Ithaca, N.Y. — The Caroline Elementary School has been removed from a New York State list of persistently dangerous schools, a news release from the Ithaca City School District said Monday.
“We are striving to continuously improve all of our schools. I’ve always disagreed with the state designation for Caroline, and I am pleased that our state Education Department moved so quickly to remove the label,” Superintendent Luvelle Brown said in a press release.
The state’s decision came in response to a request from ICSD, according to a press release.
The Ithaca Journal had reported that there were 20 instance of assault with physical injury and 17 reckless endangerment incidents in 2010-2011, according to WENY.
A report in WENY at the time of the conveys the mood when the dangerous ranking was leveled against the school.
“Parents crowded Caroline Elementary school in Ithaca demanding transparency from an administration that’s come under fire from the community over the past several years.
Violence is what some of these kids have had to face and these parents have had it.
“The violence that you know has happened in the classrooms has been somewhat normalized for the kids and that is very scary to me; to think that chairs being thrown, kids acting out, being evacuated from your classroom that that can become normalized behavior,” said Rebecca Lee, a concerned parent.
But the dangerous designation has now been removed.
“Caroline is a dynamic school with a wonderfully supportive school community,” said Caroline Principal Mary Grover in a press release.
“The students at Caroline do amazing things every day and I am proud of the academic and creative achievements of the students and staff in our school.”