More discussion of “hate in Saranac Lake”

We’ve had a good discussion here of the terrible case of bullying in Saranac Lake that was apparently sparked in part by a 12-year-old girl’s skin color.

In June, the middle school student’s alleged attackers used her antiperspirant stick to write a racial slur — including the N-word — on the middle school wall.  It wasn’t cleaned off for nearly a week.

As part of the discussion, long-time school board member Tracey Schrader (full disclosure, also a long-time friend) wrote the following.

As I read Brian’s article I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

One would hope that one comment by Mr. Goldman wouldn’t be viewed as the “sum” of what his total message was.

Ms. Schrader is referring to a quote from the Plattsburgh Press-Republican in which Superintendent Gerald Goldman said administrators have “got to become a little more cognizant of what that culture [outside the classroom] is going to look like.”

Her post continues:

We will be doing more than “reviewing policy” and to think otherwise is a slap in the face to the dedicated staff who work hard at providing a safe learning environment for ALL of our children.

The school is often serving as “surrogate” parents to many children who aren’t receiving parenting at home.

I could share instances where parents refuse to allow counseling for their child of which the school will provide…because the parent thinks the school is quote “being ridiculous” or “it’s overkill….my kid is a good kid”.

I am the parent of a 15 year old boy who was also bullied in middle school. I immediately reported the incident to the Dean of Students and the child in question was suspended for one week.

The Dean was very clear to my son about reporting any further problems and asked other children who were witnesses to provide him with details. The issue was dealt with and I was happy with the outcome.

My son is now entering the 10th grade and after 10 years of being a very involved parent (in the classroom) I can honestly say that our school would not intentionally turn a blind eye to racism, bullying of any kind.

I will make this clear….I am not saying our district should not take responsibility for this disgusting incident and work even harder to promote acceptance and re-evaluate some of the programs we have in place…however our district is only a piece of the problem.

Our community is outraged (and rightly so!) but we ALL need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we as community members aren’t also part of the problem. The school can’t parent alone. Thank you for your time.

Ms. Schrader  makes some good points here — and also some points that I disagree with pretty vehemently.

Let me discuss them in order and then I’ll welcome your comments and thoughts.

First, in my original blog post I pretty much reach the same conclusion:  there needs to be a community-wide response to this ugly incident.

I also express deep fondness and respect for the district staff who have helped to educate my son Nicholas.

And I quoted at length the district’s letter about its planned response to the situation — including a link to the full letter.

But it strikes me that part of our community response to this incident needs to be some aggressive bird-dogging of district administrators and board members.

We need to make sure that they are investigating this case thoroughly and holding the proper people accountable.

Frankly, some credibility rebuilding needs to be done here — and fast.

And, yes, in my opinion the tone of some of Mr. Goldman’s comments haven’t been particularly helpful in that process.

Nor, in my opinion, is it helpful to suggest that demanding full accountability represents a slap in the face to our teachers.

Something went terribly wrong here and what we need now are facts.  Who knew about this bullying and when?  Did those staff-members follow district procedures put in place to protect this child?

If not, why not?  And what will be done about it?

Furthermore, we need a clear signal that the district will embrace a zero-tolerance policy toward harassment, bullying and racism.

It’s troubling, for example, that Ms. Schrader suggests that some parents have been allowed to refuse counseling for their children following incidents of this kind.

Have they also been informed that children who threaten or intimidate other children won’t be welcome back in our school without proper intervention?

I’ll close with a suggestion.  It strikes me that perhaps the best way forward here is for someone from outside the district to conduct this investigation and review.

An independent set of eyes may see this problem — and possible solutions — more clearly.

7 Comments on “More discussion of “hate in Saranac Lake””

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  1. Mervel says:

    Are the police and DA invovled? I thought I had seen that they were? Sorry if this already had been covered.

  2. Brian Mann says:

    Yes, the Saranac Lake police department is investigating.

    –Brian, NCPR

  3. mervel says:

    Thanks.

    I think it is hard in these cases to find out if it is an entrenched issue or an issue with one or two bullies or racists or both who are causing the problem. It is still a problem but every school has a couple of outliers who are particularly vicious, and frankly racism is an issue in the North Country.

    But for me I honestly think you need hall supervision, you need constant adult oversight. The fact that this went on with no adults in the school really knowing could be a sign of a problem.

  4. Ellen Rocco says:

    Back when my son was in middle school in St. Lawrence County, he came home one day and said his health class teacher, during a discussion of sexually transmitted diseases, had said (paraphrasing as closely as I can remember) “Homosexuals spread AIDS, which is why I avoid being friends with homosexuals.”

    My son, about 12 or 13 at the time, knew there was something terribly wrong about this statement, which is why he shared it with me. I complained to the school, and the administration promised to send the teacher for some tolerance/sensitivity training.

    Sadly, not good enough. The incident at Saranac Lake is undoubtedly just the tip of an iceberg. At my son’s school, it was perfectly acceptable–within earshot of teachers and staff–for kids to call each other “fag,” used as an insult. Wouldn’t those teachers have reprimanded those kids for calling each other, say, “nigger” or “kike”?

    Usually the problem is not taking intolerant behavior and language seriously enough. Or not wanting to seem like you’re over-reacting. Or excessively sensitive. Language matters–particularly in a school.

    All this by way of saying…the whole school, parents, everyone needs “sensitivity” and “tolerance” training. I do, too.

  5. mervel says:

    “Have they also been informed that children who threaten or intimidate other children won’t be welcome back in our school without proper intervention ”

    Brian you can’t expel children because they won’t go to counseling and is that true that you can indeed expel a child for intimidation, what is the standard of proof and what are the rules in NYS for doing that?

  6. acwolff says:

    this is a example of poor judgment. what is needed is for a school figure 1 that has the respect of the student body to make a stand. it might be a varsity coach, or a player, or a respected teacher.
    as a teen in high school we had racial troubles(then came vietnam which changed attitudes everywhere with anglo,,african,mexican all being drafted)
    if the student body takes a leadership role it will end , the police are not going to solve a adolesent hate crime. it is unfortunate but i am certain is no measure of the character of the students ,only a poor refelction on all of us. it must be addressed, the “child” or children responsible disicipined. but more importantly it needs to be addressed in the community , as the youth only mirror what they see around them.

  7. Marc says:

    One thing that hasn’t been dealt with regarding the school’s response is the delay. The Press Republican piece that broke this story, which came from a Facebook discussion of it, said

    “She snapped photos and went to police but was told to talk to school officials.

    The following morning she went to the school but said recently that nine days later she still hadn’t heard anything.”

    This smacks of hoping that it would just go away– the school year was ending, vacations were about to start, who wants to deal with a can of worms like this. If that’s really the situation, it is not good.

    Likewise, the Facebook discussion details an unsuccessful attempt to interest the Daily Enterprise in the story– they didn’t run it until after the Press-Republican did.

    I’m not sure if links work on this site, but the Facebook discussion is here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1482226281&v=wall&story_fbid=130597403641706. It makes interesting reading.

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