Weekly Update from the Office of the Superintendent
Video Update: https://youtu.be/ydDYGdHU2yk
In this week’s video update, I am joined by Michael Muscarella, Director of Elementary Education, who provided an update on plans for the elementary school hybrid phase-in and fully virtual instruction. You can find the video here:

https://youtu.be/ydDYGdHU2yk

As was discussed last week, concerns surfaced over the developmental appropriateness of instructing both in-person and virtual primary students simultaneously. At younger grade levels, it becomes more and more difficult to attempt to teach students who are physically in the classroom at the same time as those who are learning remotely from home. Feedback from teachers and families showed us that our youngest students will need more individualized attention as their management needs compete with their learning needs.

Last week, we let parents of our fully virtual students know that these students will be assigned a new teacher for Math and ELA instruction. The past two weeks, our administrators and teachers have been working hard to further refine our planning and enhance our instructional model so that all students, hybrid and virtual, will have the opportunity for dedicated learning time that meets their developmental needs. We sought to provide a way for our elementary school students to maintain a connection with their current, original classroom teacher, so that they can return to the in-person classroom environment at any point during the year. We are now able to communicate the following:

  • For fully virtual students, Math/ELA instruction will be delivered by dedicated Math/ELA specialists.
  • Gr. K-1 fully virtual students will begin with the new Math/ELA teachers on Oct. 13. Gr. 2-4 fully virtual students will begin with the new Math/ELA teachers on Nov. 16.
  • Fully virtual students will stay connected with their original teacher each day for a morning meeting.
  • Fully virtual students can return to in-person (hybrid) instruction at any point and will return to their original teacher. (Hybrid students can't return to fully virtual instruction.)
  • Hybrid students will attend school either Monday and Tuesday, or Thursday and Friday. Wednesdays will consist of a remote morning meeting and literacy lesson followed by asynchronous learning. The other two days will consist of asynchronous instruction.
  • Phase-in date for Gr. K-1 and self-contained special education classes: Oct. 13; phase-in date for Gr. 2-4: Nov. 16.

Letters will be sent to families electronically and will be mailed to families detailing these modifications that will be made to the learning models. Parents will also be receiving specific scheduling information and communications from their Math and ELA teachers next week.

Mask Update:

The District has received new guidance from the CDC related to the masks that are allowable and/or recommended. Previously, the District had shared that unacceptable face coverings were ones with a valve that would easily allow air to move in and out of the mask without a filter. The CDC has recently shared its caution with the use of gaiters as a reliable face covering due to a lack of testing and/or evidence that they adequately protect against the spread of COVID-19. For this reason, the District will not allow the use of gaiters, bandanas, or face coverings with a valve by students or staff.
RECOGNITIONS
This is a new section of the Ken-Ton Weekly Connection to recognize the outstanding work of the Ken-Ton School District staff. In each edition, I plan to highlight one individual or group of individuals in addition to those who are recognized at our Board of Education meetings. Occasionally, we may highlight multiple individuals.
Gina Santa Maria & Matthew Chimera

The Erie County Association of School Boards recognized two dedicated individuals from the Ken-Ton School District: Gina Santa Maria, District Clerk and Assistant to the Superintendent, and Board of Education President Matthew Chimera.

This was the first year that ECASB recognized district clerks in its annual awards program. Gina was honored not only for her work in Ken-Ton but also her work to establish a local training program for district clerks in Western New York. From the Awards Program:

“Gina Santa Maria has served as the District for the Ken-Ton Central School Dis­trict for 6 years and has served in the district for almost 11 years. Prior to serving at the District office, Gina was the secretary to the Middle School Principal in the Amherst CSD for 17 years. Gina was instrumental in helping to develop the ECASB District Clerk initiative this past year. Gina has stream­lined Board meetings, integrated Board Docs, helped to improve public ac­cess, and under Gina's watch helped the district be recognized as an exem­plar for openness, transparency and public access to information by the Buffalo Niagara Coalition on Open Government. Gina has participated in numerous professional development and training opportunities for school districts in the state.”

President Chimera was among five Western New York Board of Education members who was recognized with the ECASB Rising Star Award. This award is presented annually to Board of Education members who have demonstrated ongoing learning, commitment, and service. President Chimera is in his second year on the Board of Education and his first year as Board of Education President. President Chimera had a long and successful history as the Kenmore West High School Softball Coach and was one of the founders of the Ken-Ton School District Big Picture Program, where he taught for seven years prior to his retirement.

Congratulations to both Gina Santa Maria and President Matthew Chimera for their well-deserved recognitions.
Deby Eppolito, Christopher Galik, Bill Steffen, Bruce Zeller, Michael Shovlin, Brandon Chiarmonte, Colleen McGroder, Scott Guagliano, Lynn Taylor, and Kelly White.
Technology Department & School Support Specialists for Technology

This week, we wish to recognize the work of our outstanding Technology Department, which has been working around the clock since August to support the launch of remote learning and prepare for the phase-in of our hybrid model of instruction. First, they prepared and distributed thousands of Chromebooks and iPads for students in need of a device for remote learning. They provided technology support for hundreds of teachers to help them prepare their classrooms for the first day of school and transition to remote learning. They also have been providing non-stop technology support for students and families encountering issues at home.

The team, led by Interim Director of Technology Deby Eppolito and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Student Services Kelly White, consists of technicians and technology specialists Brandon Chiarmonte, Christopher Galik, Scott Guagliano, Colleen McGroder, Michael Shovlin, Bill Steffen, Bruce Zeller, and account clerk typist Lynn Taylor, with support from Erie 1 BOCES.

The Technology Department is joined by our Instructional Support Specialists for Technology: Joi Chimera, Philip Jarosz, David Rogalski, and Kerry Smith. They assist all Ken-Ton School District teachers in utilizing the latest technology and applications in classroom instruction. They helped Ken-Ton teachers successfully transition to fully remote learning. They also continue to inspire innovations in teaching and learning through their leadership and training.

We sincerely appreciate the efforts and dedication of this entire team.
Elementary School Leadership

Finally, I’d like to recognize the outstanding work of our elementary schools which did a phenomenal job welcoming back so many of our kindergarten and first-grade students and self-contained special education classes for orientation on Wednesday. Students had the opportunity to meet their teacher and learn about all of the different safety protocols and procedures they will be following as we phase in a hybrid schedule for these classes on Oct. 13.

The school leadership teams did an amazing job guiding their staff as new procedures were developed and implemented to help our students and staff stay healthy and safe as students return to in-person instruction. It was wonderful to see the students so excited to return to school after six months and adapt to this new environment. When asked what made Wednesday so memorable, here is what our elementary school principals had to share:

Edison Elementary Principal David King:
"The opening excitement in the air from both adults and children quickly transferred into wonderful first day classroom experiences built on the renewed connection of teacher and child."

Franklin Elementary Principal Kia Evans:
"The tremendous amount of collegiality - my entire team rallied around those who were bringing children back first and jumped right in to support their colleagues. I was humbled by their selflessness."

Holmes Elementary Principal Matthew Raines:
"The building became alive - the excitement was in the air and the children's smiles were so big, they could be seen through every mask."

Hoover Elementary Principal Michael Huff:
"It truly takes a village and the strength of the Hoover Community was on display as we brought students in for orientation. #HooverStrong!"

Lindbergh Elementary Principal Ann Maccagnano:
"To see the smiling faces of the Lindbergh students excited about being in school. I even had staff members jumping for joy that we were open for business."

Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!

For previous editions of the Ken-Ton Weekly Connection, visit www.ktufsd.org/connection