Community Agreements

Rooted in History, Practiced in Community

When the 2014-2015 school year started, it was in the wake of the killing of black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. UHS students and adults began the school year engaged in difficult conversations, especially after the Ferguson Grand Jury verdict was announced. We faced a challenge as a community: we needed to norm what respectful dialogue looks like. In January of 2015, we had a town hall meeting in which students, faculty, and staff answered the question “What would make you feel safe in difficult conversations at UHS?”, generating a list of over forty answers. Then, a smaller group of students, faculty and staff synthesized those responses into seven Community Agreements, which inform how we interact with each other as a community at UHS. 

In the time since these agreements were written, they have hung on the wall of every meeting space and classroom in the school.  They have served as a starting point for norm-setting in individual classes, as well as guideposts for civil discourse and engagement more broadly.  In recent years, our nation has seen increasing numbers of race-based hate crimes, as well as ethnic and religious violence such as antisemitism and Islamophobia.  These agreements continue to define what it means for us to cultivate an environment in which each community member is treated with dignity, respect, and care as we strive to learn from each other, and together.