Message from Superintendent Dr. Renee Corneille ahead of Election Day - Nov. 4, 2024

With Election Day tomorrow, I wanted to share that at St. Anthony-New Brighton schools we always encourage our educators and our students to lead with courage, curiosity and dignity. It takes courage to voice an opinion about the issues that matter to us most, and our teachers encourage these kinds of age-appropriate conversations in our classrooms. We want our students to think deeply about the ideas they’re hearing at home, at school and in the world at large. 

Here are a few important points to remember:

• The school district’s policy is to protect students’ free speech rights while, at the same time, preserving the district’s obligation to provide a learning environment that is free of disruption. 
   
• We prohibit the use of profanity or obscene language, or the possession of obscene materials.
   
• We prohibit student attire or personal grooming that creates a danger to health or safety or creates a disruption to the educational process, including lewd, vulgar, or obscene messages on clothing, apparel promoting products or activities that are illegal for use by minors, or clothing containing objectionable emblems, signs, words, objects, or pictures communicating a message that is racist, sexist, or otherwise derogatory to a protected minority group or which connotes gang membership.
   
• The St. Anthony-New Brighton Code of Conduct and more can be found on the district website here under Policy 506 and the Student Rights & Responsibilities can be found here. 

What’s most important to us is that everyone in our community is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve and they feel safe receiving an education here. Students can disagree with concepts and decisions, but they can never bully another student for their beliefs.

I’m grateful to have the right to vote and to experience another presidential election season with the SANB community. Regardless of the presidential election outcome, we will continue to be a strong support system for our students and our families. 

Sincerely, 
Superintendent Dr. Renee Corneille

Resources for parents/guardians on how to talk to your kids about the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election:

“How to Talk with Your Child about the Election”, Psychology Today
“Now Is A Good Time To Talk To Kids About Civics”, NPR