Press release:
These are the highlights from the Batavia City School District (BCSD) Board of
Education meeting on Monday, April 16:
Superintendent of Schools Margaret Puzio announced that the consolidation and consequent reorganization of the district has been going smoothly due to the cooperation of the Batavia Teachers Association, staff and administrators.
Space and scheduling configurations are largely complete, and staffing will be complete within the next several days. Transportation issues are still being worked out and transition activities for staff and for students will be planned soon.
The actual numbers for state aid for the 2012-2013 school year have been finalized, and are higher than what was predicted when the district’s proposed 2012-2013 spending plan and ensuing tax levy were calculated and approved.
With the new numbers figured into the spending plan, Puzio reported a surplus of approximately $420,000. Her recommendation to the board, which it approved, was to balance immediate relief for taxpayers with caution for the still-uncertain future by applying $90,000 to bringing the tax levy down froman approximate 2.5-percent* increase to a 1.99-percent increase.
The balance of the surplus would go into an unappropriated fund so it can be applied to next year’s budget to offset anticipated increases in expenses as well as the possibility of reduced revenue/aid.
*As mentioned in previous reports and news articles, the tax cap legislation is often referred to as a 2-percent tax cap, when in reality, the “2 percent” figure is only one of the factors used in an eight-step calculation to determine each school district's and municipality's allowable tax levy increase that requires simple majority approval.
Anything over that allowable limit or threshold requires a super majority (60 percent) voter approval to pass. The Batavia City School District’s tax cap threshold for the 2012-2013 school year is 2.59 percent; any higher increase requires a super majority of voter approval.
School Safety Excellence Award
The Batavia City School District is one of 112 school districts and Board of Cooperative Educational Services in the state to receive the 2012 School Safety Excellence Award from the Utica National Insurance Group. The district received a certificate and a $500 award for use in furthering its safety efforts.
Utica National's School Safety Excellence Award Program helps participating schools enhance overall safety through measurable self-assessment in categories ranging from a bullying prevention program, to school playground safety, to indoor air quality.
Data Helps Drive Instruction
Crediting a book study on "Driven by Data: A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction" (by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo) that was introduced by the superintendent to the administrative team, John Kennedy Elementary Principal Paul Kesler explained the benefits of data-driven instruction as well as how it is being implemented more thoroughly in the district.
Using the analogy of a weight-loss plan, Kesler pointed out that oftentimes people are aware of their starting point or challenge and know their end goal, but do not necessarily have clear, systematic intermediate steps that enable them to reach their goal effectively and efficiently. In schools, with the goal being improved learning and student mastery of skills, the book outlines, like a good weight-loss plan, a research-proven framework as a model for training teachers to use student data as an impetus for instructional evaluation and change.
He outlined four keys in support of data-driven instruction: assessments, analysis, action, and creating/sustaining a data-driven culture. Assessments include regular and periodic formal testing that checks student proficiency on meeting learning standards. Analysis is teacher-owned and timely in order to identify concepts of limited understanding and/or individual students who are struggling then generate possible solutions.
Action plans are developed which are targeted, specific, ongoing and measurable in a set period of time. The data-driven culture, which is both created by and supports this process, includes an active leadership team, which provides an introduction, ongoing guidance, and the provision of a realistic yet flexible timetable for completing the steps, and the accountability and support for doing so.
School-to-Work is Working for Students
Jillian Thomas, BHS business teacher and K-12 School-to-Work coordinator, provided an update on the School-to-Work program, which included:
* The 13th annual Make a Difference Day, held on Oct. 12, 2011, included 179 BHS students volunteering to share their time and talents at 22 non-profit organizations;
* In Work-based Learning 18 job shadows have been completed and five are currently in progress for students who have researched careers in Business/Technology in teacher Eileen Ognibene’s Careers and Financial Management class.
* Career-related field trips this year have included:
- Career Opportunity Days at GCC for 20 BHS students;
- DNA Extraction and Amplification at University of Rochester for 16 AP Biology students;
- Bacterial Transformation at University of Rochester for 16 AP Biology students;
- Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union tour and interviews for BMS and BHS students;
- Genesee Valley Educational Partnership Cosmetology Program for fifth-graders from Jackson Elementary School.
* This year, the Junior Achievement program is host to 14 community volunteers who are in 25 classrooms in all five buildings:
- four kindergarten classes using the JA program, Ourselve
- five first-grade classes using the JA program, Our Families
- eight second-grade classes using the JA program, Our Community
- two third-grade classes using the JA program, Our City
- one fourth-grade class using the JA program, Our Region
- three fifth-grade classes using the JA program, Our Nation
- one seventh-grade class using the JA program, It’s My Business
- one high school class using the JA program, Be Entrepreneurial
* The 2011 Genesee County BEA (Business Education Alliance) Summer Camps included:
- Eight students participating in the Veterinarian and Animal Sciences Camp;
- Seven students participating in the Culinary Camp;
- Two students participating in the MASH Camp (Medical Academy of Science and Health);
- Eight students participating in the MST Camp (Math, Science and Technology);
Looking ahead to the summer of 2012, the BEA is adding an Aviation Adventure Camp.
Genesee County Business Education Alliance
Bill Hayes, Business Education Alliance (BEA) board member for nearly 20 years, provided an overview of BEA activities that exemplify and support its stated mission to “foster apartnership between business and education and to assist students to prepare for the world of work.”
Through itsinitiatives and programs, the BEA helps schools meet NYS Learning Standards, facilitates connections and coordinates services between schools and businesses, and helps provide students with opportunities to explore career and job opportunities in the region.
Some of its activities include Junior Achievement, mock interviews, job shadowing, teacher site visits, student site visits, career speakers, career fairs, summer career camps, internships, class projects that mimic real-life business interactions, and assistance to school counselors seeking specific career or employment opportunities for students.
Superintendent Puzio told the board that for the past four years the level of programming continually improves and expands.
Students Earn Trip
High School special education teacher Lorrie Gammack and a group of students enrolled in her Students Working and Transitioning (SWAT) course requested approval for a class overnight trip to a state park.
Gammack explained how students in SWAT -- a program designed to help
special needs students transition from high school into the world of work -- have been building job skills during their high school years by helping in the school’s main office, working at various job sites in the community, and operating a school-based recycling program that has earned some money for the group
Earlier this year, they reinvested their earnings from recycling by buying and raising poinsettias then selling them for a small profit, the proceeds from which will go to their overnight trip.
In addition to the trip serving as a reward for their hard work, Gammack noted that planned studies and activities at the park will support learning standards related to science, math, English language arts, and health/physical education. It will also provide an opportunity for practicing life and social skills in a less structured environment. The trip was approved.
Policy Manual
Superintendent Puzio reported that hundreds of district policies have been reviewed and revised and will now be reviewed by the district’s policy service. The goal is to have the revisions approved by the board by the end of the summer.
