Commitment to Inclusion

Bellarmine Preparatory School’s ultimate aim is to produce graduates who will be leaders in action, modeled on Christ, fearless in pursuing a Christian transformation of our world. To be faithful to this bold proclamation, Bellarmine students must find in their school community a commitment to the Gospel call to move beyond prejudice to a reverence for each person.

Its students must also grow in their understanding of the heterogeneous and multicultural world which they are called to transform. To accomplish this, Bellarmine must foster among its governing board members, administrators, faculty members, staff persons and students a commitment to embrace and celebrate the diversity of the school’s family and the broader community which it serves.

This call to embrace diversity is an inherent element of the key documents which define the school. The Profile of a Graduate at Graduation outlines characteristics the school seeks to engender in its students. During his or her experience at Bellarmine, if the Profile is realized, each student "has begun to come to grips with personal prejudices and stereotypes, communicates more easily with others, especially peers of other races, religions, nationalities, and socio-economic backgrounds.” If students are to experience such growth, faculty must, as the Faculty Profile states, “appreciate diversity within the Bellarmine community and work to achieve an inclusive environment.”

The Profile of a Graduate at Graduation calls for students to grow in “intellectual competence.” They will therefore be exposed to curriculum and experiences which will help them grow in “awareness of local and global social problems and their public policy implications and moral ambiguities.” If it is to graduate students “committed to doing justice,” as the Profile calls for, Bellarmine itself must model inclusion by providing greater access to under-represented ethnic, racial and economic groups.

Bellarmine continues to grow in achieving the multicultural dimensions of the Profile of a Graduate at Graduation. Having identified our struggles, through discernment and reflections, we will seek resources which will aid the school in becoming an inclusive community where its members are indeed “persons for and with others.”