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Dear Members of the Chantilly HS Community:
As some of you may recall, a racist picture was shared on social media back in May of this year that upset many in our community. It depicted students from the Chantilly HS Class of 2015 spelling out a derogatory slur in t-shirts they were wearing during a class picture day. The picture was circulated in the same week that George Floyd was killed, and it served as a painful example of racism in the community where we live. In response, administrators at Chantilly HS contacted those that participated in the act. We also communicated with alumni from the Class of 2015, current parents, and current staff members that were negatively impacted by what occurred. We tried to turn the episode into a teachable moment for all by utilizing the Restorative Justice process. Restorative Justice--also known as RJ--is a philosophy based on a set of principles for responding to harm and wrongdoing that is victim-centered and focuses on offender accountability to those who were harmed, and to the laws or rules that were broken. Restorative justice is a formal process facilitated by trained, skilled facilitators that brings together those impacted by wrongdoing to discuss the incident, understand who has been affected, and to create an agreement for reparation of harm. The process is completely voluntary and culminates at a set time when everyone involved sits in a circle facing one another to answer 3 basic questions: 1)what happened, 2)how each participant was impacted, and 3)what has to happen to make things right. Almost everyone that we contacted agreed to participate in RJ. As a result of the dialogue, those in the racist picture that participated in the RJ process accepted responsibility for their actions and offered to send an apology letter to the Chantilly community. Their letter is attached here.
Sincerely,
Scott Poole
Principal
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