ITHACA, N.Y.—Teachers, parents and students rallied outside DeWitt Middle School Friday after the sudden departure of its associate principal, Ramelle Liverpool. Roughly two dozen people gathered near the entrance to the school before and after school to show support for Liverpool and call for greater transparency from school district leaders.
An email sent last Tuesday to DeWitt staff said Liverpool is “on leave until further notice” and “unfortunately, we cannot provide any additional details at this time.” The email, which was signed by DeWitt Principal Carlan Gray, was sent from the district’s communications department email address.
The email asks “that privacy be respected” and adds that the district will provide updates “on any developments regarding Ms. Liverpool’s return to work.”
The Ithaca City School District did not respond to a request for comment from The Ithaca Voice.
The Ithaca Voice reached Liverpool via phone, but she said she was not ready to comment publicly. A source familiar with the situation said Liverpool has not addressed the issue with coworkers.
Rally-goers said Liverpool’s sudden absence — which came with no notice or explanation — has left many students, families and staff with questions. Some compared the incident to the sudden departure of Northeast Elementary School principal Liddy Coyle in 2022, which drew criticism and confusion from community members.
Several school staff members at the rally said they feel the district’s handling of Liverpool’s departure is part of a larger trend — since the pandemic, at least four educators at DeWitt alone have left suddenly under similarly unclear circumstances.
Rally organizer and DeWitt science teacher Allison Kootsikas said they and others feel school district leaders failed to inform students and staff about Liverpool’s departure in a timely and sensitive manner.
“I understand that [the specific reason for Liverpool’s departure] needs to stay private,” Kootsikas said. “But I think this district needs to do a much, much better job in supporting the people who are here and in communicating with us. […] For as many PR people and communications people they have, you would think it would be better.”
Kootsikas said Liverpool, who is Black, was a favorite among many students, particularly students of color.
“[Liverpool] was a pillar of our school, especially for our Black kids,” Kootsikas said. “For her to just be pulled with no warning and no support put in place for them, our kids are really hurting.”
Students and teachers arrived at school on Tuesday morning to find Liverpool’s office cleared of personal belongings, Kootsikas said. While caregivers received the news of Liverpool’s leave via email on Tuesday, teachers and students were not formally notified until late Wednesday morning.
Kootsikas said the delay in communication left teachers scrambling to give students an explanation for Liverpool’s sudden absence.
“There was a day of speculation, a day of people walking around dazed and shocked, trying to hold space for kids who are devastated and trying to make their day as normal as possible when their go-to person isn’t there,” Kootsikas said.
Supporters said Liverpool helped to make the school more inclusive and its staff more diverse during her two year tenure at DeWitt.
One teacher, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said she moved cross-country to accept a job at ICSD because of the district’s emphasis on inclusivity and anti-racism. She said she felt that Liverpool had played an important role in furthering that mission.
“Ramelle [Liverpool] had really close important relationships with a lot of students,” she said. “I think we are all in a position now of trying to figure out how to support all those kids — and support the staff who have come [to ICSD] because she is here.”
Nearly a week later, there are few answers about Liverpool’s job status beyond last week’s emails. Many teachers at the rally said the district provided little guidance on how to explain Liverpool’s sudden absence to students and families, which they said has led to speculation — both in the classroom and in the broader community.
“As soon as the news got out, my students walked into my home base and were immediately like, ‘What’s going on? Where’s Miss Ramelle?’ And I had no information to share,” one teacher said. “I just had to say, ‘We don’t know why, but she’s not here. We want to know why. But we are not getting any answers.’ And that’s really tough to tell kids.”
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