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News Around The District
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New Grady student leaders sworn in with special ceremony
Posted by Alicia Smith on 3/18/2024 8:00:00 AMNew members of the Alice E. Grady Elementary School Leadership Council were sworn into their roles in a special ceremony at the Village Hall on Friday, March 15.
Presiding over the proceedings was Village Justice the Honorable Jay S. Bielat, who swore in each student while their council advisors, school principal and families looked on.
Council President Jack Rodriguez, Vice President Kayla Nisbett, both sixth graders, Secretary Frank Spinelli, and Treasurer Sam Adegbola, who are in fifth grade, each took a turn raising their right hand and repeating the oath of office after His Honor Bielat recited it.
The judge asked each one if they would swear to lead with “enthusiasm, diligence and respect for all.”
The oath continued, asking everyone to govern with a positive attitude and a sense of pride for their school and their peers.
“Everyone of us is unique and special,” the judge told the new council members. “We are all different in many ways, because we are all unique, we may have our own opinions.”
“What is very important, is that it is okay to agree to disagree,” the judge continued. “I’d like you to remember that.”
Interim Superintendent James Ryan also addressed the council members.
“This is an opportunity for us to grow and develop our young leaders, it is a charge we take very seriously,” Dr. Ryan said of offering young students a leadership opportunity. “The things you are doing to make your environment at Grady more positive is really commendable.”
The ceremony was a first of its kind for the leadership council, and one Mayor Robert Williams hopes to continue in the future as new council members are selected. Students walked from their school and were escorted by the Elmsford Police Department to the ceremony that took place in the Village Court.
Mayor Williams encouraged the students to think about participating in local government when they get older.
“It’s very rewarding,” he said.
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Jim Frees rolls up his sleeves as the new Director of Facilities
Posted by Alicia Smith on 3/6/2024 1:00:00 PMJim Frees began his new role in the Elmsford Union Free School District on Feb. 12 and is ready to get to work.
His focus, at the moment, is to “address any concerns that are a safety issue and look to employ some best practices.”
“With any places I’ve worked before, I’ve always left them in better condition than I found them,” he said.
Mr. Frees spent the last 18 years in different school districts, most recently in the Goshen Central School District in Orange County. He has another 14 years of engineering, property condition consulting experience and commercial property management experience.As director of facilities, Mr. Frees will oversee the operations of the buildings and grounds within the school district and he’ll work with school administrators along with the board of education on capital projects as well as any consultants the district works with including architects and engineers.
“My plan is to spend time getting to know the people,” Mr. Frees said. “I spent the first two weeks meeting with all my staff, and I’ve met with administrators to find out what’s important to them, what we’ve done well and what we can improve.”
He said he is inspired in his work by Steven Covey’s Seven Habits, which encourage people to “seek first to understand.”
“The focus is going to be to align the facilities department with the motto of the Elmsford Union Free School District, which is ‘dedicated to excellence in education,’” Mr. Frees said. “We’ll focus on the facilities that are closest to the children; the condition of classrooms, cafeterias and restrooms and maintain a clean, healthy and safe environment.”
“I’m happy they have chosen me to work with them,” Mr. Frees continued. “I look forward to hopefully doing great things here in Elmsford and working hand in hand with our facilities staff to maintain and create great facilities for our students to learn in.”
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Grady students celebrate Black History month with music, poetry and more
Posted by Alicia Smith on 3/1/2024 8:00:00 AMAfter spending the day engaged in several activities related to Black History Month, the entire student body and staff of the Alice E. Grady Elementary School gathered in the gym for one enormous celebration of pride and culture. There was music, there was poetry, there was dancing and there was a whole lot of fun.
The Grady Band, led by director Michael Webb, opened the event with their musical sections of “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and “When the Saints Come Marching In.” This was followed by the Grady Chorus’ rendition of “I’ll Be There” and the spiritual “I’m On My Way,” led by music teacher Christopher Funke.
The third grade sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” and the second-grade classes showed off their dance moves.
In addition, students read several poems including “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou and “I Dream a World,” and “Dream Variations,” by Langston Hughes.
Sixth grader Rhamin T. read an original poem, “Black Pride.”
“It came from my heart,” Rhamin said, explaining that he enjoys writing poetry and is inspired by poet Maya Angelou. He said that with this particular poem he was thinking about the tragic events involving George Floyd and other individuals.
“I aspire to be a poet one day,” he said.
Not to be outdone, but another dance party broke out amongst the fifth graders who shared some of their hip-hop moves.
Before the event ended, the entire school sang the song that is often referred to as the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
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AHHS students celebrate Black History Month with original show
Posted by Alicia Smith on 2/29/2024 3:00:00 PMStudents and staff were literally singing along and dancing in their seats at the Alexander Hamilton High School Black History Month assembly.
In what has become an annual tradition, students propose ideas of things they would like to share, resulting in an exciting celebration of culture and art.This year the program had the theme “African-Americans in the Arts” and highlights included songs from black singers and musicians as well as black fine artists.
“The point is for students to reflect backwards and forwards,” on the contributions of African Americans, special education teacher Cheryl Joseph who helps organize the event said. “And to celebrate,” she added.
She explained that students are self-motivated and come to her with their ideas of what they liked to share.
One group of students sang and danced, others recited poetry and others introduced historical black figures from BAM, or the Black Artists Movement of the 1960s-70s to those assembled. Students introduced their classmates to prominent black artists, like trumpeter Louis Armstrong and textile artist Bisa Butler.
In addition, band leader James Walton and choir director Dawn Zampell assisted students with musical selections. Mr. Walton sat in playing guitar while a student sang Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and Ms. Zampell directed the choir in a few selections. Among the songs they sang was “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a number often referred to as the Black National Anthem and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
Art teacher Natalie Bolden created a slide show presentation of seventh grade work that was inspired by collage artist Ruby “Broobs” Marquez.
“The students today have worked extremely hard,” Principal Joseph Engelhardt said.
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Author shares her creativity with creative group of students
Posted by Alicia Smith on 2/29/2024 10:00:00 AMWhile sitting on the floor listening to author Andrea Coke chat, one student nodded at her remarks.
“You are very lucky,” aspiring author and third grade student, David, told the published author, adding just like her, he sometimes writes stories about things he experiences in real life.
“Sometimes I get my ideas from real people,” Ms. Clark informed the students.
On Friday, Feb. 16, Ms. Clark visited the Alice E. Grady Elementary School to share her stories and help students develop a joy of reading. She also had some good news to share: a new book (untitled at the moment) in her Molly Morningstar series will be out soon!
Principal Andrea Hamilton described Ms. Coke as “a very, very special guest,” when introducing her and told students she was going to take them “on a journey with Molly,” referring to Ms. Coke’s character in her books.
Ms. Clark read to the students from her book “A Doll for Me,” the first in the Molly Morningstar series. The story, brightly illustrated by M. Fernanda Orozco, tells of how the intrepid Molly is invited to a friend’s house for a tea birthday party and is asked to bring a doll. Molly vigorously searches through her collection of dolls and plush toys but can’t find one she’d like to bring, and efforts to find one in stores or online fail. Molly, however, is not to be deterred. She is inspired to make one herself, creating a cute doll that looks just like her beautiful, diverse self. When Molly arrives at the party, her friends immediately take a liking to her very own handmade doll.
“She is one of a kind, just like you,” Molly’s mom tells her in the story after seeing the doll.
Ms. Clark told the students that the Molly character is inspired by one of her own daughters. Readers can follow her adventures in other books, including “Carnival Girl” and “Molly on Ice.”
The author, who is also a speech pathologist, explained her book writing process. She said she first begins with an idea, then writes her story down. She may write it by hand in a notebook or on a computer and type it out. She then sends her idea to her illustrator who will send back sketches that may go along with the story. Once the words and illustrations are selected, the book is created.
“Do you know why I am so excited,” Ms. Coke asked the students, pointing to a photo of her she had put up on a screen.
“It’s because my book had arrived,” she said, again pointing to the photo of her standing by a large box of her books with a huge smile on her face.
Ms. Coke had other news to share with the students. She showed them a prototype of a Molly doll that is currently in the works, which like the story, was inspired by her daughter who had also made her own doll.
“She’s creative, like you,” a student said.
Ms. Coke is originally from Trinidad-Tobago, and currently resides in Canada with her family. She has a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from York University in Canada. She is also the proud recipient of a gold and silver Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards for her books.
Ms. Coke can also add master negotiator to her resumé. She often visits family in Elmsford, where her niece, a student at Grady, persistently pitches the idea of writing a book about her.
“We’ve talked about it,” Ms. Coke said with a laugh.
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District contemplates hiring School Resource Officers
Posted by Alicia Smith on 2/26/2024 9:00:00 AMDuring the Feb. 15 Board of Education meeting, which just happened to be National School Resource Officer Day, public safety was in the spotlight as representatives from area law enforcement organizations discussed best practices for keeping students and staff safe as the Board considers hiring two School Resource Officers.
“We don’t look at it as a school resource officer in a program in a school. What we do is look at it from the idea of a counselor, as a positive community support, as someone building relationships,” said Frank Guglieri, Putnam Northern BOCES regional safety coordinator.
For the past seven years Mr. Guglieri has worked to train people in violence prevention all the while working with the Westchester County Police.
“We are engaging, always with schools, law enforcement and mental health,” Mr. Guglieri said. “We have this triage concept that we always, always highlight anytime we have a crisis or critical type of incident in a school, that is not criminally related, when dealing with students we always want to deal with them with that wraparound approach, have everyone graduate as a successful member of society,” he said.
Mr. Guglieri said he has also worked with the Elmsford Police Department in training as well as the local schools and crisis prevention.
“There is a benefit to having local police presence as well as an added benefit of having county resources. Having them work together is invaluable,” he said.
Mr. Guglieri said SROs often work with students, co-teach lessons, and provide positive interactions with students.
“These are the ancillary services that help students,” he said.
Elmsford Chief of Police Thomas Proscia offered his support to the schools.
The proposal for two SROs would consist of one member of the Elmsford Police Department and a second from the Westchester County Police Department.
“This is not for school enforcement but rather in the capacity of a positive role model for our children, to create a nurturing, and most importantly, a safe school environment for them,” Chief Proscia emphasized.
“The SRO is a friendly face in our district that will provide steady interaction, both emotionally and physically,” he continued, adding that an SRO also serves as a deterrent.Their role also extends to emergency planning, crisis response, mentoring, hosting educational programs for students and parents, and being on campus during arrival and dismissal times, he said.
Sgt. James Dress of the Westchester County Police, said in his experience, the program is all about building relationships.
“Our school safety program currently consists of 12 SROs and three community resource officers,” he said. “Our overarching goal is safer schools and safer communities.”
“Having a school resource officer in your school is a lot more than putting a highly paid security guard in the building, we don’t approach it that way. We approach school safety from a holistic standpoint,” he said. “And a lot of it is rooted in relationship building, especially with the younger children.”
He stressed too that the SRO does not get involved in student discipline.
“We would have a memorandum of understanding with the Elmsford Police Department and the school (district) as to what our role is, with the focus is on building relationships,” Sgt. Dress said.
Lt. Michael DeMaio also serves with the Westchester County Police and spoke further about the benefits of an SRO based on his experience.
“This is a program that builds relationships with students, staff and the police,” he said. “It literally saves lives. There are children who are alive today that came to me for help for some issues - I won’t get into details, family situations, drugs, and alcohol problems. These are kids that came to me and trusted me. I wasn’t a police officer; I was just Mike. These are the relationships you build over time.”
He said in his experience, some of the students he helped are now parents themselves and they still keep in touch.
“That’s just one benefit of the program,” he said.
Board Trustee John Hecht explained that as a member of the Westchester County Police, he would have nothing to do with the assigned SRO outside of his role as a member of the board. He also said he would abstain from any future vote on this program to avoid any form of conflict of interest.
“I do however fully and wholeheartedly support implementing this program in our district,” he said. “It is a proven model, of which I have first-hand knowledge.”
“We appreciate the overview and you’re giving us a better idea of what modern-day school resource officer program is all about, and the merits of the program and the fact it has so much to contribute to the life of our K-12 school community,” Interim Superintendent Dr. James Ryan said.
Dr. Ryan said the conversation relating to SROs is preliminary. He also noted that should the district approve hiring the SROs, there are funds in the general budget to cover the cost.
Board President David Hecht made a motion to direct the interim superintendent to negotiate a shared service with the Elmsford and Westchester County Police departments to show the viability of the program. The vote was not to approve the program, but rather a show of support to enable the superintendent to have further discussions with the interested parties.
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Dixson students celebrate Black History Month with song and dance
Posted by Alicia Smith on 2/23/2024 8:00:00 AMMusic teacher Christopher Funke organized a celebration for Black History Month for the district’s youngest students that incorporated songs and dance.
The kindergarten and first grade classes gathered in the school’s gymnasium and soon they were all up and moving!Throughout the assembly Mr. Funke led the students in a number of songs that were written by black artists or were popular among the black community.
Among the selections were “This Little Light of Mine,” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a tune often called the “Black National Anthem.”
They also shared songs about the Underground Railroad, which told the story of how slaves followed the Big Dipper’s movement across the sky to freedom. Other songs paid homage to the contributions of blacks in building the railroad and another song celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“That was amazing,” teacher Courtney Velardo told Mr. Funke as students filed out of the gym as a recording of Aretha Franklin sang them back to their classrooms.
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New AHHS Assistant Principal feels right at home
Posted by Alicia Smith on 2/8/2024 9:00:00 AMFrom the time she was a child Arissa Vargas knew she wanted to be a teacher.
When the time came, she received her degree in education and earned a spot at the head of the class teaching fifth grade at the Icahn Charter School 2 in the Bronx.
It was not long before her dream expanded to wanting to become a school principal, and after earning her Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, or TESOL degree, she was named assistant principal at the school where she had been teaching.
Today, Ms. Vargas continues her administrative dream as the new assistant principal at Alexander Hamilton High School.“I read a lot about the Elmsford community and learned it was primarily Hispanic and I am Puerto Rican and Mexican, although I was born in the states. I feel it’s a way for me to connect to the students and the community,” Ms. Vargas said. “I felt being new to the community it would help me build relationships and help me be a part of it.”
Ms. Vargas, who is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish, earned her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cortland and later her administrative license at Pace University.
Her first day in the district was on Jan. 8, and since then she has been busy visiting classrooms and managing discipline amongst students.
“I am seeing the instruction that is happening and working with students, supporting the principal and making sure the building is safe,” Ms. Vargas said. “I am also the testing coordinator and oversee the exams going on and making sure that is running as it should.”
Ms. Vargas said she feels right at home at AHHS, as it reminds her of the close-knit relationships that had been fostered among students and their families at her previous school.
She’s noticed how many of the AHHS teachers have a long-standing relationship with their students, many of whom they have been teaching since seventh grade. Additionally, many teachers are acquainted with families because they had older siblings who attended the school.
“They have a good rapport with the family,” she said. “I love that. It allows you to more easily create these relationships with families and students.”
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Community shares input on superintendent search during special forum
Posted by Alicia Smith on 1/30/2024Parents and community members shared their thoughts on the qualities and expectations for the Elmsford Schools’ next superintendent during a Superintendent Search Community Forum on Jan. 25.
The district is in the process of hiring a new superintendent. The search is being guided by Dr. Harold Coles, District Superintendent of Southern Westchester BOCES. The Board of Education approved Dr. Coles, along with James Gratto, SWBOCES Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, to oversee the search at its January board meeting.Dr. Coles explained at the forum that his role, and that of Mr. Gratto, is to vet applicants and present to the board a slate of candidates, likely between six and eight individuals, who meet the Board of Education’s stated requirements. The field of candidates will be narrowed down to two or three individuals, who will be interviewed by the Board of Education. The finalists will also tour the district and meet with a community stakeholder panel.
Dr. Coles explained that the forum offered an opportunity for the community to learn more about the hiring process, and more importantly, to have input into the process.
“We are here to help provide feedback to the board,” Dr. Coles said.
Dr. Coles said he proposed that the board convene a stakeholder group consisting of parents, community members, students, PTSA representatives and others to get further input about the candidate they would like to see in this important role.
This week the application and informational flyer were posted and sent to area superintendents and to several educational organizations. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2024.
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Winter blooms at Grady
Posted by Alicia Smith on 1/23/2024 10:00:00 AMLooking out the window of the sixth-grade wing at the Alice E. Grady Elementary School all there was to see was gray skies and a white covering on the ground. No doubt about it. It was winter.
However, hope springs eternal, and the Junior Gardening Club, consisting of sixth graders, were ready to put their green thumbs to the test and try some winter gardening.The project for the club was developed by Special Education Teacher Jaclyn Warren as a pilot program “emphasizing experiential learning through a combination of ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies,” she said.
Ms. Warren worked with the Professional Development School at Manhattanville College. Liaison Kate Dorsch visited Grady having brought supplies and lending a hand. The goal on this day was to plant seeds and see what happens.
“I was inspired by their curiosity,” Ms. Dorsh said as she went from one classroom to another helping students. “I hope it works,” she laughed. As a gardener herself, she knows anything can happen.
Working in groups, students used milk jugs that had been cut in half, leaving a “flap.” They then measured out dirt, filling the bottom of each jug. Using their fingers, they put holes in the dirt before adding coneflower and milkweed seeds. They wrote the names of the plants on popsicle sticks and put them in the dirt next to the seed rows. Water was then sprinkled on top, and the “lid” of the jug sealed shut with tape.And now the waiting begins.
Incorporated into the lesson were math and science, including students developing a hypothesis on what the seeds will do. If all goes well and seedlings are grown, once the warmer weather comes the plants will be transplanted to a garden bed in the school’s courtyard.
“It’s OK to get your hands a little dirty,” teacher Penelope Ferreras said.
“I just don’t like worms,” said student Kessia Jean-Jacques, relieved that she wouldn’t have to contend with the squirmy things on this day. Otherwise, she said, she doesn’t mind gardening.
“I do like gardening,” she said. “The dirt is kind of soft and it’s kind of fun.”
“I thought it would be kind of fun because we are doing something different,” Tristan Annisette said of the project.
“I was surprised to learn you can grow something in a jug,” Martin Ordas said, adding that even though he doesn’t garden himself, he thought this project would be interesting.
“I was excited, I garden at home,” Catherine Bonilla said of the project. “But it is really hard to wait.”
Waiting is part of the activity and students will have to give it some time to see if their seeds sprout.
“I hope they learn how important it is to learn about how gardens grow and how important gardening is,” Math AIS teacher Jennifer Collazo-Iorio, who was also helping students, said. “It’s integral to what they eat.”
“I hope they had fun,” she said, adding that she does when she is out in her own garden.