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September 17, 2021
Dear Hastings Families & Staff,
Five-day weeks! Five-day weeks! The standard rhythm of schooling is back. We are ready!
I am paraphrasing Sabine Hinkaty (Senior) and Gus Renzin (Junior), the Student Representatives to the Board of Education, who on Monday evening advised the BOE that the school year has started well. According to Sabine and Gus, students now look forward to a run of five-day weeks, “to get us back in the rhythm of school.”
Taking a cue from Sabine and Gus (who are saying, “Let’s go!”), this update concentrates on technical matters vital to us working well for every student. I start with a note on Academic Growth, then shift to a review of Reynolds Field, Transportation, and COVID-19 matters (specifically, vaccination rates and upcoming testing programs).
Our Tall Seven — Academic Growth
You will recall that Our Tall Seven emphasizes Academic Growth. We are about to launch a way to boost systematic analysis of the academic performance and growth of students.
Last year, a committee of teachers and administrators worked with Melissa Szymanski to identify a diagnostic screener for grades K-8. We require a systematic way to gauge patterns in student learning in reading and mathematics across grade levels and buildings, strengthen monitoring of student performance, and identify individual student strengths and needs. After investigating and piloting several diagnostic screeners, the committee selected STAR Renaissance.
Diagnostic screening with STAR will occur three times per year; teachers will select dates and times for their particular class within predetermined screening windows. STAR results will be one of several measures of academic performance and growth, helping teachers better address student needs and building teams to determine which students require differentiated attention through the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). (MTSS is a three-tiered instructional framework designed to support students with intervention and enrichment opportunities.) The Autumn window for STAR will open on Monday, September 20th, and close following the first week of October. Subsequent screening windows will be in the Winter and Spring.
We are finalizing a parallel screening process to support the social-emotional wellness of students. I will provide more information in the near future.
Reynolds Field Update
We are pleased that, as of yesterday, Reynolds Field has been reopened for use by students, staff, and Village residents. Additional work will be required to return the facility to top form. However, thanks to the hard work of our Business and Facilities Departments, and rapid responses from insurance and FEMA officials, the main field, track, and tennis courts are reopened. (We have fenced-off areas that are still unsafe.)
Maureen Caraballo provided a detailed overview of the status of Reynolds Field to the BOE on September 13, 2021. I would recommend readers take a moment to review the presentation HERE. We need to understand the significant damage from Tropical Storm Ida, and the efficient efforts underway to overcome a big challenge to providing quality athletic and recreational facilities.
Transportation Update
Sharing good news is always preferred. At the same time, we will not sidestep communications on problems.
As many staff, students and families know too well, bus transportation this year has been a mess. Having students never picked up, or on the wrong routes, or on runs that are too long, is inexcusable and cannot happen again. Hastings staff and families need to know the facts of the situation, which Maureen Caraballo presented to the BOE on Monday night in a concise PowerPoint.
Let me highlight key facts from the presentation:
- We provide bus transportation as part of a five-district Collaborative (with Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Edgemont, and Irvington). This is the correct model for smaller districts.
- Unfortunately, the two lead administrators for the Collaborative left in late spring, requiring interim oversight and a gap in necessary staffing. This shift led to routing problems.
- Public schools across the country are facing a shortage of bus drivers. This hard reality hit the Collaborative this month, resulting in routes with no drivers in each of the Collaborative districts. Administrators anticipated this possibility, but even extra incentives could not overcome a major, region-wide shortage.
- Communication with families, as well as with District and school staff, was deficient.
Once students are effectively routed for this school year, which we anticipate should be completed in the coming week, we will work with the leaders and top managers in the Collaborative districts to identify solutions to the following priorities:
- Establish a system for rapid and accurate communications with families, as well as District and school personnel. This must include an easy way for the Collaborative to share real-time updates on bus status, and to be contacted when bus runs are not working (i.e., students not picked up, or runs off schedule).
- Secure an Assistant Director for Transportation with the Collaborative, and consider other increases in staffing.
- Evaluate ways to increase bus driver “substitutes” by drawing on other district personnel.
- Consider increasing the number of buses in the Collaborative, which, if the shortage of bus drivers can be resolved, would make bus runs more efficient.
Readers can access Maureen’s entire presentation HERE.
COVID-19 Management — 9.17.21
For several weeks, I have generally reported that a high percentage of Hastings employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We now have a specific percentage to share, due to the new mandate by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) that all public school employees must provide a negative COVID-19 test each week, or alternatively have documented that they are fully vaccinated. Through state records, we now know that over 86 percent of all Hastings employees are fully vaccinated, with the vaccination percentage among staff working directly with students over 95 percent. These percentages will increase as we continue to review records of those not listed as vaccinated, and the new mandate encourages unvaccinated employees to obtain a vaccination. Early this next week, we will send information to all Hastings employees on the steps they must take to comply with the NYSDOH mandated testing/vaccination program.
Separate from the mandated testing/vaccination program for employees, we will be launching the optional surveillance testing program for students and staff being offered in partnership with the Westchester County Department of Health (WCDOH). We had previously announced that Hastings would participate in the program designed to test participating staff and students on a weekly basis. We will be sending digital informational packets to all Hastings staff and families early in the coming week.
Lastly, we each need to stay current with the COVID-19 Management Document 2021-22, which may be accessed by clicking HERE. We have not made any changes to the document since last week (9.10.21).
Be well.
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