For five days, 16 school professionals were joined by six Upper School students to participate in the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual People of Color Conference (PoCC) and Student Diversity Leadership (SDLC) Conferences. For some this was the first time in the space, while for others it was like returning to their second home. 

Read the below message from Packer's “Seattle Crew”: 

[The conferences are] a place where our practice and research is acknowledged and celebrated. A place where we can discuss openly the trauma experienced by the realities of being a minority in our independent schools but a majority in the world.  

It is a place where we are able to connect with people we see everyday in the halls of Packer but never knew each other’s names. A place where we are introduced to powerful speakers that look like us, which contrasts the textbooks, curriculum and school culture where we are too often forgotten. 

It is a place where we can gain tools to help shape and build the type of school we all hope for, a place where each of us matters and our needs are met with intentional acts of love and care. PoCC and SDLC are different from most other conferences — it’s the type of experience that can’t be captured in a five minute presentation because by attending this conference, we are addressing emotions and in some cases damage developed over years and years of trying to be someone we are not for the comfort of others.

As we return, we bring with us physical bodies that are tired from over 20 hours of traveling to and from Seattle. We bring with us an appreciation for the rain that sustains us as people in addition to other living creatures.  

As we return we bring with us a desire to be in dialogue with all of you as we try to honor the legacies of our ancestors, as well as honor all of who we are today as we work together towards tomorrow.

As we return...
Ask us about the workshops and social spaces.
Ask [Upper School English Teacher] Cara Hill and [Upper School Math Teacher] Saber Khan about the workshop(s) they presented this year (“The Revolution Will Not Be Digitized: Has Technology Broken Our Chains or Created New Ones?”) and years past.
Ask the students about Schuyler Bailer’s story and ask the adults about Valerie Kaur’s.
Ask us what we learned from Joy DeGruy and Pedro Noguera.
Ask Dr. Jen Weyburn what it felt like to be a white person in a place created for people of color.
Ask us what heard from former Packer employees and others reflecting on the experiences within their independent schools.
Ask us what we learned about ourselves and what we learned from each other.
Ask us what do we hope to bring back to Packer.
Ask us to support us as we re-enter this community.
Ask us these questions and we will answer.
We hope you will listen.