Accountability

Ongoing Accountability

In 2019, when the school was Blue Iris, it entered a facilitated accountability process in recognition of harms enacted by the school’s teachers and structure. The recognition came from a call-out from former and current students asking for a dismantling of the power structure at BIMS and from a local POC witch school asking for accountability around white supremacist practices by the school.

As part of the communities and founder’s work to make the school more equitable, the school made some changes in structure and will continue to do so. After consideration, some of the teachers at the school departed within the accountability process, Colette reaffirmed her commitment to the school and to making changes with student guidance. Colette is now the only teacher at this time. In addition to yearly student evaluations, greater transparency and communication, there have been committees formed to assist with relationships between students, Colette and the greater community. This includes an advisory committee that meets to provide feedback and suggest changes about the school and its structure. Another group is working towards conflict resolution policies and procedures. In addition we now have student liaisons in each class who will bring issues to Colette, in case something come up that students would prefer to not speak to Colette about. We also have anonymous year end surveys and have spent a lot of time creating clear protocols and policies.

There are many ways to proceed, and not one single right way. We are open to learning from our mistakes. This is an opportunity to move forward in a new way.

The school’s founder, Colette Gardiner, and the Golden Web Mystery School community are committed to making changes and taking the needed steps in this unfolding process.

Social Justice Commitment

Golden Web acknowledges that we live in a world that has been deeply shaped by the social constructs of racism, ableism, sexism, classism, ageism, and heteronormativity, cissexism, and other oppression, leaving deep wounds within each of us. We as a school community willingly show up to do the work to dismantle these constructs within ourselves as we bring forth our inherent gifts and magic into the world. We will work to recognize and utilize our privileges to lift up, create space for, listen to and directly heed more marginalized voices. We do this healing work as individuals unraveling it within ourselves, within the support of our broader community holding justice and healing as core values.

Magic is one way of bringing ourselves back to center while doing this work. Magic is a powerful force that opens, changes and transforms us in ways beyond what we thought was possible and enriches us with an inner connection to each other and all beings. Magic is most effective to help change the world when we ground it by taking physical concrete action in our day-to-day lives.