Superintendent’s Community Update, January 15, 2021


Dear Hastings Community, 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday is observed on Monday, January 18, said "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." As we prepare to bear witness to the swearing-in of a new President of the United States of America and the first female and African American Vice President, we can’t help but feel a sense of trepidation about the events of last Wednesday and what next Wednesday will bring during an ordinarily solemn and peaceful event. Let us summon Dr. King’s words to serve as motivation for our nation to show our children how America can transcend hatred and division and embrace the dignity and humanity of everyone.  

Below are a few other matters of importance I wanted to bring to your attention. 

Curriculum Thought Group
Last year, Melissa Szymanski, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, and I invited a few teachers, parents, and administrators to meet once per month to begin to examine various perspectives about our schools from those who work in our schools and from parents and community members. We also sought to understand what children needed to succeed in life, work, and future learning in a rapidly changing global society. These conversations were fueled by references to books we had read and discussed which includes What Schools Could Be: Insights and Inspiration From Teachers Across America by Ted Dintersmith, Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing our Kids for the Innovation Era by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith, and the Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum. 

This year our thought group expanded to include more teachers, students, and parents. Our objective is to deepen our exploration of the connection between what children learn in school and what they will need for life, work, and future learning in an ever-changing global society. Yesterday, Professor Thomas Hatch of Teachers College, Columbia University, and a member of our thought group, made a presentation to our group that helped us to focus on what we can do to create the schools we need and want.  This was a perfect segue for our next phase outlined in the preview below: 

  • February 2021:  A book study on The Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton
  • March-June, 2021:  The development of a portrait of a graduate is a community-driven effort to identify the learner dispositions, competencies, proficiencies, and skills all students need to succeed in life, work, and future learning in an ever-changing global society. The portrait of a graduate will serve as our North Star to guide curriculum, instruction, assessment, the learning environment, and professional learning and will impact children from the time they enter kindergarten until they exit as a graduating senior. These skills are content-agnostic and help students develop habits of mind that shape how they think about and make sense of the world. 
  • July-August, 2021:  A book study on Coherence: The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts and Systems by Michael Fullan and Joanne Quinn
  • September 2021-June, 2022:  Implementation of the portrait of a graduate will occur through a strategic planning process. 

A few more stakeholders will be invited to join our thought group. Information and updates about this work will be shared regularly with the community and opportunities for feedback will be available. Battelle for Kids will be working with us by serving in the role of facilitator. More information will be provided in a few weeks. 

Budget 101 Workshops 
Maureen Caraballo and I completed the two-part series of our Budget 101 presentation last night. The first presentation was on December 14, 2020. The slides for last night’s presentation are here and the recording of the Zoom meeting is here. The objective of the presentation was to share preliminary information about the 2021-22 school budget and how we plan to approach balancing the budget this year without cutting our programs and services. We are concerned about two things: the amount of state aid we may not receive this year due to the economic decline in Albany brought on by the pandemic and the limited amount of tax revenue available to cover our operating expenses. Our first 2021-22 budget presentation to the Board of Education will be on February 10, 2021. We will also provide other opportunities for the community to learn more about how we are approaching the development of the budget for the upcoming school year. 

Lower Hudson Education Coalition (LHEC) 
The LHEC, which is made up of Superintendents from the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents, prepared an advocacy agenda for 2021. It is a particularly helpful document when meeting with local or state officials to advocate for our schools. You may also reference it when you use the Voter Voice link on the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association website to write letters to local and state legislators. I encourage you to do so. Reductions in State aid, unfunded mandates, COVID expenses, and the increased cost of living in the Hudson Valley region, must not be met with silence. We need your support and assistance to drive more resources to the region.

Awaiting COVID Test Results
Since we returned from the winter holiday recess, we have had a number of positive cases. If a member of the household is awaiting results from a COVID test as a result of symptoms of illness or direct exposure to a COVID positive individual, we ask that your child remain home until a negative result has been returned.  The question "Have you been in close contact with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case in the last 14 days?" is embedded in our daily COVID-19 screener questionnaire. A big factor behind many of our school closures has stemmed from students attending school while household members were awaiting COVID test results. From what we have observed, students in the household most often test positive shortly after someone in the household tests positive. We need everyone to take the COVID health questionnaire seriously so that no one comes to school and infects their peers and our faculty and staff. 
 
It is hopeful everyone will eventually get vaccinated which will allow us to start getting back to what we used to call normal. We can look at the next few months with a renewed sense of optimism about what lies ahead. 
 
Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. 
 
Warm regards,
 
 
Valerie Henning-Piedmonte, Ed.D.