On Sunday, August 28th, I attended an event at the Dolphin Bookshop in Port Washington. The poster advertised the event as the Garn Press Author Celebration: “Writing for Parents and Teachers about Public Education and Corporate Education Reform.” From the panelists listed on the poster, I knew only the teachings of Anthony Cody. Through his blog, Living in Dialogue, I learned about the educational paradigm for 21st Century, as Yong Zhao and Will Richardson among others formulated it. I mentioned the paradigm in my previous posts here. Continue reading
At the BOE meeting in May, the Malverne UFSD Common Core department summarized the initiatives management and educators conducted during the school year 2015-2016. Ms. Rachel Gross, the cheerperson for Common Core K-6, compiled the initiatives in a 9-slide presentation.
“She brought things down to them [students]. It is now wonderful and the elementary schools have just flourished for it,”
introduced the presenter and the initiatives Mrs. Ricca, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
The initiatives, ordered chronologically on separate slides, starting with the fall, continuing through winter, and ending in the spring, didn’t offer a clear understanding in what areas the initiatives affected the students. In order to visualize those areas better, I compiled the initiatives into a single “slide” (below) and rearranged them into a chart encompassing possible areas/subjects. Continue reading
The summer has just started. Few parents are thinking about the school at this moment, but bureaucrats do. They are paid for doing so. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into the law last December, replacing the No Child Left Behind (NLCB). The new law assigns more responsibilities to individual states, shifting more power to them, and away from the federal department of education (USED).
In May, the USED chief, John King, the former NY education commissioner, issued regulations (interpretations) that are trying to assert the grip of the federal department. The Congress will discuss the proposed regulations and vote on adopting them. Like with the NCLB before, it’s in the interest of every parent to be informed how the ESSA will be interpreted on the local level, in each school, and for each student—your child. Take few moments and make yourselves familiar with the proposed regulations and also with recommendations of other parents and educators. Continue reading
At the May, 2016, BOE “meeting in public,” Mr. Gilhuley has been appointed as Ass. Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Mrs. Ricca will retire at the end of the school year.
Doshi STEM program at the LIHSA, BOCES magnet school, ends this year. I covered Malverne district’s involvement in the program in several posts, for example here. The management is working on accommodating currently enrolled Malverne district students in a STEM program that they have been developing in-house for the past year. Possibly, also students from other districts will be able to enroll for a fee. Continue reading
It is not by accident that Malverne/WH Herald keeps residents consistently informed about the STEM program. Malverne school district had significant number of students enrolled in the program operated by BOCES. In the most recent interview with the school district management, the Herald reporter discussed the program that is being developed in-house and will be hosted in Malverne HS.
The program is planned to accommodate also former Doshi STEM students from other districts for fee. According to the article, the district management doesn’t know the cost of the program yet. The process of developing a new program and coordinating with other schools could be quite an exciting initiative for parents. They could learn from it and apply their acquired experience in developing other initiatives. So where would they go to find more information? Continue reading
Stats
Malverne residents approved a 2016-17 school budget. The $54.5 million budget was approved by a margin of 662-261. The budget is a 1.99 percent spending increase over the current year and it comes with a 0.83 percent hike in the school tax levy.
Voters also elected challenger Jeanne D’Esposito to the Malverne Board of Education with 530 votes. She beat out incumbent Michael Taylor, who received 246 votes and Jan Kasal who received 116 votes.
(source: Malverne/WH Patch)
My reflections
I congratulate Jeanne D’Esposito. I thank the residents who are unequivocally standing by the views permeating through this blog. I also shout big thank you to my wife who supports my being involved.
Snapshots of candidates composed from issues of Malverne Pride.
The Doshi STEM program housed at LIHSA, the magnet school operated by BOCES, and the Malverne board of education were closely tied since the program’s inception. Malverne HS was allowing to enroll a substantial number of students, each year increasing the enrollment by about 5 students to the current 22 out of total 43 students in the program. 7 school districts participated.
Malverne Herald was reporting on the subject numerous times, emphasizing the involvement of the Malverne school board trustee, Josephine Bottitta. In 2016 BOE election cycle, the editor chose to rephrase and emphasize the efforts of a parent advocating for her own child outside of the Malverne school district. Continue reading
The parent meeting opened with a discussion about upcoming events. A parent prepared and distributed a list of events in order to remember them easier.
Dr. Hunderfund, the superintendent, and Mr. Caputo, business administrator, presented the budget for the next school year. Their presentation was followed by Q&As. The proposals to install the AC system in the auditorium and HS fields lights submitted last year were approved. The construction should start in summer. Continue reading
Every year in May, school district stakeholders in New York elect their representatives to the local school boards. There are around 120 of them in Long Island alone. The school boards consist of 5 to 9 ordinary residents who earn living in their line of profession and, in addition, they volunteer their free time on behalf of the students and community.
The school boards govern the school district. In many communities, the school districts are the largest employers. ($54M/year in MUFSD of 1700 students) The individual board members have no authority outside of the boardroom, but the school board as a whole serves as the governing body. Continue reading
The parents of the M.W. Downing school met with the building principal, Mrs. McDaid, on Tuesday, April 5th, but without a teacher representation.
About an hour was dedicated to the safety and security measures at the school. The review of guidelines was triggered by a recent post and comments on a FB page. The principal explained the situation in question and used the meeting to review other, related regulations, e.g. morning dropoffs, afternoon pickups and bus loading procedures, dealing with an ill child, etc. Continue reading