Inside Saranac Lake’s efforts to make school more inclusive

In response to reports of race-based bullying, one of the Adirondacks’ largest school districts has taken steps to make change. But progress comes in face of national efforts to restrict DEI efforts.

By David Escobar

When Saranac Lake Central School District (SLCSD) rolled out its diversity, equity and inclusion committee in fall 2020, Superintendent Diane Fox said the move was not prompted by a state mandate.

Months earlier, Saranac Lake High School (SLHS) valedictorian Francine “Franny” Newman had used her graduation speech to reflect on the anti-Asian racism she encountered growing up in the Adirondacks.

“We all knew her,” said Fox. “She was a student to look up to, so her then sharing a story that was not the story we would be hearing was enlightening and motivating to the board.”

Newman’s speech struck a nerve with Fox, who has led the district since 2013. In response, the Saranac Lake district—New York’s largest school district by geographic area—created a standing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) committee before the State Board of Regents recommended every district have one.

“One of the things we asked the staff to do was to look at their classroom space,” said Fox. “Was it reflective of the kids that were sitting in their classroom? And was it reflective of the greater society that these students will be entering?”

Uncovering bias

Reports of racial bias in Saranac Lake’s school district predate Newman’s speech in 2020. A decade prior, Amy Oliveras sued the district in federal court on behalf of her daughter, who is of Caribbean descent. The lawsuit, which was dismissed four years later, alleged the district failed to protect the student after she was subjected to repeated racial bullying.

“Every child deserves to go to school and to learn and to not feel scared to go to school,” said Oliveras.

Oliveras, whose children have since graduated from Saranac Lake, joined the district’s DEI committee during the 2024-2025 school year. She said the school’s administrators have been listening to the committee’s feedback, though broader cultural change will take time.

“They say, ‘kids will be kids,’” said Oliveras. “But we need to teach our kids, whether it’s about someone being a different race, or someone having different clothes, or being larger or smaller—our kids need to learn to be nice.”

At the K-12 level, state education guidelines for DEI work are primarily focused on creating systemic change within individual districts’ curricula, professional development and community engagement. Fox said these state directives can help address the root causes of bias and discrimination.

However, individual instances of bullying have persisted within the district. In 2023, an eighth grader left the district due to repeated racist comments from his peers. A year later, a group of queer high schoolers spoke out against the anti-trans attacks and hateful rhetoric they had faced at school, underscoring the challenges that lie ahead for the district in pursuit of its DEI goals.

Despite ongoing reports of bias in school, Oliveras said the DEI committee, which is composed of administrators, faculty members, students and community members, has provided an effective forum for the community to voice concerns over bullying.

“They don’t want their children to go through things like this, so they’re being proactive about it,” she said.

Old work, new label

The term “DEI” gained traction in 2020 amid nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd, but Fox noted that educators have long grappled with these issues.

“Equity in education has been a conversation since Brown v. The Board of Education,” said Fox. “Equity is a continuous conversation. But what we have learned over the years is [that] equity is not just about your skin color.”

Across the Adirondacks, schools have seen a slight uptick in the number of students of color since the 1980s, but addressing systemic racial inequities is only one part of a broader conversation about DEI in education. While over 95% of Saranac Lake students are white, nearly half are economically disadvantaged, and 15% have some form of disability.

Some long-standing, widely accepted school programs could be considered DEI—universal school lunches, testing accommodations, and excused absences for religious holidays.

While efforts to restrict DEI programs in schools have accelerated nationally, most legislative language remains vague, generally centered on banning “racially discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion-based standards.”

New York’s education department has declined to comply with federal directives to eliminate such initiatives. On Aug. 15, a federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s actions to eliminate DEI programs in schools and universities, though several universities are being investigated for alleged racial discrimination.

Using the term “DEI” to label Saranac Lake’s diversity and inclusivity initiatives, Fox said, has come with some community pushback, albeit limited. She said individuals with concerns about the district’s DEI policies are always welcome to participate in the committee’s meetings.

“I think there is a misinterpretation that diversity has to do only with how people choose to present,” said Fox. “It’s a much bigger picture than what’s being painted right now.”

Inclusivity inside the classroom

While there’s no simple metric for measuring the impact of DEI initiatives, Drew Benware, director of choral activities at the high school, said the work is central to his role as an educator.

“It’s about empathy,” said Benware. “It’s about creating members of society who are sensitive to and aware of the needs and the feelings and just the reality that other people exist.”

Benware, who also serves as a faculty representative on the district’s DEI committee, helped the high school launch a bias-related incident reporting form, allowing students to anonymously share experiences of discrimination and bullying.

“Before we do anything about a problem, we have to see if there is a problem,” said Benware.

Benware said the reporting tool has been well-advertised, though the number of reported incidents remains minimal.

Inside classrooms, Benware and his fellow educators are also weaving DEI principles into academics—adding algebra problems featuring non-Anglo names, selecting books written by authors of color and, for Benware, directing choral pieces from different cultures.

“The first step is representation,” said Benware, adding that exposing students to cultures beyond their own is part of a well-rounded education.

SLCSD’s DEI committee is also reviewing school policies with inclusivity in mind, such as shifting away from punitive language in the student handbook.

“It’s a chance to calibrate and create a shared language around what it is that we all really want to see, which is success for students,” said Melissa Lambert, a parent representative on the committee.

Lambert, who grew up in Saranac Lake and now works as an educational consultant nationwide, said the committee has given more people a voice in decisions that shape district policy.

“It’s embedded. It’s not its own standalone checkbox,” she said. “It’s really a model of collective analysis that helps bring more thoughtful review to a policy such as discipline. As a participant, you feel like your voice is heard.”

The future of DEI

In Saranac Lake, Superintendent Fox said she stands behind her district’s work, which she sees as central to attracting new families and addressing declining enrollment.

“We’re not trying to hide what we’re doing,” said Fox. “Coming in and seeing what we’re doing, or being a part and paying attention to what we’re doing, I think would relieve a lot of concerns that anybody might have.”

Jenna Audlin, a recent graduate of SLHS and DEI committee student representative, said DEI work being promoted in schools presents a unique opportunity to influence broader cultural change.

“Schools are such a big part of our communities that I think it’s a trickle-down sort of thing,” they said. “If you get something to start in the school, it’s eventually going to spread into the community.”

While national debates continue, data suggests that rural school districts like Saranac Lake have stayed insulated from DEI rollbacks in education compared to their urban counterparts. Fox said the work will only grow in importance as demographics and attitudes shift.

“We’re a tiny little district in Northern New York and us stopping doing this work is not going to affect change at any other level,” said Fox. “It simply would be bad for our students, and our job is to take care of our students in our district.”

David Escobar is a Report For America Corps Member. He reports on diversity issues in the Adirondacks through a partnership between North Country Public Radio and Adirondack Explorer.

Photo at top:  A mural with the words “You Are Loved” is painted on the side of Petrova Elementary School in Saranac Lake. Photo by David Escobar