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Since February 2023 she has spoken at numerous Jordan-Elbridge Central School District Board of Education meetings about racist bullying of her son, Jordan Williams, and his cousin, Trevor Ellingworth, she at the board's June 12 meeting. Fellow students have called them slurs, asked them if they belonged to gangs, and told them to dump bleach on themselves.

And yet the bullying has continued, Alesha said. 

After another student threw cotton at 13-year-old Jordan in May, Alesha and other community members voiced their frustrations with the district's inability to stop the bullying at a board meeting that month. Superintendent Jim Froio apologized, saying the district failed to create an environment where all students are comfortable, but vowing the district has made efforts to do so.

Alesha and Trevor's mother, Melissa Ellingworth, told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» those apologies and efforts aren't enough. 

"Somebody needs to take accountability and somebody needs to set an example," Alesha said. "A standard needs to be set so the kids know this isn't going to be tolerated." 

Alesha believes Jordan-Elbridge officials genuinely want to change the district's culture but are unwilling to take the steps she believes are necessary to do so, namely making the consequences for bullying equal for all students. Some of the students who have bullied Jordan and Trevor have faced lighter consequences than others, she said, or none at all.

She also believes the district's inaction has discouraged students from reporting incidents. 

"Kids are now waiting too long to say something, and then the school is like, 'OK, well, when did this happen?'" she said. "I don't think the school knows what they want to do." 

'We want to do more'

At the district's June board meeting Froio read a , saying has talked about the racist bullying with staff, students, graduates and parents. He and the board of education are committed to an environment free from discrimination and harassment, he continued, and the district uses restorative practices to teach students who use "racially charged language" that it is not appropriate.

"However, I want to be even more proactive," the superintendent said. "We want to do more to preemptively teach students that biased language is never appropriate to use toward a friend or foe. All racially biased language is malicious and hurtful and there can be no tolerance of it. ... Students who engage in it will be punished in accordance with the Code of Conduct."

Jordan-Elbridge is also preparing a comprehensive plan addressing racism and bias in its schools, Froio said, and has invited the Onondaga County Human Rights Commission and the NAACP to help. He even suggested a commissioner be assigned to the district, he said. Meanwhile, staff development on restorative practices and therapeutic crisis interventions will continue as well. 

Pointing to his statement, Froio declined comment on this story to ÈËÊÞÐÔ½».

'Why do you tolerate this behavior?'

Melissa Ellingworth told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» that shortly after the May board meeting, where she read a statement from her son talking about the racist bullying he experienced at Jordan-Elbridge Middle School, she pulled him out of it. She homeschooled Trevor for the remainder of the school year, and plans to send him elsewhere to begin high school.

Ellingworth said she doesn't believe the district is truly committed to solving the problem, noting that her son and his cousin have continued to be bullied despite her and Alesha telling the board of education about it since February 2023. She would like to see the largely white district introduce a zero tolerance policy for racism and hate in its schools, she added. 

Speaking at the board's June meeting, Ellingworth called on the district to provide more training on diversity and bias to staff, and questioned why officials haven't done more to stop the bullying.

"Why are we not protecting the minority?" she said. "Why do you tolerate this behavior? ... You can't stop racism at home, but you can put a stop to this in your schools."

'It's about bringing people in'

Ellingworth and Alesha haven't just spoken to the board of education about the bullying — they've also filed several Dignity for All Students Act reports. Districts must send such reports to the state, but Ellingworth said she has not received the required confirmation that they have been. She has filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the state to confirm its receipt of the reports. 

Bishop Dr. H. Bernard Alex, interim chair of the Onondaga County Human Rights Commission, told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» he has been in contact with Ellingworth. Jordan-Elbridge families have reached out to the commission about the racist bullying in the schools there, Alex said, and communications between his organization and the district began last year. 

The commission asked the district for information, he continued, such as its student code of conduct and actions it has taken to address cultural sensitivity and student differences. After receiving that information, the commission shared some areas of concern with the district. Alex said officials were not resistant to the commission's suggestions.

"It was, 'We need help, we need guidance. We want to do it right,'" he said.

Alex said the district has reached out to organizations the commission suggested, such as the New York University Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools.

He also praised Froio for his apology.

"For the superintendent to say that speaks volumes. It shows the heart of community," Alex said. "This is not about being called out, it's about bringing people in."

A representative of the New York State Education Department told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» it could not discuss the district's responses to the racist bullying in Jordan-Elbridge. The department pointed to an  on New York state public schools' obligation to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in educational planning and decision-making.

'We're not there yet'

Other speakers at the Jordan-Elbridge board of education's June meeting included Cayuga County Legislator Brian Muldrow and Dr. Eli Hernandez, a longtime Auburn Enlarged City School District Board of Education member and president of the Auburn/Cayuga Branch of the NAACP. Hernandez told the board that the racist bullying at the district is "unacceptable." 

Hernandez went on to say that he has spoken with Froio and believes the superintendent and board members "want to do better and want our kids to be at a better place — but we're not there yet." 

Hernandez, like Ellingworth, implored the district to implement a zero tolerance policy for racism and hate. 

"I'm going to be real with you — and I understand being in your shoes — that means that you might have to expel a few people. That means that you're going to have to stand tall in front of a parent who tells you, 'Not my son, not my daughter,'" he said to applause. "Because bringing cotton and throwing it at a kid's feet is just intentional — it's intentional racism."