By Jacky Gerzema
Program cyclical reviews for the K-12 English Language Arts and business departments were also presented at the meeting. These reviews are presented every five years by committees of adminstrators and educators and provide recommendations for improvement.
As the first year of full-day kindergarten comes to an end this June, the ELA committee recommended that first grade teachers should be prepared for full day students.
"With the implementation of full-day K, it is necessary for kindergarten teachers and first grade teachers to meet to discuss instruction and what kindergartners have learned the year before," said committee member Petronella Sellura, principal of Shubert Elementary School. "I'm happy to say that an April 24 meeting is scheduled for this sole purpose."
Kevin Harrington, ELA chair for Baldwin Middle School, said that ELA academic intervention services is a top recommendation at the middle school level.
"There is a need for more intense AIS writing/reading program," he said "All middle school teachers should also continue to get strategies to increase writing across the board."
The business department cyclical review included recommendations for enfusing a career and technical education into the students' existing academic education.
Baldwin Senior High School assistant principal Richard Miskiewicz said that the starting point for this report was the effect that higher New York state testing standards would have on career and technical education
Miskiewicz said that the committee recommends the continuous development of a "real-world" classroom experience where students would gain those skills necessary for today's technical-oriented workforce. The business department review committee also encouraged students to graduate with a degree in technical competency.
Board member B.A. Schoen said that CTE diplomas are very rigorous. "When you talk about pressures with increased exam requirements, are we going in the wrong direction with a career diploma?" he asked.
Miskiewicz answered that the business department does not yet advocate a career diploma, but would like the opportunity to explore its feasibility.
Griggs to retire at end of year
Lenox School Principal Gary Griggs is retiring at the end of this year and the Board is now interviewing prospective employees to fill his position.
Two parents expressed concern about the lack of parent involvement in the hiring process and said that Lenox parents should have more input in hiring a new principal.
"I understand you are interviewing, but you really need to have parent representation there," said a Baldwin parent. "We are very upset that the parent representatives meet with only two to three people."
Mary Jo O'Hagan, president of the Board of Education, said that the hiring procedure for selecting a principal is very well-established in the District and that abrupt changes wouldn't be feasible at this time.
"This is a perspective we have never really heard before," she said. "I do hear what you're saying and this is something we will think about."
Dr. Lee Chapman, deputy superintendent for administration, said that hiring a new principal is an in-depth process. He gave a rough outline of how the District hires their principals, and where parents get involved in the hiring process.
The District advertises for a principal and conducts a preliminary screening of all applicants. The choice is then narrowed down to those applicants that best fit the needs of the Baldwin School District, Chapman said. After a brief face-to-face screening and two in-depth interviews, where applicants present a writing sample in the form of letters to staff and parents the choice is narrowed down to three or four applicants, Chapman said. This is where the parents get involved in the hiring process. Three committees of administrators, parents and teachers are formed and members of each interview the top applicants. A chosen member of each committee then goes on a site visit to the top candidates' school districts, where they talk with colleagues, teachers and students. The three committees meet to share information and the Superintendent eventually makes the final recommendation for a new school principal.
"This is a process that has been in place for seven years," Chapman said.
Parents question security after knife incident
Several parents also inquired about school security in response to a recent incident that occurred at the high school.
Superintendent Kathy Weiss explained that three young men barged into a classroom, seeking another student one day last week, and police were called in. One student began resisting the police, and they found a knife in his possession. The student did not use the knife in the altercation.
"At any time students fight they are suspended," Weiss said. She said that appropriate disciplinary action was taken in regards to the incident but declined to be specific.
O'Hagan said that schools have increased security measures in the past, and that the Board is looking at some ways to increase staff and security.
"[Security is] always our employees at the high school," Weiss said. "But we don't waste time, if they feel it's out of their control, the police are called in. We've slowly added security. We're adding deans and security and social workers to deal with some of these kids. We're not just focusing on the punishment side, but trying to help these kids understand why they feel the way they do."
