Sixteen schools designated as No Place for Hate

All 16 Mount Vernon City School District schools were presented with No Place for Hate (NPFH) banners at the NPFH Banner Ceremony on Thursday, May 25, 2023. The district became the largest school district in Westchester County to have all of its schools designated as No Place for Hate. They are among the 239 NPFH schools in downstate New York.

The Mount Vernon City School District was one of the many school districts from New York to attend the NPFH Banner Ceremony. Presenters from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gave testimonials about how NPFH has affected school communities across the country and the progress that NPFH has made.

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Jamal Doggett first started the program during his time as principal at Rebecca Turner Elementary School. They received the NPFH designation for each of the six years after they implemented the program. When he became an assistant superintendent, he brought the program district wide. He established a leadership team and was able to fulfill NPFH requirements at each school in just the first year.

“I am extremely proud of the work accomplished by our schools to ensure the fight continues against all forms of hate, bias, bullying, and discrimination,” said Dr. Doggett. “We anticipate that No Place for Hate will assist with providing safe learning environments for our schools to ensure our academic programs and student outcomes thrive.”

Josephine Kirkland-Hudson, school social worker at Rebecca Turner Elementary School; Jennifer Goire-Peralta, school counselor at RTES, Melissa Sansotta, special education teacher at RTES; and Dr. Doggett led the initiative as NPFH coordinators. Kirkland-Hudson also received the Gold Star Educator Award from the ADL for her work as a district leader in NPFH.

“To our school building teams, administrators, teachers, parents, students, and staff: Thank you for supporting No Place for Hate,” said Kirkland-Hudson. “It truly takes a team of people who believe in a vision to make things happen. You are here today because you have made a commitment and a pledge to treat others with respect, kindness and acceptance. Congratulations to all of you for earning the No Place for Hate designation.”

Each school has completed several NPFH activities throughout the year to achieve their designations. These activities focused on diversity, inclusion and acceptance. Mount Vernon High School held A Walk Around the Globe with representatives from several countries to highlight diversity. Lincoln School held a pen pal activity to encourage older students to mentor and support younger students. Each school in the district held its own unique NPFH activities to foster a more accepting environment at their school.

As presenters asked the crowd how NPFH has affected their lives, hands from Mount Vernon students shot up. 

“No Place for Hate used to only be in one school in our district, but I’m really glad that it’s in all schools,” said Queen Inwang, seventh grade student at Hamilton School. “It allows us to make education our priority, and we are able to be in a safe environment because of No Place for Hate. And I’m very thankful for that."

Each school can display their banners prominently in their buildings to signal that it is No Place for Hate. Students will know when they come to school that they are entering an accepting environment that will help them succeed socially, emotionally and academically.