Dear parents, faculty, and staff,
A lot has been happening at Mohonasen over the summer as we prepare for a fantastic start to the 2023-2024 school year. We are eager and ready to welcome students in September. Individual buildings will have back to school communications with specific details out to parents in the next two weeks. I am writing to provide you with updates regarding the asylum seekers housed at the local Super 8 motel and plans regarding our team name and logos.
Asylum Seekers: We have registered 66 students thus far, we are in the process of registering four additional students, and one student who is beyond compulsory school age has opted not to enroll. The majority of the new students speak Spanish as their primary language, several students speak Chinese, and one family speaks Haitian Creole / French, while two students speak English.
I have been asked quite a few questions about the school-aged asylum seekers. Some of these questions may be found below with responses. If you would like a more detailed overview of the asylum-seeking students and Mohonasen, you may access this podcast from The Capitol Pressroom where I answer questions and provide detailed responses, Upstate schools prepare to educate young asylum seekers.
Q: Will the asylum seekers be staying for more than a short while?
A: While the families are not required to remain at the Super 8, the fact that almost all school aged children have been registered to enter school in September indicates that those families intend to be here for longer than one or two months. We are told that DocGo, the company which is contracted through New York City, has a contract with NYC to house the asylum seekers for one calendar year. I am told, but have not confirmed, that the motel has a one month written contract with DocGo and a verbal agreement to use the motel for up to one year.
Q: Are elementary class sizes going to go up and will services for current students going to be negatively affected?
A: We remain committed to keeping the low elementary class sizes we have recently established. We have targets for each grade level aimed at keeping elementary homerooms from being crowded. Should we exceed those thresholds we will look at adding sections or reorganizing things as may be warranted. We are hiring two additional English as a New Language (ENL) teachers, along with two teaching assistants and a part time social worker to help provide for our newest students while ensuring we still provide the level of support we have previously had for our current students.
Q: Are the new students vaccinated? Do they have the same requirements as current students?
A: All of the asylum seekers have been screened for any communicable diseases or conditions. While federal and state law recognize the current asylum seekers as “homeless”, they are still subject to the same vaccination requirements as all other students; however, they are allowed to enroll and attend school before fully coming into compliance with the vaccination requirements due to their homeless status.
Insurance providers, in conjunction with Schenectady County, are in the process of setting up vaccination clinics for our new students, so it is unclear whether students will be partially or fully vaccinated by the time school starts, but they will be on track to come into full compliance even if that process is not yet complete when school begins.
Q: Are local taxpayers paying for the education of the new students including the hiring of new teachers and teaching assistants?
A: The short answer is that I don’t fully know yet. What I do know is that we will receive some amount of aid next year (retroactively) for the additionally enrolled students from this year. This will come as part of NYS Foundation Aid to the District as well as through Federal Title III funds. The question I am not yet able to answer is whether or not the aid will fully cover our increases in expenses or not. While we are spending money up front that we have not budgeted for, it is my hope that we will be made whole after the fact and that local school taxpayers will not be affected.
I am also aware that the Governor, the Commissioner of Education, and some politicians including Angelo Santabarbara and Jim Tedisco, along with the Capital Region BOCES Superintendent Lauren Gemmill, have all been advocating for answers to these questions and for special upfront funding so districts like Mohonasen don’t have to wait until next year to recover funds for current expenses related to the asylum seekers who are being enrolled.
Q: Do the asylum seekers need donations of clothing, food, or supplies?
A: There has been a large outpouring of donations for the families so far and we have supplied those items to the families, but there is an ongoing need for some items. DocGo provides three meals and one snack per day, but there are supplemental food needs as well as need for new clothing, hygiene items and other items. We are continuously engaged in supplying our families in need with clothing, food, and supplies via MohonCARES. Since we are often able to leverage our purchases, such as through the Regional Food Bank, we could actually use monetary donations more than physical donations. Should you wish to donate to MohonCARES you may write a check to MohonCARES and drop it off or mail it to any of our schools. You may also donate online here, https://www.gofundme.com/f/
Team Name and Logos: When I last updated you regarding the state directive to replace our Warrior name and our two logos (one with the three Native American silhouettes and the other an M with a spear and feather) it was in June to let you know that the Board of Education passed the required resolution to come into compliance with these directives over the next two years. We are beginning this process by phasing out the two logos first. We will take care to preserve any historical items, such as trophies as one example, as we don’t believe such items are required to be altered, replaced, or discarded. We are also tracking all expenses related to these shifts as we continue to believe that the state should be responsible for funding a change they have mandated.
As some of you may be aware, there are a number of districts on Long Island that are pursuing legal action regarding their team names. While our legal counsel has indicated there does not appear to be sufficient legal standing to preserve our team name, the Board is watching to see what happens with those cases before having me engage in removing and replacing the Warrior name from its various locations on our campuses. It is believed that even if the legal process takes some time, it will likely become apparent early on (meaning in the next several months) whether there is actually any legal traction in the Long Island cases. If it becomes clear that the only path forward is to replace the Warrior name, then we will be establishing a stakeholder committee and we will engage with students, faculty, staff, and parents, to help determine our new team name. When that time comes I will reach out again to describe the process and to solicit your input.
Always Mohon Proud,
Shannon Shine, Superintendent