Important Message From Superintendent Froio
Important message from Superintendent James Froio to the JE staff, community, and parents:Good evening everyone,
Three weeks ago, at our last board meeting, we had a brave student address the board regarding comments made to him by other students. While I will not discuss individual students' incidents, or the consequences for the students, both out of respect for their privacy and because that information is protected by law, I will say that I believe the District has responded appropriately and in compliance with its policies when an issue is brought to our attention. We respond with an investigation. When founded, we respond with restorative practices to teach students how to do better. We respond with disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. The Board of Education and I are deeply committed to a school environment which is free from discrimination and harassment. Tonight, I come to all of you to ask for your support in continuing this important work.
I have spent the past three weeks talking to staff, students, past graduates, and parents. Most of our students have been together for a long time, they start school when they are 3-years old at UPK and move all the way through high school together. Somewhere along the way, some kids think its okay to start using racially charged words with their friends. When this occurred, we would react and use a restorative approach to teach kids that this language is never appropriate as part of our response. However, I want to be even more proactive. We want to do more to preemptively teach students that biased language is never appropriate to use toward a friend or foe. All racially biased language is malicious and hurtful and there can be no tolerance of it. Students who engage in it will be punished in accordance with the Code of Conduct regardless of whatever relationship they perceive to have with another student.
We are also putting together a comprehensive plan to address racism and bias in our schools and we would like to invite further help from the Commission on Human Rights and the NAACP. We would like to invite you to a monthly in-person meeting to help us create and reflect on our plans. Perhaps we could have a Commissioner assigned to the school. Their expertise would be very valuable to us as we move forward with our endeavors. We would like to form a true partnership where these organizations get to know our community and we get to know them.
As a community, we have tackled a lot of adversity together. In 2020, only 20 percent of schools in the nation opened fully and in-person during the pandemic and we were one of them. We can accomplish wonderful things when we put our heart and soul into it. We need your help now. I would like to thank those who have already signed up to be part of our DEI Committee. If you have not done so already and would like to help, please sign up. If you are a community member, and would like to help, you can sign-up from the school district webpage. We are establishing student committees this school year at the high school and middle school. We have amazing students who want to help to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all. Yesterday, our guest speaker, Dr. Mabry, made a point of commending the kids for being one of the most respectful groups of kids he has seen in all of his travels. We will continue our work with Dr. Mabry, whose message of inclusion and perseverance clearly impacted many students yesterday. He will be returning for opening day with staff next school year and he will also present to the middle school and high school students. He has also written a children’s book, so he will be presenting to Elbridge Elementary next year and we are planning a community presentation as well. We will continue our staff development with Therapeutic Crisis Interventions for Schools, Restorative Practices, circles, strategies and techniques, our Implicit Bias Training , our curricular development that represent diverse voices, cultures, and experiences, and, yes, we will continue to read To Kill a Mockingbird, that will be moved to the 11th grade curriculum where it was taught originally for years. We still have much to learn and do, and we will.
Finally, we have great teachers, counselors, and administrators, Board of Education and support staff, who are committed to creating an environment where all students can thrive. In fact, every student I spoke to over the past week could identify trusted adults who they could turn to when needed. I was also impressed with how many students at the middle school and high school named their principal as one of their trusted adults.
All working together, we can truly create a culture that supports every single student. If any community can accomplish this, if any school district can accomplish this. It’s ours.
Thank you.