A Message from New Horizon Academy’s CEO, Chad Dunkley (June 2, 2020)
Dear families and staff,
I am writing to you today with a heavy heart. In a year of historic and unprecedented events—the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic fallout—we face a continuing crisis as a country and community: racial injustice, discrimination, police brutality, and violations of basic human rights, all of which go against our foundational values and beliefs.
The tragic killings of people of color including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and now George Floyd in our hometown of Minneapolis have sparked outrage, protests, and violence in Minnesota and across our country. We are collectively witnessing an outpouring of longstanding pain and suffering.
For the past forty years, we have been proud to serve many of the communities most directly affected by the violence of the last week, including our most recent Minneapolis school on W. Lake Street. We are currently working on how we can best support families and staff in areas most impacted. While we know that those needs are most pressing, it is the long-term work of becoming a more just society that is most critical and affects all of us, especially the children who depend on us for guidance and love.
Together we will strive to create a better world with the continued goal to nurture a more diverse and inclusive generation of our young children where inclusion, acceptance, and belonging are recognized and practiced; where respect and fairness are the building blocks of our programs, and where each child and employee knows that when they are with us, they are safe, respected, and valued.
In 2019, our senior leadership team began a more intentional journey towards making structural changes around equity, diversity, and inclusion. We know that in order to make sustainable change, it must start from leadership. We must walk the talk. We must ensure that positive changes flow through every aspect of our work, including the way we teach our children, the way we hire and support our employees, and the way we build and sustain relationships with families. We will likely stumble along the way and ask for your partnership and honest feedback and guidance. And together, we will do better.
All of us at New Horizon Academy truly believe that high-quality, thoughtful early childhood education is a critical piece of effecting much-needed change in our country. We are honored by the trust you have placed in us, and we are dedicated to continuing to serve our communities and families.
Most sincerely,
Chad Dunkley
Chief Executive Officer
