The 2000-2001 school year promises to be an exciting one for the Valley Stream High School District-with a new Superintendent of Schools, the completion of bond issue construction that updates all four buildings, and the celebration of the district's 75th anniversary.
First Day of School
Students begin the new school year on Wednesday, September 6. Nearly 4,150 seventh-to-12th graders-about 120 more than last year-are expected back to school at Central, North and South High Schools and Memorial Junior High.
Teachers start a day earlier, on Tuesday, September 5, with a Superintendent's Conference Day that includes an all-district faculty convocation followed by separate school faculty meetings and other back-to-school preparations.
Seventh graders had a chance to get acquainted with their new schools before the upperclassmen filled the halls, through special orientation programs at North, Memorial and South on August 30, 31 and September 1, respectively.
A new state requirement for entering seventh graders this year is a three-dose inoculation with the Hepatitis B vaccine.
For the 2000-2001 school year, the price of a student hot lunch including milk remains at $1.50 on the secondary school level and $1.25 on the elementary school level.
Free and discounted lunches costing 25 cents are available for those whose families meet federal income eligibility guidelines. Applications are distributed to students each fall, with additional copies available in each school principal's office.
New Superintendent of Schools
The Valley Stream High School District's new Superintendent of Schools is Dr. Ronald D. Valenti, who comes to Valley Stream from the Smithtown School District in Suffolk County. An educational leader with 20 years of experience as a Superintendent of Schools, he earlier led the Harrison School District (1988-99) and the Blind Brook-Rye School District (1980-88), both in Westchester County.
Also new to the district staff are Frank Morisco, the District Coordinator of Educational Technology, and John LaBare, the Director of School Facilities.
Revitalized schools
Students, parents and community members will see exciting changes in both the exteriors and interiors of the schools as a result of bond issue projects completed over the summer. Voters passed a $37 million bond issue on October 7, 1998, to revitalize the schools for the technological needs of the 21st century and to prepare them for the new New York State education standards and graduation requirements. Nearly half of the funds are provided by state aid.
Supervising all the work has been the extremely busy Bond Projects Administrator Joseph Singleton, who also doubled as Interim Superintendent of Schools during July and August.
Construction crews as well as in-district maintenance and custodial staffers worked in high gear all summer long to prepare the schools for opening day.
Fifteen new classrooms were added district-wide, the most noticeable being the three-story addition at Memorial Jr. High that houses, among other things, music classrooms that were formerly in the basement. Libraries, guidance offices, science labs and home economics spaces were updated. Performing music and cafeteria areas were enlarged, large group instructional spaces were created, ceilings and lighting were improved, and bathrooms were reconstructed.
New wiring was added to create a Wide Area Network (WAN) in the district and to provide Internet access in classrooms for the hundreds of new computers in the four schools that will update the district's technology.
Last year, as part of the bond issue, new windows and boilers, hall and gym lockers, fire alarm and public address systems, tracks and bleachers were installed.
"The buildings will be ready and safe on opening day," said Mr. Singleton. The Board of Education and administration will tour and inspect the four schools on Friday, September 1, to view all that has been accomplished.
Celebration of 75th Anniversary
The revitalization of the district's physical plant in 2000-2001 comes not only at the start of the new millennium but also in the year that the district celebrates its 75th anniversary.
As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, the August 22 Board of Education meeting featured the unveiling of a photo gallery in the district corridor, of all Superintendents of Schools and Board of Education presidents from 1925-2000.
The history of the district in photos and text is also featured in the 2000-2001 school district calendar/directory, created by Community Information Coordinator Arlene Hinkemeyer. Printed in the district's Instructional Services Center, the calendar is mailed to all high school district parents and senior citizen gold card holders.
A committee of administrators, teachers and Board trustees, and alumni association and PTSA presidents, coordinated by Mrs. Hinkemeyer, has also planned a number of events during the year to celebrate the tremendous creative productivity of Valley Stream alumni.
Outlook for the Year
"Our 75th Anniversary, combined with the completion of Bond 2000, forms the foundation for setting ambitious educational goals for the students and staff of the Valley Stream Central High School District," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Valenti.
