Dear Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill Families,

I have worked in Sacred Heart education for 21 years because I truly and steadfastly believe in the mission. Our road is not always a smooth one, but it is meaningful. Our work is often challenging, but it is rewarding. Our mission is worth fighting for. There is no greater calling than educating children, cultivating faith and love of learning, and sending them off in the world to do good.

Some of you may be aware of allegations in the recently filed lawsuit against our school and understandably have questions. After my initial communication on January 6, I have been reserved in my public response to the allegations made in the lawsuit for two reasons—to respect the privacy of the families involved and to respect the legal process. However, because this matter remains in the media and we continue to have inquiries from our community, I would like to share some information with you today.

The allegations within the complaint contain false information about our school, our faculty, and our curriculum. It is important to be clear that we have never and will never hold a student against their will. We will address the other false allegations and inconsistencies during the legal process, and we will work with legal counsel to vigorously defend the school we love so much. Our Sacred Heart mission, our traditions, our spirit, our students, and our committed families—we need no more motivation. We go forward confidently.

At the outset of the 2020-2021 school year, we made an intentional decision to foster dialogue skills in our upper school students, guided by our mission. Applying a program used by Sacred Heart Network schools across the country, our faculty and staff participated in professional development in dialogue facilitation. Dialogue skills contribute to a healthy and vibrant student community in which our students encounter one another openly in a spirit of understanding. Our faculty worked with students to develop rules for dialogue, and we practiced the skills of dialogue in our maisons. In dialogue with each other, students can know one another more deeply, and the community inherent in a Sacred Heart school is strengthened.

As is expected in honest and meaningful conversation, there will be disagreements. Our community is connected by our shared Sacred Heart mission, but there are differences within our community, too. These differences are the very reason we incorporated student dialogue practice into our curriculum this year. As soon as we learned that a student had a concern about one of our dialogue sessions, we made every effort to work with the student and her family. Each of our faculty members showed care and support for the student as we worked to address her concern. I am confident in our faculty and our practices for handling situations like this.

We are open and transparent about who we are as a school. We are open and transparent about our curriculum. Critical Race Theory is not a part of our curriculum as alleged in the lawsuit. We educate our students in the Catholic faith and guided by the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart education. Our Catholic lens informs everything we do and inspires us to be welcoming to people from all faiths and backgrounds. We encourage our students to use their voices, form their beliefs, and to find their passion and their purpose.

We are blessed with 458 creative, ambitious, athletic, artistic, passionate, brilliant, and kind-hearted students age 3 through age 18. We have more than 90 dedicated faculty and staff, who show up each day, energized about the work of teaching and learning and supporting the daily life of our school. We all come from different perspectives, yet we accept each other, treat each other with respect, and accompany each other with love. Relationships are the hallmark of Sacred Heart education. We are a school with an intentional, mission-driven approach to education and community. There may be bumps in the road, but we are living out our goals as a Sacred Heart school. I realize that because of the global pandemic, you cannot always see what is happening inside our school each day, but I can assure you that our students are safe, they are loved, and they are treated with great care by our faculty and staff.

Our relationship with you, our parent community, is foundational to what we hope to achieve. Please reach out to us if you have questions about our academic program or our practices; we are happy to share with you. We have had many good conversations already with parents who have reached out, and for that, we are grateful. This is your school, and we take our responsibility to our students and families seriously. We remain committed to providing an exceptional educational experience that reflects our Catholic, Sacred Heart values, and we are thankful for your partnership.

Sincerely,

Michael F. Baber

Head of School