BOE talks goals

PINE PLAINS — The bulk of the Pine Plains Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 18, featured a presentation that covered the mid-year progress of district-wide goals, ranging from improving student performance to implementing new programs.

The presentation was led by Catherine Parsons, the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and pupil personnel services. During the meeting, she received input from Director of Special Education Maryann Stoorvogel, Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center Principal Richard Azoff and Cold Spring Early Learning Center Principal James Glynn.

Parsons reviewed the district’s  motto, “we grow smart kids,” a concept of preparing students with “skills and confidence to become successful, well-rounded and productive citizens” by utilizing education, family and community in a safe and nurturing environment.

The district is working to improve attendance, performance and the graduation rate. Parsons explained how curriculum alignment is being used to create a more consistent education for students from kindergarten through graduation.

“Mapping is the act, while alignment is the process,” Parsons said, putting emphasis on the importance of following through with students.

“We’re very strategic in the intervention that we do,” Stoorvogel added.

Stoorvogel also explained that students will not be considered in need of special education until every other intervention method has been explored, which will help to increase attention paid to students’ individual needs.

“We don’t want students being left behind,” Stoorvogel said.

To help improve attendance, the district is evaluating their communication and looking for ways to improve.

“If we can intervene early, we’re better off,” Azoff said. “But unfortunately, we’re often fighting with the parents, not the students.”

Technolgy at the fore

Keeping up with advances in technology is another goal for the district. Parsons said they are currently researching the use of e-books by gathering data from other districts that have successfully implemented the use of devices such as Kindles and Nooks.

Stoorvogel explained how the Kurzweil and Dragon NaturallySpeaking programs have been implemented successfully for students with special needs. Kurzweil is a program that reads text to students, while Dragon NaturallySpeaking transcribes a student’s speech into text.

“This is really exciting because we have students who can tell an amazing story and are very creative. This allows them to get those thoughts down on paper and express themselves in a way that may have been difficult before,” Stoorvogel said. “The kids are learning the programs really fast.”

Netbooks have also been successfully purchased for the district using grants and are being implemented  as tools for learning.

Community projects

Parsons said that community projects throughout the district have continued to be successful. Glynn explained how Cold Spring students raised more than $600 and more than 500 nonperishable food items for a local pantry that was damaged during Hurricane Irene. Parsons added that the faculty versus state trooper basketball game was a huge success, and they are looking to put together similar games with other organizations to increase involvement with the community.

Parson emphasized she was proud of the progress on hiring and retention.

“We’ve gotten some really great additions to our staff,” she said, mentioning a new special education teacher and current leave replacements. “We’ve really gotten some fantastic people working with us.”

Azoff explained how walkthroughs of the schools are increasing safety.

“It’s amazing how you can walk through Seymour Smith hundreds of times, but on a designated walkthrough when you’re looking specifically for hazards you notice things you may have never paid much attention to, like a nail poking out or a small maintenance issue. We’re really lucky to have such a great maintenance staff, and most items are fixed within a day,” he said.

Parson noted the district’s safety plan is updated regularly and available online, and then switched topics to financial goals.

Budget concerns

“Budget planning started early this year, in late summer and early fall,” she said, noting that suggestions for each school and all departments have been made to ensure no one is overlooked. “We’ve secured the state grant funding that we apply for each year, and the community fund is continuing to be a welcome support for things like field trips.”

Grant programs are being looked into to fund a greenhouse at the middle/high school that would produce food for the food services in the district. Parsons also mentioned the possibility of obtaining grant funding to put an orchard on school property.

“These grants are great for smaller areas and may allow us to do some really fun and interesting things that may have not been an option for us,” she said.

Stoorvogel spoke on the success of the district’s work study program, stating that students have shown much interest in it.

“The businesses we’re working with in Millerton have been amazing,” she added.

Parson pointed out that the school’s website is being constantly updated and improved.

“I’m on all the mailing lists, so I know that the information is getting out there based on the amount of emails I get in day,” she joked.

Miscellaneous

The board briefly reconvened after the presentation and appointed Pam Tompkins as a parent member on the Committee for Special Education and the Committee for Preschool Special Education; accepted a donation of $250 from Katherine McMahon to the Special Eduction Department; approved the addition of Timothy Murray, Sonia Crane and Sonia Santiago to the substitute list for the 2011-12 school year; and appointed Thomas Miller to the position of bus driver.
 

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