NEW ROCHELLE, NY — It was a rough day today at the normally tranquil Albert Leonard Middle School.
New Rochelle Police and Paramedics were called to the scene with a report of a student “non-responsive” in the school cafeteria. The student was punched in the face but otherwise not seriously injured. The eighth-grade boy was taken to Montefiore New Rochelle for observation and released. A New Rochelle PD Youth Detective and Lieutenant arrived and took statements.
One student who was in the cafeteria at the time of the incident said she saw a student holding their right eye being escorted by security from the food service area. There were reports that the incident today was a carryover from an incident the day before.
In an unrelated incident, a student was suspended for bringing a knife to school.
At the end of the school day, a bus driver slammed on the brakes of the bus to avoid a collision sending several students flying from their seats. They were taken to the school nurse for observation and released.
Talk of the Sound tweeted out the NRFD report of an “unresponsive student” — a very serious dispatcher call. News12 and WABC-TV picked up the tweet and dispatched news crews to the school.
Message to Albert Leonard Middle School Community from Principal John Barnes
November 25, 2014
To the Albert Leonard Middle School,
We hope everyone is excited about the Thanksgiving holiday and wish all of you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday. We are grateful to work together with our families in order to best support our students in reaching their maximum potential.
As some of you may have heard from your children, last week the Albert Leonard community faced a particular challenge with students having a physical altercation and another student bringing a concealed weapon to school. Unfortunately, these isolated incidents are not all that uncommon to secondary schools. As a result of our continued efforts to encourage students to be up-standers and the immediate responsiveness of all of our staff, we want to assure you that all students were safe, order was maintained, and learning was not disrupted. The incidents were contained and district protocols were followed.
As we all know, life can present challenges and it is how we respond to them that determines their outcomes. At Albert Leonard, we are regularly working with students to help them
develop strategies to deal with the challenges with which they are faced. Starting on the first day of school and continuing throughout the year, the ALMS administrative staff addresses the
students on a daily basis to educate and outline expectations. In addition, the administrative and safety teams meet throughout the year to review our policies and procedures to insure the well-being of all our students and staff.
To date, this year’s character education initiatives include:
• School Orientation Assemblies
* Daily School-wide Announcements
* DASA/Code of Conduct Assemblies• Stomp Out Bullying
• Red Ribbon Week
• Rachel’s Challenge
Some of the vocabulary and messages that your children are continuously hearing include:
1. Reminders to be “up-standers” and not “bystanders”. Like us,
they are asked to say something if they see something.
2. To start a chain reaction of kindness.
3. To seek positive influences.
4. To look for the best in others.
5. To Dream Big.
You are receiving this letter to ask you to reiterate and reinforce our messages. Using consistent language will enable the ALMS community to work together and promote a safe haven for all members of our school community. Safety should never be taken for granted and we take this time to express our gratitude to all of you. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing you on December 1st when we return from the break.
With continued appreciation,
John Barnes
ALMS Principal