RCSD holding Community Action Initiative amid uptick in violence

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The Rochester City School District is working to bring back peace to both its schools, and community. On Saturday, the district is hosting a Community Action Initiative, and the entire community is invited to join in a conversation on how to address violence here in the city.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lesli Myers-Small says this event happening on the Franklin Campus is a call to action involving all RCSD stakeholders.

For weeks now several reported violent incidents have occurred on different campuses within the district. In an effort to get to the root cause of this problem district leaders will host a panel discussion on violence. The goal is to generate some ideas from students, parents, and community leaders that can help bring some immediate solutions.

Myers-Small says some of the issues that will be focused on include the social-emotional needs of students, mental health well-being, and the support of both students and staff.

"Our community does want to help, and so I think it’s so important that we need to make sure that we really galvanize those resources. We work with our parents and families. We work with students. We work with dads. We work with community agencies. We work with our faith leaders," Myers-Small said.

The Community Action Initiative will take place Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Franklin Campus, located at 950 Norton Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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