacy of structural racism in the history and teaching within independent schools such as ours. We know there is much to do to help our community reach a more equitable future and we are determined to embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as essential to a robust education.
Over the last two years, HRS started the process of evaluating our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) practices. This included offering DEIB education opportunities for the Board of Trustees and school faculty, the distribution of the AIMS DEI survey to our stakeholders (board, staff, families and upper school students); and the formation of task forces to ensure diversity of all kinds is a focus in the future commitments to the Hamlin Robinson community.
Diversity and inclusion are not boxes to be checked off but a commitment to a fundamental right to ensure all our students and families feel they belong and are welcomed and valued.
This summer, the Hamlin Robinson Board of Trustees formed a standing subcommittee specifically focused on DEIB. The committee will partner with school leadership, faculty, community members, educators, students, and families to help HRS integrate equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging into all systems, structures, goals, practices, and communications.
We are excited to announce a partnership with DEIB consultant, Mary Fertakis – whose advocacy for equity in education in the P-12 continuum is nationally recognized. In our region, Fertakis has served as the Washington State School Board Director for 22 years in one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the United States. Fertakis will help lead HRS in our on-going DEIB work. In this process, our goal is to provide opportunities for voices to be heard from all stakeholders and to examine the many ways Hamlin Robinson can evolve.
We know this DEIB commitment and the resulting actions will be ongoing in the years to come and invite our entire community to join us in these efforts. We will update the Hamlin Robinson community over the course of this next year and invite anyone with further questions or feedback to reach out to us at any time.
Thank you for your passionate dedication to Hamlin Robinson School and its mission. We look forward to working together to achieve our goals.
