by Deb Alter
The November 19 Hoosick Falls Central School District began with a request by Middle School Social Studies Teacher Chris Farley for approval for an overnight trip to Gettysburg and Philadelphia in May for seventh graders. [private]Farley presented the plans, which included guided tours of the Gettysburg Battlefield and visits to historic sites in Philadelphia. The Board approved it and Farley will begin working with students to fund raise and prepare.
Superintendent Ken Facin then spoke about an upcoming field trip to New York City, the concert at Carnegie Hall, and a spring trip to Italy and Spain. He assured the Board that he has been monitoring the security situations in these places, and is confident at this time that there is no need to worry about the safety of the students on these trips. He said that he is in constant contact with the State Police about the NYC visits, and if there are any negative developments, trips will be canceled. As for the trip abroad, the school has been in contact with the U.S. State Department, monitoring current events. As of now, the plans for the trip are moving forward, and he meets weekly with Jennifer McDonald, a social studies teacher and the trip’s advisor/organizer. If need be, the trip will be canceled. A Board member asked about refunds if they have to cancel after payment has been made. Facin said they are looking into that.
Communications
Community Information Officer Brian Bushner spoke about the District Communication Plan he has created. Bushner emphasized that HFCS is committed to honest, transparent, and consistent communication with the Hoosick community. The District aspires to communicate in a clear and consistent voice.
Bushner put emphasis on the development of the school website, which he called the primary source for information about the school, but he said mailings, newsletters, go-home notices, and other traditional means of communication will continue.
Bushner is adding social media components to the District’s communications strategy, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which he hopes will encourage two-way communication between the District and parents and the community. Bushner has been studying how the public is using the website and analyzing the web traffic to make sure that people are able to find the information they need easily. Adjustments are made based on site visitors’ needs and web habits. He is also currently working with teachers to help them develop their class websites.
Bushner went on to explain that a quality public school system attracts homebuyers to an area, boosting the local economy. “Positive messages and open communication lead to more widespread pride in the school district and builds an understanding that public education creates a strong community,” he said.
Mindful Learning
Superintendent Ken Facin said that he and the leadership team went to Boston to work with the highly-respected expert Dr. Gil Noam on the District’s mindful learning initiative. There they encountered and explored ideas and methodology for effective social-emotional education, which will strengthen the mindfulness curriculum the school is developing. They also were able to observe a social-emotional curriculum in action at a school in Dorchester, MA. Team leader Kristin Philpott, Assistant Principal and CSE Chairperson, described the experience as “intense and comprehensive.”
On February 1, 2016, Dr. Noam will be in Hoosick Falls for an all-day professional development session, working with teachers and staff. Facin said that HFCS is the NY State prototype for schools looking to focus on social-emotional education as well as academics. He underscored the importance of building resiliency and empathy in the students. Kids wonder why the world is like it is and social-emotional education is important in helping them understand, he explained, using the recent bombings in Paris as an example. “We need to know how to talk to kids about terrorism. We need to be proactive, not reactive.”
Capital Project
The bulk of the Board Forum segment of the meeting was a discussion about a potential capital project. They discussed what should be in it, and how the community might get involved in shaping it and understanding the need for it. Laurin’s fear is that the public may not be ready to commit to a capital project now, as many are afraid of the upcoming property revaluation project, among other things. A sizable capital project was defeated by a narrow margin last December. But they all agreed that there are many building issues, safety and otherwise, that cannot be neglected and must be addressed soon. Laurin used this analogy to explain the situation: if you ask someone who is struggling financially if they would rather pay 50% or 20% of the cost of fixing their swimming pool, their response would be “I’d rather not fix it” (because it is a “luxury”). However, if their roof was leaking, which is something that must be fixed immediately, they’d choose to pay 20%.
Under State aid funding formulas, if a capital project is proposed and passed, taxpayers will only be paying 20% of the cost. If those same repairs and upgrades were put into the regular budget, the District will go over the tax cap and taxpayers would pay far more of the cost and see a much higher tax increase. Trustee Laurie Gormley said she thought good communication with the public is going to be a key to shaping a project that they will support. Facin expressed his strongly-held belief that in order to be successful, the District must invite parents and community members to get involved in planning the capital project. He suggested focus groups or committees, round-table discussions with administrators, and public open house meetings at different times of the day and in different places so that people could have a time and place to give input and talk about priorities. To that end, their December 3 workshop meeting will be spent discussing and planning how best to get people from all parts of the community and of varying opinions involved.
Class Size
School Board President Greg Laurin asked about the growing class sizes since school started, and Elementary School Principal Amy Netti explained that many families moved into the District after the schedule was published in July, some registering even after the school year began. Facin said that there’s been an influx of families who want their children to go to our schools. “It has become a magnet,” he said, and while that’s a good thing, it is also a challenge in terms of scheduling. When getting these new students enrolled in classes, Netti said that they not only tried to balance the numbers, but also the needs of the children.
Local History Initiative
Facin commended Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Patrick Dailey and Bushner on their work connecting HFCS students with the Louis Miller Museum and the Hoosick Township Historical Society. Students will be working with Bushner and art and computer graphics teacher Rob Viera to digitize, restore and create a searchable index for many images and documents from the Museum’s collection.
Other Business
• The Board unanimously approved a resolution that does not support Granville’s request to leave the Wasaren League at the end of the school year. HFCSD is the only district in the league not to approve it. Facin said that the League had worked hard to create by-laws and a constitution, and that the vote to stick to the original agreement demonstrates that “Hoosick Falls has ethical moorings.”
• The HFTA report was given by Tiffany Grant. She characterized the ongoing APPR negotiations as “positive,” and looked forward to a successful agreement.
• Several Board members and Facin commended Philpott on the quality of the Special Education Programs and the positive impact it has on all of the District’s students as the interact with each other. The District’s effort and success in keeping the students with special needs in the building and integrated with the general population has created an inclusive and transparent atmosphere of acceptance, support and understanding.
• The school is now being heated by wood pellets. There are a few software kinks that still need to be worked out, but it is up and running.
• Plans for the solar project continue to move forward and will be in place in 2016.
• The next regular HFCS Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 17 at 7 pm in the High School Library.[/private]