NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle Schools Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond issued a statement Thursday on security and social media.
Dear City School District of New Rochelle Family:
The City School District of New Rochelle proactively and continually takes every possible step to protect the health, safety, and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff.
I want to emphasize that while New Rochelle’s schools have not been interrupted or closed due to social media threats of violence, real or perceived, such threats have disrupted educational settings across the nation. As such, our school district continues to expand our vigilance to further protect our schools, students, and staff. I am writing to update you on these ongoing efforts.
First, we fully investigate any threat, immediately partnering with the New Rochelle Police Department. Anyone deemed responsible for such situations is subject to disciplinary action and consequences outlined in our school district Code of Conduct, as well as potential criminal charges.
Second, the school district has hired additional full-time security staff over the past several weeks to support our schools. These new team members add to the responsive teams that serve our schools. We are providing all staff with additional training to better equip them to serve our students and families. We also are updating security equipment. Our security team is led by Security Director Lisa-Marie Newkirk, who has an extensive background in law enforcement and security. These teams, in partnership with our educational staff, work very hard to ensure our schools are safe and welcoming.
While these efforts are part of the solution, we need your assistance and vigilance.
First, if you see something, say something. Please notify your school or call 911 to reach the New Rochelle Police. You also can anonymously submit information through our school district website, and the websites of each of our schools. Just click on the purple button that says “Anonymous Reporting.”
Second, we ask that you monitor our youths’ social media activity. Some social media posts can cause extreme worry, and they have broad impact. You can support efforts by:
Discussing with your child the consequences of posting inappropriate content or threats on social media. It is important to emphasize that everything on social media quickly can become public, even if shared with only one person.
Alerting your child’s school and law enforcement if you or your children see a social media post of potential concern or learn about a potentially alarming or dangerous situation.
Monitoring your child’s online and social media behavior and having open, positive conversations with them.
Thank you for your continued support. We know these are stressful times. Working together, we will persevere and continue our mission of educating our children academically, socially, and emotionally while keeping them safe and healthy
