Through the Catholic faith, St. Anastasia Catholic School is dedicated to the religious, academic, physical, and social emotional development of the student.
DISCRIMINATION & USE OF DISCRIMINATORY LANGUAGE
Saint Anastasia School is committed to maintaining a school environment that is free from discrimination based on race, class, gender, age, disability or any other identity. Discrimination, including the use of discriminatory language, against an administrator, faculty member, staff member, or student stands in direct contrast to the school’s commitment to provide a safe, comfortable environment in which everyone can work and learn.
To that end, all members of the school community must work to foster, promote, and maintain an environment that is inclusive, tolerant, respectful, and affirming of all people and their human dignity as taught by our Catholic faith and shown through Jesus’ life.
Saint Anastasia School strictly prohibits discrimination,
including the use of discriminatory language, in the work and school environment, including school grounds, school buses, or any other school-related vehicle, and all academic, extra-curricular and school-sponsored activities or events, regardless of their location. This includes the use of racial slurs in any form of verbal or written communication, including social media.
DISCRIMINATION DEFINED
Saint Anastasia School defines discrimination as any physical, verbal, or written act, which is based on a person’s race, class, gender, age, disability or any other identity and is unwanted, offensive, demeaning, humiliating, and, therefore, fails to respect that person’s human dignity.
EXAMPLES OF DISCRIMINATION
Examples of discrimination include, but are not limited to:
Physical: Intimidating gestures, physical violence, assault, or threats of injury based on a person’s race, class, gender, age, disability, or any other identity;
Verbal: Derogatory comments regarding a person’s skin color or physical appearance based upon his/her/their race, ethnic background, nationality, language, or cultural background, class background, gender, age, disability, or any other identity. This includes threats, unwelcome attempts at humor, and unwelcome remarks regarding a person’s cultural observances;
Written: Correspondence of any kind, including any graffiti, defacing notices, posters, cartoons, caricatures, written threats, or derogatory statements based on a person’s race, class, gender age, disability or any other identity;
Electronic: Correspondence of any kind and the forwarding of any kind of discriminatory messaging or representations, including cartoons, caricatures, memes, GIFs, photos, text messaging, group chats/messaging, social media, gaming, or any other type of communication or representation.
REPORTING PROCEDURES
Saint Anastasia School will conduct investigations of any reports (formal or informal) or complaints of discrimination. Any administrator, faculty, staff, or student (parent/guardian of a student), who experiences conduct, which he/she/they believe to be discrimination, should follow the procedures below:
Formal Procedure
1. Any student (complainant), who desires to report an incident which they believe constitutes discrimination, may do so by contacting any faculty member or administrator (Mrs. Angelica Krestin (School Principal) or Ms. Amanda Kraivanger (Vice Principal). Any adult (complainant), who desires to report an incident which they believe constitutes discrimination, may do so by contacting an administrator Mrs. Angelica Krestin (School Principal), Ms. Amanda Kraivanger (Vice Principal), or Father Leszek Semik (Pastor).
Administrators, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to report incidents of discrimination immediately (if this is not possible, before 48 hours has expired). Any faculty or staff member, who receives a report, verbally or in writing, from a student regarding discrimination at the hands of another administrator, faculty, staff, or student, or school visitor, must notify the Principal or the Vice Principal and complete the appropriate paperwork.
2. Administrators, Faculty, Staff, and Students shall report any incident of alleged discrimination that is brought to their attention (directly or indirectly) of any form, whether such incident is actually witnessed or reported;
3. Verbal reports of discrimination shall be put in writing (via the specific paperwork provided) by the complainant or by the individual, who receives the complaint. The paperwork should be submitted to the School Principal or Vice Principal immediately (or before 48 hours has expired). The Principal or Vice Principal will, then, proceed with the inquiry;
Individuals are not expected to and should not report an allegation of
discrimination to the individual, who is the alleged discriminator (whether that individual is an Administrator, Faculty, Staff, or Student). Throughout the process, the complainant, potential suspects/violators, any witnesses, or other parties involved will remain anonymous;
3. Saint Anastasia School will promptly and thoroughly investigate complaints of discrimination in a manner that respects the privacy of all parties concerned and to the extent permitted by law and to the extent practical and appropriate under the circumstances;
4. Upon receipt of an allegation of discrimination, the School Principal or Vice Principal will initiate an investigation into the complaint within 48 hours. The School Principal or Vice Principal will conduct a detailed, reliable, and impartial investigation, including review of policy and procedure, and as appropriate, interviewing complainant and witnesses as well as the examination of physical evidence, including written documentation related to a report of discrimination.
The investigator will communicate his/her/their findings in writing to the
Complainant (as well as their parents/guardians), as well as the alleged discriminator (and parents/guardians) as quickly as possible;
5. School Administration will utilize all available evidence in determining whether or not discrimination has taken place. Should the facts be indeterminate, the matter will be recorded as unresolved, and the record of investigation will be maintained by the school separate and apart from the reporting person’s file. The filing of a complaint or reporting of discrimination will not reflect upon that person’s status, nor will it affect future employment, grades, or work status;
6. School Administrators will take appropriate and immediate action to stop discriminatory behavior upon determining that it has taken place. This may include the use of restorative justice practices, a meeting with the discriminating party, their parents/guardians, and School and Parish Administration, suspension, or, in some cases, may even result in expulsion.
School Administration may refer the individual or individuals involved (complainant or discriminating party) to group counseling, training, and/or additional interventions to assist them in learning and understanding, developing empathy, healing, growing, and restoring a more just and equitable general school environment.
FALSE ALLEGATIONS
Saint Anastasia School is committed to maintaining a safe, comfortable environment in which everyone can work and learn. To that end, all members of the school community must work to foster, promote, and maintain an environment that is inclusive, tolerant, respectful, and affirming of all people and their human dignity. The articulation of false or unsubstantiated accusations stand in direct contrast to the development of such an environment.
This type of behavior can be extremely hurtful, cause irreparable harm, and, as it amounts to defamation of character, may be, in some cases, punishable by law. Therefore, Saint Anastasia School does not, in any way, tolerate or condone false or unsubstantiated accusations against administrators, faculty members, staff members, or students, including racism, criminal activity, ability to perform a particular task or duty (based upon race, class, gender, or other identity), or any another type of false statement regarding another person’s morals, ethics, or level of integrity in any form of oral or written communication, including social media.
Saint Anastasia School will conduct investigations of any reports (formal or informal) or complaints of false allegations. Any administrator, faculty, staff, or student (including parent/guardian of a student), who experiences such behavior, which they believe to be false allegation should follow the procedures below:
Formal Procedure
1. Any person (complainant), who desires to report an incident which they believe constitutes discrimination, may do so by contacting any faculty member or administrator (Mrs. Angelica Krestin (School Principal) or Ms. Amanda Kraivanger (Vice Principal).
2. Administrators, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to report incidents of false allegation immediately (if this is not possible, before 48 hours has expired). Any faculty or staff member, who receives a report, verbally or in writing, from a student regarding a false allegation at the hands of another administrator, faculty, staff, or student, or school visitor, must notify the Principal or the Vice Principal within the aforementioned time frame.
3. Administrators, Faculty, Staff, and Students shall report any incident of alleged false allegation of any form, whether such incident is actually witnessed or reported;
4. Verbal reports of false allegation shall be put in writing (via specific paperwork) by the complainant or by the individual, who receives the complaint. The paperwork should be submitted to the School Principal or Vice Principal immediately or within 48 hours. The School Principal or Vice Principal will, then, proceed with the inquiry;
5. Individuals are not expected to and should not report an incident of false allegation to the individual, who is the alleged party (whether that individual is an Administrator, Faculty, Staff, or Student). Throughout the process, the complainant, any witnesses, or other parties involved will remain anonymous;
4. Saint Anastasia School will promptly and thoroughly investigate complaints of false allegation in a manner that respects the privacy of all parties concerned and to the extent permitted by law and to the extent practical and appropriate under the circumstances;
5. Upon receipt of an incident of false allegation, the School Principal or Vice Principal will initiate an investigation into the complaint within 48 hours. The School Principal or Vice Principal will conduct a detailed, reliable, and impartial investigation, including review of policy and procedure, and as appropriate, interviewing complainant and witnesses as well as the examination of physical evidence, including written documentation related to a report of false allegation. The investigator will communicate his/her/their findings in writing to the complainant (as well as their parents/guardians), as well as the alleged party (and their parents/guardians) as quickly as possible;
6. School Administration will utilize all available evidence in determining whether or not false allegations have taken place. Should the facts be indeterminate, the matter will be recorded as unresolved, and the record of investigation will be maintained by the school separate and apart from the reporting person’s file. The filing of a complaint or reporting of false allegation will not reflect upon that person’s status nor will it affect future employment, grades, or work status;
7. School Administrators will take appropriate and immediate action to address and terminate false allegations upon determining that it has taken place. This may include the use of restorative justice practices, a meeting with the discriminating party and School Administration, suspension, or, in some cases, may even result in expulsion. School Administration may refer the individual or individuals involved (complainant or alleged party) to group counseling, training, and/or additional interventions to assist them in learning and understanding, developing empathy, healing, growing, and restoring amore just and equitable general school environment.
CONSEQUENCES FOR ENGAGEMENT IN USE OF DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOR OR MAKING FALSE ALLEGATIONS
Saint Anastasia School does not tolerate discriminatory behavior or the issuing of false allegations. While matters of discipline are taken extremely seriously, Saint Anastasia School is a family. Therefore, all disciplinary action is rooted in our desire to develop young people, who are anchored in faith, enlightened by learning, and committed to being of service to others, for the greater glory of God. To that end, while disciplinary action must focus on accountability, it must also be rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and modeled after restorative justice practices, which emphasize the importance of grace, mercy, contrition, empathy and, ultimately, forgiveness. The foundational elements of the disciplinary process are listed below:
Reflection: By taking the time to consider the alternative thought processes that could have taken place versus those that did, students can better understand the need to make better decisions in the future and achieve better outcomes;
Contrition: By making a formal apology to the offended party or parties, students take responsibility for their actions and pledge to do better, while assisting in the healing process of others;
Education: Participation in targeted interventions designed to provide knowledge and insight regarding topics directly related to the infraction will allow for engaged learning and the attainment of valuable knowledge;
Service: The opportunity to give of one’s time to a worthy cause, guides us to direct our attention to the thoughts, feelings, and conditions of others. The promotion of selflessness is a vital aspect of healthy communities.
Empowered Re-Engagement: The opportunity to begin again with new perspectives allows individuals to contribute to the school community in new ways, rather than be defined by previous transgressions.
