School District Responds to Petition

By Rye Record Staff

In a statement released to the paper February 23, the Rye City School District stated its views on the petition regarding the Race, Inclusivity and Community Task Force.

“The Board of Education has received the letter and a copy of the petition.  No signatures were submitted and therefore could not be verified as being those of Rye residents. The assertions laid out in the letter have been sent to the Board of Education by the original petitioner several times, and the Board has responded each time that the statements about the work of the task force are false and inaccurate.

The Race, Inclusivity and Community Task Force, consists of volunteers that are current and former students, teachers, and community members. The primary goal is to ensure the District is following the New York State Education Department’s guidance on creating a Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework in order to to “create student-centered learning environments that affirm cultural identities; foster positive academic outcomes; develop students’ abilities to connect across lines of difference; elevate historically marginalized voices; empower students as agents of social change; and contribute to individual student engagement, rigorous learning, growth, and achievement through the cultivation of critical thinking.”

There will be a public presentation at an upcoming Board of Education meeting to provide the community with a factual update about the work the Race, Inclusivity and Community task force is undertaking. We hope that the community will attend and ask questions that evening.”