BY CAROLINE C. SHERWIN

Following recent fights at Fox Lane High School, culminating in a brawl on April 8 in the school cafeteria, principal Stephen Falcone sent a letter to all Bedford Central School District parents last week describing the situation that led to violence between six to eight black and Hispanic students.

"The conflict had escalated as students came to the aid of their friends," said Mr. Falcone in his letter. "In many cases, these alliances have developed along racial lines particularly among our black and Hispanic communities. From our investigation, in conjunction with the local authorities, it is without question that all of this fighting is connected. The students were disciplined accordingly based on the guidelines established within our district and the school code of conduct."

The letter described steps the school is taking to prevent further disturbances. In the letter, Mr. Falcone notified parents that a meeting was held on April 13 in Mount Kisco to address the problem. "Fox Lane is not a school where fighting occurs," said Mr. Falcone. "We pride ourselves as a place where conflict can be addressed in productive and meaningful ways."

The tension between students is traced back to a fight between two students that occurred at the school in February. A second fight occurred in March between two other students, friends of the students involved in the earlier fight. On the evening of April 7 in Mount Kisco some of the students involved in the previous fights were connected in the altercation in Mount Kisco.

In mid-April, The Record-Review reported that on Friday, April 8, at 8:53 a.m., Bedford police were dispatched to Fox Lane High School following a report of a fight in progress.

Upon arrival, school security stated that six to eight youths had been involved in a pushing and shoving incident that was broken up by school security and custodial staff. An investigation at the time determined that the fight emanated from an incident that occurred in Mount Kisco the previous evening.

The matter was then turned over to authorities, and "different disciplinary consequences were meted out to the students based on their participation in the fight," said Mr. Falcone in an interview last week.

Following discussions, the community meeting was arranged.

"Immediately following the altercation, Mr. Falcone and the staff took a stance and invited both the students and parents directly involved along with community members and local authorities to a meeting at Mount Kisco Elementary on April 13," said Lt. Koval.

Twenty Fox Lane staff members, representatives from the Buddies program (a community support team to the English as a Second Language students), a representative from the Boys and Girls Club, a local psychologist, Mount Kisco Detective Youth Officer Raul Fernandez, and Mount Kisco's Lt. Koval were in attendance.

Mr. Falcone opened the meeting with the school's concerns. "At that point we broke into smaller groups to dialogue about this issue with Fox Lane staff members facilitating the discussion," said Mr. Falcone. Recommendations and concerns were identified, and the school is currently in the process of implementing several of the issues discussed.

"This was an important thing to do," said Lt. Koval. "Our youth officer [Raul Fernandez] has a hand on the pulse of the school community. I applaud Fox Lane for coming up with the idea to have this meeting. Our involvement makes sense."

"I agree with Lt. Koval," said Bedford Detective Youth Officer Tom Diebold. "As youth officer for eight years and different school administrations, things like this do get hashed out. As police we rely on Fox Lane to keep us posted."

Mr. Falcone said in his letter to parents that immediately following the meeting in Mount Kisco, Fox Lane hosted their annual Wellness Day, guided by the theme awareness, advocacy, and action. "It is this theme that has guided our efforts. Though our work is not done, I have great faith in the spirit of the people of this community that we can move in a positive direction to create the best learning and living environment for our children."

Mr. Falcone invited parents and students alike to contact him and share their feedback. "It is my hope that we continue to maintain the positive momentum that was generated at the meeting and keep the peace and educate all of our students about tolerance," said Mr. Falcone.

The climate in the school has been significantly better since the dialogue was opened. "We're doing our best and moving in the right direction," Mr. Falcone said this week.