School News

School as a Sanctuary

Kim Ridley, Head of School
There is a word I've been sitting with lately: sanctuary.

At its root, sanctuary means a place set apart. Sacred, protected, consecrated to something greater than the pressures of the ordinary world. Historically, sanctuaries were spaces where people could enter and know, with certainty, that they were safe. That the chaos outside could not follow them through the door.

I believe that is exactly what a school is meant to be. And right now, in this particular moment, I believe it more urgently than ever. Children cannot learn when they are afraid. This is not a philosophical position; it is a neurological fact, backed by decades of research in child development and the science of learning. When a child's nervous system is in a state of threat or hypervigilance, the parts of the brain responsible for curiosity, memory, and meaning-making simply cannot do their work. Safety is not the soft part of education. It is the foundation upon which everything else rests.
We live in a moment flooded with competition for our children's attention and emotional energy. The 24-hour news cycle, social media, videogaming, and other screen-based enticements, the ambient anxiety of a world that feels increasingly unstable. These forces press in. Some of them are developmentally harmful. All of them require us to be intentional about what we protect and preserve inside these walls.

Immigration enforcement is one of those forces. The fear it generates among children, families, and even bystanders who love someone who might be affected is real and present in our community. We don't pretend otherwise. And we also know that we have a responsibility to act on what we believe: that every child who walks through our doors deserves to learn, play, question, and belong here without fear.

That is why I want to share with you the formal immigration and student privacy policy that Fayerweather has put in place. Read the full policy here (may require signing in to Veracross/Parent Portal).

This policy reflects both our values and the legal landscape. Governor Healey signed an executive order on January 29, 2026, prohibiting ICE from conducting civil arrests in state facilities and from using state property for enforcement staging, and filed legislation that, if passed, would require a judicial warrant for any immigration agent to enter a school, childcare program, or health care facility. Fayerweather's policy is aligned with this direction and with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidance already in effect.

In practical terms, our policy means:

We do not collect or share information about students' or families' immigration status. 

If an immigration official contacts or arrives at our school, all requests are immediately referred to me. No staff member may grant access to students, records, or school spaces without my involvement and legal review.

We will not release or permit the questioning of any student without first notifying parents, verifying a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge, not an administrative agency, and seeking legal counsel.

Our commitment extends off-campus: on field trips and away from school grounds, staff act in the place of parents. Students will not be separated from school supervision by immigration officials under any circumstances without the same legal protections applying.

One more thing, and perhaps the most important. At Fayerweather, we do not simply aim to protect children from the outside world. We also prepare them to understand it.

Our teachers are doing the patient, thoughtful work of helping students make sense of what they're hearing and feeling, in ways that are honest, age-appropriate, and grounded in the values we hold as a community. We believe children deserve not to be shielded from reality, but to be held while they encounter it. There is a difference. The goal is not innocence preserved, but agency and resilience cultivated.

We also know that these conversations don't end at dismissal. Many of you are navigating questions at home that don't have easy answers. To support those conversations, we've gathered some resources we trust:

How to Talk: Age-Appropriate Scripts

What to Do: Empowering Through Preparedness

Rights & Legal Protection
We also ask that parents and caregivers ensure their children know how to reach them and us if they ever need to. This is especially important for students who travel independently, whether by public transportation or bicycle.

And if your family or a family you know in our community could benefit from additional support or information around immigration matters, please reach out. We treat every request with complete sensitivity and confidentiality. To the extent we are able to help, we will. You do not have to navigate this alone.
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Fayerweather Street School | 765 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 | 617-876-4746
Fayerweather is a private PreK, kindergarten, elementary and middle school. We engage each child’s intellect.