What's New At School

We spoke to Scarsdale School’s Director of Public Information Vicki Presser and Assistant Superintendant Linda Purvis to discuss what students will find when they return to school next week.

The biggest change is that Scarsdale is now moving to a full-day kindergarten, which will be begin on Monday October 4. Instead of a combination of half days and call back days all Scarsdale kindergartners will attend full days of school. Though some objected to the new program, others welcomed the change. We asked one mother of a new kindergarten student what she thought and she said, “I'm all for it. It's only two extra afternoons a week, and timing pick-ups with my older daughter will be much easier than it would have been with the old schedule. My kindergartener is very excited about every aspect of going to Greenacres, especially going full-time, just like the big kids.”

The other big news in instruction is the extension of the elementary Spanish program into sixth grade at the Middle School. Before the rollout of the elementary Spanish program in 2005-06, world language instruction began in seventh grade, with a choice of French or Spanish. Now, Scarsdale students will have a choice of French or Spanish beginning in sixth grade, and world language instruction will be a continuum from first grade through high school.

Though we have no new facilities this year, Scarsdale has been focusing on refurbishing and maintaining our buildings and grounds. This summer, school roofs were repaired, paving was done, the floor of the high school kitchen was replaced and repairs were made to the water main at Fox Meadow School. The parking lot on the Post Road side of Scarsdale High School has been repaved and reconfigured as well. Though the budget for capitol improvements has been cut substantially, the School Board has supplied funds for the upkeep of our schools, and parents and students should find them to be in good shape for the start of the school year.