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January 2022

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A Message from New Superintendent

Steve Walker

Croton-Harmon Families, Students, Faculty and Staff:

I am thrilled to be writing to you as the Superintendent of our Croton-Harmon Schools. In recent weeks, I have been learning about the district and larger community by meeting with our wonderful administrative team as well as students, teachers and staff members. Throughout the upcoming weeks and months, I will be holding many more meetings with students, staff, parents, community members and government leaders. I believe that hearing directly from each of you is the best way for me to understand what fuels your passion for the district as well as how you’d like to see us evolve. To that end, I invite you to read the Transition Plan that I’ve developed, which details the plans for much of this work. The plan can be found here, with updates shared on our website throughout the coming months.

As we begin this new year together, I recognize that the continued spread of COVID-19, accompanied by changing federal and state guidance, continues to cause uncertainty and anxiety among many of us. Please be assured that the safety of our students, faculty and staff—including their social and emotional well-being—remains our top priority. We continue to believe that it is in the best interest of our students to have our schools open for in-person learning each day, and we are doing all we can to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the learning experience for our Tigers. By implementing the “Test-to-Stay” program so that unvaccinated students who have been exposed to the virus are able to remain in school by regularly testing negative, as well as offering opportunities for staff members and families to access rapid tests and for our students and staff members to take part in gateway testing through the Westchester County Department of Health, we continue to do our best to provide resources to our Croton-Harmon community in support of the health and well-being of all our students and staff members.

In closing, l want to reiterate how extremely proud I am to be in this role and how excited I am for the work that we will do together, and I also want to express my appreciation for your warm welcome and your partnership. I am sure I will be seeing you soon at upcoming concerts, athletic events, school plays and around the Village. Thank you for your ongoing support of our schools, staff and students.

With Tiger Pride,

Stephen Walker

Croton Students Spread Festivity

and Joy Through Music

Shoppers and passersby in Croton’s quaint Upper Village earlier this month were delighted by the festive sight and sounds of children singing “Winter Wonderland,” “The Dreidel Song,” “Jingle Bells” and other holiday classics.

It was the Fourth Grade Chorus from Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School, led by Director Marlena Horton —just one of many holiday concerts hosted by Croton-Harmon’s students. Each one brimmed with good cheer and showcased the district’s growth-oriented music program.

“This is just the sweetest thing,” said one woman who stopped to enjoy the sweet surprise. “I love living in this community.”

“All of the chorus members worked hard to learn the songs and really sang their hearts out at Croton Corners,” said Horton. “It was also wonderful to see everyone in the audience enjoy the songs, join in and leave in such high spirits.”

Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School’s Orchestra, Choruses and Bands created recordings which were shared with families and posted on the district website. At Croton-Harmon High School, dozens of students participated in the annual Winter Concert—a holiday performance featuring Concert Band, String Orchestra, Chorus, Senior Chorus and Jazz Band, and seasonal favorites including “Three Moods of Hanukkah” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Residents of Croton’s Sky View Rehabilitation & Health Care also received the gift of music, thanks to a visit from Croton-Harmon High School’s Tri-M Music Honor Society, a club centered around community outreach through music.

“The attendees were clapping and humming along and kept thanking the students as we were leaving,” said music teacher Jazz Zantay. “It was a great way to spread holiday cheer!”

With Advisory Programs,

Croton Schools Promote Open Discussion

of Social/Emotional Issues

“You should include everybody no matter what because, one day, you may be in their shoes.”
“Inclusivity is treating everyone the same, no matter how they look.”
“You are being inclusive in sports when you support your teammates even when they make a mistake.”

These are just a few of more than 200 student responses to the question, “what does inclusivity mean to you?” all of which are prominently displayed on rotating slides on a TV screen in the lobby of Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School. Rather than simply define the word ‘inclusivity’, many students cited real-life examples of inclusion in a variety of school settings, from the playground to clubs and sports teams.

The idea for this project came from the PVC Advisory Club, which is just one of several outcomes of the Croton-Harmon Union Free School District’s efforts to integrate discussions of social and emotional issues into the curricula of all three schools. The Advisory Club meets every two weeks and each group is made up of 8-12 students in grades five through eight . Principal Plokin say that the grouping of students is kept small to foster a trusting environment that allows the groups to discuss important and meaningful topics that they believe impact the student body. In many cases, these meetings lead to activities involving the entire school.

“I started participating in Advisory by joining the club in fifth grade,” said Nicholas Godek, a junior at Croton-Harmon High School, “and I have found that the relationships we create and strengthen in Advisory are the most meaningful aspects of the program. These relationships foster an environment that allows us to speak our minds and place trust in our peers, which allows us to more freely speak about our mental health and social emotional issues as well as our successes.”

Even before students reach middle school, the foundation for social emotional learning (SEL), including efforts to have students express and discuss their feelings, is instilled in our youngest learners. At Carrie E. Tompkins elementary school, the Second Step SEL curriculum is taught to all students, in addition to the district’s commitment to Yale’s RULER (Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, Regulating) program, the centerpiece of which is the “Mood Meter.”

How do these lessons translate to the classroom? CET Principal Bianchi says that all classes, grades K-4, are introduced to a ‘feeling word of the week’ in English and Spanish. Recent words have included ‘elated’ and ‘frustrated,’ which also help broaden vocabulary. Teachers guide discussions on what these words mean and help students identify associated feelings, including how they make one’s body feel. They talk about techniques and strategies they can use to remain positive and how they can move out of negative (is the goal to move away from negative thoughts or is it to acknowledge/work on them? Probably don’t want it to sound like only positive thoughts are OK), conversations in order help validate and normalize feelings.

As CET students move up to PVC and ultimately on to CHHS, their immersion in the SEL curriculum grows with them. All CHHS students participate in the high school’s advisory program, known as CHAP (the Croton-Harmon Advisory Program), as it is deemed important enough to be embedded into the regular academic cycle. The CHAP program consists of small advisory groups, each of which are led by a teacher or administrator. The goal is not only for students to share their thoughts and feelings with each other, but also for them to make meaningful connections with a trusted adult who will follow them from freshman through senior year.

“Advisory provides a space for students to ‘step off the stage’ and go into the wings and be themselves,” said CHUFSD Assistant Superintendent John Griffiths. “It’s a space for them to drop any pretenses and speak honestly about any social, emotional or academic challenges they may be facing.”

It’s not only the students who get a lot of value out of CHAP; the advising faculty develop close bonds with their groups that last throughout high school and beyond.

“What I love most about working with students is watching them grow from freshmen to young adults,” said CHHS Assistant Principal Mark Maxim. “I appreciate getting to know them better every step of the way and being there to assist them when they need help. The whole experience is extremely gratifying and is the essence of the culture we’ve created here.”

Computer Science Classes and Clubs Teach

Students About Coding and Digital Citizenship

How do computers work? What route do emails take between the sender and receiver? Where is data stored? These are some of the realities of everyday life that computer science students at Croton-Harmon High School are examining.

Their guide is Soyoung Lim, AP Computer Science teacher. The college-level class, open to students who have successfully completed Computer Science 2 and have a teacher recommendation, is the capstone of Croton-Harmon’s robust computer science program. Notably, only 22 percent of high schools that have AP classes offer an AP computer science course. Juniors and Seniors have the option to receive credit for the class through Pace University for a substantially reduced fee.

Lim, a National Board-Certified teacher and a member of New York State’s Master Teacher Program, is also a certified Java programmer who holds CompTIA A+ certification, a professional certification for the information technology industry. She brings real world issues and applications to all levels of Croton-Harmon High School’s computer science classes.

Computer Science 1, which is aligned with New York State’s Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards, provides students with a history of computers, network systems and cybersecurity while also teaching basic HTML and Microsoft Excel. Computer Science 2 builds students’ capacity in Java, a high-level programming language. In AP Computer Science, students design, develop and analyze their own programs to address real-world problems or pursue a passion. Social and ethical issues surrounding computer and internet usage are worked into all three computer science classes, but they are particularly emphasized in CS1.

“I try to bring students’ attention to the importance of online etiquette and safety,” said Ms. Lim. “Students practice to promote their digital citizenship skills.”

The high school’s computer science sequence currently serves approximately 60 students. In addition, students can also join the Programming Club, which Lin advises, in which members program games, websites and applications in a friendly environment. Many of the participants were also members of the Programming Club at Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School, advised by math teacher Tracey Finan.

In talking to computer science students, it becomes clear that they not only find their classes fun and exciting but that they recognize their crucial real-world applications.

“I think it’s very important for the community to learn how computers and the technology they use work,” said AP Computer Science student Gabriel Martinez-Amezaga. “There should definitely be a basic universal level of understanding that helps people solve problems on their own and having the opportunity to actually learn a coding language is great for the people who want it.”

Croton-Harmon Tigers Recognized for Strong Academic Performances

Congratulations to Croton-Harmon’s varsity cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls swim, girls tennis and volleyball teams! These eight teams have been recognized as Scholar-Athlete teams by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, an honor which requires that at least 75% of a team's student-athletes must have a grade point average greater than or equal to 90. What's more, just under 100 individual Croton-Harmon Tigers received Individual Scholar-Athlete awards by having a grade point average of 90 or above.

Croton-Harmon’s Director of Health, Wellness, Physical Education & Athletics DJ Goldman expressed great pride in the student athletes. “Participating on a varsity team is a significant time commitment so to see so many of our student-athletes succeeding in the classrooms and in their sports is great evidence of their hard work, effort and determination,” said Goldman.

The Social-Emotional Learning Committee (SELC)

is pleased to announce a two-part, virtual, Parent University

Reflecting on Our Stories:

How to have Healthy Connections

with our Children about Race

This will be a virtual and interactive session led by

Melle Powers and Melissa Shaw (see biographies below).

Participants will be able to pose questions upon registering for the event.

PART 1: Tuesday, January 11, 2022, 7:00 PM

.PART 2: Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 7:00 PM

Registration is open now! Register here for both events

PRESENTER BIOS:

Melle Powers

Melle Powers (Founder, Powerful Communications) has brought diversity organization assessments to life and conducted skill-building sessions within a wide variety of industries and Fortune 500 companies. She also has extensive experience within the educational sphere, facilitating programs for students (elementary aged thru college) as well as teachers, principals, and administrators. Melle began her career in the sphere of corporate anti-racism education as an Actor/Trainer, using role playing as a tool to facilitate difficult conversation. She has gone on to deliver and/or design programs for New York City law firms, international pharmaceutical companies, the NYC Department of Education, the New Jersey Bar Foundation Statewide Education Program for Teachers, Parent Groups (How to Talk to Children About Race in 2021), for the ADL “A World of Difference Institute,” and many, many others. She is co-founder and served as Managing Producer for five years of The Mud/Bone Collective, a theater company formed for and by artists of color whose original mission was to perform classical works by a diaspora of actors. She brings the wealth of this knowledge and experience to her work in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Melle is a “Certified Diversity Professional” by the Diversity Society of America, holds an MFA in Acting from NYU, and is a member of the Inclusion Allies Coalition.

Melissa Shaw

Melissa Shaw is a facilitator who offers a unique consultancy based in the arts, social justice, diversity and inclusion, and social emotional learning. She has facilitated in universities, schools, summer camps, detention centers, yeshivas, churches, corporate offices, and long-term temporary housing centers. She has led workshops for tech professionals, high school students, security guards, chaplains, non-profit managers, video game designers, Buddhist monks, school principals, older adults, NGO leaders, and the NYPD. She is a teaching artist and creative coach for various community-based organizations, including Community Word Project, Energize Your Voice, and the Lulu and Leo Fund. Melissa also facilitates a variety of anti-bias, anti-oppression, and anti-racist programs for the Anti-Defamation League and the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. Powerful Communications, and Fearless Futures. She was on faculty for Drew University's 2018 Institute On Religion and Conflict Transformation where she helped to foster dialogue among religious and lay leaders from around the world. She is the Arts and Communication Advisor for the Muslim Jewish Solidarity Committee and was was part of the 2019 Nahum Goldmann Fellowship cohort. She is an associate artist with Falconworks Artist Group and a certified Ethno-Religious mediator. Melissa holds an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.