Dear North Colonie Families:
As you may have seen in the Times Union, this week there were reports of swastikas being marked on the walls at Shaker High School. On Wednesday we were made aware of the fact that three swastikas approximately the size of a nickel had been drawn on a brick in the LaFollette Cafeteria wall in Shaker High School. When located, these hate symbols were removed immediately. We are continuing to investigate the matter.
Although small in size, the impact of writing such vile symbols is enormous. First, please note that such activity is a crime. However, more importantly, it is a crime against our humanity and the human compassion and dignity with which all North Colonie community members must be treated.
We remain steadfast in living our mission statement for our children. We are committed to meeting the social, emotional, and academic needs of each and every child within a larger learning community. We are dedicated to serving all children and families by increasing the collective capacity of our faculty and staff. In addition to holding student discussion circles, collecting data on the student experience, and providing on-going learning opportunities for students, faculty, and staff we will continue to develop a comprehensive plan for how we increase the sense of safety and belonging for every student and adult member of our school community. We do this because children learn and grow when they and their families feel accepted, wanted, represented, and valued. We are a caring community and such acts of hatred toward one impact us all.
In this spirit, I take this moment to address the hurt and pain that especially those in our Jewish community must be feeling. We must confront the very real impact that anti-semiticism, racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, homophobia, and all hate have had on members of our society. We must put love, compassion, and justice at our center and make change inspired by these powerful forces.
Please know that the North Colonie community is unified in thought, word, and deed in universal and unequivocal condemnation of all acts of hate. We remain more than ever inspired by love, compassion, learning, and understanding as our driving forces as we work together to best serve all of our students and families.
Sincerely,
D. Joseph Corr
Superintendent