"It saddens me to share that this week there were multiple racist incidents, mostly occurring outside of school, and most involving social media of some type. Among these incidents, was the posting of racist video by a PCSD student that was reported to me Friday evening. We investigated this and the other situations, took swift and serious disciplinary actions, worked directly with the families involved and in some of the incidents, involved the Monroe County Sheriffs Office. In more than one of these incidents, students in our schools were made to feel unsafe and that is unacceptable.

"Parents, I am asking for your help. Please have a developmentally appropriate conversation with your child about the importance of speaking up as a bystander if racist, discriminatory, and/or biased words or actions are observed. Emphasize to your child that if they have been on the receiving end of any kind of hate-filled, racist, or derogatory speech, that they should report that to an adult at school as soon as possible. Please also talk to your child about the importance of valuing their peers and being a positive citizen. Last, I ask that you join me and our school community in condemning hate-filled, derogatory, racist speech and racist actions in any and all forms. There is no room in our school community for racism.

"My expectation is that our school environment is one filled with care, compassion, respect and empathy by and for every single student, without exception. Thank you for your assistance in helping to make this a reality."