Subject: Message Regarding Upper School Incident
From: "Bryan Garman, Sidwell Friends Head of School" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2019 23:16:36 +0000

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I write to communicate troubling news that is necessary to share with the entire parent community.

This afternoon at a student assembly, Upper School students were gathered to hear a presentation about OnSide, a non-profit organization founded by a Sidwell Friends student that seeks to build community and understanding amongst refugee youths in the D.C. area through the game of soccer. At the conclusion of the program, the presenter engaged students in an online learning game called Kahoot, which allows participants to enter answers in real-time using their cell phones. These answers were projected onto the large screens in the Robert L. Smith Meeting Room. Several of the usernames projected onto the screen were racist toward Asians and Native Americans; two usernames included swastikas. As soon as these images were recognized, the Assistant Dean of Students signaled the presenters to turn off the projection and end the presentation. We have begun a thorough investigation into the matter to ascertain the identity of the students responsible for this action.

We are deeply disheartened and disturbed by this incident, which is an extremely serious breach of our School's honor code and harassment policy. There is no place for hate in our community, and I will address the Upper School about the seriousness of the matter tomorrow morning.

I am disappointed, dismayed, and deeply sorry that such an incident could take place at our School. Racism and anti-semitism will not be tolerated in this community. We must strive always to live the question posed in our diversity statement:  "How do we nurture a sense of belonging in our community and demonstrate our commitment to a just world?"  We will continue, after the manner of Friends, to pursue this query. We are grateful to be in partnership with you as we affirm our values. And we will be in touch as we process this matter and develop appropriate programs to address it.

In peace,

Bryan Garman

Head of School

Sidwell Friends School

3825 Wisconsin Ave. NW • Washington, DC 20016 • 202-537-8100
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