Talking with students about appropriate behavior

The following message is from City School District of Albany Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams:

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers:

I am writing to make you aware of the increase of inappropriate behaviors that we are seeing in our middle and high school students and to ask for your help. We are here to provide our students with the academic, social and emotional support they need. However, we cannot do it alone. We need the help of the adults in our teens’ lives.

We anticipated students’ increased social, emotional and mental health needs due to COVID-19 and the challenges of returning to in-person learning, and we have in place strategies to address them. We recognize the impact on our community beyond the pandemic itself. Our lives have been disrupted in many ways, and our daily routines radically changed. As adults, this has been a challenging process. For many teens, it has been life changing.

Having less structure and feeling less connected to school and the greater community have resulted in many young people feeling isolated, angry and frightened. We see this manifest itself in a variety of ways as students work to manage their emotions, respond to challenges, struggle with appropriate conflict resolution, and adjust to numerous protocols and procedures that have been implemented over the past 18 months.

We are encouraging and requesting that parents and guardians please talk to their student about the unrest in our community and reports of inappropriate behavior before, during and after school. These behaviors are unsafe and harmful to our students, families and community.

As a district, we will continue to address inappropriate behaviors in alignment with the Student Code of Conduct. At the same time, we will provide support to students and families who are experiencing challenges and need support and assistance. Should you or your student need assistance in any way, please contact your school principal. We have behavior specialists, psychologists, social workers and community partners who can work with your student.

We want to be as proactive as possible during the challenging times. We know that we all have to work together to promote and implement strategies to support our students and families. We must be committed to working together. You can find resources about talking to your student here.

On behalf of our schools and our community, I thank you for your continued support.