Mrs. Seals has served as Assistant Head of School since August 2019. She loves how vibrant and engaged Agnes Irwin students are, and how dedicated the school is to girls’ education.
Mrs. Seals anticipates that the biggest challenges of the Agnes Irwin community this school year are reconciling its love for the school with the school’s historic shortcomings in addressing racist actions in our community. She says that everyone must actively participate this year to cultivate a positive and enriching community. Mrs. Seals says, “We can’t do things the way we’ve always done them.” Agnes Irwin needs to recraft its beliefs and goals this year, taking into account the voices of the whole community. In particular, she is excited to redefine, with the help of the Upper School student body, the terms excellence and empowerment, and represent those definitions in the school and curriculum. She wants every student to be their authentic self, and believes that authenticity lets students be agents of change and represents the beauty of diversity.
To support its student activists, Mrs. Seals says that the school needs to teach students the discipline involved in making lasting and substantial change. The school must help students cultivate their voices regarding certain issues and help them craft an influential [plan for their activism]. She is adamant that girls should be able to speak up in all-girl communities, and wants to personally speak with student activists about the issues they champion, why it matters to them, what needs to be done about the issue, and how those steps will be taken.
Mrs. Seals likened the Summit on Racial Justice this July to a microscope, letting her examine the parts of the school’s history and legacy that are beautiful and those that need to be improved upon. As Head of Upper School and co-Director of DEI, she will act as the bridge between the administration, students, alums, and parents to articulate Agnes Irwin’s long-term visions and goals to improve the experiences of the student body.
Mrs. Seals shares that the purpose of the Summit on Racial Justice was to listen to the truths shared by community members of color. She believes the school is responsible for protecting students from racist incidents and supporting them when those incidents occur, and the school must facilitate diverse learning by putting into effect the program and curriculum changes that have been proposed by the community. Mrs. Seals will set clear expectations of anti-racism and hold community members accountable to these expectations, and will personally advocate for victimized students. She wants Upper School students to have rigorous debates and conversations about racism, and support students of color when a racist incident happens. She stresses the importance of letting students voice their hurt in the moment and the community helping them heal.
Mrs. Seals wants Agnes Irwin to be able to provide an outlet for students who are experiencing racism akin to the @blackmainlinespeaks account on Instagram. She honors the @blackmainlinespeaks account for providing an opportunity for those who have been silenced to speak.
Mrs. Seals cannot elaborate on the investigations into accusations of racism among Agnes Irwin’s faculty and staff, but assures that Agnes Irwin is taking it seriously, and more details will be shared as appropriate.
Referring to the work that Agnes Irwin needs to do to become anti-racist, Mrs. Seals says, “If you haven’t done any work with the soil, it doesn’t matter that the seeds have been planted.” In other words, if the Agnes Irwin community doesn’t go through some fundamental changes and community members don’t actively choose to be anti-racist, the anti-racism policies that Agnes Irwin is working on implementing will have no effect. The school needs to respond to each racist incident that happens appropriately. The school, having begun collecting data on racist incidents during the Summit on Racial Justice, will use it to inform their anti-racism policies. Personally, Mrs. Seals has made one-on-one connections with many community members of color this summer to listen to their experiences and remedy their hurt. She offers herself as an open door to all Upper School students who need someone to talk to.
