education

Submitted by a reader:

In the basement of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Le Roy, parents and committee members heard the words everyone was praying for, “Holy Family will remain open for the 2012-2013 school year.” This announcement came  from the Diocese of Buffalo after word that the merger proposed with St. Joseph’s in Batavia had been rejected.

This good news comes with a catch though -- all benchmark goals previously set by the diocese still need to be reached.

“Every 10 students cost the school around $20,000,” Fr. Rock said, “every enrolled student lessens the financial burden of the school and, therefore, the parents.”

Benchmark goals include enrolling 120 students and raising $120,000 by June 2012. Enrollment goals include re-enrolling the 90 current K-7 students so parents are encouraged to make their commitment sooner than later.

An Enrollment and Marketing Committee has been established by a group of parents, professionals and supporters of HFS who plan to kick off the enrollment campaign this January.

A Finance Committee has also been created to manage donations and assist with tuition and financial aid.

“We need the donations and the tuition to run the school, but it is important for parents to know no student is turned away for the inability to pay,” said Dane Sprague, co-chair of the Finance Committee. "There is always a way and we will find it."

Sprague also reminded supporters to encourage donations of all sizes as no donation is too small. The school is launching a new website which will be live on the first day of Catholic Schools Week in January.

It is expected to have many more user-friendly features including the ability to make a quick and secure donation online. Until then, Holy Family School is asking those willing to donate to send gifts to HFS with attention to Denise Spadaccia, the school’s bookkeeper.

“Now is the time to donate and enroll, with confidence,” said Lindsay Warner, 1995 alumni and committee volunteer. "Holy Family School has been serving the Le Roy community and surrounding areas since 1889 and has proven tonight that she will continue to do so."

Press release:

Bergen, NY -- During a special meeting of the Byron-Bergen Board of Education on Saturday morning, Dec. 10, Casey Kosiorek, of LeRoy, was unanimously appointed as superintendent of schools, effective Jan. 9, 2012.

Kosiorek attended the meeting with his family and signed a three and one-half year contract.

“We are delighted to welcome Mr. Kosiorek to the Byron-Bergen learning community, and we look forward to a long and productive working relationship with him,” said Board President Ernie Haywood.

Currently, Kosiorek is Wolcott Street School principal in the Le Roy Central School District. Prior to his appointment as principal in July 2007, he served as the school’s assistant principal. He also spent nine years as a physical education and health teacher with the Royalton-Hartland Schools in Middleport.

Kosiorek is a graduate of Batavia High School. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Canisius College and a Certificate of Advanced Study in educational leadership from SUNY Brockport. He also completed the Transition to Superintendency program through the Educational Leadership Institute at SUNY Oswego.

Under Kosiorek’s leadership, the Wolcott Street School has received honorable mention as a New York State “School of Character” and was nationally recognized by the Character Education Partnership as a school of Best Character Education practices.

Earlier this year, Kosiorek was named Elementary Level Administrator of the Year for Region 12 of the School Administrators Association of New York State.

The search for a superintendent has been a time-consuming process for board of education members but well worth the effort, according to Haywood.

“We wanted someone with the capacity to forge strong partnerships and to focus the district’s efforts on higher levels of success, and we are confident Mr. Kosiorek is the right person.”

“Mr. Kosiorek’s experience with the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and his commitment to using data to drive instructional practice, in particular, were consistent with current areas of emphasis at Byron-Bergen,” Haywood added. “We feel fortunate to have had excellent candidates to interview, but Mr. Kosiorek is a great fit.”

Press release:

First as a student and now as a faculty member, Patty Page has been making a difference in the lives of Holy Family School students in Le Roy for the past 23 years. A 1965 graduate of the school located in eastern Genesee County, Page will receive the “Sister Lucille Socciarelli - Father John Sturm Making a Difference Award” on Jan. 26 at the annual dinner that raises funds for needs-based tuition assistance for students attending Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Buffalo.

In his letter of nomination, Holy Family School Principal Kevin Robertson wrote, “Patty is a very spiritual person and shares her great sense of responsibility with her students and coworkers every day. Patty’s second-graders leave her classroom at the end of each school year with knowledge of Jesus, His many teachings, the saints and the essential values of being a caring and honest person.”

Father Michael Rock, OdeM, canonical administrator of the school, said that for Page, teaching is a true vocation and call to ministry.

“In everything she does, she is not only an exceptional professional but she has the compassion and gentleness of a true Christian,” Rock said.

The award that Page will receive at the “Making a Difference Dinner – A Celebration of Catholic Schools,” was originated in 2000 by the late Tim Russert of NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The South Buffalo native was inspired by two religious mentors, Sister Lucille Socciarelli, RSM, who taught him at St. Bonaventure School in West Seneca, and Father John Sturm, SJ, dean of discipline at Canisius High School in Buffalo.

Following Russert’s death in 2008, the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo decided to continue the award on Russert’s behalf.  Since the 2009 dinner, Russert’s son, Luke, has introduced the honoree via videotape from the NBC News set in Washington, D.C. The practice will continue at next month’s dinner.

Lead sponsors of the dinner are the William E. & Ann L. Swan Foundation and Restonic – Tom and Jean Comer. Platinum sponsors are the Mazurkiewicz Family and Mrs. Arthur J. Schaefer, Lawley, John and Betsy Sullivan, and Richard and Karen Penfold.

Tribute sponsors are KeyBank, Jake and Katie Schneider, Steve and Kellie Ulrich, M&T Bank, Pratt Collard Advisory Partners, LLC, and The Kenneth L. & Katherine G. Koessler Foundation, Canisius High School, Dietrich Law Firm, Personal Touch Food Service, Phillips Lytle, Franchise Technologies, Catholic Health, St. Mark Parish and School, and Dave and Mary Pietrowski.

For sponsorship and ticket information, contact Susan Burns, coordinator of Special Events, at 716-847-8373 or sburns@buffalodiocese.org.

Submitted by Batavia City Schools:

Highlights from the Batavia City School District Board of Education meeting on Dec. 5, 2011, include the following:

Explanation of the district policy about holidays

Superintendent Margaret Puzio reported that many questions have been asked about our district’s policy on celebrating Christmas. In response, she wrote a short explanation to post on the website along with copies of the actual board of education/district policies that pertain to the topic. For the link to that full message, copy/paste this into your address bar: http://www.bataviacsd.org/news.cfm?story=832&school=0

Enjoy holiday concerts!

In addition to praising last week’s Winter Concert performances by the Morris Chorus under the direction of Mrs. Lisa Gilebarto, and the Jackson Chorus under the direction of Ms. Robin Crowden, Superintendent Puzio encouraged all to attend upcoming concerts around the district.

Click on the headline above to read more: 

* Thursday, Dec. 8, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The Batavia High School Winter Concert includes performances by the BHS band under the direction of Ms. Jane Haggett, the BHS orchestra under the direction of Mr. Gilbert Pease, and the BHS women's chorus and Select Chorus under the direction of Mr. Daniel Grillo.

* Tuesday, Dec. 13, from 7 to 8 p.m.

The John Kennedy Chorus Winter Concert
 features the John Kennedy Chorus, under the direction of Mr. Jeff Langdon.

* Tuesday, Dec. 20, from 7 to 8:15 p.m.

The Batavia Middle School Winter Concert includes performances by the BMS band under the direction of Ms. Jane Haggett, the BMS orchestra under the direction of Mr. Gilbert Pease, and the BMS girls chorus and Mixed Chorus under the direction of Mr. Daniel Grillo.

* Wednesday, Dec. 21, from 7 to 8 p.m.

At the Batavia Middle School Auditorium, the Sixth-grade Chorus/Advanced Band Winter Concert 
includes performances by the BMS sixth-grade chorus under the direction of Mr. Daniel Grillo, and the Batavia Advanced Band under the direction of Mrs. Dawn Mark.

Batavia High News Ex-officio Student Board Member Taylor Harkness reported that:

• The boys’ JV and varsity teams won their respective tournaments in Olean this past weekend (12/2 and12/3). In addition, Justin Washington was named tournament MVP, and Jalen Smith and Tommy Prospero were named to the all-tournament team.
• The BHS chapter of the National Honor Society is supporting the Salvation Army’s effort to supply warm, clean, usable coats for those in need by asking all to drop off old coats at the BHS learning center by Friday, Dec. 16. The NHS members will deliver them to the Salvation Army.
• Also at the high school, the Z-Club has placed a donation box in the BHS main office for those wishing to donate toys and lightly loved stuffed animals for the Toys for Tots drive for Galisano Hospital. The box will remain in the office until Dec. 9.
• The senior class Vendor Blender was a success, and that auditions will soon be starting for the BHS production of "Guys and Dolls."

Batavia Middle School Update

The number of schools identified by New York State as “in need of improvement” jumped from 99 in 2010-2011 to 847 in 2011-2012. A significant explanation for the jump is federal pressure on the state to increase academic expectations and performance of students.

Principal Sandy Griffin and Assistant Principal Tim McArdle presented information about the Batavia Middle School’s move from recently being named a “High Peforming Gap-closing School” in annual rankings by the NYS Education Department to being identified as a “School In Need of Improvement” (SINI) by the State.

The noted increase in expectations has (made it) less predictable than in the past and (there are) higher cut points for proficiency -- so from Year A to Year B, students had to have a higher grade in order to be considered proficient.

But while the bar has risen quickly, the fact that the bar has been raised is a good thing. Mrs. Griffin and Mr. McArdle, viewing the SINI status as a gateway to future success, have been working hard with the rest of the staff on developing and strengthening school-wide initiatives that emphasize implementation of the Common Core State Standards, higher-order thinking skills, and literacy skills, including writing about information text.

For this school-wide push toward increased rigor and advanced learning, they are utilizing a three-pronged approach that includes faculty collaboration, emphasizes continual assessment of teaching methods and measured results to improve instruction, plus increases in personalized instruction.

The results thus far have been encouraging and Mrs. Griffin and Mr. McArdle expect that the academic benefits students are reaping from these initiatives will be reflected in increased assessment scores and increased preparedness for the 21st Century.

Financial Summary Report for October 2011

Business Administrator Scott Rozanski reported on the October 2011 revenue and expenses for the district, reviewing them in comparison to the October 2010 figures.

Total recorded revenues were up by slightly more than $1,090,000, or 5.3 percent, primarily due to a $706,000 or 4.13 percent increase in the tax levy. Two other revenue categories also contributed to the increase: Non-property tax items (utility tax) and state and federal aid.

The utility tax, which, as previously reported, had been in decline for several school years including 2010-2011, increased by $84,900, or more than 46 percent. State and federal aid were up $324,000 or 8.4 percent over last year at the same time, primarily because of the increase in the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) payment in October. The state makes this payment on districts’ behalf as part of their annual aid, and it's therefore recorded by districts as revenue.

Expenses were down by about $959,000 or 10 percent, as compared to October 2010. Approximately half of the decrease was in the timing of payments on the GV partnership bills. In 2010-2011, there were three payments made in October whereas in this school year only two were made in October.

In addition, Mr. Rozanski highlighted adecrease of $247,000 or nearly 22 percent in Central Services. This stems from a change in our purchasing cycle and the subsequent timing of orders being processed, and in part to charges for work done to the administration building for roof repairs and repair for earthquake damages. Those expenses were initially charged to the general fund until they could be reconciled at year's end and charged to repair reserves.

UPDATED 10:45 p.m.

If you caught Channel 8 (the Fox affiliate in Rochester) newscast tonight, you might think Batavia City Schools have just declared war on Christmas.

The on-air report explicitly accused the district of "canceling Christmas."

That's not quite accurate.

The report was based on a memo provided to district personnel last week reminding them of school policy on religious expression.

The district has had such a policy for more than 20 years, according to senior district Board Member Patrick Burk.

Superintendent Margaret Puzio said the memo was nothing out of the ordinary and is something that goes out to district staff about this time every year.

The memo is based on a policy last drafted in 2001. The policy is crafted to strike a balance between the No Child Left Behind Act (ensuring a nondiscrimination policy regarding prayer in schools), and previous legal cases based on the First Amendment.

The district's board adopted a policy prohibiting sectarian religious observance, but also ensured that individual teacher and student expressions of faith are protected.

“If I want to wear a shirt that says ‘Merry Christmas,’ I can do that," said Puzio following a district board meeting Monday night.

News 8 reported on its six o'clock broadcast:

A local school district is banning the phrase "Merry Christmas." Parents in Batavia are outraged about the new policy, which also prohibits Christmas and Hanukkah decoration in the classroom.

Parents were not notified about the new policy. 

The story quotes one parent, Lucy Hudson, and claims several teachers were upset about the policy.

When The Batavian spoke to teachers Monday evening, the teachers waiting for the school board meeting to start said they were previously aware of the policy, but thought the recent memo was meant to reinforce the religiously neutral requirements.

Prior to Monday night's school board meeting, Puzio provided The Batavian with the 10-year-old policy, and said she would speak with The Batavian after the meeting (the original version of this story was posted prior to that interview).

The policy states any school activity should neither advance nor inhibit religion, and that students should be afforded the opportunity to learn about cultural and religious traditions, respecting the beliefs of all students.

Music at a school or public event, for example, should teach musical concepts, to convey historical and cultural content or to create aesthetic experience in a setting that emphasizes artistic expression and educational value, not to promote or celebrate a religious faith.

The policy requires that the district "vigorously publicize and disseminate" the policy.

An attached, undated memo, provides further clarification on teaching religion in schools.

It reads:

"Religious symbols, such as Christmas trees, angels, menorahs, etc., should only be used as part of a unit of instruction on various world religions, not as decoration in the classroom or school. Remember, students have the right to wear religious symbols as an expression of their faith, but should not be obligated to do so."

In a section dealing with schoolwide or public events, the memo reads:

"Expressions related to specific religions, e.g., 'Merry Christmas,' should not be included in any spoken or written remarks."

Puzio explained that doesn't prevent a teacher in a private conversation with a student whom the teacher knows celebrates Christmas from saying, "Merry Christmas."

A teacher can also wear, for example, a cross on his or her lapel. 

Personal expressions of faith are protected, but the district wants to be careful from appearing, as a government entity, to be endorsing any particular religion, Puzio explained.

“For me to stand up in front of the whole group and say, ‘Merry Christmas,’ is almost like the school district putting Christmas before everything else," Puzio said.

News 8's Deanna King, a current Town of Batavia resident who mentioned in the report that she attended Batavia schools, said she sat outside Puzio's office for nearly two hours trying to get a comment from the superintendent.

Asked about making a reporter wait outside of her office, Puzio said, "It was a heck of a day.

"We had several very, very serious student issues today," Puzio said. "I was dealing with those issues, and I had to prepare for a board meeting."

After a little conversation with a board member, Puzio added, "I just really didn’t have time today. It isn’t always a matter of saying, ‘I can see the press.’ I have to prioritize, especially as it relates to students and families who have serious issues. You just can’t say, ‘Gee, I’m going to set aside this mom who really needs to talk with me about a serious issue because I want to talk to Channel 8.”

By 10:45 p.m., Monday, News 8 had modified some portions of its online report, but was sticking to the essence of its story.

UPDATE 7:12 a.m., Tuesday: News 8 reporter Deanna King sent over the following statement:

I would like to clarify a few points to my story you may have missed. Ms. Puzio confirmed that her memo was sent to each school principal and was meant to be "talking points" during a faculty meeting. I can assure you she did in fact say it "wasn't meant for public viewing" during our phone conversation. As a journalist, I would never report something that was not true. I have been in this business for over 10 years. I'm sure you have seen her memo and recognized that it differs from the actual policy. I quoted directly from the memo. Also, although the policy is not new how the district is enforcing it seems to be. I recall being at my son's Christmas concert last year and hearing the director say "Merry Christmas!" Ms. Puzio told me teachers can say "Merry Christmas" if they "are sure everybody in the room celebrates." There is also a change in the room decoration policy. Over the past 5 years I  have volunteered at several holiday parties in the district where teachers displayed decorations and it wasn't an issue.

I was notified of this controversy after several schools held meetings to address frustrations of staff members. I understand you often give your opinion on the site. I do not. I was attempting to give a fair report, but was denied by the superintendent after several requests. We offered to wait for her to finish her important business. I would not expect anyone to put an interview before the needs of a child. My photographer made a final attempt before the board meeting, but was told she wouldn't comment.

News 8 has high standards and I can assure you we confirm everything before we report it. Keep up the good work covering the news in this neck of the woods! Thank you.

Press release:

The Genesee County Aces Robotics Team participated at the Finger Lakes First Lego League Buffalo Qualifier competition on Saturday at the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School and won first place for Robot Performance.

They will now advance to the Finger Lakes Regional competition at the University of Rochester on Dec. 3. The winner selected at that competition will go on to participate at the World Festival in Missouri, which is an international competition.

The theme of this year’s challenge was food safety. The robots are made entirely of LEGOS and are programmed to interact with devices made of LEGOS on a table. The teams also had to research a food-contamination problem, develop a solution, and present their work to a panel of judges.

Pictured from left are: Trevor Zauner, Quinton Tarbell, Colton Tarbell (team assistant), Jomni Tarbell, Lukas Johnson and Clayton Fox.

(Submitted photo)

From Kevin Keenen, director of communications, Catholic Diocese of Buffalo:

Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, bishop of Buffalo, has delayed any decision until next March. He wants the local community to come together and see if they can increase enrollment and raise the necessary funds to keep HFS open for the long term. This will require significant time, effort, increased enrollment and financial sponsorship by the Le Roy community and surrounding areas. Father Michael Rock, canonical administrator of the school, has called a meeting for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29 in the Holy Family School gymnasium to rally the community to action.

While a final decision will not be made until March 1, 2012, we must continue to plan for the possible merger of the two schools. The bishop will not make a final decision until the local community has acted on this opportunity.

Make no mistake about it: this is a clarion call for the HFS community to develop a realistic plan that will not only increase enrollment, but also place the school on solid financial footing for many years to come.

It is now up to the community to take action to make significant, long-term financial commitments to build Holy Family School into a stable, growing Catholic elementary school. We pray that their efforts will succeed and the end result with be even greater Catholic identity in the classroom, stronger academic programs and exciting new opportunities in the years to come for Catholic elementary school students in Le Roy, Genesee County and beyond.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) is voicing his opposition to cuts in state funding to the least-wealthy school districts, the bulk of which are located in Western New York.

Recent analysis from The Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) shows that per-pupil support for students in economically disadvantaged areas has been disproportionately reduced relative to more affluent districts in the last two years. The assemblyman recently issued a letter to school superintendents statewide seeking their input on how to best provide equitable education aid regardless of geographic location.

“We cannot allow Western New York’s students to suffer while out-of-touch politicians siphon crucial education funding downstate,” Hawley said. “Less-wealthy districts have a smaller tax base than affluent areas, which means they rely on state support more than anyone else.

"To see so many Western New York school districts bearing the brunt of the pain while the wealthiest areas keep raking in state support is both baffling and appalling. I will continue working with the governor and the legislature to make sure Western New York’s children get their fair share.”

AQE crafted a formula to calculate “community wealth ratios” based on personal income and property wealth. Nearly all of the schools in nearby counties fell into the “poor” or “poorest” categories. The report can be found at http://www.aqeny.org/back-to-inequality-how-students-in-poor-school-districts-pay-the-price/.

At the invitation of Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, Sen. John Flanagan was in Genesee County on Thursday to meet with local education leaders to discuss school funding.

In a press briefing after the meeting at Genesee Community College, Ranzenhofer and Flanagan said the focus of the discussion was on the inequality of state aid among districts statewide.

"Our obligation is to find some plan that is equitable," said Flanagan, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "I will tell you flat out that coming here, working with Senator Ranzenhofer regularly, even before coming here, you get a much clearer picture about the stark realities in this area."

The lack of equitable funding often means that Upstate and rural school districts are not able to offer some of the programs that help lead to admission into better colleges.

"There is a growing divide between the haves and have-nots," said Michael Glover, district superintendent for the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership. "We've actually watched our schools and the kids who attend them fall further and further behind."

Flanagan said one of the goals coming out of meetings such as today's is to craft a budget plan to present to the governor.

"Hopefully, we can get him on board early in the process," Flanagan said.

Genesee County's two Catholic elementary schools are apparently planning a merger, according to a letter sent home to parents.

The letter obtained by The Batavian was sent to parents of children at St. Joe's in Batavia and Holy Family in Le Roy. It states:

Local leadership has agreed that the schools will reconfigure next September for the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. Following a thorough analysis of several reconfigurations, the model emerging as one of the favorites: Pre-K to 8 and an after-school programs at the current St. Joseph School site; Pre-K and an after-school program at current Holy Family site.

The letter states that a name has not yet been selected for the reconfigured school.

The letter is signed by Kevin Robertson, principal of Holy Family, and Karen Green, principal of St. Joseph School.

The reason for the merger, according to the letter, is driven a lot by the declining elementary school population in Genesee County.

The number dropped by 7 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the letter.

"We need to meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of all of our parishioners," the letter says. "That requires a more equitable distribution of parish income."

Discussions among local leaders began in the early fall, according to the letter, which invites parents to provide feedback on various options for curricula and programs in the reconfigured school.

Minutes from Batavia City School Board of Education meeting for Nov. 1:

New Board Member
The board received five applications for the Board of Education seat which became available Nov. 1, 2011, due to the resignation of Andrew Pedro. After reviewing applications and meeting with each applicant, the board voted to have Phil Ricci serve the remainder of Mr. Pedro’s term, through June 30, 2012. Mr. Ricci was sworn in at the beginning of the meeting.

Mr. Ricci brings his experience as a branch manager with Bank of America as well as a demonstrated commitment to community involvement. He is president of the city of Batavia Youth Board, a long-standing member of the City of Batavia School District State Audit Committee, and served on the Batavia School District Board of Education from 2005-2007. He and his wife, Laura, have three children - one infant and two who attend Robert Morris Elementary.

Click on the headline to read more.

New Evaluation Procedure for Teachers and Principals
Robert Morris Principal Diane Bonarigo and Batavia High School Principal Christopher Dailey presented a pilot proposal in response to the new legislation regarding the observations/evaluations of teachers.

Superintendent of Schools Margaret Puzio had reported on this legislation to the board last fall, after attending a regional workshop on the topic. Some of the information covered at that time included:
•       Chapter 103 of the Laws of 2010 added a new section (3012-c) to the Education Law regarding annual professional performance reviews of all classroom teachers and building principals.
•       The new law applies first to all evaluations conducted by school districts on or after July 1, 2011, of teachers of “common branch subjects” (any or all of the subjects usually included in the daily program of an elementary school classroom) or English language arts or mathematics in grades four to eight, and principals employing such teachers.
•       By July 1, 2012, the process will be phased in for all classroom teachers and principals conducted by school districts or BOCES.
•       The new section of the law builds on current performance reviews, as opposed to replacing them.
•       The evaluations are intended to be a significant factor for employment decisions including but not limited to promotion, retention, tenure determination and termination.
•       Performance reviews will yield a single-composite effectiveness score (1-100) that incorporates multiple measures of effectiveness.
•       The measures used for scoring include student growth data on state assessments (initially 20 percent of the score, then 25 percent); locally selected measures of student achievement (initially 20 percent of the score, then drop down to 15 percent); and locally developed and negotiated criteria (for 60 percent of the score).

Focusing on the locally determined 60-percent portion of the scoring measures, Mr. Dailey and Mrs. Bonarigo have been working in conjunction with the Batavia Teachers Association to outline the measuring points and effective methods of evaluation.

The committee has utilized ideas from the work two educational experts: Kim Marshall’s ideas as expressed in her book, "Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: How to Work Smart, Build Collaboration, and Close the Achievement Gap"; and Charlotte Danielson’s work, "Framework for Teaching, that outlines Four Domains of effectiveness."

The resulting model presented by Mr. Dailey and Mrs. Bonarigo consists of “mini-observations” with timely feedback using evaluation points taken from Danielson’s Four Domains. In other words, rather than having a lengthy, planned, formal observation of a teacher by the principal, mini-observations would be unannounced visits lasting 5-10 minutes and occurring approximately five times per year.

During a mini-observation, the principal would observe a teacher in action spontaneously, looking for level of competency (“highly effective” to “ineffective”) in three of the Four Domains of effective practice: Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. Then, within 48 hours, the principal would either provide written feedback, and/or have a conversation with the teacher to discuss that particular “snapshot” of teaching as well as invite the teacher to reflect.

Mr. Dailey and Mrs. Bonarigo highlighted several benefits to this proposal: it motivates teachers to constantly do their best; it motivates principals to regularly visit a greater number of classrooms; it is more authentic than a pre-planned observation appointment; it provides for quicker feedback that the teacher can begin using immediately; and it invites a higher level of reflection on the teacher’s part, making it more collaborative.

School Board Recognition Week
In honor of School Board Recognition Week, which runs this year from Oct. 31- Nov. 4, the Superintendent of Schools read the NYS Proclamation signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, which highlighted that “members of school boards are dedicated to children, learning and community, and devote many hours of service to elementary and secondary public education as they continually strive for improvement, excellence and progress in education. ... ”

In addition to the Governor’s general description of all school boards, Mrs. Puzio noted that she appreciates, in paricular, the time, cooperation, intelligence, enthusiasm, and dedication of the Batavia City School District Board of Education members.

During this week, a presentation about our board members can be viewed on the district’s website as well as on each school’s television monitors. Current Board of Education members include Mr. Patrick Burk, Ms. Amy Barone, Mr. Wayne Guenther (vice president), Mr. Steven Mountain, Mrs. Gail Stevens (president), Mr. Gary Stich, Mr. Phil Ricci, and Miss Taylor Harkness (student ex-officio member).

The Batavia Teachers Association, represented at the meeting by Mark Warren, made a $250 donation to the Salvation Army in the Board of Education’s name, in honor of School Board Recognition Week. The Batavia Clerical Association also made a $50 donation in the board’s name to the United Way/Salvation Army/Batavia City School District Backpack Program, which provides weekend packs of nutritious snack items for needy students.

Statewide Coalition for Mandate Relief
Superintendent Puzio presented information about Let NY Work, a coalition of nearly a dozen organizations operating in New York State which have outlined a “Common Agenda for the Common Good.” In this agenda, six mandates are targeted with specific and detailed recommendations for reform. Those six items are:
1.      Make the pension system predictable and affordable;
2.      Redefine compulsory arbitration;
3.      Reduce the costs of construction on public/private projects;
4.      When contracts expire, freeze step increases;
5.      Establish minimum health insurance contributions level for     employees and retirees;
6.      No new mandates.

Mrs. Puzio noted that mandate relief would lessen some financial burdens on school districts, allowing that money to be more effectively spent on maintaining quality education.

The diverse members of the coalition are: Associated General Contractors/New York State; The Business Council of NYS; the NYS Council of School Superintendents; New York Farm Bureau; National Federation of Independent Business; New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM); New York State Association of Realtors; NYS School Boards Association; Unshackle Upstate; Westchester County Association; and the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York.

Overnight Fieldtrip and Fundraising Committee Report
Community committee member Cheryl Kowalik addressed the board, noting her appreciation for the committee being formed and that members have met and made some useful suggestions for the board to consider. She also stated, however, that some committee members were confused as to the guidelines the board used to determine that the hockey team should not be permitted to take an overnight trip for a tournament.

Board member Amy Barone reported on the committee’s progress, noting that they have met several times to review the current official board policies for field trips and fund raising, to review the concerns about both, as well as to brainstorm ideas for how to create new policies that are responsive to the concerns.

Committee discussions about fund raising included such topics as students carrying student identification, selling door-to-door, putting limitations on fundraisers, lessening stress for parents and students, creating a centralized calendar of fundraisers, voluntary vs. mandatory participation, methods of participation, and providing parents with a standardized form that would detail the necessary information for each fund raiser. The topic of overnight trips focused on the procedure for approval and the fund-raising process.

With the ensuing discussion by board members, it was determined that there are a myriad of issues surrounding these two topics and, as one issue gets addressed, others emerge. Mrs. Puzio suggested and board members agreed that all board members will submit their concerns about both topics to board President Gail Stevens who will compile the topics and forward them to Amy Barone for the next committee meeting.

School Boards Convention
Board Member Pat Burk, who is also a Resolutions Committee member for the NYS School Boards Association (NYSSBA), attended the New York State School Boards Association’s 92nd Annual Convention and Education Expo in late October, as did Superintendent Puzio and board members Gail Stevens and Amy Barone -- along with approximately 3,000 other school board members, superintendents, and educators from across the state. In addition to informative sessions, there was much opportunity for networking as well as visiting the tradeshow that highlights various programs and projects.

Mr. Burk also stated that the top priority arising out of the State Education Department is to seek a federal waiver for No Child Left Behind, citing unrealistic expectations, and that impressive data has been collected to support a waiver for NYS. (Compliance with No Child Left Behind is tied to receiving federal funds; non-compliance is penalized by withholding of some of those funds. The waiver application process was recently introduced in recognition of the need for more flexibility in how to effectively educate all students.)

Financial Summary Report for September 2011
Business Administrator Scott Rozanski reported on the September 2011 revenue and expenses for the district, reviewing them in comparison to the September 2010 figures.

Revenues were up by $245,800, or 6.9 percent, primarily in the Non-property Tax Items category (utility tax), the Miscellaneous category, and the State and Federal Aid category. The utility tax, which had been in decline for several years including the 2010-2011 school year, increased by a very encouraging $49,000, or more than 42 percent.

The $70,300 increase in Miscellaneous revenue reflected a reimbursement from 2010-2011 expenditures that were chargeable to 2010-2011 grants and, because of the timing of the processing of the transactions, are recorded as revenue for the 2011-2012 school year.

State and federal aid were up $150,800 from last year at this time, largely because last year’s aid had been adjusted down by .67 percent as a contingency plan to offset possible losses due to reconfigured FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentages).

Recorded expenses were up by nearly $1.7 million or 40.50 percent due to the timing of transactions, as several bills that were paid last year in October, this year came due in September. For example, September 2011 had three payroll dates whereas last year, there were only two in the month. This was similarly true for the BOCES and health insurance payments, which came due in September this year, whereas in 2010, they were recorded during the month of October.

Jackson Elementary Tour
Jackson Elementary Principal Shawn Clark and Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds Jim Jacobs provided a tour of the Jackson facility. Some features of the tour included the separated parking and parent drop-offs from the bus loop that allows for safe and smooth transportation of students; the remodeled main entranceway which provides the main office staff with a clear view of who is approaching the front doors; the cafeteria and gym which were both part of recent renovations to the building; large classroom sizes; and multiple access doors to the playground.

A Le Roy elementary school principal is among the three finalists vying to become superintendent of the Byron-Bergen Central School District.

The school district announced the three finalists -- from a field of eight candidates -- who will go through a series of meetings, tours and interviews at the school this week.

The finalists are Edmund "Casey" Kosiorek, elementary principal in Le Roy; David J. Glover, superintendent, Morristown Central School District; and, Michael J. Davis, elementary principal, Webster Central School District.

In all, 27 people applied for the job.

The school board anticipates making an appointment by mid-November.

Released by the school district:

Highlights from the BCSD Board of Education meeting on Oct. 17, 2011, include the following:

One Vote Each Day Can Yield $50,000 for Music Department

Student Ex-officio Board Member Taylor Harkness reported on an opportunity for the district’s music department to win up to $50,000 by having people vote at least once each day through early November for a quartet from the district’s student ensemble, The Batavia Blue Belles.

Citing drastic cuts to education, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC, Ryan Murphy (the creator of GLEE), and the National Association for Music Education teamed up to create a music-celebrating contest to support music education to the tune of $1 million. The Blue Belles -- including members Melzie Case, Sarah DiBacco, Catherine McAllister, and Catherine Taylor, working under the direction of district vocal teacher Daniel Grillo -- entered the nationwide contest to compete for one of three Grand Prizes for $50,000 each. There are also 10 First Prizes for $25,000 each and 60 Second Prizes for $10,000 each.

Winning is based on public vote, and all community members (as well as other family and friends who would like to support the music department) can vote for The Blue Belles once per day per computer IP address until Nov. 7. To vote, go to www.gleegiveanote.com, click on “VOTE NOW”, type in “BATAVIA HIGH SCHOOL” in the box for entering school name, click on the video clip of the Batavia Blue Belles, and click “VOTE”. Winners will be announced Dec. 15.

Parent Shares Concern Regarding Consolidation

While acknowledging that the Board of Education and administrators have been responsive to hearing parents' and residents' concerns about consolidation proposals and thanking them for their consideration, as well as the decision to postpone a vote on the proposal until March 2012, one parent attended the meeting to urge board members not to vote for any proposal that would include moving fifth-grade students to the middle school. Stating that she had spoken to various individuals who work with youth and with troubled youth, she believes, overall, it is not beneficial to the fifth-graders to be moved to the middle school.

Click on the headline above to read full report

Board Vacancy Applications Received

Superintendent of Schools Margaret Puzio publicly thanked Andy Pedro for his years of work for the students and community through his service on the Board of Education, which will end on Nov. 1. The ensuing vacancy to finish out his term (through June 30, 2012) has been announced, with five individuals expressing interest in the position.

Those applicants are: Phil Ricci, Alfred McGinnis, Dennis Warner, Raymond Walker and Rodney Brinkman. The board plans on reviewing each application and interviewing all five individuals on or about Monday, Oct. 24 so that a timely decision can be made.

Changes to Budget Voting Procedure

In response to parents’ requests voiced at several public meetings, the board approved a plan presented by business administrator Scott Rozanski to change polling hours for the district’s annual vote on proposed budgets and board member elections. Rather than being open from noon to 9 p.m., polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Parents had said that earlier polling hours would help accommodate work schedules.

In addition, Mr. Rozanski proposed that the number of polling places for the budget vote also be revised for greater cost efficiency. Instead of three polling places (Robert Morris Elementary, Batavia Middle School, and Jackson Elementary), he proposed that there be two, and that those locations would be Batavia High School and John Kennedy Elementary. Both BHS and JK, he noted, have better parking and ease of access, and redrawing voting districts to assign a voting location should be a simple process. Once done, the proposal can be brought back to the board for a vote. Board Member Pat Burk suggested that all Town of Batavia residents vote at one location, as he has observed much confusion through the years as to how their proper voting site is determined.

External Audit Report

David Mancuso of Freed Maxick & Battaglia, CPXs, PC, presented a summary of their audit of the basic financial statements of the district for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, indicating that there were no significant, unusual, or controversial transactions or accounting practices.

Some specific points from the report and presentation follow.

The district currently maintains an A1 credit rating from Moody’s Credit Corporation, which is among the highest in Genesee County.

Amid uncertain economic times, the district has been successful in efforts to spend and budget conservatively, as well as to plan for the long term by setting funds aside in reserve for specific areas of concern: unemployment insurance, NYS employees retirement, repairs, and employee benefit liability. In an economic climate where the future is likely to see reduced state aid as well as increased expenses, continued economic conservatism is to be encouraged.

The district has been able to have a minor tax levy over the past five years, averaging .5 percent, while at the same time maintaining most of the educational program offerings.

The district finished the year with an unexpected general fund surplus of approximately $730,000. This was primarily due to conservative budget estimates in difficult-to-predict categories such as to special education services, foster care tuition, and utilities; being able to cover some budgeted payroll costs with money from grants; savings in transportation that were achieved by bidding out and consolidating routes. The district was able to put this money into unemployment reserves to help with current and future staff reductions.

The audit also noted that the approval for the transfer of the above-mentioned surplus to the reserve fund was secured after the official state deadline of June 30 (when the fiscal year ended). The recommendation for the future was to have to obtain the necessary open-ended authorization before the deadline.

The unassigned fund balance (formerly referred to as undesignated fund balance) of the district’s general fund was $1,443,354 and this amount was within the state’s limit of 4 percent of the ensuing year’s budget, excluding of the amount designated for the subsequent year’s budget.

Two items related to the fundraising for extracurricular activities which pose difficulty for most school districts are (1) there being no irrefutable accountability for student fundraising activities from the time a student collects the donation or payment from a donor/customer until the money gets delivered to the dstrict; and (2) a recommendation that student organizations be treated as small businesses and have members prepare a program outline similar to a business plan at the beginning of the school year for approval. The outline would include projected expenses for and profits from events, and plans for the accumulated funds. Then, as each event is completed, a profit/loss analysis should be filed.

The complete report will be available on the district’s website (www.bataviacsd.org) : go to the “District” tab for a drop-down menu, scroll down and click on “Business Office”, click on “Financial Reports,” then scroll down to the appropriate report.

Legislative Items to be Addressed at School Boards Convention

Board Member Pat Burk, who is also a Resolutions Committee member for the NYS School Boards Association (NYSSBA), presented the 2011 Proposed Resolutions and Voting Delegate’s Guide for the Annual Business Meeting of the NYSSBA. He asked board members to review all of the proposals and respond to him with their comments and recommendations before he votes at the NYSSBA meeting in late October.

While much greater detail is available on the NYSSBA website (www.nyssba.org), the proposed resolutions listed below provide a quick guide to the scope of concerns and challenges facing NYS boards of education:

Tuition Tax Credit and Educational Vouchers -- to oppose legislation at the state and/or federal level that would provide tuition tax credits or educational vouchers for private or parochial schools.

Standards for Education Funding Reform -- to demand that the New York State Legislature act now to reform the state education funding system in a manner that provides for:
•       Adequacy – to provide sufficient resources to assure the opportunity for a sound basic education for all students.
•       Equity – to distribute a foundation level of state aid for every student that is based on the actual cost of providing a sound basic education that fairly compensates for differences in community costs, needs and resources. The legislature should preclude municipalities from using state aid to replace local education resources.
•       Flexibility – to increase the percentage of operating aid so that boards of education retain the discretion to determine what educational programs best address local needs. Local communities should not be restrained from determining the level of funding they will expend to support educational programs.
•       Predictability – to provide timely passage of the state budget and stable funding distributed through a consistent, uniformly applied formula that would not require annual manipulation by the legislature and that would facilitate long-term planning by school districts.
•       Clarity – to establish a funding formula that is easily explained and understood.

Principles of 21st Century Retirement Benefits -- to seek legislation based on the following Principles of 21st Century Retirement Benefits: Portability, Predictability, Affordability, Flexibility, and Acceptable Risk.

Pension Contribution Reserve Funds -- to support legislation amending Chapter 260 of the Laws of 2004 to permit boards of education and boards of cooperative educational services to establish pension contribution reserve funds for all employees and to authorize such boards to deposit surplus monies into such funds.

State Share of District Superintendent Salary -- to support the continued appropriation of the state share of the district superintendent’s salary.

Reserve Fund for Other Post-Employment Benefits -- to seek legislation authorizing school districts to create a new reserve fund to finance Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) as envisioned under Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 45.

District Superintendent Salary Cap -- to seek legislation amending Education Law Section 1950(4)(a) to repeal the limitation on the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) district superintendents’ salaries.

Technological Consolidation -- in support of the use of video conferencing, online learning and other digital technologies to achieve greater efficiency in school district organization. These efforts will include, but not be limited to: a) the use of State Education Department (SED) reorganization feasibility study grants for use by school districts wishing to compare “cyber-consolidation” to physical consolidation; and b) the use of reorganization aid to help offset the costs of the technology infrastructure necessary for districts to consolidate educational services in this manner.

School District Retirement Contributions -- to seek legislation to create new pension tiers of the state Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System that would provide the predictability and affordability that would limit school district contributions.

Performance Pay for Teachers -- to seek legislation to change the current system of teacher compensation in favor of a system where teachers are compensated for meeting local performance benchmarks.

Change in Tax Collection Schedule -- to support legislation which would permit school tax collection schedule(s) to be adjusted to minimize the need for school district borrowing so as to permit tax collections to coincide with encumbrances that are incurred by such school districts.

Cooperative Purchasing for School Districts -- to seek legislation to authorize school districts and other local municipalities the ability to purchase through national purchasing cooperatives.

Teacher Layoff Rules -- to seek legislation that would limit teacher seniority in determining the process of teacher layoffs.

Civil Service Law Reform -- to seek and support legislation amending the New York State Civil Service Law so that it is more responsive to the current needs of school districts and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), including, but not limited to: increasing disciplinary options; updating tests and specification books; creating more flexibility in hiring lists; providing lists in electronic form; and increasing probationary periods.

Employee and Retiree Health Care Contributions -- to seek legislation requiring current and retired school employees to contribute at least 15 percent of the cost of individual health care coverage and at least 25 percent of the cost of family health care coverage.

Conforming Special Education to Federal Requirements -- to seek legislation to limit state special education mandates to those required by the federal government.

Placement of Students with a Disability -- to support efforts, and recommend legislation and/or regulations, to ensure that the New York State Education Department (SED) facilitates the ability of school districts to locate out-of-state placements for the appropriate placement of students with a disability when no SED-approved residential school may be determined as appropriate from the list of SED-approved schools.

Teacher Retirement and Health Care Reserve Funds -- to seek legislation to authorize school districts to create dedicated reserve funds to help offset the costs of teacher pensions and retiree healthcare costs.

Core Principles of Education Policy -- in support of state proposals affecting public education be evaluated according to the following core principles: provide access to programs that prepare students to be college and career ready; achieve equity and adequacy in funding; promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness; advance high expectations for all students; embrace innovative approaches; and foster community engagement and regional cooperation.

A group of about 12 parents concerned about proposed changes to elementary schools in Batavia gathered at the Richmond Memorial Library on Monday evening to start organizing an effort to offer alternatives to the school board.

The hour-long meeting ended on a message of "let's show the board we want to work with them," after some in the group expressed concern that if parents are willing to cooperate, negotiate and listen, school board members won't take them seriously.

"This is not about us versus them," said Jennifer Burke, one of the organizers of the meeting. "It's not a game. It's about our kids. If we all have that as our focus then we should be able to accomplish something."

The school district is looking for a way to save as much as $1 million in annual expenses and has publicly discussed closing the current administration building on Washington Avenue and moving the district administration into one of the current elementary schools -- such as Robert Morris -- leaving the school district with only two elementary schools.

Hardly a parent in Batavia can be found who supports the idea. Primarily, they are concerned about losing their neighborhood schools, having children in the same household attending three or four different schools and how frequent school changes will affect the chance for children to succeed in school.

The meeting on Monday included a break-out session with parents making a list of concerns and ideas.

A universally shared concern was moving fifth-grade students into the middle school.

"The age difference is just too much," said one parent.

Burke expressed optimism that board members have been willing to discuss concerns with parents. Superintendent Margaret Puzio called her earlier to provide some updates in advance of the Monday meeting, which Burke considered to be a sign of administration officials' willingness to work with parents.

Among the updates is that the decision about consolidation that was supposed to be made in November has been pushed back until March.

"That's another step in the direction that they're offering parents a voice," Burke said.

But the parents still want even more time. They're passing a petition to ask for the decision to be put off until after another school year passes, dipping into the district's reserves, if necessary, to balance the budget.

"When they do make a decision, they need to make an informed decision," Burke said. "They need to make the best decision, the best decision for the whole community."

Burke noted that in opposing consolidation, it opens up a wide array of options for the district to cut, from teachers (bigger class sizes), music and arts, teacher aides, sports and elective courses.

"If we move forward with certain recommendations, we may see ramifications on the other side," Burke said. "We do realize that we may need to sacrifice some, but our children come first."

The next group meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Oct. 13. 

The next meeting the district will host to discuss consolidation is Wednesday at Batavia HS.

Earlier this week, Batavia City Schools sent a letter to parents of students at Batavia Middle School notifying them that school has been placed on a "School in Need of Improvement" list by U.S. Department of Education.

This morning, Superintendent Margeret Puzio explained to The Batavian what the letter meant.

As part of "No Child Left Behind," passed in 2001, schools that receive federal aid must ensure certain "subgroups" perform adequately on standardized tests.

Subgroups are groups of students considered disadvantaged, such as students with disabilities, minority students, students who speak English as a second language. 

If a school has 30 or more students qualifying for a subgroup, then the school must meet the standardized test requirements for that subgroup in order to receive continued federal aid.

None of the elementary schools, with only about 300 students each, are large enough that any of the so-called disadvantaged groups have 30 or more students, but the middle school, with 500 students, does.

One such subgroup is students with disabilities.

Within the past year, the state stopped giving schools 34 bonus points on standardized tests for students with disabilities, also the raw score to pass the test has been raised, and the test has been made longer.

Puzio called this a "Bermuda Triangle" for school districts and Batavia isn't alone in falling into the trap.

Because the middle school's students with disabilities subgroup didn't meet the requirements of the standardized tests the last two rounds, the district was required to notify all parents of middle school students that the school is now considered a "School in Need of Improvement."

Also, in order to continue receiving federal aid, called Title I funds, the district must divert some of its Title I money into a program to help disadvantaged students, and in this case help students who are economically disadvantaged.

The district will be required to hire a contractor -- perhaps Sylvan Learning Centers -- to come in and offer tutoring and other help to economically disadvantaged students.

Participation by economically disadvantaged students is optional and entirely up to the parents of the students as to whether their children will participate.

To whatever degree a proposal to reduce city elementery schools from three to two is a trial balloon, in a meeting with parents at Robert Morris School on Tuesday night, it went down like a lead Zeppelin.

If Batavia City Schools Superintendent Margeret Puzio (top photo) hoped to woo some of the 70 parents in attendance, she would have been hard-pressed to find one fan of the idea by the end of the meeting.

Even parents who saw the need -- such as Phil Ricci, a budget ambassador for the school district -- said they hated the idea.

A consolidation of school districts -- one proposal shutters the current administration building and converts Robert Morris into new district headquarters -- would save as much as $1 million annually.

In an era of declining state aid combined with a property tax cap, the district board is forced to find ways to reduce spending that is "thinking outside the box," Puzio said.

She said if the 2-percent property tax cap had passed a year earlier, it would have led to a budget shortfall of $426,064. The cap would have limited the recent property tax increase to $280,106, instead of the $706,170 actually raised.

Plus, the district relied on a one-time federal grant of $567,584 to help balance the budget in 2011-12.

But on Monday night, there were times when parents seemed to simply oppose consolidation of the district's elementary schools regardless of budgetary constraints.

"It doesn’t seem we have a chance for honest input," Caroline Richardson said (first insert photo). "It seems like the decision is already made. It seems like there are no other options other than cutting down our programs again."

The consolidation proposals all involve the district selling its current administration building and then locating those offices to one of the elementary schools.

In each case, students are shuffled in a way that all grades would be at one school or another, such as all K-2 students at John Kennedy or all fifth-grade students at Batavia Middle School.

Cost savings would be achieved primarily through the elimination of some school-level administration and possibily some teaching positions.

The plans all end the idea of community schools serving K-5 students in their own neighborhood.

And that seemed to be the biggest sticking point for parents.

Some parents noted that under the proposals, instead of having their three children at one school, such as Robert Morris, they would end up with a kindergartner at one school, a third-grader at another school and their fifth-grader in the middle school.

Bonnie Vickery pointed out that schools rely on a lot of parent involvement both for educational support and fund raising.

If students are at more distant schools, and in some cases students will only be at a particular school for a couple of years, parents will be less likely to get involved, Lisa Macdonough (second inset photo).

"It's going to hurt schools way more than you realize," Vickery said. "I know the board is doing the best that it can and I know you want to do the best for the students, but there is a sense of community that is going to be lost."

While Puzio pointed to educational advantages of putting, say, all the second graders in one school instead of three, many parents weren't buying it.

A couple of parents cited reports they said showed that students who attended community schools achieved higher test scores, and students who made fewer transfers from school to school are more likely to graduate from high school.

"There are other options you need to be looking at that don't effect the children," Richardson said. "This is a community that has a lot of children in it who are disadvantaged to begin with and now we're going to disadvantage them again by taking them out of their neighborhoods."

Another person said many parents bought their homes where they did to be close to a community-based school, which brought a round of applause from other parents.

Puzio explained that part of the school district's goal was to preserve class size, which in Batavia is traditionally 20 students per class.

But when Macdonough said she would accept more students per class if it meant preserving community schools, nearly every parent applauded.

Another parent picked up the theme.

"Studies have shown that with a quality teacher who wants to be there, class size has little effect," Janelle Marble said. "We need to cultivate good teachers who want to be in their classrooms, who love teaching."

Near the end of the meeting, Ricci spoke up and said when he heard the consolidation plan, he became frustrated. He likes having his children attend Robert Morris, but he also knows the school district is facing a difficult budget situation and the board is doing the best it can on behalf of the children.

"I know all of these guys and know they are not trying to screw over the kids," Ricci said. "If this doesn't work, and it might not work, we as a community need to come together and come up with other options."

A group of parents are organizing a communitywide meeting to discuss consolidation at 7 p.m., Sept. 26, at Richmond Memorial Library. (Location TBD)

It's a big leap from middle school to high school and for the past four years, to help freshmen students make the transition, Batavia High School has conducted a special orientation day the day before classes officially begin.

For the class of 2015 that was today.

Of the 198 students in the frosh class, all but three students showed up for the orientation that began at 8 a.m. with a dramatic welcome by faculty and administration in the gym -- lights turned down, spotlights turned on and music playing loud, the students are welcomed into the gym like a championship team.

"We tell them up front that there will be some corny stuff," said Joe Hussar, one of the faculty organizers. "It's a little over the top sometimes."

The goal is give the students an introduction to BHS without 800 other students around. 

"It gives them at least one day where they can take their time and figure things out," Hussar said.

Like where their locker is and how to open it, and how to get from history class to English class.

The students also meet some of the upperclassmen who act as mentors during the school year.

More than 100 upperclassmen applied for the program and the 53 selected went through three days of training over the summer. Today, after the initial gym meeting, they led small groups of students in exercises to help them learn each other's names, how to communicate better and just get to know each other so at least on the first day of school there will be a few familiar faces.

Tomorrow, all the mentors will wear bright pink T-shirts so they can be easily identified by any freshmen who can't find a class, have a question or otherwise need help.

"It's awesome that so many of our upperclassmen are taking the lead," Hussar said.

To further assist the freshmen, the upperclassmen leaders have lockers strategically positioned among a group of freshmen lockers -- for about every seven or eight frosh lockers are two mentor lockers. The arrangement will last throughout the year.

After the small group exercises, the freshmen were given a tour of the school, had a break for lunch and then did a modified version of their class schedule -- 10 minutes for each class so they can learn how to get from room to room with less confusion tomorrow.

Whoever first said "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" never met Morgan Harrington.

For Morgan, life is about butterflies.

The Elba 9-year-old has taken the lead in a family project to find and catalogue as many types of caterpillars at the Harrington Greenhouses as possible.

There are 72 different species of butterflies and moths in Genesee County, and the Harringtons would like to find all 72.

"Now that we started this, we find that when we go through the nursery, we find them everywhere," said Morgan's dad, Aaron. "We're going to learn what we can about each of them."

Morgan -- who is assisted by her  8-year-old sister Madison -- uses field books to identify each kind of caterpillar, butterfly and moth she comes across. She keeps a log of each discovery, from the date of the find up through each stage of life for the insect -- from larva to caterpillar to winged creature.

"I really like it because I started doing it after one of my pets died," Morgan said.

Her simple explanation belies her obvious enthusiasm for the project. She can teach you more about butterflies in 30 minutes than you could learn in a high school biology class. Morgan can talk intelligently about each stage in the life cycle and identify on sight a dozen or more species, including what they eat and where they live.

"We decided to do this because we didn't want our kids growing up not understanding how things work in life," said Aaron, who runs the greenhouse business with his wife, Danielle.

The business in its current incarnation is 25 years old and was started by his father, though there was a greenhouse business on the same North Byron Road location years before that.

The Harrington's raise a variety of annuals, perennials, shrubs, bushes and trees, as much as possible without pesticides (though with non-native species of insects, pesticides are about the only option), and the butterfly project has made Madison and Morgan more aware of the insect species around them.

"It's good for them to learn the different types of beneficial and non-beneficial types of animals," Aaron said.

Even some caterpillars -- such as the rose saw fly -- are far too destructive to host plants, Aaron noted, but of course, monarch butterflies are beautiful and help spread pollen.

The girls have found a couple dozen monarch caterpillars, a few of which are already curled up in cocoons. When the butterflies emerge, Morgan said, she will take them to a nearby milkweed patch and release them (monarchs eat milkweed because the plant's sap produces a toxin in the caterpillars that birds avoid).

All of the caterpillars live in a shared aquarium where they can munch on preferred clippings of milkweed, walnut or willow leaves.

The shared housing has led to another lesson -- one variety of caterpillar will eat its siblings if given a chance.

"I always say I don't want my kids growing up to think fish comes square and already breaded," Aaron said. "I want them to see an animal's life cycle from beginning to end learn about it."

Lindsay Kuhn, of Smoke Ridge Organics and Butterflies, visited the Richmond Memorial Library on Friday afternoon for the children's summer reading program. Kuhn brought with her a box of butterflies -- 55 of them stored in wax envelopes ready for release into the wild by the children. After about a 20-minute talk on the different kinds of butterflies, why they're important to the environment and their life cycles, each child was given a butterfly to release.