UES High School Rocked By Racist Bullying: City, Reports Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side public high school dismissed students early on Monday after a black student at the school was the target of racist bullies, city officials and reports said.

A black freshman student at Eleanor Roosevelt High School was handed a note, allegedly written on a tampon, that had the "N-word" written on it, the New York Daily News first reported. The student was given the note by two other girls, one white one middle eastern, who have since been suspended, according to the report.

According to reports, the full phrase on the note read: "n****** don't have rights."

The school's principal Dimitri Saliani ended school early on Monday to address students, teachers and parents at the school and is planning to hold a school-wide meeting to address the bullying, a city Department of Education spokeswoman said.

"Racism and bullying have no place in our schools, and the school investigated this serious incident. Principal Saliani sent a school-wide letter and met with families to reaffirm the importance of a safe and supportive school environment, and we are continuing to provide support to the school community," DOE Spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said in a statement.

Eleanor Roosevelt High School, located on East 76th Street between First and York avenues, is a public school with a selectively screened applications process. Only 3 percent of students at Eleanor Roosevelt High School are black, despite black students making up about 26 percent of the public school system's enrollment, the Daily News reported.

The school is the second Upper East Side public school recently affected by racist bullying. Parents of a black student at Robert F. Wagner middle school recently claimed their son was targeted by a bully who draped a piece of string around his neck to mimic a noose.