Wednesday 10th June 2020 

 

Dear Alumni, 

 

The response of our Shawnigan community on social media in the last week has been vital, sometimes visceral, challenging, emotionally charged, uncomfortable and at the same time, in the spirit of partnership, a reminder of the compelling opportunity to work together to develop diversity at Shawnigan. 

 

In a world dominated by pandemic-enforced isolation and instant messaging, I am never more convinced of the 4Cs of Shawnigan – ‘Conversation, Compassion, Community and Courage’ – and, in particular, the need for nuanced human conversation. 

 

Your speaking out shows us that you want to see Shawnigan step forward into the future. 

 

We are listening. 

 

In some correspondence, alumni have spoken of ‘subtle racism’ and ‘micro-aggressions’ they experienced whilst students here. I am deeply saddened, as Head, to read of these experiences. As an educational institution and a ‘second home’ to many of you, I recognise that we should have been speedier in making a clear statement of support for Black Lives Matter on-line. I apologise for the hurt this caused for some members of our community. Please rest assured that we unequivocally stand against racism and, through our actions, will continue to strive to lead by example. We do make mistakes but, as I believe you know, we care deeply and want to improve. 

 

In the course of a sometimes challenging evolution as a school, we must be careful not to lose sight of Shawnigan’s enduring values, and we are eager to work with you as we continue to develop our School. 

 

On behalf of the Shawnigan staff and Board, I write to ask that you reach out to a trusted staff member or a co-year alumna/us serving on our Board of Governors (available on our website) about Shawnigan 2020 and the progress we are making – and must continue to make - on many fronts to develop the School. I also invite you back to campus, once travel restrictions have been lifted, to learn of our community in the present. 

 

As I am relatively new to Shawnigan and many of us haven’t yet met, some personal history may be useful in demonstrating the School’s current commitment to progress in the important areas of diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. I remember vividly my final interview for the position of Head of Shawnigan three years ago this month, wherein I asked the Search Committee as to whether they believed that Shawnigan truly and fully delivered co-education in spirit and action and I challenged Shawnigan’s approach to access and diversity. 

 

I was then Head (Rektor) of a United World College in the Nordic region with a partnership with the Red Cross. We were committed to deliberate diversity at the centre of our educational model and to the UWC mission to make ‘education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future’. Our values spoke to international and intercultural understanding and celebration of difference. Our campus had students representing over 85 nationalities and provided a home and an education to many from conflict and post-conflict countries. It was an education for us all, a commitment to dialogue across divides and, most importantly, a vaccine against racism for the whole community. 

 

It was hard for my family to leave UWC Red Cross Nordic, where we deeply enjoyed our life within such a diverse and inclusive school. 

 

We did so because we felt a strong sense of community at Shawnigan and, more importantly, a sense of purpose and potential. Shawnigan’s diversity was a long way from our previous experiences in Southern Africa and the Nordic region, but we sensed board members and a community who were challenging us to come and help develop genuine access to a Shawnigan education, deliver a level playing field for students and staff, and celebrate diversity in all its forms.

 

I actually walked out of the final interview three years ago thinking I had blown it for being too forthright, too challenging in my line of questions. On reflection, I realise that the Search Committee, including alumni on the team, saw what Shawnigan needed and what mattered to me.

 

If you have met me in person, you know that access, inclusion and diversity are things that I care deeply about, both personally and professionally, and that I will stop at nothing to ensure they are built into Shawnigan’s future - in our day-to-day operations and in our strategic plan. 

 

I commit wholeheartedly to ensure that our hiring policies guarantee diversity. In the UWCs in Swaziland and Norway that I worked in, we sought to deliberately create a staff team which reflected the diversity of the student population so that they could act as role models for future global community-builders. 

 

One of the main reasons I decided to take the post at Shawnigan was its commitment to financial aid with over 40% of students receiving some form of assistance. However, my dream is that we work together to create many more full scholarship places for students from underprivileged families in our local community, from marginalized backgrounds, and from countries (including conflict and post-conflict) across the world. What I learnt in Norway is that it's not the impact that a School has on them but the impact they have on those around them that makes the magic of the partnership. Put simply, Shawnigan needs to step up its commitment to full scholarships and thereby deliver true socio-economic diversity on campus. 

 

I will not let our community down in delivering a future of which we can be proud. We have already achieved significant progress in the past two years. Please come and and visit, explore and enter into conversation with Shawnigan 2020. 

 

We are only just getting started. 

 

Some of you will know that I am an English Literature teacher by training. There’s a line in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ that I like: ‘Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come, [is] yours and my discharge’. 

 

Please join me and the staff of Shawnigan 2020 in terms of our deep commitment to diversity in all its forms, inclusion, student voice across the grades, true and full co-education, and a level playing field for all. Please enter into conversation with us but let us also step away from the divisive and damaging language that none of us can be proud of as members of the Shawnigan community. Here at Shawnigan, we are all so motivated to do our very best to educate the next generation to be the ethical community-builders of tomorrow. 

 

This has been a very challenging year with four deaths in our community in tandem with navigating the Covid landscape. Please rest assured that our staff are tackling all these challenges with courage and continue to support our students to the best of our ability. We will build on your feedback alongside the MyShawnigan Questionnaire and the Alumni Survey which we have run recently with all our stakeholders as part of a consultation process as the springboard to our strategic and action plans. 

 

My simple request in this letter is that all individuals engage in a generosity of spirit borne, I hope, of a deep passion for our school. 

 

I have just come from the weekly House Directors’ meeting and I am so inspired as to how our boarding house teams, including advisors, are reaching out and connecting with current students and recent leavers. Human and nuanced conversation is so important. Please click here for the resources our academic leadership team have put together with suggestions from students in class. Please do write to academics@shawnigan.ca if you would like to recommend further educational resources. Any further ideas to raise awareness within the current students or the wider alumni community are of course welcome. We are in the process of distributing a survey on diversity to students and staff that an alumna has put together – and we look forward to reviewing the data and summary. 

 

Fiona Macfarlane, the Chair of our Board (and past parent), and I are excited that we have passion and energy in our alumni community. Fiona, alongside Board Vice-Chair Jacqueline Flett (’97 Groves’) and Chair of the Alumni Engagement Committee Lisa Grover (’90 Kaye’s) stand ready to engage with you and to hear your stories of when Shawnigan didn’t live up to your expectations – please find below their email addresses for the initial point of contact. 

 

We want you to be proud and engaged advocates for Shawnigan values in whatever communities you find yourselves across the world – and to work with us to nurture and empower a campus community of compassionate and courageous individuals so that they create exceptional lives for themselves and others. We look forward to hearing what you can do to make Shawnigan a better School for all students and to working with you. 

At Shawnigan, we are committed to forging an even better and stronger future for our School, As Head, I am deeply commited to developing a School that we are all proud to be part of. 

 

With best wishes 

 

Richard D A Lamont 

Head 

 

CC: 

Fiona Macfarlane, fjmacfarlane@gmail.com 

Jacqueline Flett, jacqueline@flettlaw.com 

Lisa Grover, lisa@groverfroese.ca