My name is Nadine,

I graduated from new Rochelle high school in 2014. 
I want to share some of the issues I’ve personally faced with New Rochelle School District. 
first off, when I was in elementary school in Columbus elementary school in the west side of new Rochelle, after having attended Barnard elementary school “due to a loss of my records” was put into an English class with other third graders who spoke poor English for many months. 1) I only speak English. 2) my reading levels were above those of my peers. 
Without proper evaluating me they held me back from excelling and being up to par with other students being I had to be pulled out of class for this “extra help”. Only after my third grade teacher got involved was I taken out of this.

Second, once in Albert Leonard middle school I was discouraged into joining the accelerated math and English tracts. It’s essential that algebra and biology be taken in middle school to start in NRHS with high school credits. There was no reason for this being I was in the honor roll for all three years of school. I had to be asked to be placed in accelerated English instead of just being put into it. This was the first time I was in a class that had no other Hispanic person nor a black student. 

 

Third, In NRHS, I pushed myself for an advanced regents diploma and for some AP credits. These classes mostly had all white students. I managed to do all but the hardest thing I faced was the lack of help I needed to apply for college. I had As, extra curricular and potential to get into a four year school. I found I had to navigate this myself almost always harassing my counselor. When she finally had a meeting with me she told me to apply to a local SUNY 4 year school. She had not even looked at my grades and was dismissive to what I wanted. When I told her I had some reach schools she told me it would be a waste being the schools we’re expensive. This crushed me after everything I worked so hard for. Me being a female Hispanics, and my counselor another female Hispanic.. not having faith in me. 

Nonetheless I persevered and graduated from NYU in 2018 with a full scholarship for my tuition for all four years. 

My suggestions for change includes procedures in place that give every student a fair chance regardless of teachers suggestions and preferences. I also believe if a student wants to challenge themselves on a faster or more accelerated tract the student themselves should have the complete option to do so.  I also believe that teachers should be guided on inclusion and possess the skills to uplift their students of color.  Social workers should be paired with students who need the help and someone to push for their advocacy. As someone who went through this schooling system, I felt more insane than uplifted trying to push myself and my education.  I saw many fellow students stop showing up to class because there was no one there ever rooting for them, only the white kids got that. 
 

I feel I had to work so hard to “prove myself” to adults who took no interest in the diversity of the students who will be successful. 

The last thing I wanted to mention was the time I got inschool suspension. Having never had a prior incident with the school I was searched and put into unschool suspension for walking to my car to retrieve heavy textbooks I didn’t want to walk around with all day. When explaining this to the security guard he was dismissive and put me in my house office. They then had a house counselor uncomfortably search me and my bag for drugs. They called my mother, who was angry they were taking me out of class for this and threw me into in school suspension for the day. I truly believe that part of this was due to the fact that I’m Hispanic and they assumed I was up to something drug involved. I feel I was unjustly punished for something that was obviously a false accusation and I missed a day of my education for this. Many times I’ve seen NRHS take the side of the white athlete who has done something apparently wrong and they never get consequences for it. 


All my best,
Nadine Pabon