At the beginning of each school year, the students and faculty meet to refresh the community's Working Agreements, which outline our expectations for Sportsmanship, Residential Life, and Community Standards. The overall vision for our agreements states:
We strive to build a community where we practice clean, healthy, living while strengthening our values of Courage, Integrity, Leadership, Curiosity, and Concern.
Examples from the various sections of the Working Agreements include the following:
We get to know each other. Be curious and caring. No one reaches their greatness without the help of others.
We cheer on and respect our teammates and do not belittle anyone - especially players on the opposing team.
Accountability - When our standards fall, we make amends and make it right.
We do not lie, cheat, or steal - Lying is the worst thing a person can do at Hyde.
We know the names of every student in the school.
We embrace challenges outside of our comfort zone.
We celebrate the accomplishments of individuals and the community.
We do not tolerate bullying, racist, or denigrative behavior towards any community member. We seek to set an example for others in this area.
After a recent incident, we discussed the use of the N-word in the weekly school meeting, and we realized that we needed to do more work to understand this issue and recommit to our community standards. A group of students and faculty met to discuss how the N-word has different meanings to different people. This group worked to create a presentation given in front of the entire school a few days later.
Faculty member Liz Rhaney said, "The students agreed that using this word violates the Hyde ethic of not using degrading language. They expressed that, as a community, we should respect how others feel about this word and how it may affect them. They created and delivered a presentation on the historical use of the word, how it is used in other countries, and why it has no place in our community. I was proud of the students who led the discussion."
The student presentation can be viewed here. (link) Our work on this topic was a powerful reminder that our Working Agreements are important and need to be discussed and refreshed throughout the year in order to guide us toward our best.
Laura D. Gauld '76
President
Please find the Student presentation here.