Stronger Support for Black Students at St. Catherine's

St. Catherine's must do what's outlined in this petition if they truly want to teach their students to be leaders.

This is long overdue! When I attended St Catherine’s (for thirteen years) I was never taught about white privilege and the systemic racism that continues in the country. Racist jokes were not uncommon, and the sense of entitlement was abundant. And I graduated in 2005. I think this school has a long way to go in rectifying it’s culture.

These are smart, concrete steps towards making St. Catherine’s a better community and school for all students. I hope that instead of reacting defensively, St. Catherine’s feels proud to have such thoughtful, caring, and equity-minded young alumnae, and honors that by leaning into discomfort and answering the requests of this petition.

My daughter was tormented for years by a classmate, who known to be racist and a bully by school administrators. She was never disciplined or moved to another classroom. Her father was a huge contributor and they didn't want to loose his funding. Thank you for creating this petition. I hope things will change for futures St. Cat students that they won't have to endure what my daughter endured. Yes, we did eventually change schools.

Thank you, Ava! I’m a white alumna, Class of 2006 and strongly believe in your clear call to action. As many have said on here, this is just a baseline to transform STC into an actively anti-racist institution. I promise to share this with my classmates and those affiliated. Black Lives Matter.

As a St. Catherine’s alum, I support this wholeheartedly. We can and must do better. Thank you Ava!!

Stay strong, stay safe, and be well ❤️✌️ JSC - St. Catherine’s ‘09

As a St. C alumna, I fully support these requests.

St Chris fired their diversity head because he spoke out against glorifying the Confederacy and they were worried about losing donors. Values should be above money at schools that pride themselves on honor and respect.

Thank you!!! I am extremely proud of you ladies for advocating for what’s right and for holding StC accountable for living up to what the institution should stand for.

Women changing the world!!!

This is important.

Equality for all

Support , embrace , educate .

Incredibly proud of each of you. I miss you dearly. Love, Mrs. Googe

So proud of you ladies for speaking up! I support you 100% as a teacher and mother of two.

STC has no excuse. Get it done!

The divide is too apparent, especially for a small school. We must do better.

As a school we need to support each other. We need to change to become a better and more diverse school.

Thank you for providing such a detailed, concrete list of steps—I hope StC hears our voices and adapts these policies. As a white alum, I was ashamed to realize how little I had learned about diversity and inclusion at StC. The only real instance I remember was 1 hour-and-a-half activity during X period where we were read statements about discrimination and place ourselves around the room depending on whether we agreed or disagreed. This should have been a time for our students of color—particularly our Black students—to share their stories, but because EVERYONE was encouraged to speak, it seemed to derail the whole purpose of the exercise (which itself was already bare minimum). I distinctly remember the prompt “I see people like me in history” and one white girl cried discrimination because her grandparents were Polish and she never learned Polish history. I hope StC adopts these changes that will make their BIPOC feel more accepted while also educating the white majority in how to be active allies.