Schenectady: Our Kids Deserve Better
Schenectady City School District
It’s Time for Change in Schenectady Schools
What happened on Friday, October 17 is not an isolated incident — it is part of a long, harmful pattern within the Schenectady City School District. Fourteen students were suspended for watching an argument that never became a fight.
This is not restorative. It is not equitable. And it is not acceptable.
The district says it is committed to “restorative practices,” “equity,” and “the whole child.” Yet what we continue to see are knee-jerk, punitive responses that mirror the same carceral systems harming our communities outside of school. These actions disproportionately impact Black students and send a dangerous message — that our children’s curiosity or presence can be criminalized at any moment.
We are calling on parents, guardians, and community members to join in demanding:
An immediate review of the suspensions issued on Friday and the lifting of all suspensions for students who were merely bystanders.
An immediate transparent audit of disciplinary actions and incidents across the district that compares data over the last five years. This must include breakdowns by race, gender, grade level, and disability status to expose patterns of inequity and ensure transparency and accountability in how our children are treated.
A tangible public commitment from the district to end the use of excessive, exclusionary discipline and to fully implement restorative practices that keep students in community and in class.
Training and accountability for administrators who continue to rely on punishment rather than relationship, learning, and care.
Our children deserve a district that lives its values — not one that hides behind them. They deserve to be taught through understanding, not exclusion. They deserve schools that are safe because they are caring, not controlling.
If you believe this must change, we ask you to stand with us.
Add your name in support of this call for accountability and transformation within the Schenectady City School District.
Because everybody counts and everybody learns — or those words mean nothing at all.
In community and care,
Jamaica Miles
and Concerned Parents of Schenectady
Sponsored by
To:
Schenectady City School District
From:
[Your Name]
What happened on Friday, October 17 is not an isolated incident — it is part of a long, harmful pattern within the Schenectady City School District. Fourteen students were suspended for watching an argument that never became a fight.
This is not restorative. It is not equitable. And it is not acceptable.
The district says it is committed to “restorative practices,” “equity,” and “the whole child.” Yet what we continue to see are knee-jerk, punitive responses that mirror the same carceral systems harming our communities outside of school. These actions disproportionately impact Black students and send a dangerous message — that our children’s curiosity or presence can be criminalized at any moment.
We parents, guardians, and community members are demanding:
1. An immediate review of the suspensions issued on Friday and the lifting of all suspensions for students who were merely bystanders.
2. An immediate transparent audit of disciplinary actions and incidents across the district that compares data over the last five years. This must include breakdowns by race, gender, grade level, and disability status to expose patterns of inequity and ensure transparency and accountability in how our children are treated.
3. A tangible public commitment from the district to end the use of excessive, exclusionary discipline and to fully implement restorative practices that keep students in community and in class.
4. Training and accountability for administrators who continue to rely on punishment rather than relationship, learning, and care.
Our children deserve a district that lives its values — not one that hides behind them. They deserve to be taught through understanding, not exclusion. They deserve schools that are safe because they are caring, not controlling.
Because everybody counts and everybody learns — or those words mean nothing at all.