SEWICKLEY, Pa. — Students from Sewickley Academy are continuing to fight for change, frustrated by the rising tensions over diversity and inclusion at the school that they say began last summer.
According to a statement from students, they addressed concerns in a press conference with leadership yesterday, and they say some of their demands were met, but that they’re still pushing for other things.
Both the demands met and things students still waned to see were stated in a press release we received from the student organization CARES (Collective Action for Representative Education at Sewickley):
“Today, students state that some of their demands are being met. They look forward to:
- A public apology from Dr. Ashley Birtwell retracting her previous statements regarding recent events, including disparaging remarks made against the students involved. It is also imperative that the Sewickley Academy administration condemns the harassment and slander of any members of the community.
- Crucial changes to the Student and Family handbook, specifically concerning the clause that punishes students and families for making remarks off-campus that “damage the reputation of the school” (2021-2022 Handbook for Students & Families).
Students are still pressing for additional asks, such as a national search for a permanent DEISJ director, as per the recommendations of the DEI Task Force.”
Sewickley Academy issued a statement as well, and concluded by saying they want students to feel heard and they are open to more meetings.
“I am pleased that we were able to get together,” said Dr. Ashley Birtwell, Head of School at Sewickley Academy. “However, as per the content included in the students’ press release this afternoon, I’m concerned that our interpretation of the outcome differs.”
Dr. Birtwell also stated, “It was very important to me to meet with the students and discuss their petition. I want them to feel heard and know that steps to address all of the items included in the petition are currently under consideration. They have requested a public apology for what they are referring to as disparaging remarks. While I was not present during what occurred in my office on March 3, I stand by how it has been described in recent statements. That is consistent with how it was relayed to me by several trusted individuals who were in attendance, including Academy security.”
Dr. Birtwell’s statement goes on to say this, in regards to the search for a DEISJ director:
“Even after today’s lengthy discussion, I’m not clear why the students mentioned our national search for an ongoing DEI director in their petition and included the same information in their subsequent press release as a pressing demand,” said Dr. Birtwell. “We have been very clear that this is, and has been, an on-going national search and the initial candidate review is underway. In fact, one of the students is a representative on the task force that has been conducting the search for the past several months.”
Stay with 11 News for updates on this ongoing situation.
TRENDING NOW:
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
