Dear Students and Faculty,

Just like many of you, this weekend has led me to spending much time reflecting on where we are as a nation, a community and as a school. There has been so much to process that I often just want to turn off the hard-to-watch images of pain, pleas for justice, chaos and confusion.  During these moments, I remind myself that I have students, staff, friends and important people in my life who cannot turn it off and look away. They must deal with both the macro aggressions as we too often see on TV, but as well as the microaggressions that they deal with on a daily basis, both in and out of school.

I wish I had the answers, but I truly believe that one agent of change to any problem is through education. We as a community must continue to educate each other and our community (and nation). This is the only way we will move forward. We must be willing to engage in open and often uncomfortable dialogue. We must be honest with each other and ourselves. We must be open to other perspectives and care more about listening than being heard.

While there are so many things I want to say and do, I want to simply say to all of our students and staff of color that you are cared about, you have allies, and we will continue to take steps to protect you from hatred, ignorance, and racism. I want to make clear that hatred and racism has no place at Hall High School.  Everyone regardless of race, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect- without exception.   We will continue to work hard to provide a safe, supportive and inclusive environment in our in-person and distance learning settings.

Dan Zittoun, School Principal

Two suggested Video Resources: 

• How to talk to your children about protests and racism By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

• How parents can talk to their kids about racism, George Floyd protests By Katie Kindelan & Sarah Lang

Suggested Book Resources:

• Young Adult – Stamped by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi – Review by the School Library Journal

• Adult – How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi  

• Anti-Racist Books and Resources