Home MENU About Us Diversity, Inclusion, and Brotherhood In the summer of 2020, Head of School Lee Burns ‘87, announced that a major focus for the 2020-21 school year would be to improve diversity, inclusion, and brotherhood at McCallie. He introduced this to students and faculty at Convocation in August: “We must take stock of how we as a community are living up to our values and standards, honoring the dignity of each person in our community. It is vital that every single member of our community, regardless of the color of his skin, his country of origin, his religion, his identity, attraction or orientation, his ethnic or cultural background, be treated with respect, dignity and equality.” Diversity and inclusion are not new initiatives at McCallie. The school has been contemplating these issues in recent years and has made progress. However, both diversity and inclusion have become more urgent and there is a renewed commitment for concrete action and progress. The McCallie Board of Trustees has joined Mr. Burns in calling for a school environment which is more welcoming to all. The Board in October 2020 unanimously passed a policy statement affirming the school’s commitment to inclusion and equality. Following from the board policy statement, the school has the responsibility to develop the specific action steps that help the school realize a more diverse and inclusive school community and culture. This work has been organized in two related initiatives. Moving Forward Together as Brothers is focused on racial equity and justice; Belonging at McCallie is focused on inclusion, particularly as it relates to identity and sexual orientation. The specifics and recent progress in each of these initiatives are shared on these pages: Moving Forward as Brothers and Belonging at McCallie. “Sadly, there have been moments, oftentimes inadvertently, but sometimes intentionally, when words or actions have undermined our brotherhood and even caused pain, shame, and hiding for others. We must do better, and we must be more intentional, and we will.” - Head of School Lee Burns '87, Convocation Address Our journey toward realizing our vision of excellence in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and brotherhood at McCallie will be ongoing. It will be uncomfortable and confounding at times. We will also find satisfaction and fulfillment in our hard work. It is, without a doubt, vital to our continued success and excellence. January 20, 2021 Update: New Rounds of Faculty Workshops on Diversity, Inclusion Begin A new round of workshops for faculty and staff on issues relating to diversity and inclusion began the week of January 11 and will continue through the semester. On Monday, January 11, the faculty and staff gathered online for a seminar examining the concept of implicit bias and how individuals can better be aware of those biases. On Wednesday, January 20, another workshop was conducted on the topic of implicit biases and how individuals can recognize and react to their own biases. Other workshops are scheduled for the upcoming weeks. Click on the icons below to learn more about each initiative. English