Celebrating Greatness and Fighting to Keep It

Monday night at our budget hearing we heard from some very caring and passionate members of the WVCSD community about programs that have touched their lives, but are at risk of being eliminated. Our state has put us in a terrible funding situation- along with every other school district in New York, thanks to the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). New York public schools are losing millions each year and will continue to lose funding year after year if we don't do something about it. If you don't know about the GEA, please go to FairEdFundingNY.org to read more and find out how you can get involved. As Dr. Bryant and several board members expressed last evening, the more people that make their voices heard, the harder it will be for our state leaders to continually ignore our demands for fair and adequate funding for our schools.

Commendations and awards were presented last night as well. Congratulations to parent (and school board member) Lynn Lillian, who received the Jodi Denmead Award and to Mr. Robert Slutsky, from WVMS, who received the Heroes in Teaching Award! Other nominees for the Heroes in Teaching Award were; Mrs. Noreen Hansen and Mrs. Beth Peluso Thank you for all you do for our students. Commendations were awarded to the following students: Andrew Brown, Faith Wilkins, Elizabeth Kisty, Jordan Burton, Hannah Tucker, Nicholas Ruggeri and Ben Tate.

Our winning Odyssey of the Mind team, 'What Does The Cat Say?' performed as part of our elementary school performing arts moment and 'Vocal Point,' a student-run acapella group from the high school sang their own arrangement of "Circle of Life." Both performances were exceptional and it's clear that there is no shortage of talent in WVCSD- and that includes teachers, students and administrators!

We need your help in order to continue to support these talented individuals and to help our district offer comprehensive programs for all of our students. Please consider getting involved in our advocacy at the state level through FairEdFundingNY.org. Thank you!

The Superintendent Search Process

The search for our new Superintendent began over the summer.  We met with our search consultant, Dr. Vince Coppola, from Western NY Educational Service Council, to receive a timeline and a description of the search process. The new school board members wondered, “Why do we need to hire a consultant to help us hire a Superintendent?” However, we quickly learned how complicated the entire process is. There is an incredible amount of work that goes into hiring a school Superintendent. With 40 years of public education experience, thirteen years as a Superintendent and over 75 searches under his belt, Dr. Coppola was instrumental to our success.

In mid-September, with the assistance of the school board, Dr. Coppola distributed surveys to representatives from a number of school and community groups. These focus groups included the Board of Education, Administrators, Central Office Staff, Teachers, Support Staff, Parents, Students and Community. Each focus group (aside from the school board group) was made up of approximately 12 people. The purpose of these initial surveys was to gather information from three questions that were designed to provide those participating with important input into the Superintendent selection process. The responses were condensed and were then presented as a written report for board members to study.

The three questions that were asked to all focus group participants were the following:

1.     What are the positive things about Warwick Valley Central School District and the community that would attract someone to want to come here and be your next superintendent?

2.     What are the issues and concerns that the next Superintendent should be aware of so they can enter the district “hitting the ground running?”

3.     What are the personal and professional characteristics that you are looking for in the next Superintendent?

The next step for everyone was to put into rank order a list of the “Top Ten Proposed Characteristics” for the next WVCSD superintendent. Everyone in the groups ranked our Top Ten Characteristics out of a list of twenty given statements. The data was then collapsed and the list from all of the focus groups was presented to the school board. In combining the data from all the groups nine characteristics emerged as highly important so we used them to guide us in our selection process. Here are the characteristics in rank order:

·      Outstanding written and oral communication skills

·      Ability to clearly identify problems and develop effective solutions

·      Person of unquestioned integrity

·      Reflective thinker- not impulsive

·      Committed to involving staff, parents, students and community in decision-making

·      Strong presence in the schools and community

·      Strong commitment to improving student achievement/student success

·      Strong background in instruction and student achievement

·      Evidence of success in the implementation of effective district financial practices

We reviewed all of the information and data with Dr. Coppola and then he drafted a brochure for our district that announced the job opening. Advertising for the position was posted in several different places and Dr. Coppola also recruited potential candidates at Superintendent conferences throughout the state.

In November, we met with Dr. Coppola again and he shared with us the complete list of applicants for our school district. There were 11 applicants in the initial pool and we narrowed this down to six candidates to interview.  Dr. Coppola then provided each board member with a packet to review for each candidate. These packets were no less than a dozen pages each and included candidates resumes, credentials, certifications, transcripts, district entry plans and recommendations.  We each spent several hours privately reviewing each packet and took careful notes.

The six candidates were contacted by Dr. Coppola to arrange the interview schedule. Throughout the process, keeping the candidates identity confidential was not just a choice but necessity. All of the candidates were employed in other districts. News of these interviews could have caused unnecessary turmoil in their communities. This is another reason that using a search consultant was helpful. Our search consultant was able to get candidates that would not have come forward through an advertisement on the On-line Application System for Educators, (OLAS) for fear of lack of confidentiality in the process.

Not only did Dr. Coppola need to arrange the schedules of our six candidates, but he also needed to bring the focus groups back in for these interviews. Two people from each of the original focus groups were selected to form an interview team of twelve members. We made sure that we had representatives from the Administrators, Central Office Staff, Support Staff, Teachers, Students, Parents and Community.

Each candidate was first interviewed by a focus group for one hour and then was interviewed by the school board for one hour or more. Dr. Coppola provided all of us with many interview questions to choose from and we tailored these questions to fit our district. We also created a number of our own questions for the candidates. We met for three nights in a row from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm to do this first round of interviews. Afterwards, we received the comments and concerns from the focus group and then combined them with our observations. By using this data we were able to select three candidates from the original pool to invite back for a second interview.

The second interviews were more complex for the candidates. This time around each candidate would be doing a ‘walk-through’ of our entire district with BOE members, followed by an evening interview with the entire board. Our goal on the walk-through visits was to observe how these candidates interacted with building principals, teachers, students, administration, and support staff. The candidates visited each school building, the bus garage and central office as well. Following the tours were interviews with the focus groups.  These days were long as they began the tours at 8:30 AM and didn’t stop until after their final interviews with the BOE in the evening. 

To show the size and scope of this process, each person involved spent approximately:

• 20 hours interviewing candidates and reviewing interview responses
• 15 hours reviewing credentials
• 6 - 8 hours prepping questions for candidates and reviewing focus group feedback

This does not include BOE meetings, work sessions and individual board member research on candidates that also took place during this time.

The process though long was thorough and left no question unanswered. We have had the pleasure of meeting a variety of educators from NY and NJ. They shared a number of personal experiences with us, and offered their perspective of our school district. In the end a clear leader emerged. We are confident in our choice of Dr. David Leach and welcome him as our district’s next leader.

Through this process our newer BOE members grew to understand and appreciate the time that our seasoned members have put into superintendent searches in the past.  Together we learned about each other and our values.  We came through the course of this search with a clear understanding that hiring an instructional leader with vision who is able to implement a plan that prepares our students for the 21^st century is of the utmost importance.  Dr. Leach was our unanimous choice. 

Submitted by: Shannon Hockswender and Eilleen Gagliano

Trip to Albany

On November 20^th Dave, Lynn and I attended the Education for Action Summit, presented by the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) in Albany. Our day began in a large auditorium to “Kick-off the No More Excuses Campaign” with hundreds of other attendees. The auditorium was crowded with people who had arrived from all over New York State to advocate for our students. Many high school students were also present to participate in the day’s events. The moderators were Zakiyah Ansari, AQE’s Advocacy Director and Angelica Rivera, parent advocate with Citizen Action of New York and AQE. Both women spoke passionately about the struggles that New York students are currently facing in terms of their education, including the shortage of resources, the inequity in school funding and the lack of engagement from state leaders to make the public education of students in New York a priority.

Senators Kevin Parker and Cecilia Tkaczyk and Assembly Members Barbara Russell, Addie J. Russell and Karim Camara attended the Kick-off and they all spoke about the importance of funding NYS public schools and why they will be focusing their efforts on education this year. My favorite speaker was Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell who told the audience a story about growing up in a home with five siblings. Every year, for her family’s Thanksgiving feast, they would bake a pumpkin pie and  all the kids would argue and fight over the biggest piece of the pie. The lesson her parents taught her was it that it doesn’t matter who is oldest, who helped bake the pie, or who was the best behaved at dinner - they all would get the same size slice because everyone in the family is equal. She expressed the importance and value of this lesson for her work as a legislator, “Everyone deserve the same size slice of the pie, no matter what the circumstance. It is the governments responsibility to be equitable in how they are distributing funds to our schools.”

Two high school students also spoke at the event.  One was from a school in NYC and the other was from a school in the North Country. Each student presented their view of their high school experience and they were vastly different. The student from the city compared his school to a jail complete with metal detectors and guards who greet the students by yelling, ‘Get in line, take off your coat and open up your backpack!’ “How can we start our day feeling good about coming to school when it starts like this?,” he said, and then he painted a bleak picture of crowded classrooms, lack of books and materials and teachers who were unable to do their job because they have inadequate resources.

The student from the North Country expressed his experience, which was vastly different from the first high school student. He felt safe and supported in his school, the environment was conducive to learning and he thought his teachers were excellent, but his school district could not afford to have extra-curricular activities or offer many AP courses for high school students. This student was worried about his chances of getting into a good college because he would be competing with other students from across the state that have had more educational opportunities. Although these student’s presentations were different they both ended with, “I want to be educated, teach me!”

The last presenter was Billy Easton, the leader of AQE. He presented the 2014 Legislative Priorities, No More Excuses: Educate Every Student Campaign. The main priorities for this year are:

1. Calling for $1.9 billion in School Aid

• $1 billion in new classroom operating aid distributed equitably (foundation aid)
• $225 million for full-day pre-K
• $110 million for college-ready community schools
• $300 million for curriculum restoration and improvement
• $20 million for supports and interventions to build a positive school climate
• $250 million in expense-based aid

     2. More teaching, less testing

     3. Raise NYC's millionaires' tax to pay for quality full-day pre-k for all NYC 4 years olds and
         after- school programs for all middle school students.

Mr. Easton stressed the importance of advocating now before the January State of the Union address. Attendees all received postcards to fill out that were addressed to our governor, who this campaign is primarily focused on. Every person who attended the kick-off filled out a card by completing this sentence, “In order for our students to excel in college and careers, they need…” (list the programs, classes, extra-curriculars, etc. that are vital to your student’s education).  We brought home a stack of postcards and AQE said we could request more to distribute to parents in our district and region.

Mr. Easton also urged participants to come back to Albany on January 14^th and to each bring five friends with them because January 14^th is statewide action day in Albany and they want to show huge public support for quality public education. This will be the final big action before the Governor releases his Executive budget. Another date to save is March 12^th for the statewide budget rally in Albany- Parade for Public Education and Lobby day in Albany.

After lunch we were able to choose a workshop to attend. The following workshops were offered:

•      Organizing your community- learn to organize to build a bigger, stronger movement in your community.
•      Recruiting Legislative Champions- learn to organize and lead lobby visits as well as engage elected representatives in the New More Excuses campaign.
•      Youth Track- students from across the state will share their experiences and learn how to fight for their education.

      Dave and I attended the Recruiting Legislative Champions workshop, which was excellent. We learned a great deal and are excited to pass on our experience and information to our district's Advocacy Committee and to our Regional Advocacy Committee, Fair Funding for Our Schools.

Lynn was invited to participate in a meeting with Governor Cuomo’s education staff, which included Deputy Secretary for Education, DeShawn Wright, as a representative of Fair Funding for our Schools. While Dave and I attended our workshop Lynn met with the lobbying team to plan out their visit.

Next, we participated in the March to the Capital for “No More Excuses Speak-Out.” Approximately 400 people signed a giant diploma and wore graduation caps as we marched to the Million Dollar Staircase chanting, “2, 4, 6, 8- We want our kids to graduate!” The day closed with the “No More Excuses Speak-out” and featured the Legislators who were present in the morning. After the speak out we marched to the War Room and delivered the diploma to the governor’s office which was entitled, “Educate Every Student.” 

After the Speak-Out the crowds left and the government building became very quiet. Twenty plus advocates from across the state stayed to meet with the Governor’s Education staff. Representatives had a chance to speak about the education climate in their home district or region. Lynn said that every report that was given was worse than the previous speaker. Her statement focused on the bleak situation in Hudson Valley school districts: school closings and their affect on the community, the dismantling of programs, laying off valued teachers and in some cases cutting kindergarten. Especially heart wrenching were reports from the inner city school districts where one representative spoke about her school having a library in it without a single book. She said, “How can our students pass these state tests that you are requiring without having books for students to read and learn from.” These stories were dramatic reminders of the inadequacy of funding for education, and a reminder of the need for urgency in out fight for fair funding. ALL representatives agreed on and demanded equity and adequacy in education and expressed the consequences of doing nothing.

Overall, we came away with a lot of information and ideas for advancing advocacy efforts in our region. We agreed that the day brought on a feeling of sadness for us because of the level of despair some of our neighbors are feeling throughout the State. However, it made us want to do more and we left feeling energized by all of the organization and activity of the advocacy groups from throughout the state. Dave captured the moment by saying, “Maybe a groundswell is happening and something might change.”

To stay current on regional advocacy events check in at: Fair Funding for Our Students

Submitted by: Shannon, Dave and Lynn

Common Core Cliff Notes

Common Core Cliff Notes:

I don’t believe there has been a more confusing or chaotic time in public education than the past few years- at least in New York! It becomes difficult for those of us who are not professional educators to navigate the challenges coming at us in the midst of all this change, so here is my cheat sheet:

Common Core:

A set of National Education standards adopted by 45 states, not a curriculum but a set of expectations. 

This came from the CCSS website:

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics.  The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit bearing entry courses in two or four year college programs or enter the workforce. The standards provide a clear understanding of the expectations in reading, writing, speaking and listening, language and mathematics in school.

The nation’s governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) led the development of the Common Core State Standards and continue to lead the initiative. Teachers, parents, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders provided input into the development of the standards.

APPR

Annual Professional Performance Review- the framework within which teachers and administrators are evaluated.

RTTT

Race to the Top- a federal grant for which New York State applied. Acceptance of the grant required that certain initiatives be in place to be eligible. The short list is that states who won RTTT grants were awarded points for satisfying certain educational policies, such as performance-based standards (often referred to as an Annual professional performance review- APPR) for teachers and principals, complying with the Common Core standards, lifting caps on charter schools, turning around the lowest-performing schools, and building data systems.

This is how RTTT has been operationalized in New York State via the Regents Reform Agenda:

1.  Implementing Common Core standards and developing curriculum and assessments aligned to these standards to prepare students for success in college and the workplace

2.  Building instructional data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practice in real time.

3.  Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals.

4.  Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.

Complaints have been made about the developmental appropriateness of the standards in the early years- I have heard many teachers, on the other hand, tend to agree that the standards themselves support higher order thinking skills and shift from a broad coverage of content to a narrower but deeper understanding of material at each grade level. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Most of the pushback to these changes comes from the pace at which they are being implemented, which is certainly ahead of the states ability to provide support to local districts. All districts have had to provide (and pay for) Common Core training for their staff as well as training on the new APPR model- also paid for by each district. In Warwick, these initiatives have cost us approximately $600,000 over the past two years.

For districts that chose to rely on the State developed modules to deliver curriculum aligned to the common core, the past year has been frustrating to say the least. The modules that the state developed to support the Common Core Standards have been months behind in their rollout, in some cases modules were published in the spring for material that had already covered in the previous fall. Here in Warwick our teachers selected our own common core aligned resources and materials which are not dependent on the state’s supporting materials.  However, teachers are using the modules as supplemental resources.

In addition, the state decided to test students against the common core standards before there had been time to fully integrate them into curriculum, hence the drop in last years test scores across the state. This has created enormous frustration for students and teachers, so parents and educators have been voicing their concerns across the state. However, the increase in testing is actually connected more to APPR  than the Common Core Standards themselves. Implementation of the new APPR plan requires additional testing in order to evaluate teachers and administrators. It’s important to recognize what the three components are (Common Core Standards, APPR and RTTT) on their own and how they are tied together for student outcomes.

For an excellent outline of these issues read the New York Council of School Superintendents report on State Education policy.

Submitted by Lynn Lillian

Balancing Assessment

Last night’s work session featured a presentation by our new Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instructional Services, Dr. David Leach and our Director of Instructional Services, Dr. Kathleen Affigne. I couldn’t possibly summarize their presentation and do it justice and luckily I don’t have to. It will be available on our district website shortly.

Their presentation as a whole addressed the different types of assessments (formative vs. summative) and the meaning, purpose and goal of these assessments.

With regard to the Common Core, Dr. Leach said that WVCSD has chosen not to use the modules provided by NYS exclusively. Instead our district has, over the past few years, asked teachers to take a look at them and is finding out what modules are appropriate.

Dr. Affigne referred to “double-dipping” with the assessments, using a mandated test for our own purposes rather than administering an additional test. Both Dr. Leach and Dr. Affigne agreed that the goal is to streamline our assessments and focus our attention on instruction. Dr. Leach pointed out that our district's standards and goals are well above that of the common core. He was insistent that as we continue to build on instruction, the tests should and will become an after-thought.

The Board then had to the opportunity to ask questions of our speakers. This is but a glimpse:

Q: Are there consequences to a student that refuses the NYS Assessments year after year?
A: Dr. Affigne concentrated on the benefits of the tests and the consequence being depriving the student of the opportunity to benefit from them. She also said that of the assessments from grade 3 – 8, the eighth grade assessment is the last time that students are tested on a subjects as a whole. Once they enter high school, it’s not all of math, but specifics such as algebra, geometry, trig, etc. Dr. Affigne said that the eighth grade assessment is a great tool to determine where a student is on their path to college readiness and preparedness.

With regard to the district, Dr. Bryant clarified that the district would not lose funding if testing participation were to fall below 95% as claimed in the media. However, the district would be named, as “needs improvement” and would then be given the opportunity to defend itself. Dr. Bryant stressed that we would then be spending time and effort on defending our status to NYS rather than focusing on instruction.

Dr. Leach then also spoke about the possibility of Chromebooks. Keith Parsons asked about the cost of added technology and there was discussion of the inevitability of new technology and getting ahead of mandates.

Bob Howe brought up the fact that Rochester is being allowed to extend the school day and Dr. Bryant elaborated that they were being given this opportunity because it is a district in need of improvement. There is  a certain amount of aid available for such districts.

The floor was opened up to the one person from the community in attendance, Laura Nokland. Though she had many notes and questions, she opted to email them rather than extend the evening.

Both Dr. Leach and Dr. Affigne have a wealth of knowledge and were able to, as Lynn Lillian said,  “paint a very broad swath” over a wide range of information. They have agreed to work on a visual representation of the assessments, that are administered in our district, and the details that  parents need to know, such as length, purpose, management, etc. This will be very useful to parents in navigating the changes that have happened due to new curriculum and testing. It will be made available on the website when it is complete. Dr. Leach asked for patience in waiting for this as it will take time to create something that is accurate and helpful.

The Board also discussed the possibility and merits of a Board resolution with regard to high stakes testing. This will be discussed further at the next work session.

This blog is but a summary, so please watch the video and view the presentation once they are posted on the district website. Our next work session will be about Strength of School next Monday, October 29th at 7PM in the Dorothy C. Wilson Center.

Submitted by Eilleen Gagliano

Thoughts on Testing

When we created this blog, the goal was to allow you to get to know us better as fellow community members and parents with the same interests and concerns that you have. Many of us felt that to get to know the nine of us as an entity rather than individuals was a disservice. In keeping with this intention, I write today's blog to maintain this open platform.

To those who know me, my personal view on testing is not a secret. In fact, you don't have to know me well to know that I despise the number of hours that our children spend testing, particularly in the spring. I, like many of you, am not an expert on the subject, but find myself constantly researching and contacting our school administrators for answers to questions and a clearer understanding of the tests administered to our children.

The problem that has surfaced along with the media focus on testing in public schools is the misinformation that accompanies it. Parents are unable to answer questions like, "What is the difference between a state and local assessment? Do any of the assessments count towards my child's grade? What is our district's personal goal with each assessment? What assessments would our teachers like to eliminate? Which assessments do colleges care about and why? Who grades each of the assessments? Who administers each assessment? How can you get a list of proposed assessments for the entire year? How far in advance are the assessments scheduled?

If you seek a better understanding of assessments in our district, you should attend Monday evening's work session this Monday, October 21 at 7:00 pm in the Dorothy C. Wilson center.

Submitted by Eilleen Gagliano

Notes from October 7th BOE meeting

Notes from the October 7^th BOE meeting

Tonight’s Art Moment was performed by the Chamber Strings ensemble, which is made up of high school students and their talented teacher, Ms. Keely Blaikner. The group played two songs from their ‘On the Go’ repertoire. The Chamber Strings ensemble plays their ‘On the Go’ music often out in our community, any donations they receive for playing they use towards fundraising efforts. If you would like to hire these talented students for an event you can email Keely at: kblaikner@wvcsd.org. They were wonderful!

Commendations: Congratulations to All!

Semifinalist in the 2014 National Merit School Program
Kyle Roeloffs


Commended Students in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program
Andrew Brown, Thomas Hamling, Emily Mears, Evan Rzeznik, Hannah Tucker, and Kathleen McKenna


2013-14 Scholar for Excellence in Academic Achievement – National Hispanic Recognition Program, The College Board
Kayla Madden


Selected to Represent the Warwick Valley High School at the 2013 NYSSMA Conference All-State in Rochester, NY on December 5-8, 2013
Peter Moore, Jared Silbernagel, Travis Silbernagel, Maya Ramos, Morgan Kriegel, Faith Wilkens, Nick Ruggeri


The High School received a commemorative plaque for being recognized as a New York State "Reward School."


The school liaison report focused on school transitions per the Board’s request. Principal, Roger Longfield from Sanfordville Elementary had two fourth grade students, Mackenzie and John, report on their transition to SES. Principal Sandy Wood from Park Avenue Elementary selected the following student representatives; Laura (4^th grade), Jake (4^th grade), Ashley (4^th grade), James (3^rd grade), Nicholas (4^th grade). All of the children reported they were nervous and sad when they found out they would be going to a new school, but they all agreed that their parents helped them to feel better along with all of their new friends, their teachers and principals. They have been excited to try new things and see some of their old friends. They all feel happy now.


The middle school principal, Cindy Leandro, had two students who are sisters, Rhianna (5^th grade) and Angela (7^th grade) speak about the middle school. They reported that the students were very excited to see all the classrooms ready and decorated at the start of school, all the 5^th graders thought their classrooms looked beautiful. The students like the feeling of independence they get at middle school, they can choose where to sit at lunch and they like to switch classes for Social Studies and Science. They also liked the PBIS tours were they learned about positive attitudes and they are excited about winning tickets as rewards when they display good behavior. The 7^th graders love to use their lockers and they also had a great time at the pep rally! It was a great way for all the students to come together and celebrate the beginning of a new school year.


Dr. Bryant did comment that going forward efforts will be made to include 5^th grade students who remain at Sanfordville in any events that are scheduled for the 5^th grade students at the middle school.


The Board recognizes that it has been an adjustment for many students, parents, teachers and staff in transitioning children to their new schools. We would like to thank all of you and our Principals and PTA groups for all of the hard work they are doing to make all the students feel at home.


The high school students reported that getting into college today is difficult, stress and pressure build when filling out applications, so specific skills are being taught and used so that students can help each other out. Students are collaborating with each other and are developing confidence in preparing for college. The students also reported that they felt that homecoming was a success this year. They had fun decorating hallways, having spirit day(s), participating in the powder puff ball game and of course enjoying the BIG game, which Warwick won! 

All schools will be receiving anti-bullying posters to display. The posters have an anti-bullying pledge written on them for kids to say and follow.


Dr. Bryant will be hosting a breakfast for our new high school students who have recently come to Warwick high school from Greenwood Lake. The purpose of the breakfast is to talk with the students about their recent transition to our high school.


Dr. Bryant recommended to the Board that they waive the $15 dollar school fee for Odyssey of the Mind teams and US First Lego League teams. Both clubs will be able to use classroom space afterschool to practice for their competitions.


Dr. Bryant and Lynn Lillian reported on the recent 'Fair Funding for Our Schools' regional advocacy event. They thanked Maureen Westphal, Louise Hutchinson and NYSSBA members of Orange County for helping to plan and organize this large event.  The evening was a success, good conversations about the demand for fair funding have been started throughout our region. You can follow us on FB at Fair Funding for Our Schools and twitter @fairEDfundingNY


Tim Holmes, Assistant Superintendent gave the board an update on facilities and capital projects. Projects in Phase 2 are complete or will be completed by the end of this week. They include: fire alarms, HS door replacement, HS roof, district network, the Energy Performance Contract, replacement of HS boiler, power management, water conservation; co-generation unit, Park Ave and SES security, weatherization and emergency management system. Phase 3 plans include: SES roof repairs, district office roof, HS curtain wall, pool-filter change out, and Park Ave. tennis court.


Reports from the Board:
Audit Committee: The 2012-2013 Independent Audit Report was approved. Board members who are on the audit committee met with the external auditor and they reported he is doing a great job and all of our books are in order.


Facilities: There has been interest from a few different groups in renting out portions of Kings Elementary School. The committee is evaluating building usage and fees.


Advocacy Committee: The next advocacy event will be on November 13, from 7-9pm at OU BOCES in Goshen. The purpose is to help other school boards and community members start advocacy groups in their own school districts, the featured guest speaker will be Chad Raddock from the Alliance for Quality Education.


Warwick Valley Community Coalition: Next meeting is scheduled for October 24^th, at the Warwick Valley Community Center.


Warwick Foundation for Excellence in Learning: The first fundraiser for WVCSD is this Friday, October 11th at Jester's Comedy Club in Chester. For more information visit: A Night Of Comedy with Bobby Collins


Wellness Committee: John Connolly is putting together a presentation on the danger of concussions, 'How to prevent further damage and how to help your child recover.'


AG Liaison: A meeting was catered by the FFA at Pennings Farm for the AG team. Steve Pennings spoke with FFA students about his farm. Another meeting is scheduled for this month, date and time TBA. The focus will be on finding internships for FFA students who are looking to work in the field of agriculture.


Student Member: Gianna reported the following: sophomore and junior classes are preparing to take PSATs, a committee is working on creating a Haunted Hallway fundraising event, the high school will hold a Blood Drive next week on October 15th and October 26^th will be the ‘Drive for Your School Fundraiser’ at Leo Kaytes Ford.


October 28th – November 1st, 2013 will be recognized as School Board Recognition Week.


October 21st – 29th will be Red Ribbon Week at all schools. The elementary schools will make a pledge to remain drug free and the students will see a video assembly. Terrence Fox, a former Warwick high school student will come in for the day to do assemblies for the middle school and high school students. There will be a door decorating contest at the middle school with prizes and the high school will be making a float with a giant Red Ribbon on it, the float will feature a positive message about health and drug and alcohol prevention.


The board accepted a donation of a used Concept 2 indoor rowing machine from Frank Petrucci.


Shannon Hockswender asked if the PIE grades could be studied for reconfiguration due to the large number of 5^th grade students who moved out of their 4/5 PIE class to be with their fellow classmates in middle school. Dr. Leach will look into the possibility of adding a PIE 5/6 classroom to the middle school for next year.


The Girls Varsity Volleyball Team will attend the 2013 Horseheads Classic in Horseheads, NY on Saturday, October 19^th. Good luck girls!!


The board accepted a check in the amount of $5,000 dollars for the “Be the Change for Kids” Award for the WVCSD’s Partners in Education program. Congratulations to PIE!


The board approved the 2013 -2014 APPR plan.


WVCSD will seek a waiver from the Commissioner of Education in regards to implementing the data repository (In-Bloom) and “Data Dashboard.” We currently assume cost of a student data management system/portals and cannot assume the cost of adding a second one. There are also concerns about where the data will go from the suggested In-Bloom data repository.


Comments from residents:
A resident would like the board to consider waiving a pool fee.
A resident would like the board to concentrate on keeping the Music and Art programs in place as they approach the school budget season. The resident also asked the board to reconsider holding the home coming parade in the village next year.


Submitted by Shannon Hockswender