New Hartford Schools Provide Resources for Parents to Talk About Race

It was a very challenging week for the New Hartford School District and its Administration as they dealt with the fallout from a racist piece of artwork that was put on display during a public art show last weekend. Now the district is taking serious steps to help make sure something like this never happens again by further educating families of the district and improve the diversity and inclusion within their schools.

Superintendent Dr. Cosimo Tangorra released a statement earlier in the week in response to the discovery of the artwork featuring Lebron James and a fictional cereal called "Monkey Premium Cereal." In that statement Tangorra said,

Despite our efforts, it is clear that more work needs to be done to challenge and raise awareness about stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination. We understand that there are students, families, staff and community members who may not feel safe, accepted or welcome as a result of what transpired. Our school community deserves access to a supportive learning environment where everyone feels respected, included and safe. We have fallen short of that goal and we must do better. As a district, we will continue working to ensure all students and their families feel valued and it requires increased education, dialogue, and action from the entire school community.

Tangorra went on to say that this should be a teachable moment and he would do everything in his power to continue to educate faculty, students and the community at large about race relations and how to be better when it comes to this topic.

Well, on Friday members of the New Hartford School District Community received an email that included a number of resources that parents can utilize to speak to their children about the topic of race in an appropriate manner. The email contained several resources that you can see below.

• Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism
• Ten Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race
• Is Your Teen Racially and Culturally Comfortable at School?
• Talking to Children About Racial Bias

The district also provided resources in the form of links to each school in the district's counseling page for those having a difficult time dealing with this incident. The letter from school administrators also stated,

The district is working closely with Dr. Meredith Madden, educational consultant in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice, Assistant Professor of Education at Utica University and a graduate of New Hartford. Dr. Madden will help us determine our next steps to help educate and raise awareness in our school community, which we look forward to sharing with you in the future.

Hopefully this occurrence, though awful and shocking, will bring about much needed change in this district and the community beyond.