SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT - Westport Central School · WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR...
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WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 1 OF 4 SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT OCTOBER 13, 2016 TEACHABLE MOMENTS A teachable moment is an unplanned opportunity that arises in the classroom where a teacher has an ideal chance to offer insight and/or enrichment to his or her students. Teachable moments are not something that you can plan for; rather, it is a fleeting opportunity that must be sensed and seized by the teacher. A teachable moment ‘sailed’ into Westport recently! Since May 2014, the Hokule’a has been touring the world as part of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, an effort to raise awareness of oceanic stewardship and survey how local communities are caring for the environment. The Hokule’a arrived at the Westport Marina in mid-September as a result of mechanical issues. While the ship and crew were stationed here, Westport Central School was able to visit the vessel and engage in a ‘teachable moment’ to learn more about the world around us – which further enhances our own sense of place. Thanks to Principal Josh Meyer, our teachers, and all who took advantage of this unique opportunity! APPR PLAN APPROVED FOR WCS NYS Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia has approved the successor plan for teacher and principal evaluation at Westport Central School. The letter of approval (right) is attached to this report. Westport Central’s new Annual Professional Performance Review plan (APPR) meets the criteria outlined in Education Law §3012-d and Subpart 30-3 of the Commissioner’s Regulations, and was subsequently approved on October 3 rd . I’d like to say ‘thanks’ to the team of educators that worked to ensure a new, compliant plan for Westport CSD: Karen Kearns, Cheryl Phillips, Heather Olson, Jeff Marcotte and interim Superintendent Cynthia Ford-Johnston. Later this month I’ll engage with faculty members and administrators evaluated within the district’s APPR plan in a roll-out meeting, to ensure that our teaching professionals and administrators are all ‘on the same page’ to make this evaluation system beneficial for teachers and administrators – which ultimately benefits students! FALL FOCUS ON FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY The month of October is an important month for the public schools of New York State, as most School Boards are receiving the final report – and the Independent Auditor’s opinion – of their school district’s financial position as of June 30 th of last year. THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Commissioner of Education E-mail: [email protected] President of the University of the State of New York Twitter:@NYSEDNews 89 Washington Avenue, Room 111 Tel: (518) 474-5844 Albany, New York 12234 Fax: (518) 473-4909 October 3, 2016 Scott Osborne, Superintendent Westport Central School District 25 Sisco Street Westport, NY 12993 Dear Superintendent Osborne: Congratulations. I am pleased to inform you that your Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plan meets the criteria outlined in Education Law §3012-d and Subpart 30-3 of the Commissioner’s Regulations and has been approved. As a reminder, we are relying on the information you provided on your APPR form, including the certifications and assurances that are part of your approved APPR plan. If any material changes are made to your approved plan, your district/BOCES must submit such material changes to us for approval. Please see the attached notes for further information. Please be advised that, pursuant to Education Law §3012-d, the Department will be analyzing data supplied by districts, BOCES, and/or schools and may order a corrective action plan if there are unacceptably low correlation results between the Student Performance category and the Teacher Observation or Principal School Visits category, and/or if the teachers’ or principals’ overall ratings and subcomponent scores show little differentiation across educators and/or the lack of differentiation is not justified by equivalently consistent student achievement results, and/or if schools or districts show a pattern of anomalous results in the Student Performance category and/or the Observation/School Visits category. The New York State Education Department and I look forward to continuing our work together, with the goal of ensuring that every school has world-class educators in the classroom, every teacher has a world-class principal to support his or her professional growth, and every student achieves college and career readiness. Thank you again for your hard work. Sincerely, MaryEllen Elia Commissioner Attachment c: Mark Davey
Transcript of SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT - Westport Central School · WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR...
WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 1 OF 4
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT OCTOBER 13, 2016
TEACHABLEMOMENTSAteachablemomentisanunplannedopportunitythatarisesintheclassroomwhereateacherhasanidealchancetoofferinsightand/orenrichmenttohisorherstudents.Teachablemomentsarenotsomethingthatyoucanplanfor;rather,itisafleetingopportunitythatmustbesensedandseizedbytheteacher.Ateachablemoment‘sailed’intoWestportrecently!
SinceMay2014,theHokule’ahasbeentouringtheworldaspartoftheMālamaHonuaWorldwideVoyage,anefforttoraiseawarenessofoceanicstewardshipandsurveyhowlocalcommunitiesarecaringfortheenvironment.TheHokule’aarrivedattheWestportMarinainmid-Septemberasaresultofmechanicalissues.Whiletheshipandcrewwerestationedhere,WestportCentralSchoolwasabletovisitthevesselandengageina‘teachablemoment’tolearnmoreabouttheworldaroundus–whichfurtherenhancesourownsenseofplace.ThankstoPrincipalJoshMeyer,ourteachers,andallwhotookadvantageofthisuniqueopportunity!APPRPLANAPPROVEDFORWCSNYSCommissionerofEducationMaryEllenEliahasapprovedthesuccessorplanforteacherandprincipalevaluationatWestportCentralSchool.Theletterofapproval(right)isattachedtothisreport.WestportCentral’snewAnnualProfessionalPerformanceReviewplan(APPR)meetsthecriteriaoutlinedinEducationLaw§3012-dandSubpart30-3oftheCommissioner’sRegulations,andwassubsequentlyapprovedonOctober3rd.I’dliketosay‘thanks’totheteamofeducatorsthatworkedtoensureanew,compliantplanforWestportCSD:KarenKearns,CherylPhillips,HeatherOlson,JeffMarcotteandinterimSuperintendentCynthiaFord-Johnston.LaterthismonthI’llengagewithfacultymembersandadministratorsevaluatedwithinthedistrict’sAPPRplaninaroll-outmeeting,toensurethatourteachingprofessionalsandadministratorsareall‘onthesamepage’tomakethisevaluationsystembeneficialforteachersandadministrators–whichultimatelybenefitsstudents!FALLFOCUSONFISCALACCOUNTABILITYThemonthofOctoberisanimportantmonthforthepublicschoolsofNewYorkState,asmostSchoolBoardsarereceivingthefinalreport–andtheIndependentAuditor’sopinion–oftheirschooldistrict’sfinancialpositionasofJune30thoflastyear.
THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Commissioner of Education E-mail: [email protected]
President of the University of the State of New York Twitter:@NYSEDNews
89 Washington Avenue, Room 111 Tel: (518) 474-5844
Albany, New York 12234 Fax: (518) 473-4909
October 3, 2016
Revised Scott Osborne, Superintendent Westport Central School District 25 Sisco Street Westport, NY 12993 Dear Superintendent Osborne: Congratulations. I am pleased to inform you that your Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plan meets the criteria outlined in Education Law §3012-d and Subpart 30-3 of the Commissioner’s Regulations and has been approved. As a reminder, we are relying on the information you provided on your APPR form, including the certifications and assurances that are part of your approved APPR plan. If any material changes are made to your approved plan, your district/BOCES must submit such material changes to us for approval. Please see the attached notes for further information.
Please be advised that, pursuant to Education Law §3012-d, the Department will be analyzing data supplied by districts, BOCES, and/or schools and may order a corrective action plan if there are unacceptably low correlation results between the Student Performance category and the Teacher Observation or Principal School Visits category, and/or if the teachers’ or principals’ overall ratings and subcomponent scores show little differentiation across educators and/or the lack of differentiation is not justified by equivalently consistent student achievement results, and/or if schools or districts show a pattern of anomalous results in the Student Performance category and/or the Observation/School Visits category.
The New York State Education Department and I look forward to continuing our work together, with the goal of ensuring that every school has world-class educators in the classroom, every teacher has a world-class principal to support his or her professional growth, and every student achieves college and career readiness.
Thank you again for your hard work. Sincerely, MaryEllen Elia
Commissioner Attachment c: Mark Davey
WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 2 OF 4
TonighttheBoardofEducationwillreceivetheFinalReportofthedistrict’s2015-16FinancialStatements.AtWestportCentral,ourBoardofEducationalsoservesinthedual-capacityasthedistrict’sAuditCommittee.EarlierthiseveningtheBoardreviewedthefinalreportofourfinancialstatementswiththeauditor,andwillconsideracceptingthereportaspartoftonight’sagenda–onekeyactionthat,ineffect,servesastheprecursorto2017-18BudgetDevelopment.ProperlyandprofessionallyaccountingfortheuseofpublicfundsintheoperationofWestportCentralSchoolDistrictisthemostcriticalfunctionoftheschoolboard.That’swhythereareregulations,guidelinesandlawsinplacetoensuretheproperuseofschooldistrictfunds.AtWestport,soundfinancialmanagementhasbeenthetrend–andI’dofferthearticulationofa‘framework’(attached)toorganizethekeypersonnel,functionsandactionsthathelppromotethefiscalhealthandwell-beingofourorganization–particularlyinatimewhenschooldistrictsareheldtohigher,morerigorousstandardsjuxtaposedwithlimitedand/ordecliningresources.INDICATORSOFFINANCIALHEALTHThefiscalhealthandwell-beingoftheorganizationisacrucialaspectofschooldistrictleadershipforboththeSchoolBoardandtheGoverningTeam.Ensuringsustainabilityoftheorganization–longafterwenolongerservetheorganization–isconsidered‘goodstewardship’ofthecommunity’sinvestmentinitspublicschoolsystem.Whataretheindicatorsfinancialhealthforschooldistricts?Orrather–whataresomefact-baseddatasourceswecouldturntowhenconsideringtheoverallfinancialhealthandwell-beingoftheorganization?
ü AnnualIndependentAudit:Dotheannualfinancialstatementspresentfairly?ü SusceptibilityofFiscalStress:HastheOfficeofStateComptrolleridentifiedtheschooldistrictas
‘susceptible’tofiscalstressaccordingtothestate’sFiscalStressMonitoringSystem?ü SchoolBudgetVotes:Doesthecommunitysupporttheannualproposedbudget?ü Comptroller’sAudits:HastheNYSOfficeofComptrollerrenderedpositiveopinionsoftheschool
district’sfinancialpoliciesandpractices?ü CreditRating:DoestheDistrictreceiveafavorablecreditrating?ü HealthReserveFundswithCorrespondingPlans:Doestheschooldistricthaveappropriateand
‘healthy’reservefunds,withthecorrespondingplansfortheutilizationofthosereserves,alignedtothemission,visionsandgoals?
WestportCSDscoresverywellaccordingtotheindicatorsoutlinedabove–inthe‘bigpicture.’However,thelonger-termoutlookformostpublicschooldistricts–particularlythesmall,ruralschooldistrictsinupstateNewYork–continuestodeterioratebythepresentchallengesofthePropertyTaxCaplaw,decliningstateaid,increasingmandatorycosts,andunfundedstatemandates.We’renavigatingoneofthemostfinanciallydifficultenvironmentsformunicipalitiesinrecenthistory.Ourschool’soverallfinancialhealthissound,yetthisdoesnotequatetoanassumptionthateachannualspendingplanwillbeeasytoconstruct,duetothecurrentclimate.Nextmonthwe’lldiveintoBudgetDevelopmentfor2017-18,beginningwithaproposedTimetable.
WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 3 OF 4
WATERTESTINGRESULTSHAVEBEENRECEIVEDWestportCSDisinreceiptoftheresultsofourSeptember2016mandatoryleadtesting,inaccordancewithnewstateeducationandpublichealthmandatesforthetestingofdrinkingwater.Testresultsreceivedearliertoday,forthe77outletstested,showedthat8outletsinWestportCentralSchoolwereabovethemandatory15parts-per-billionactionlevel.Noneofthepositivetestswerefordrinkingfountains.Stateandcountyhealthdepartmentsareinreceiptofourresults,andwe’removingaheadtoreplacethefixturesassoonaspossible.Here’sasummaryofourresults:LOCATION CONCENTRATION ACTIONHomeEconomicsclassroombathroomsink 24ppb Sinkhasbeenlabeled“forhandwashingonly–donotdrink”;new
fixturesordered.
Room102(2ndgrade)sink 17ppb Sinkhasbeenlabeled“forhandwashingonly–donotdrink”;newfixturesordered.
MainFloorgirl’srestroomsink 17ppb Sinkhasbeenlabeled“forhandwashingonly–donotdrink”;newfixturesordered.
Room207(sciencelab):5outlets
16ppb;21ppb;17ppb;42ppb;52ppb
Outletslabeled“Notfordrinkingwater”;furtherinvestigationbeingconductedtodeterminefixtures.
AletterexplainingresultswillbetransmittedtoWCSfamilies,facultyandstafftomorrow.Theresultsofthetestingwillbepublishedonourwebsite,too.NYSPUBLISHESNEW*DRAFT*LEARNINGSTANDARDSTheStateEducationDepartmentreleasednewdraftNewYorkStateP-12EnglishLanguageArtsandMathematicsLearningStandardslastweek,seekingpubliccomment.Twocommitteescomprisedofmorethan130educatorsandparentsrecommendedchanging60percentoftheELAand55percentofthemathstandards.TheNYSEDisacceptingpubliccommentsonthedraftstandardsthroughNov.4.SowhyistheStaterevisingthestandards?Amidtheopt-outmovementandtheresistancetotheCommonCoreStandardsbeingimplementedasaresultofNY’sparticipationintheRacetotheTopgrantprogram,theLegislaturepasseda2015requirementthatthestandardsbereassessedwithstakeholderinput.TheStateEducationDepartmentparticipatedintheGovernor’sTaskForcetoreviewthestate’slearningstandards,whichmadeaseriesofrecommendationslastDecember.ManyoftheTaskForce’srecommendationsarereflectedintherecommendedchanges.Thisfall,SEDwillcarefullyreviewthepubliccommentsandmakefinalrevisionstotheELAandMathematicsLearningStandards.ThefinalrevisionswillbepresentedtotheBoardofRegentsforitsconsiderationinearly2017.IhaveencouragedourfacultytoexaminethedraftlearningstandardsandprovidefeedbacktoNYSED.SoitappearsthatNewYorkStatewillbeadjustingourlearningstandardsagain,hopefullythistime,forthebetter.Onceadopted,itwillbecriticalworktoalignourlearningwiththosenewstandards.
WESTPORT CSD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 4 OF 4
ACONVERSATIONABOUTTHE‘EVERYSTUDENTSUCCEEDSACT’(ESSA)OnDecember10,2015,theEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)wassignedintolawbyPresidentObama.Thisbipartisanmeasurereauthorizedthe50-year-oldElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct(ESEA),thenation’snationaleducationlaw.TheNewYorkStateEducationDepartmenthasestablishedanESSAThinkTankthatwillassisttheStateEducationDepartmentwithdevelopmentofNewYork’sESSAstateplan,submissionrequiredtoWashingtoninearly2017.ESSAretainsmanyofthecoreprovisionsofNoChildLeftBehind(thepreviousreauthorizationofESEA)relatedtostandards,assessments,accountability,anduseofFederalfunds.However,ESSAdoesprovidestateswithmuchgreaterflexibilityinmanyareas,includingthemethodologiesfordifferentiatingtheperformanceofschoolsandthesupportsandinterventionstoprovidewhenschoolsareinneedofimprovement.TheBoardPresidentandIhavebeeninvitedtorepresentElizabethtown-LewisCSDatanupcomingESSAForumatChamplainValleyEducationalServicesinPlattsburghonTuesdayEvening,October25,2016at6:30pm.Participationfromourschooldistrictisencouraged,inordertosharethoughts,insightsandfeedbackonthenewfederaleducationlegislation.Theforumisopentothepublic.BestwishesfortheremainderofOctober!Respectfullysubmitted-
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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Commissioner of Education E-mail: [email protected] President of the University of the State of New York Twitter:@NYSEDNews 89 Washington Avenue, Room 111 Tel: (518) 474-5844 Albany, New York 12234 Fax: (518) 473-4909
October 3, 2016
Revised Scott Osborne, Superintendent Westport Central School District 25 Sisco Street Westport, NY 12993 Dear Superintendent Osborne: Congratulations. I am pleased to inform you that your Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plan meets the criteria outlined in Education Law §3012-d and Subpart 30-3 of the Commissioner’s Regulations and has been approved. As a reminder, we are relying on the information you provided on your APPR form, including the certifications and assurances that are part of your approved APPR plan. If any material changes are made to your approved plan, your district/BOCES must submit such material changes to us for approval. Please see the attached notes for further information.
Please be advised that, pursuant to Education Law §3012-d, the Department will be analyzing data supplied by districts, BOCES, and/or schools and may order a corrective action plan if there are unacceptably low correlation results between the Student Performance category and the Teacher Observation or Principal School Visits category, and/or if the teachers’ or principals’ overall ratings and subcomponent scores show little differentiation across educators and/or the lack of differentiation is not justified by equivalently consistent student achievement results, and/or if schools or districts show a pattern of anomalous results in the Student Performance category and/or the Observation/School Visits category.
The New York State Education Department and I look forward to continuing our work together, with the goal of ensuring that every school has world-class educators in the classroom, every teacher has a world-class principal to support his or her professional growth, and every student achieves college and career readiness.
Thank you again for your hard work. Sincerely, MaryEllen Elia
Commissioner Attachment c: Mark Davey
