October 2007
BOARD BRIEFS            
Office of Public Information, Mamaroneck Union Free School District / 914-220-3070

 §         MHS Student Report: Charlotte Gardiner and Jodi Miller, the new student representatives to the board,     reported on the activities at the high school. English classes had discussions about this year’s One Read book, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Administrators visited every English class to talk about respect and privileges at the high school. Spirit Week in September was filled with great events on the fields and at the Pep Rally. The annual Club Fair was a huge success with 75 clubs participating. On October 19 from 2:30-4:30pm, Student Council with help from every club is throwing a huge carnival on the track to raise money for the local Habitat for Humanity (rain date is 10/26). Other upcoming events: the PACE Fall Play, Our Town, next week; Derek Trucks Band concert at MHS on 11/17 to raise money for Fields for Kids.

§         Appreciation for Their Efforts: The Board and Dr. Fried publicly thanked Michael Micalizzi, custodian at Central School , and Rui Sandiaes, Town of Mamaroneck DARE officer, for their efforts to ensure the safety of the children and staff at Central School last week and for extinguishing the fire.  

§         Certioraris: The board approved $48,895.20 in court-ordered tax certioraris.

§         The Board expressed its thanks as it accepted these gifts and grants:
$25,000 for the Small Treasures Program from an anonymous donor;
$5000 from the Bulova Gale Foundation for the MAS Costume Storage Room Project;
$3000 from Stephen & Gretchen Lebowitz for the MAS Pre-K Program;
$1241.52 from the Class of 1955’s reunion surplus to scholarship MAS students for materials, trips and afternoon programs.

§         Student Honors: Ten MHS seniors were named National Merit Semi-finalists: Carly DeFeis, Rachel Gordon, Amy Kirkham, Alexander Leaf, Jeffrey Levere, Sarah Reibstein, Katharine Rice, Eliza Scheffler, Julie Spielvogel and Emily Upton-Davis. The following twenty-one students were named commended students: Ana Badimon, Anna Carroll, Elana Congress, Ari Finard, Adam Frank, Melissa Gage, Nora Graubard, Isabel Gregersen, Katherine Harwood, William Herrmann, Michael Levy, Sarah Lyon, Michael Miller, William Moore, Gabriel Rodriguez, Mark Rubinstein, Astrid Schanz-Garbassi, Edan Soroker, Sarah Stein, Ruth Tane and Kerry Taub. Two MHS seniors, Hannah B. Fleischmann and Gabriel Rodriguez, were recognized as National Hispanic Scholars by the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program.  

Toni Lloyd-Davies placed 7th in Word Processing I in a national competition at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Chicago at the end of June.  

Staff Honors: Dr. Anthony Minotti, new Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services, will be the guest speaker at a SEPTA meeting, 10/23, 7:30pm in Hommocks Library, speaking about his vision and goals. Mike Kollmer, Director of Administrative Technology, continues to play percussion in area orchestras and played with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra in September.

§         Report from Dr. Fried on several topics: (1) Earlier this week Dr. Fried, Meryl Rubinstein and Amy Levere attended a TVS (Town, Village, School) meeting. The meeting focused on cooperation amongst the school districts, including Rye Neck, and the municipalities and further efforts involving emergency planning.  The group is looking into acquisition of a generator for an emergency shelter. (2) Dr. Fried described the tenure process. It is the Superintendent’s responsibility by law to recommend teachers or administrators to the school board to receive tenure. Decisions about tenure are personnel issues and therefore confidential and discussed by the board in executive session. Peter Scordo, Interim Assistant Superintendent for Personnel, read the list of teachers and administrators eligible for tenure this year. (3) Dr. Fried expressed his concern for the safety of Central students in the Trader Joe’s parking lot at dismissal time. The district is exploring other alternatives for dismissal and appreciates the help and cooperation of the Central PTA leaders, Town officials and the store owners in the Trader Joe’s shopping center. (4) November 6 is Superintendent’s Conference Day. In the morning the elementary schools will have parent-teacher conferences. Middle and high school faculties will focus on their building goals. School greeters will receive training on their role, the importance of their position and strategies to deal with specific situations. There will be mandatory training and workshops for teacher aides and other employees in the morning and for teachers and administrators in the afternoon.

§         Board Committee Reports:

§         Policy Committee: Robin Nichinsky reported that their goal is to add or amend policies as mandated by law. Several policies are proposed to be amended currently. The committee is working toward posting all policies on line.  

§         Citizens’ Financial Advisory Committee: Linnet Tse gave an update on this group whose original charge expired last June. She publicly thanked the nine members for their time and efforts which resulted in the district receiving a $35,000 grant from the Schools Foundation for a grant researcher/writer and work by the health-care benefits subcommittee on the financial implications of different coverage options. The CFAC will be restructured into small groups around two specific projects: development of a five-year financial plan and research to better understand tax levels in our community. Some of the original CFAC members will be working on these projects but others are invited to join us. If you are interested, contact Bea Cerasoli, the district clerk, at 220-3007 or email Board@mamkschool.org and a board member or Meryl Rubinstein, Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations, will contact you to share more information about the work. A CFAC member, Emily Saltzman Hoffner, has formed a separate, non-partisan committee, Mamaroneck Organization for Revenue Enhancement (M.O.R.E.) to proactively pursue more government funding and she is also looking for volunteers.  

§         Communications Committee: Nancy Pierson reported on their two goals. The first is to improve communication from the district and board.  Several initiatives are already underway, including updating the district website, posting board meeting agendas and increasing committee reports at public board meetings. The committee is considering convening a focus group to gather feedback about how the community gets their news about the schools. The second goal is to improve ways for the board to hear from the community. Board members attended back to school nights and will look to be present at other school and community events Board members will start wearing name tags at appropriate events so the community knows who they are.  The committee also proposed a more formal approach—holding coffees at the schools and at two venues at central locations in the community for “Chats with the Board”.  

§         Report by Robin Nichinsky of Study Session of October 9: This was the first year that each building and members of Central Staff were asked to submit goals to the board before the board set its goals for the year. The work of the district will be driven by the board’s three broad goals: (1) Student Learning; (2) Community Involvement; and (3) Fiscal Responsibility. The full set of goals with specifics is available on the board page of the website. The administrators shared their goals and then the building principals presented their goals with the help of their assistant principals and some teachers. The building goals were reached collaboratively after faculty discussion and include: changing school culture, supporting at risk students and curriculum development (secondary schools); inclusion and professional development ( Murray ); differentiated learning (Central); community and character development (Chatsworth); assessment (MAS). Additionally, many addressed teamwork, collaboration and the new TERC revised math program. The goal of the Professional Development Plan which is put together by a committee of teachers, administrators and community members also speaks to the board’s goals. The board is looking forward to significant progress in these areas and all will report back in the spring. The study session was shown on LMC-TV and can be replayed by a request to LMC-TV. The full study session report is available on the website, www.mamkschools.org.

§         Playground Discussion: The board had a discussion regarding the responsibility for providing playgrounds at the elementary schools including design, installation and maintenance. The issue of playground surfaces is clearly the district’s responsibility and, in fact, the surfaces at Chatsworth and Murray Avenue Schools are being reviewed by the building committee and the consultant hired by the district to study our athletic fields. Once any playground is installed, it becomes the property of the school district and the district has the responsibility for maintaining it. Any issues regarding repairs or upkeep should be brought to the attention of the building principal who will contact George McNally and/or Meryl Rubinstein. 
Regarding the design and installation, Dr. Fried suggested that the district should be responsible to provide useful, safe and fun facilities at each school. He also suggested that a group representing the constituencies at each school, PE teachers, administrators, teachers and parents, come to a consensus as to what is appropriate at each school. The group can present ideas for improvements where necessary and the cost. It would then be up to the board to find the best way to fund the improvements. There was some discussion of equity among the schools but given that the building sites are very different, each school should be looked at independently. There was support from the board and administration for PTAs to continue to help fund playground equipment as it relieves a burden on the district budget and is a cause that is generally supported by families.

§         Future Meeting Dates:
Tuesday, November 6 at 7:30pm-Study Session: Building Committee Discussion/MHS Lib Classroom Tuesday, November 13 at 7:30pm-Regular Meeting including Fields Presentation and Discussion/MHS Tiered Classroom

Tuesday, November 27 at 7:30pm-Study Session: Building Committee Presentation and Financing Options  

A revised list of Board meetings is posted on the website, www.mamkschools.org
The monthly meeting agenda will also be posted on the Monday before the meeting.