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Syracuse City School District Interim Superintendent Anthony Davis gathered with Syracuse locals at the Old Firehouse for a ‘Community Conversation’ from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday to introduce himself and promote public discourse.

The forum gave community members a platform to voice concerns, share ideas and ask questions. Davis reminded the crowd of about 20 that it’s the responsibility of the community to improve Syracuse schools, not just SCSD.

“I think there’s been a disconnect in the community with the school district,” Davis said. “One of the things I wanted to do was come to different neighborhoods and just have conversations with folks: ‘How are you feeling about the issue? What can we do to better partner in the best interests of our students?’”

Davis then opened the floor for conversation. Diane Bourgon, a food service worker at Huntington Pre-K-8 School, said she was concerned about staffing and food availability at her school.

“Right now, our kitchen, we lost two people. We need those two people. We are not going to be able to serve lunch without those two people,” Bourgon said. “We’ve run out of food. Kids achieve better when they have a full belly.”

Davis acknowledged that there has been a staffing shortage in SCSD schools in the past, but that SCSD is currently going through a major top-down hiring process in order to fill gaps in faculty and staff.

Julie Darby, the parent of a graduate of the district, brought up her concerns about the new sentries, or uniformed security staff, stationed in SCSD schools. The district announced their security plan for the school year last month, including the addition of 40 sentry positions.

“I (want to) start that conversation about over-policing our children, especially our Black and brown children who are already over-policed and have that fear,” Darby said. “I want them to feel safe more than I want them to feel policed.”

SCSD has placed the sentries in schools with the intention of ensuring the safety of students rather than monitoring them, Davis responded.

“I get the perception of it. And it’s new so people immediately jump to ‘they’re watching our kids and that’s not fair,’” Davis said. “They’re not there to police the kids … that’s not how we want to train them. We’re actually trying to get them to develop relationships (with students).”

Other community members expressed concerns regarding a lack of gender-neutral bathroom access. Even if buildings have a gender-neutral bathroom, some said, it’s far away from the others.

Participants also discussed issues regarding engagement, both within students and teachers.

Ed Goulash, a judge for the Museum of Science and Technology CNY Science and Engineering Fair, said the competition’s numbers have fallen significantly in the past few years. He asked that the district do more to expose students to science programs like MOST’s.

Jason Reilly, a tutor in the school district, said that he was worried teachers’ general level of engagement with students could lead to lower numeracy and literacy skills.

“The problem is that I’ve looked at their commentary from their teachers, and they talked about the students being really good,” Reilly said. “A lot of these students are really struggling or are sort of falling through the cracks … they’re becoming invisible.”

Davis responded that the community needs to be “stepping up” when they see students falling through the “cracks.” He emphasized the importance of collaboration between families and individuals within the district in ensuring students’ success.

“I think part of our job is if families aren’t capable of helping their students in that way, we have to help them figure out what resources they can use,” he said. “I think we’re willing to do that, but I’m asking for everybody’s help in getting there.”

Davis will be hosting three additional ‘Community Conversations’ this month.

Published on September 1, 2022 at 12:06 am

Contact Katie: ksmcclel@syr.edu | @katie_mcclellan