On Feb. 3, Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Superintendent Peter Smith sent to J-D families and staff via SchoolMessenger the following letter on behalf of the J-D Board of Education.
Dear Jamesville-DeWitt families and staff,
On behalf of the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education, I would like to express our extreme disappointment and disgust that someone used the n-word, the b-word and made other disruptive sounds during one of our school events. We sincerely apologize to our families, students and staff members that something like this happened on our watch.
We especially would like to apologize to Jamesville-DeWitt High School Assistant Principal Ms. Candace Johnson, who was attacked and called the n-word during her online presentation for ninth-grade curriculum night. We stand by and in support of Ms. Johnson and would like to commend her for exemplifying composure, grace and professionalism in the face of such hatred.
We are a multi-racial, multi-ethnic school district—as is the world we live in—and here at Jamesville-DeWitt, we will not tolerate the use of any racist language or acts. Our technology department and the DeWitt Police Department are working to identify the individual or individuals who made the appalling comments, and if they are part of our J-D school community, rest assured that their actions will be subject to the district’s code of conduct, as well as possible criminal or civil charges. Our technology staff is also taking steps to ensure something like this does not happen again during future Zoom meetings.
We fully stand with our superintendent and his messages to our community. More than ever, we are committed to our work to ensure that every student and staff member feels welcome, accepted and included in our schools. We are dedicated to creating a school community where differences are celebrated and valued. We must continue our diversity, equity and inclusion work, known as DEI, and educate everyone in culturally responsive-sustaining education, diversify our workforce and evaluate our curriculum through an equity lens. We also recognize the need to implement bystander intervention training and explore more culturally-responsive, trauma-informed practices.
This incident on Monday evening shows us why the work we have engaged in as a district surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion is so important and that we must continue educating ourselves and each other. We invite the community to join us and invite you to attend our Board of Education meetings as we continue our work moving forward.
Sincerely,
Lorianne DeForest, President
(on behalf of the entire J-D Board of Education)