Letter From Rosetta Lee

Hello Berkeley Carroll School Community!

My name is Rosetta, and I am a teacher and diversity consultant through Seattle Girls’ School. I have been working with Berkeley Carroll School to help identify how the school is succeeding in its diversity and inclusion efforts, where there is room to grow, and what possible next steps there may be to achieve its goals. To this end, I hope you might be willing to share your perspective on these questions.

I also wanted to give you a little personal background. I emigrated from South Korea when I was 10 years old, living briefly in Bronx, NY then moving to Framingham, Mass. I grew up as one of the few working class Asian kids in a wealthy suburb, attended great public schools that gave me a strong education, and went on to college at Harvard University. College years helped me discover many passions, including biology, theater, education, and social justice (among others). I deferred medical school to be a stage manager with Actors Equity Association for several years, while during the summers I was a teacher, residence director, and assistant dean at Exploration Summer Program in Wellesley, Mass. From there, I went on to be a founding faculty member at Seattle Girls’ School, where I incorporated diversity and equity into my 6th grade biology curriculum and began delivering trainings to teachers, parents, and students around the country on many topics including cultural competency and anti-bias education.

I am a great believer of many things. I believe that education has the power to transform lives and provide limitless opportunities. I also believe that schools have the capacity to silence and marginalize voices or honor and empower them depending on how that education is delivered. My life’s work therefore is to do what I can to help schools become more inclusive and world-changing for all. I hope to assist Berkeley Carroll in that journey.

To that end, I invite you to share with me your personal experience: as a student, as a parent or guardian, as a faculty or staff member, as an administrator, as a board member, etc. When it comes to diversity, inclusion, and equity, what has been your experience? What do you think Berkeley Carroll does particularly well? What do you think Berkeley Carroll can do better? Please know that I will honor the confidentiality of what you share – I am here to notice patterns about the big picture and not to report specifics (unless you wish me to). I’d like your honest reflection in the spirit of improving the school.

You can email me your feedback. If you’d like to arrange a phone meeting, I’m happy to do that as well. I want to make sure that as many voices from as many perspectives are represented as I continue to work with Berkeley Carroll School.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration!

Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
rlee@seattlegirlsschool.org