NECSD School Superintendent Releases Letter

September 12, 2022

Dear NECSD students and families,

Late Friday night, the Board of Education and City of Newburgh Police Department received a video attempting to misrepresent our students and school community. They received this video from a member of the media requesting comment. The video was sent to them from an anonymous source claiming to have taken place in “Newburgh H.S.” The video depicted a violent altercation between two young people. The video was not sent to members of our district’s or school’s administrative teams to investigate and address. However, once it was received by our team, the district immediately investigated and concluded that no reports of an altercation had been received and that the space in which the video took place was not located in any of our school buildings.

My hope is that if a video like this is received, that it is shared with our school and district administrative teams to immediately investigate and address. I also encourage our community to think more critically before reacting to such videos. The positive things that occur in this district far outweigh the negative. It seems as though we spend so much time focusing on the negative that the positive work, which is the overwhelming majority of the work we do, is overshadowed and sometimes disregarded. It is not fair to our children and it is not fair to the dedicated professionals we have working diligently to educate and support our students throughout our district. Equally as importantly, it does not accurately represent who we really are.

While this video is unfounded, I want to use this as an opportunity to address a critical issue for our success this school year and moving forward. The district has and continues to take a firm stand on violence, however violent behavior is an epidemic across the country.

It is only together that we can create a calm and respectful climate in our schools and into our larger community. Our 2022-2023 District Safety Plan and 2022-2023 District Code of Conduct are available on the district website and by clicking those links. Those documents are thorough and explain both the preventative and reactionary measures that are followed throughout the district.

What I would like to focus on in this message is how we each play a role in preventing issues in our schools and in our community before they happen and the appropriate resources to promote collaboration and support when incidents do occur.

Students: Each school building has school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, school nurses, teachers, security personnel, coaches, administrators, and staff all there to serve and support you. If you are having an issue with another student or you find yourself getting angry and upset, please reach out to an adult in your building for support.
Also, if you recognize that one of your friends or acquaintances is having a hard time with another student or may be getting into an altercation, it is okay to reach out to an adult. You can help prevent a fellow Goldback from being hurt or embarrassed by simply having a conversation or reaching out to a professional in your school building.

In the next week or so, look out for an opportunity to become involved in providing your input on school policies and operations. We will be asking about your input on a wide variety of topics and we look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.

Families: Please speak to your child(ren) about how to resolve conflict without violence. If you are unsure of how to do this, please contact an adult in your school building for support. A list of professionals who are specifically trained to support in these areas, in addition to your school’s administration team, can be found by clicking this link (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lfyDDn2TBBwE5Jz0fmGtZ_5BZS2G7rNGoJ94AfL2JiU/edit).

We are here for you too!

Additionally, please monitor your child(ren)’s consumption of media. The world and the media (television, video games, movies, social media, etc.) that is produced is increasingly violent. Altercations are as old as the dawn of time, but the violent nature of incidents that occur in this day and age is alarming. I truly believe that our children and our community can lead the way in taking a stand in stopping this behavior.

We had an exceptional first week of school – better than our district has seen in years. We will keep that momentum going to find success and a strong sense of community throughout the school year – and we’re going to do it together.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jackielyn Manning Campbell
Superintendent of Schools