All,

I hope you are all enjoy­ing the long weekend. We have two signif­i­cant holi­days this week. Both are of great impor­tance to many at Waverly and around the world. Waverly is currently closed in obser­vance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth­day and will cele­brate Lunar New Year later this week. This commu­ni­ca­tion will focus on the legacy of Dr. King and another commu­ni­ca­tion will discuss our plans for Lunar New Year. 

Although today is marked by a day of rest from school, it’s a great day to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and partic­i­pate in some simple acts of service. He dedi­cated much of his adult life to support­ing the Civil Rights Move­ment and did so at the request of others. He did not start the move­ment, nor did the move­ment end with his murder. Rather, he answered the call to support the work of people across the country to trans­form the social and polit­i­cal expe­ri­ences of Black Amer­i­cans. This move­ment accel­er­ated strug­gles for peace and justice around the world. 

Dr. King’s commit­ment to Love and Justice is a clear inspi­ra­tion for us at Waverly. Our mission state­ment invites students to develop ​“a strong aware­ness of personal respon­si­bility, and an active commit­ment to social justice.” That invi­ta­tion starts with small acts of care for others and demands that we learn about those who came before us in the strug­gle to make the United States a place that embraces all people. Please take a look at the MLK Jr. resources collected here. They provide a great oppor­tu­nity to learn more about the phases of Dr. King’s work. You can also read Letter From A Birm­ing­ham Jail, which encap­su­lates much of Dr. King’s philos­o­phy and artic­u­lates the logic behind civil disobe­di­ence as a polit­i­cal response to oppres­sion. You can listen to Dr. King read the letter here.

Waverly students will have a number of oppor­tu­ni­ties to learn about Dr. King tomor­row at school. I will run a special assem­bly for 3 – 6 graders to talk about the life and work of Dr. King and middle and high school students will have a social justice forum. As a school commit­ted to social justice, it is essen­tial that we continue to develop oppor­tu­ni­ties and programs that create ​“an equi­table and diverse school commu­nity where members are better informed, more empa­thetic, and better prepared to effect posi­tive change in the world.” I look forward to each Waverly student devel­op­ing a greater sense of how they can contribute today, tomor­row, and every other day. 

In commu­nity,

Clarke Weath­er­spoon
Head of School