O’Side Schoolboard meets for start of year

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The Oceanside Board of Education met on Sept. 14 in the School No. 6 newly repaired auditorium. The board reviewed items such as enrollment numbers, testing performance, summer programs, special education audits and more.

First to be discussed were the results of the district’s multi-year capital improvement project. Proudly on display in the auditorium were the brand new chairs and carpeting installed as part of the project. A new AC system was also installed but not operational at the time of the meeting due to electrical issues.

Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Harrington also gave an update on district-wide water testing. The water supply of all but schools No. 3 and No. 8 were officially lead free, while results of re-tests for those two schools were pending. The fixtures at those schools will remain closed until the results come back.

Also discussed was a drop in student enrollment throughout the district. There were 148 students less than last year. However, because of the reduced necessity for staff to accommodate those students, the board was able to bring physical education, art, and music classes to School No. 6 kindergarten.

The centerpiece of the meeting was a celebration of the district’s new summer program, Camp Invention, a week long event focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), where student instructors called Leadership Interns collaborated with younger students to build gadgets and robots. Sixth grader Aliyah Shaman and second grader Arianna Shaman recounted their experiences at the program, “I loved Camp Invention,” said Arianna. “I can’t wait to go back next summer!”

The board was impressed with the enthusiasm shown by students both working in and on the program, “What you saw was students teaching students,” said board trustee Michael D’Ambrosio. “Not only were they happy to go back to school the next day, but were telling all their friends how cool it was.” The board congratulated Principal Joanna Kletter who brought the program to its attention.

Dr. Harrington announced the board would go along with her recommendation to put a temporary moratorium on overseas school trips. While the superintendant noted the value of such trips, “We must place the safety and security of our students and staff foremost in our minds,” she said.

The announcement drew an angry response from parent Hal Cohen. “I think it’s a terrible idea,” he said. The superintendant responded, “I hear you and can’t say I disagree, but I think the issue for us is proximity in terms of access to our students if God forbid anything were to happen to them.”

Following that discussion, Assistant Superintendant for Curriculum, Instruction, and Research Diane Provvido provided assessments of the district’s overall performance, noting that the graduation rate for seniors exceeded 96 percent.

Despite the favorable statistics Oceanside High School was not included Newsweek’s top 500 high schools, which led to much speculation on why they were not included. They vowed to address the data and do everything they could to make it back on next year.

Finally, Superintendant Harrington announced that School No.5’s Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) program was named the best 2016 PARP program in the state by the New York State PTA. The program was conceived by the School No. 5 PTA’s PARP committee, led by Mary DiGiovanna and Frances Cuomo-Perpero.

PARP is a program that promotes reading with a partner daily. Working together with School No. 5, the PTA created the 2016 “Rocking, Reading, Rapping....Sharing Stories Through Music” theme that encouraged students to explore the power of storytelling in music and how music supports reading and learning. School No. 5 was the Nassau PTA Region PARP winner in both 2016 and the previous year.