Dear Coxsackie-Athens CSD Community,
Every student deserves to come to school knowing they belong. At the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District, we are committed to creating an environment where children feel safe, are treated with respect, and have trusted adults they can turn to for support. One of our newly established board goals is framed around the student experience. This means working to improve the experience of students across all our schools – academically, socially and emotionally.
School districts across the nation are facing incidents of racism, discrimination, bullying and harassment, which have no place in any school community. Our responsibility is to support every child and help them build positive relationships with others.
We recognize that events in the broader community can affect students’ sense of safety and connection at school. When families raise concerns, listening and understanding are essential parts of our response.
Our schools support a positive school experience and a sense of belonging in several ways, including:
Student mentorship: Through the Varsity Club’s Read and Lead Program members have visited elementary classrooms to share stories with younger students and model kindness, leadership and service. At Coxsackie Elementary School, Mural Club is aimed at promoting positivity and inclusion through displays of art. There also exists student lunch groups aimed at promoting prosocial skills.
Classroom lessons about kindness: Elementary and middle school students participate in specific skill building lessons focused on kindness, advocacy, and conflict resolution. The Character Strong program at the Middle School addresses the importance of respect and inclusion as well as providing lessons on how to overcome adversity. Students have participated in projects that encourage them to identify ways to be kind, explain why kindness matters, and share positive feedback with classmates.
RIVERHAWK Way: An acronym (Respect, Independence, Voice, Empathy, Responsibility, Honesty, Acceptance, Wellness, Kindness, Spirit) that represents our shared district values and collective commitment to creating a district where every student feels valued, respected, supported, and empowered to be their best selves. Students who embody these characteristics are celebrated monthly. Each building utilizes the acronym differently to support students to have a positive experience.
Access to support: Our counselors, psychologists and social workers provide personal, social, and academic counseling to help students work through challenges and pursue their goals.
Restorative Practices: Restorative practices are an important part of how we support student growth, accountability, and positive relationships. We recognize that mistakes are opportunities for learning, and our goal is to help students understand the impact of their actions, take responsibility, and work to repair harm when it occurs. Through restorative conversations, reflection, and meaningful opportunities to make things right, students develop empathy, strengthen relationships, and learn from their experiences. We believe accountability should be paired with support, helping students move forward in a positive way while building the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond.
Building a welcoming school community also means paying attention to everyday interactions, addressing hurtful behavior, and helping students understand how their words and actions affect others.
When incidents are reported, they are fully investigated and consequences are assigned within the District Code of Conduct. If your child has experienced or witnessed bullying, harassment, or discrimination, please contact their school principal. Families can also visit the district’s Dignity for All Students page for reporting information.
Our work on student experience in the future:
Every student is an important member of the Coxsackie-Athens community, and every student deserves to feel that they belong. The student experience matters because positive student outcomes are our goal.
Over the course of the school year we will be examining the student experience through direct actions and clear measures. Our Board’s Student Experience goal looks at how students are doing across all school buildings: academically, socially, and emotionally. This includes tracking attendance and following student growth on our reading and math benchmark assessments. We are also working to expand student participation in clubs and activities, and new offerings like Mural Club, Makerspace, Girls Running Club, Board Game Club, and Play Club which have already started this fall. We will look closely at student discipline with a goal of reducing out-of-school suspensions, and how often students connect with counseling and mental health support, before a challenge becomes a crisis.
Students will also have more opportunities to tell us directly how school feels to them. This fall, students are beginning brief check-ins about their wellbeing, which will take place three times a year and help staff identify students who may need additional support. Later this year, we will survey students on whether they feel safe and supported at school, and we will form student focus groups at various levels to continue those conversations. We have already begun building walkthroughs to discuss and make changes to the physical spaces students experience every day. From the lighting and the artwork in the hallways, to the effectiveness of our emotional support systems we are actively working to improve how students experience school.