Thanks to tremendous community support, the 2017-18 school budget passed with 84% of the vote on Tuesday. Our community also voted to extend the life of our existing capital reserve fund to 2026, authorize future funding with budget surpluses and utilize existing capital reserve funds to make needed improvements to school facilities.
Christine Lee was elected, and Leon “Lonnie” Jacobs was re-elected, to the South Orangetown Central School District Board of Education. Both seats carry three-year terms which begin July 1, 2017.
Dear Resident of the South Orangetown Central School District,
We are incredibly fortunate in the South Orangetown Central School District, to be a place where our community supports the growth and development of our students. Our community understands that an investment in our young learners is an investment in our future. The upcoming school budget referendum on Tuesday, May 16 is an opportunity for the voters in our community to participate in the process of establishing a spending plan for the 2017-2018 school year. This process also reflects the choices that we must make when confronted with limited resources.
Our South Orangetown Central School District Board of Education has adopted a school budget with a 1.75% tax levy increase that stays within the legally prescribed “tax cap.” The tax levy will support a modest increase in school spending of 2.67% and reserves any unspent funds toward future tax stabilization and capital improvements, as needed.
The proposed 2017-2018 School Budget promotes our long-term vision for our community and its children. This vision is the result of feedback that we received from the recent community-wide survey. The survey provided us with valuable insight in the areas of student learning, stakeholder engagement, safety, and resource management. The feedback from our families, students, staff, and community at-large has been instrumental in formulating a long-range plan that effectively and efficiently allocates resources and guides our subsequent actions on behalf of all of our students.
Above all, the 2017 – 2018 School Budget maintains all academic, curricular, and co-curricular opportunities for our students. The quality of student learning will continue to improve given we, as a district, provide high-quality instructional events, focus on student perseverance, and enhance family engagement at every grade level. This budget was designed to accomplish all these things and more.
PLEASE VOTE on TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2017
7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Polling Locations:
Election District #1: Vote at South Orangetown Middle School – Blauvelt Residents
Election District #2: Vote at Tappan Zee High School – Orangeburg Residents
Election District #3: Vote at William O. Schaefer Elementary School – Tappan Residents
Election District #4: Vote at Tappan Zee Elementary School – Grandview, Sparkill, Palisades, and Piermont Residents
Please visit our Budget webpage for additional information regarding the 2017-18 proposed budget.
This is an exciting time of year in the South Orangetown Central School District. We are solidly into the last quarter of the school year and we are positioned to “finish strong” and make this the best year ever. There are so many points of pride – maybe too soon to list them all since we still have six weeks of school remaining. One thing I can say for sure is that the students and our staff have been working tirelessly. So…imagine how grateful I was when our PTA Council, SOCES, SOMS, and TZHS PTA representatives came together to recognize our employees at each of our schools. Earlier in the week, the SOCSD PTA groups provided lunch/brunch to all of our employees at each of our schools! We are inspired and motivated by the kindness and support that our PTAs demonstrate throughout the year and the Staff Appreciation Luncheons (Brunch at TZHS) made us all feel very special.
Being grateful and expressing gratitude is an important character trait. Therefore, I am going to follow the excellent examples set by our PTA members through their kindness and generosity. I wish to similarly express my deep appreciation to our faculty and staff members who have made this school system an exemplary place for our students to grow and learn.
I know that I am not alone in my appreciation for this outstanding group of professionals. Therefore, I would invite any (and all) of you to participate in Staff Appreciation Week by sending a quick note of thanks to any staff member who you feel has made a positive impact. You will see a link for staff e-mail “directories” at each of our schools at: http://www.socsd.org/schools/
Our SOCSD Extended Leadership Team – which includes approximately 50 teachers and administrators from all of our schools – along with several parents and community members, met to review the findings from the School Quality Survey. We formed five focus groups to discuss the strengths, challenges, and opportunities that were communicated to us via the survey. Next, we formulated goals in order to begin the process of addressing the near and long term needs of our students and how to ensure the success of our learners. Here is what we know as a result of our review of the survey data coupled with a review of relevant scholarship in the area of student learning (Richardson, 2016):
We know that true learning is a function of students’ personal interest in whatever is being learned. Students should feel safe in a climate that is supportive and allows them to feel free to make mistakes.
We know that true learning is not served by constraining time, separating out subjects, or limiting exposure to topics based upon age-group placements. Learning can occur at home, during the summer, after-school. For example – the SOCSD Summer STEAM Camp is a very different approach to a traditional classroom. There are no scheduled periods and students are free to ask questions that are meaningful to them.
We know that much of what students “learn” in school is soon forgotten. Passing a test is not the same as learning. Our instructional staff should be trained to mentor our students and inspire them to be passionate about whatever it is that they aspire to learn.
We know that deep and powerful learning that occurs outside of school often looks nothing like what happens in a “traditional” classroom (e.g., how do students learn Minecraft?). We can better leverage community partnerships to promote learning beyond the classroom / school day.
We know that grades and assessments define our kids in ways that are counterproductive, if not harmful. Again, passing a test is not the same as learning.
We know that not all kids learn the same things in the same way on the same day. What truly matters is a student’s innate desire to learn more. Engagement strategies (for our students, staff, families, and community members) should promote a desire to learn more.
Given what we know, as listed above, our Leadership Team will develop strategies that support classroom instruction, teacher training/development, community engagement, school climate, and direct resources towards student success. This framework will identify our annual objectives and create a vision for what we want our schools to look like.
Richardson, W. (2016). Freedom to Learn. Solution Tree Press: Bloomington, IN
This past winter, members of our staff and community gave us valuable feedback concerning how to make continuous, system-wide, and systemic improvements to our school district. The response rate from all of our stakeholders was excellent and we received a great deal of productive feedback that we will now use to strengthen the programs and services that we offer to our students. At our April 20 Board of Education meeting, Dr. Lori Carlin, Senior Researcher from K12 Insight, presented the summary findings from the School Quality and District Plan Survey (please click on BOE Presentation South Orangetown_School Quality Report to see the presentation of the survey results).
We find it encouraging that the strong majority of participants in all four respondent groups (parents, students, staff, and community) rated the quality of their school or their child’s school as excellent or good:
Beyond this, we learned a great deal from the survey through the many valuable comments and suggestions offered to us by our stakeholders. The following is an overview of these suggestions from the parents, students, community, and staff. This is a summary of the findings that will guide our improvement efforts:
THEMATIC ANALYSIS – PARENTS
Please tell us how your school can improve.
Enrichment: Many parents expressed support and appreciation for the enrichment opportunities provided by SOCSD. Several parents indicated that equity in signing up for events should be explored, as well as expanding the offerings.
Communication: Many parents said they need enhanced and timely communication from the district and teachers. Parents expressed frustration with seldom-updated teacher portals and electronic vs. paper communications
Administration: Parents want more administrative visibility at events and more transparency in decision making.
Please share any other thoughts you have about your experiences this school year.
Appreciation: Many parents expressed gratitude for the educational opportunities provided to their children. Many parents highlighted athletics, arts, and specific academic programs that have a positive impact on their school experience.
Academics: Several parents would like to see technology limited in the classroom and return to “basics”, while others encouraged district leaders to continue exploring innovative teaching and learning methods.
2. THEMATIC ANALYSIS – STUDENTS
Please share any other thoughts you have about your experiences this school year.
Appreciation: Many students said they feel supported, engaged, and challenged by their teachers and assignments. Students expressed their satisfaction with the school buildings, course offerings, and available extracurricular activities.
Facilities: Many students said they want better temperature control in classrooms.
Cafeteria Offerings: Many students would like enhanced offerings in school cafeterias. Students want more choices, especially fresh fruit, water, and fresh vegetables. Additionally, students expressed a desire for larger portions.
3. THEMATIC ANALYSIS – COMMUNITY
What do you think are the strengths of South Orangetown CSD?
Community Outreach: Many survey participants sited SOCSD’s commitment to community outreach as a significant strength.
Extracurricular Opportunities: Many community members identified strengths in athletic and arts programs offered for and by students.
Curriculum: Community members expressed support for the rigorous curriculum offerings presented by SOCSD.
How could SOCSD improve?
Communication: Community members would like to see better communication between the district and the community. Many community members would like more printed materials.
Budgeting: Community members would like to see more explanation of the district’s budget choices. Several community members want to see the district curtail technology spending and revert to the basics.
Personnel: Many community members expressed concerns
4. THEMATIC ANALYSIS – STAFF
Please tell us how we can improve.
Professional Development: Employees would like additional professional development targeted to their needs. In particular, several want additional training in RTI and reading strategies.
Respect: Staff members feel supported by administration and look forward to developing a stronger working relationship with the BOE.
Personnel: Many employees want to see teaching assistants reinstated across grade levels.
Please share any other thoughts you have about your experiences this school year.
Appreciation: Many employees said they are extremely happy to work in SOCSD. They cited support from administrators, community, and parents as key reasons.
Next Steps:
Of course, our journey is just beginning. Now that we have this data, it is important that we apply these findings in order to support the collective will of the community. We have organized 5 Task Forces to analyze the survey results and to formulate solutions based on research and best-practices in the field of education. These suggestions will be presented to the Board of Education in the coming weeks in order that we may develop near-term and long-term improvement plans towards:
Promoting Academic Success
Developing Human Resources and Professional Capacity
Improving Communication and Foster Community Engagement
Ensuring the Health and Safety of our School Community
Developing Management Systems (controls) that Emphasize Quality Control and Continuous Improvement
There will also be focus groups conducted on Wednesday, April 26, with middle and high school students. The focus group reporting will be provided to district leadership along with survey results.
Prior to June 2017, the Leadership Team will design and deliver the final strategic plan, roll-out strategy and monitoring process to the Board of Education. I would like to personally thank each of you who took the time to complete the 2016-17 School Quality Survey…your thoughtful responses will serve as the basis for our continuous improvement processes going forward. While we are pleased at the overall “high marks” that we’ve received from our stakeholders, we also know that there are areas upon which we can (and will) improve.
