What we value...
The expanding religious, ethnic and cultural diversity in the City of Charlotte has redefined our city into a global community with a renewed emphasis on social justice, equity and excellence. An affirmation of our core values is required to address new educational and socio-economic imperatives to strengthen quality learning and to build a more inclusive institution. Our students, parents, alumni and community stakeholders look to our institution as an educational leader that embraces diversity with moral courage, integrity and a commitment to “Honor Above All.”
Our Commitment...
Charlotte Latin is a community made up of individuals representing diverse religious, ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds from around the state and world. Within this community we appreciate and value the fact that there are people with different faith and cultural perspectives as well as those who do not adhere to a particular faith tradition. The School was founded and continues to operate as a non-sectarian independent school that supports a “faith friendly” environment. While the institution is not affiliated with nor states a preference for one particular religion or faith tradition over another, we will intentionally respect the diverse traditions represented by our students, faculty and staff.
The mission of our School is to encourage individual development and civility in our students by inspiring them to learn, by encouraging them to serve others, and by offering them many growth-promoting opportunities. Ideally, opportunities to learn about cultural, ethnic and religious traditions should be provided within the framework of the educational curriculum. Information about religious and cultural holidays and ethnic traditions focusing on how and when celebrated, their origins and histories should be part of instruction. This educational opportunity should be handled with great care, sensitivity and respect for the feelings and beliefs of individuals. Recognizing and valuing differences in ideologies and perspectives are a part of learning. Developing this skill promotes empathy and understanding encouraging students to become servant leaders.
Consistent with this belief, we respect individual expressions of faith through prayer, study and celebration. Our goal is to create an environment that encourages students of various ethnic backgrounds to feel comfortable in sharing comments about their religious and/or cultural traditions. (No student should be singled out to share or participate in such discussions solely on the basis of the student’s identification with the religious or cultural heritage being addressed.) A student’s preference not to share or participate in such discussions should be honored and respected without penalty.
These expressions should always take place with the needs of individuals and the larger institution in mind and should strike the appropriate balance between recognizing one’s own perspective and acknowledging respect for the views of others. We believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that his/her actions reflect this perspective. Should a practice be experienced as out of balance, it is the responsibility of the individual who believes the practice is inappropriate to share those concerns with a Division Head, the Director of Diversity, and/or Headmaster for review and action.
We believe that the following guidelines represent an active recognition of the diversity that exists among our students and faculty with respect to religious and cultural views and faith traditions. We want our students and faculty to grow in their understanding of the larger global community and the diversity of traditions that exist around the world.
Charlotte Latin School is committed to an environment of inclusion where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.