Weekly Update from the Office of the Superintendent
Volume 2, Issue 10 (October 7, 2021)
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ON THE CUTTING EDGE
This has been a busy and exciting week! On Wednesday, we were extremely excited to welcome a team from New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) led by Executive Vice President Jolene T. DiBrango. Ms. DiBrango oversees NYSUT's Research and Educational Services Department and Education & Learning Trust and leads advocacy efforts with the Board of Regents and State Education Department.
Ms. DiBrango and her colleagues visited the Kenmore Middle School Building and toured the Staff Development Center, which provides training and professional development for teachers, administrators and staff throughout the school year. They learned about the Center’s ongoing Be Well initiative, a series of workshops to help guide staff on how best to support their students and themselves through the challenges of the pandemic. Instructional Support Specialists Mary Bieger and Kari Fiutak did a phenomenal job discussing how they are helping teachers acclimate and best support their students during the 2021-22 school year.
The NYSUT team also toured the Big Picture Program, led by Principal Kevin Kruger, which has been extremely successful in guiding students to graduation. Big Picture encompasses 75 students in grades 8-12 and is the only program of its kind in Western New York. It’s small class advisories, individualized project-based approach to learning, and focus on internships are just some of the unique aspects of this amazing program, helping its students thrive.
Be Well and the Big Picture Program are just two examples of ways the Ken-Ton School District remains on the cutting edge with so many initiatives that can serve as models for school districts across the state.
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Board of Education Visits Edison Elementary: I was joined by members of our Board of Education as we visited Edison Elementary School for a meet-and-greet and building tour on Wednesday. It was wonderful to spend quality time with teachers, administrators and staff, seeing their wonderful work in action. We learned about many exciting initiatives that are taking place in the Edison community. Edison will be the school featured at next week's Board meeting. You can learn more by tuning in.
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1st Parent Cabinet Meeting of 2021-22: On Wednesday, we held our first Parent Cabinet meeting of the 2021-22 school year at the Kenmore Middle School Building. The Parent Cabinet brings together the leaders of all the different parent organizations at the school and District level. We discussed in-school testing (surveillance and proximal testing) which will be facilitated in partnership with the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH), as well as staff screening testing which is required by New York State. We also discussed the ongoing Capital Project and all the benefits that are to come as a result of this work. Additionally, parents discussed different topics prompted by questions as well as sharing best practices and ways the District can best support their activities.
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Instructional Training: We welcomed Jim Knight, a nationally known speaker, author, trainer, and professional development coordinator, who led workshops throughout the week. Our Instructional Support Specialists, Teacher Mentors, instructional leaders, and school administrators participated in trainings that focused on instructional coaching and the "impact cycle," which creates a framework for continuous improvement and academic progress. Attendees will now be able to turnkey these strategies for teachers throughout the District. This is one of many initiatives driven by the Ken-Ton Forward.
10-DIGIT DIALING REMINDER:
A change will soon take effect which will impact the way everyone makes telephone calls. Beginning Sunday, October 24th, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will require “10-digit dialing” throughout the 716 area code (among others). This means we will need to include the "716" any time we make a call to someone within the 716 area code. Your phone service provider will no longer connect the call if the "716" is missing. For example, in order to call the Ken-Ton School District, you will need to dial 716-874-8400. If you dial 874-8400, the call will not be placed. You can find more information about this change at the following link:
It is important that everyone is prepared for this transition. For anyone with a cell phone, you are strongly encouraged to go through your contacts and add "716" to any numbers that are missing it.
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NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH |
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Today we celebrate Sylvia Mendez, who was at the forefront of school desegregation almost a decade before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case.
Ms. Mendez's parents emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico and Puerto Rico. She was born in 1936 and grew up in the small city of Westminster, CA near Los Angeles. Schools were segregated for Hispanic Americans at the time. The school Sylvia attended, along with other Hispanic-American children in the neighborhood, was a two-room wooden shack. Meanwhile, white students attended the 17th Street Elementary School, a large brick and concrete building with significantly more educational resources and opportunities.
In 1943, Sylvia's family sought for her and her younger brothers to enroll at 17th Street Elementary, but school officials denied their request because of the color of their skin and their Mexican surname. Her parents took action and joined with others to file a lawsuit on behalf of Hispanic-American children in the district. In the Mendez v. Westminster case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit prohibited these schools from denying entry to Hispanic Americans. On January 19, 1948, Ms. Medez was finally allowed to attend the 17th Street Elementary School, thus becoming the first Hispanic American child to attend an all-white school in California.
Ms. Mendez, who faced discrimination throughout her time at the school, went on to become a nurse and currently lives only a short distance away from the school she once attended. The case set a precedent for ending segregation in the U.S. Thurgood Marshall, who would later become a Supreme Court Justice, was one of the lead attorneys for the case and he would use the same arguments a few years later in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case which finally ended segregation in schools.
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RECOGNITION: DOMINIC BURGIO |
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Over the weekend, a teacher in the Cassadaga Valley School District traveled more than an hour to visit the Teacher’s Desk in Buffalo in order to acquire school supplies for her classroom. She became lost after her cell phone died but was able to find help from one of our own bus drivers: Dominic Burgio. Mr. Burgio was aboard his bus after transporting the Kenmore East Boys Volleyball team to City Honors for a tournament. She parked her car nearby and asked him for help. Mr. Burgio went out of his way to make sure she knew exactly where she was and how to get to her destination.
She was so moved by Mr. Burgio’s assistance that she reached out to the District offices to express her appreciation earlier this week. Mr. Burgio, who has been a driver for the District since 2019, is a prime example of the Ken-Ton spirit of helping those in need. We often don’t realize the impact we have on others so this is a great reminder that the smallest good deeds can have a profound impact and we can always make a positive difference!
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Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!
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