The past weeks have been wrought with the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Dion Johnson. Moreover, there have been countless other cases of harm to and harassment of people in the black community as we saw with Christian Cooper in New York City. Most of these instances do not make it to the daily news, ignored testimony to how common racism and police brutality are in American life.

In the midst of these horrific events, made even more oppressive by a global pandemic, we want to express our support and solidarity to all of the educators, students, families, and communities who are dealing with feelings of anger and despair. We recognize that our partners in school districts across the country are all wrapping up the important work of completing this most difficult of school years. It is not easy to focus on learning and teaching while holding space for ourselves and our communities during this crisis. We hope that you are giving yourself permission to pause if you need to during this difficult time.

Community is now more important than ever and we will double down on our efforts to support all students – especially those furthest from opportunity – by helping them gain a sense of hope for the future. In the communities with which we partner, we affirm our commitment to working with all stakeholders to change the way young people experience school so that all can attain lasting success in college, career, and civic life.

There is so much work to do—as a society, as a field, and as an organization. We join with others to combat racism, police brutality, transphobia, and other forms of oppression and discrimination. ConnectED will deepen its commitment to racial and gender equity by continuing to recognize and address our own biases, as well as sharing our successes and failures with our partners. And we will listen acutely to the needs of our communities to dismantle the educational structures that reproduce disparate outcomes for young people of color.

We will learn and heal together.

The Board and Staff of ConnectED