Letter from Dr. Manning Campbell | October 2, 2022

Hello NECSD students, families, faculty and staff,

All NECSD school buildings will open on a regular schedule tomorrow, October 3rd. All after-school activities will continue as scheduled. We are working with local law enforcement agencies to provide an additional presence throughout our community. 

Trained staff will be on hand in all of our NECSD buildings to support our students and faculty. This will include safe spaces to process the aftermath for group and individual support as needed. 

The district is also collaborating with Orange-Ulster BOCES leadership to mobilize a county-wide critical incident stress management team for additional support in our secondary schools. We will work with the Orange County Office of Mental Health to identify and provide additional support to respond to this incident. If you have not already, please become familiar with the Pupil Personnel teams in your building and refer students who are struggling to them for additional support if you have any concerns.

Two county resources may also be helpful:

• Orange County Crisis Call Center: Dial 311 or 1-800-832-1200
• Text 4 Teens: Text 24/7 to 845-391-1000

The district is working closely with local law enforcement agencies to identify the individual(s) responsible for the violence brought to our school community. NECSD is an institution of education. We defer to and rely on the experts in law enforcement to solve this crime and will provide information and support to assist. Please refer to the City of Newburgh Police Department Facebook page for updates. The page is public, and you do not need an account to view the information. A specific request for information can be found here. We urge anyone with information to contact the City of Newburgh Detective Division at 845-569-7509. Callers can remain anonymous. 

The people who desire a calm and peaceful community far outweigh any small group of individuals who are responsible for the violence and trauma that occurred on Friday night. It is up to our entire community to take a stand against violence and take action to promote unity and an atmosphere where disagreements can be resolved without insult or injury. If you have information about the incident, it is your responsibility to share that with the police. Our community can only heal and improve when we each act in a manner that supports that collective goal. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jackielyn Manning Campbell

Superintendent of Schools

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!