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The City School District of New Rochelle is committed to fostering a safe learning environment where every student feels welcome, safe, and included.
We deeply regret that one of our elementary school teachers used a long-outdated NYSED-approved resource in a social studies class that is not aligned with our values as a school district, and which included a racially hurtful and insensitive question in a homework assignment. The resource was retired from the curriculum many years ago. While the teacher had told the class not to answer the offensive question, the teacher did not delete it from the page.
The City School District of New Rochelle uses a framework to evaluate educational resources, addressing whether the materials are culturally responsive, historically accurate, and honor student identity and dignity through an equity lens. This resource did not meet these requirements.
The school district has apologized to the student’s family and acknowledged that the incident should not have happened. The school principal is supporting the child and has offered additional resources to the family. The school will facilitate a restorative circle for the entire class and give students an opportunity to receive one-on-one counseling and support.
The school district will reinforce protocols for the proper use of materials and curricular expectations going forward to verify that all instructional materials are thoroughly reviewed and vetted to ensure they align with our culturally responsive and sustaining education guidelines.
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