Fall 2016 Vol. 65 No. 1 Newsletters/2016...Fall 2016 Vol. 65 No. 1 Published by the Board of...
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Fall 2016 Vol. 65 No. 1 Published by the Board of Education, Pleasantville Union Free School District, Pleasantville NY Dear Neighbors, When we initially ran for seats on the Board of Education, we expected our role was to reflect the needs, wants and desires of our community in the way our schools operate. While we do spend a lot of time on those items, the erosion in local control has forced us to become an advocacy arm for our community: writing opinion pieces and letters to our elected officials; in some instances, assisting in the writing of legislation; and promoting com- munity engagement in a number of issues. Last spring, the state legislature finally ended the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) that was passed in 2010 to close the state’s budget gap using monies withheld from public school districts and that continued despite having a budget surplus the past several years. We thank you for your help in ending GEA and encourage you to stay with us as we focus on the issues outlined here. Common Core: The State Education Department, after conceding that Common Core was poorly implemented, placed a four-year moratorium on tying test scores to teachers’ evaluations while it makes revisions that will maintain high standards and allow teachers some flexibility (less of a one-size-fits-all approach) and aligns it to ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), the new federal law that replaced NCLB (No Child Left Behind). Education Aid: The Regents have proposed changes to the formula for apportioning education aid that would give more to high-needs (poorer) districts, reduce aid to low-needs (middle class and wealthier) ones, and eliminate High Tax Aid (provided to districts where the property tax burden is high relative to income). A report by the New York State Association of School Business Officials, whose task force did not include a single repre- sentative from the Lower Hudson area, supports these proposals and doesn’t address funding for students with disabilities. To date, we receive around 7% of the over 40% in aid that was promised by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), a federal law first passed in 1975. Local Diploma: The State Education Department has required all stu- dents to pass a battery of Regents exams in order to obtain a high school diploma, which eliminated the option of a local diploma. While there has been some easing, students with disabilities still face too many obstacles in obtaining a high school diploma. We will keep you informed on developments in these areas and will let you know what you can do to support our students. Sincerely, Your Board of Education Board Meetings through March 2017 Unless otherwise noted, all meetings of the Board of Education begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Pleasantville High School Library Media Center. Reports scheduled are subject to change. Information is available on the Dis- trict website and at 741-1460. Every meeting provides an opportunity for comments and questions from the audience. Reports are available in their entirety at pctv76.org as part of the webcast of the specific meeting and also are posted on the District website under the Board of Education tab, Reports Presented. Tuesday, November 22 • Smart Schools Bond Act, Phase II Tuesday, December 6 Joint Student/Board Meeting Tuesday, December 20 • Fund for Learning Grant • Fall Athletic Season Recap • Guidance Report Tuesday, January 10 • Financial Update • Testing Report Tuesday, January 24 • Technology Update Tuesday, February 7 • 2017-2018 Tax Cap • 2017-2018 Budget Review Tuesday, February 28 • 2017-2018 Budget Review Tuesday, March 14 • 2017-2018 Budget Review Tuesday, March 28 • Winter Athletic Season Recap • Proposed 2017-2018 Budget
Transcript of Fall 2016 Vol. 65 No. 1 Newsletters/2016...Fall 2016 Vol. 65 No. 1 Published by the Board of...
Fall 2016 Vol. 65 No. 1
Published by the Board of Education, Pleasantville Union Free School District, Pleasantville NY
Dear Neighbors,When we initially ran for seats on the Board of Education, we expected
our role was to reflect the needs, wants and desires of our community in the way our schools operate. While we do spend a lot of time on those items, the erosion in local control has forced us to become an advocacy arm for our community: writing opinion pieces and letters to our elected officials; in some instances, assisting in the writing of legislation; and promoting com-munity engagement in a number of issues. Last spring, the state legislature finally ended the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) that was passed in 2010 to close the state’s budget gap using monies withheld from public school districts and that continued despite having a budget surplus the past several years. We thank you for your help in ending GEA and encourage you to stay with us as we focus on the issues outlined here.
Common Core: The State Education Department, after conceding that Common Core was poorly implemented, placed a four-year moratorium on tying test scores to teachers’ evaluations while it makes revisions that will maintain high standards and allow teachers some flexibility (less of a one-size-fits-all approach) and aligns it to ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), the new federal law that replaced NCLB (No Child Left Behind).
Education Aid: The Regents have proposed changes to the formula for apportioning education aid that would give more to high-needs (poorer) districts, reduce aid to low-needs (middle class and wealthier) ones, and eliminate High Tax Aid (provided to districts where the property tax burden is high relative to income). A report by the New York State Association of School Business Officials, whose task force did not include a single repre-sentative from the Lower Hudson area, supports these proposals and doesn’t address funding for students with disabilities. To date, we receive around 7% of the over 40% in aid that was promised by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), a federal law first passed in 1975.
Local Diploma: The State Education Department has required all stu-dents to pass a battery of Regents exams in order to obtain a high school diploma, which eliminated the option of a local diploma. While there has been some easing, students with disabilities still face too many obstacles in obtaining a high school diploma.
We will keep you informed on developments in these areas and will let you know what you can do to support our students.Sincerely,Your Board of Education
Board Meetingsthrough March 2017
Unless otherwise noted, all meetings of the Board of Education begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Pleasantville High School Library Media Center. Reports scheduled are subject to change. Information is available on the Dis-trict website and at 741-1460. Every meeting provides an opportunity for comments and questions from the audience.Reports are available in their entirety at pctv76.org as part of the webcast of the specific meeting and also are posted on the District website under the Board of Education tab, Reports Presented.
Tuesday, November 22• Smart Schools Bond Act, Phase IITuesday, December 6Joint Student/Board MeetingTuesday, December 20• Fund for Learning Grant• Fall Athletic Season Recap• Guidance ReportTuesday, January 10• Financial Update• Testing ReportTuesday, January 24• Technology UpdateTuesday, February 7• 2017-2018 Tax Cap• 2017-2018 Budget ReviewTuesday, February 28• 2017-2018 Budget ReviewTuesday, March 14• 2017-2018 Budget ReviewTuesday, March 28• Winter Athletic Season Recap• Proposed 2017-2018 Budget
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Class of 2016 AP Scholars: Kevin Ansari, Katherine Bartz, Tanner Bates, Jake Butcher, Amanda Ciano, John Drillock, Mi-chael Hammond, Charles Hoyt, Mal-lory Kantor, William Keller, Madeline Lupica, Jacob Marra, Johanna Mohrs, Julia Mulry, Greg Santora, Shashank Sundar, Nicholas VanDette, Chloe Violette. AP Scholars with Honor: Mark Damboragian, Nicole DiFabio, Eliza-beth Gellman, Abigail Iaconis, Brian McGrinder, Haider Mumtaz, Alex Passidomo, Alyssa Rufino, Christopher Satriale.AP Scholars with Distinction: Sa-mantha Andreacchi, James Bathon, Hannah Baylies, Amelia Brown, Lo-renzo Castoldi, Laura Chapman, Kim-berly Chia, Sean Cotter, Sarah Cusack, Natalie Dell, Michelle DeSa, Andrew Dorflinger, Jack Finnegan, Philip Gar-barini, Emily Harter, Charlotte Hill, Alyssa Kerper, Kevin Largey, Aidan Lewis, Rebecca Lord, Sophie Loring, Sophia Maldonado, James McCarthy, Kiernan McCarthy, Aidan McDermott, Madison McKinney, Janna McPart-land, Patrick McPhee, Tobias Mitchell, Sabrina Mittelstadt, Kathryn Nicolai, Tyler Ossowski, Elena Phethean, Claire Pickens, Karina Roye, Halle Sarner, Samantha Sicignano, Amelia Stargiotti, Annie Stockel, Rithvik Subramanya, Sophie Dora Tulchin, David Zweibaum. National AP Scholars: Laura Chap-man, Kimberly Chia, Philip Garbarini, Emily Harter, Charlotte Hill, Sophie Loring, Janna McPartland, Elena Phethean, Amelia Stargiotti, Rith-vik Subramanya, and Sophie Dora Tulchin also received the National AP Scholar Award, given to students who scored 4 or higher on 8 or more AP Exams and had an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken.
The College Board gave out 119 AP Scholar awards to 108 Pleasantville High School students for their exceptional achievement on the 2016 college-level Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. Thirty-nine are members of the Class of 2017 and have the opportunity for further recognition. AP Exams are graded on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest grade. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement, based on the number of AP Exams taken and the scores earned: AP Scholar (scored 3 or higher on 3 or more AP Exams), AP Scholar with Honor (scored 3 or higher on 4 or more AP Exams, with an average grade of 3.25 or above), and AP Scholar with Distinction (scored 3 or higher on 5 or more AP Exams, with an average grade of 3.5 or above). • Over 2.6 million students took AP Exams in 2016 and, based on pre-
vious College Board reports, less than 25% earn awards.• 250 PHS students completed 536 AP Exams in 20 subjects.• 86% of the 536 exams received scores of 3 or more. • 129 of 250 PHS students were eligible for the 2016 AP Scholar
Awards (i.e., completed 3 or more exams).
Class of 2017 AP Scholars — Front: Mary Kate Crowe, Violet Fearon (H), Luisa Klein (H), Megha Patel, Aisling Mooney (H), Sabrina Ipyam, Kellie Allen, Jillian Labruzzo, Alexis Moskowitz, Ana Malfa (H). Middle: Hanna Kapoor, Caroline Kovatch, Sonja Meberg (H), Stephen Wolf, Samantha D’Angelo (H), Raquel Sammartano (H), Riley Kennedy (H), Douglas Crocitto, Lee Greenwald, Jayson Calvi, Isabelle Minerva, Divya Ramakrishnan, Eddie Tu (D), Adriana Fuccillo (H), Vincent Ferraiuolo, Silpaa Gunabalan (H), JC Yahia (H), Husnaat Malik. Top: Jack Demaree (H), Nolan McAndrew, Humza Mumtaz (H), Henry Cunniffe (D), Jeremy Stone (H), William Blasdell (H), Tirdod Behbehani, William Frawley.Not pictured: James Grom, Gregory Hunter, Mitchell Rosenshine (H).
(H): AP Scholar with Honor; (D): AP Scholar with Distinction Reporting errors sometimes occur. Anyone who is aware of one should contact The College Board directly.
School News
PHS Students Earned 119 AP Scholar Awards
School News
National Merit Awards
Eddie Tu is one of approximately 16,000 seniors nationwide who have attained Semifinalist status in the National Merit Scholarship Program, making him eligible to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $33 million that will be awarded in Spring 2017.
Semifinalists are designated on a state repre-sentational basis and comprise less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors. This year’s qualifying score for Semifinalists ranged from 209 to 222 and was 219 in New York State.
Henry Cunniffe, Violet Fearon, and Jacob Fischer were named Commended Students.
Only the top 50,000 scorers (209 or above) of the over 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition are named Semifinalists or Commended Students.
Eddie Tu, Henry Cunniffe, Jacob Fischer, Violet Fearon
PHS Musicians Selected for County & State Festivals
The nine vocalists and six instrumentalists pictured above have been selected to perform in the Westchester Area All-State Concert to be held at SUNY Purchase on November 10. The top high school musicians in grades 10-12 participate in this annual event.
Additionally, vocalists Kellie Allen, Katherine Stargiotti, and Benjamin Trombetta will perform in the chorus at the New York State School Mu-sic Association’s All-State Festival in Rochester, December 1–4. Marc Darmohraj was named as an alternate.
Selection to All-State is the highest achieve-ment that a high school musician can attain within New York State. Last spring, over 6500 students throughout the state competed for the 890 positions in eight All-State ensembles.
Choral teacher Kathleen Donovan-Warren, Benjamin Trombetta, Kellie Allen, Katherine Stargiotti, Marc Darmohraj, Sonya McGaffey, Carter Tanis, Karina Florio, Lyndsey Minerva, Michael Bloom
Front: Akimoto Cornelius (O, violin), Daniel Schuster (B, trumpet), Andrew Skrzypczak (B, bassoon), Orchestra teacher Mary Ann Meade; Back: Gregory Hunter (O, double bass), Samantha D’Angelo (O, viola), Charlotte Berg (O, violin); Not Pictured: Band teacher Thomas HeintzelmanO: Orchestra; B: Band
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School News
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New Members of the National Honor SocietyMembers of the PHS chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 27 new members at a ceremony held on the evening of October 20 in the school’s auditorium.
Front: Violet Fearon, Grace O’Hara, Sydney Levine, Olivia Wislocki, Kiersten Coolen, Benjamin Trombetta, Maxwell Coleman, Rohan Chandy, Anna Mockler. Middle: Anna Touitou, Sydney Shulman-Arno, Alexa Pettenati, Sophie Rapley, Megha Patel, Nicole Ciano, Craig Cropsey, Harrison Waxler, Daniel Batan. Back: Caitlin Anttila, Tirdod Behbehani, Arthur Rogers, Katherine Stargiotti, Kayley Lewis, Andrew Song, Vikrant Bakshi, Brian McDermott, Louis Conte.
Plays for ProgressLast school year, as a sophomore, James Per-sons decided to raise money for his commu-nity service project by putting on a fall theater production. He obtained approval to use school fa-cilities; got a script from Theatrefolk, an online site that provides free, age-appropriate plays for student performers; assembled a cast; and put on a show. The performance raised $750: half was donated to Education Through Music, a nonprofit organization that has partnered with inner-city schools since 1991 to provide music education; half was retained to fund this year’s production, Will & Whimsy, based on 16 of Shakespeare’s sonnets. James hopes this year’s performance will be even more successful and that his Plays for Progress will become a fall tradition.
James Persons
State Finalist in ScienceBRS science teacher Chrissie Moses is a 2016 State Finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Each state selects up to five finalists in both math and science and sub-mits their nominating materials to a national selection committee organized by the National Science Foundation. After an intensive review, the national selection committee will select National Finalists from each state.
The Presidential Awards were established by Congress in 1983 and are the highest honors be-stowed by the United States government specifi-cally for K-12 mathematics and science teaching.
Mrs. Moses
A Sampling of School Events
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Fire Prevention Week at BRS
Members of the Pleasantville Fire Department visited BRS to talk about Fire Safety (top left) and to conduct tours of the fire trucks (bottom left).
Every kindergarten student received a smoke detector (top right) courtesy of Pleasantville Rotary’s SAFE Homes program, which began in 1991.
Fourth graders learned that Teamwork Counts in completing ten activities offered by the BRS PTA.
About 100 families participated in the BRS PTA’s 2nd annual Family Fitness Day, rotating among yoga (above), movement/exercise activities, and jogging/walking.
Above: Middle School students pledge to “stand for kindness” and not be bystanders to bullying.
Right: Members of the Varsity Football team shaved their heads (most opted for mohawks) and raised over $12,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity that funds pediatric cancer research. (photo: Donna Mueller)
Parents filled the BRS library to learn about Thinking Maps, a visual tool for organizing instruction, that was introduced this year.
District News
Staff ChangesOur new staff members fill po-sitions made available through leaves of absence and resignations. Some may be familiar as they have been teacher aides, teaching assistants, and substitute teachers in our schools.
Bedford Road School wel-comed special education teachers Kelli Garbowski (3rd grade modi-fied) and Kyle Garrigan (3rd/4th ISP) and teaching assistant Joseph Marselle (technology).
Joining the Middle School are school nurse Julie Slattery, art teacher Emily Weiss, and special education teachers Amanda Delle Bovi (5th/6th resource room) and Lauren Peterson (ISP).
New staff members at Pleasant-ville High School include school psychologist Jacqueline Russo, special education teacher/teach-ing assistant Jeremiah Brennan (social studies/ISP), and teaching assistants Jennifer Battista, Har-rison Grant, and Kaitlyn Zezze. Also, social studies teacher Daria Anuszkiewicz is now Daria Papa.
Five psychology interns are completing their degree require-ments in the District. They work under the supervision of Dr. Carolyn McGuffog and the school psychologists in the buildings to which they are assigned.
Changes in assignment in-clude: BRS teacher Sam Aidala moved to the Middle School; BRS speech therapist Karen Cerreta Figueroa and special education teacher Deirdre Vedovino moved to PHS; and BRS/PHS psycholo-gist Greg Kemp is solely at PHS.
Front: Amanda Delle Bovi, Jacqueline Russo, Emily Weiss. Back: Kyle Garrigan, Kelli Garbowski, Lauren Peterson, Julie Slattery.
Kaitlyn Zezze, Jeremiah Brennan, Jennifer Battista, Harrison Grant
Joseph Marselle
Psychology Interns, seated: Danielle Landau (MS), Erin Hyle (PHS), Melville Francis (PHS/BRS); standing: Bianca Miranda (MS), Marlee Schwartz (BRS).
A Fond Farewell
PHS Head Custodian Luis Piza retired at the end of August after 30 years of service.
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District News
Strategies2014–2019
1. We will design dynamic, differ-entiated learning environments infused with technology in the Arts.
2. We will design dynamic, differ-entiated learning environments infused with technology in the Sciences (STEM).
3. We will design dynamic, dif-ferentiated learning systems infused with technology in the Humanities.
4. We will explore, design, and real-ize optimal uses of time, space, and place.
5. We will sustain and expand our climate of holistic wellness.
6. We will communicate to inform and empower.
7. We will strengthen and existing and develop new community partnerships.
Dear Community Members,
We are at midpoint – Year Three – of Pleasantville Schools 2026, our five-year strategic plan. In Years One and Two, we operationalized over forty objectives that we will continue to support and enhance, such as a third and fourth grade Wellness Day, block scheduling for seventh and eighth grade English and Social Studies, and a 3-year Humanities Research elective and a Science Olympiad extracurricular activity at PHS. The successful completion of our District-wide Technology Project over the summer provides the infrastructure we need to move forward with our implementation of this plan. In addition, we are now working with Dr. Cameron Fadjo of the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center. A former teacher, he worked for Google and developed a middle school computer curriculum for the New York City Board of Education prior to joining LHRIC.
New initiatives for Year Three that build upon our expanded digital environment include the use of web-based tools to create classrooms without walls and the development of a K-12 computer principles/programming curriculum. Our increased bandwidth and the installation of Wi-Fi throughout the District also support the roll-out of a Bring Your Own Device initiative, beginning this year with grades 8-12, and facilitate the use of computers to provide student progress reports, an online registration system for athletes, and surveys to obtain feedback on field trips, professional development, course offerings, and more. Other initiatives include bi-monthly STEM activities in grades K-4; development of an inquiry-based science curriculum in grades 5-8 and inquiry-based labs at PHS; flexible learning spaces; collaboration with Pleasantville STRONG to provide developmentally appropriate substance abuse prevention activities for grades 7 & 8; and District membership in the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce.
You can read the complete report of our Year Three objectives on the District website (Board of Education tab, Reports Presented) or view the presentation on pctv76.org (October 17, 2016 BOE meeting).
Our strategic plan helps us keep our focus on the educational needs of our students as we pre-pare them to succeed in a world of rapid technological changes and 24/7 interconnectedness.
Sincerely,Mary Fox-AlterSuperintendent of Schools
Above: K-12 Art Show at the Mount Pleasant Public LibraryLeft: A 3rd Grade STEM Activity
The Board of EducationPresidentAngela Vella (769-5729)[email protected] PresidentLarry Boes (773-1882)[email protected] Conte (773-1532)[email protected] McGaffey (409-3487)[email protected] Rubin Persons (747-0136)[email protected] of Schools Mary Fox-AlterDistrict Websitewww.pleasantvilleschools.comBoard Meetings and School Closings: 741-1460Editor / PhotographerJulie Schwartz
Board of EducationPleasantville Union Free School District60 Romer AvenuePleasantville, New York 10570
NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDWHITE PLAINS, NYPERMIT NO. 7046
Superintendent Mary Fox-Alter recognized Me-lissa Brown, Nancy Pregiato, and Marc Vavolizza for their twenty-five years of service to the District at the first Superintendent’s Conference Day of the school year.
Happy Anniversary!
WATCH Board Meetings & OtherDistrict Programming on
www.pctv76.org Verizon Channel 32
Cablevision Channel 77 (simulcast Fridays on Channel 76)
Phone and E-mail ChangesThe phones at Bedford Road School and the Middle School were converted this summer to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system, an extension of the system that has been in place at the High School and District Office since September 2010.
Please use only the numbers listed below when calling the school offices.741-1440…All Bedford Road School offices and staff; plus 741-1446 for the nurse.741-1450…All Middle School offices and staff; plus 741-1436 for the nurse.
The entire District now uses Office 365 to provide a number of services, including e-mail. District e-mail addresses now follow this format: [email protected]
Did You Know…?• If you click on Show Calendar at the bottom of the
Upcoming Events column on the District website, you can see (and print) the entire month and can navigate backward and forward.
• You can subscribe to the Board of Education’s e-blast by sending your e-mail address to [email protected]; to unsubscribe, select “unsubscribe” at the bottom of the e-mail.
