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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 08 May 2024

Created: 08 May 2024

Last Updated: 08 May 2024

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Dear Editor: This week, May 6-10, is Teacher Appreciation Week. The Scarsdale Parent Teacher Council Executive Committee expresses our gratitude for the incredible work of the faculty and staff at the seven Scarsdale Schools. This week, all of our building-level PTAs are engaging in special events and initiatives to show staff members how much they are appreciated. Our community’s teachers and staff members devote so much time, care, and effort to support and further the learning and enrichment of our children. Every year sees joys, routines, complexities and challenges, and our Scarsdale teachers show dedication, strength, and purpose. The PT Council Executive Committee wishes all of Scarsdale’s teachers a great week and a smooth and fulfilling last few months of the school year.

Best wishes,
The PT Council Executive Committee:

Leah Dembitzer, PTC President
Meryl Satler, PTC President Elect
Jeanette Rosen, PTC Secretary
Rokaya Hassaballa, PTC Treasurer
Beth Cukier, SHS PTA President
Tina Lin, SMS PTA President
Ammr Vandal, Edgewood PTA Co-President
Jeanine Cole, Edgewood PTA Co-President
Jeannie Adashek, Fox Meadow PTA Co-President
Leena Gyftopoulos, Fox Meadow PTA Co-President
Jen Galeon, Greenacres PTA President
Debbie Bhatt, Heathcote PTA President
Erica German, Quaker Ridge PTA President

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Written by Wendy MacMillan

Published: 10 May 2024

Created: 10 May 2024

Last Updated: 10 May 2024

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While the highlight of the Board of Education Meetings on Monday May 6th, may have been the celebration of 24 Scarsdale faculty members being awarded tenure, the Business Meeting directly following that celebration was full of updates, reminders, and public comments.

After weeks of long Public Comment periods with community members giving voice to their thoughts about the proposed school budget, Colby Mulvey was the only one to take the podium at Monday’s meeting. In a prepared statement, Mulvey shared:

“I wanted to speak today about the district and parents being, “In Partnership”, as we read so often in our emails.

I believe it to be vital to our school community that parents of students truly feel like we are in a trusting partnership with teachers and school administrators. But, with the recent discussions regarding the new 5th grade gender curriculum, I have learned of things that have eroded that trust.

I personally feel that 5th grade is too young to introduce gender in school. It is a very complex and nuanced topic. I would have rathered that the district have spoken to parents and guardians directly and encouraged the families to speak to their own children to deliver the messages at a time and in a way that parents felt was appropriate to their children. But leaving that aside….

In seeking to understand more about the new addition to the curriculum, I learned that the district is choosing to follow a specific guidance from New York State on students expressing gender dysphoria. I emphasize guidance, as it is NOT A NYS MANDATE.

This guidance suggests that the district withhold information from parents if their child expressed questions about their gender. In short, the school is willing to socially transition a child and keep it a secret from the parents. This does not feel like a partnership. In comparison, would a teacher withhold a bad grade from parents at the student’s request? I would expect not. Arguably, a child in distress about their gender is much more important for parents to know about versus a bad grade.

The district is also arbitrarily implementing this guidance. For example, I am told the school will QUOTE “work directly with families of students who describe gender dysphoria” END QUOTE if those students are in the 5th grade. So there is a choice to NOT follow the NYS guidance in this instance… but in other grade levels the district WILL be following the guidance?? It seems very incohesive.

The new curriculum for the 5th grade has apparently been developed with the input of an organization called Center Lane. Center Lane states on its website that QUOTE “LGBTQIA+ youth are one of the few marginalized communities not raised by their own people” END QUOTE. This sentiment strikes me as very anti-family and as a parent, I find it insulting. I have concerns how guidance which flows from this type of belief fosters a partnership between parents and Scarsdale Schools.

True PARTNERSHIP relies on trust. The idea that the school is prepared to withhold vital and essential information about our kids and their mental well being breaks this trust in fundamental ways.

Thank you.”

After listening to her statement, Dr. Drew Patrick said he would be happy to arrange a meeting with Ms. Mulvey to further discuss her concerns.

Board of Education President, Ron Schulhof began the Business Meeting by extending a congratulations to all those who earned tenure earlier in the evening. Schulhof then described a meeting the BOE had with Scarsdale High School student representatives. In the meeting Schulhof said they discussed four topics including: The Rolling Gradebook, The Students’ Sense of Belonging and Wellbeing, Cell Phones, and Civil Discourse (a student-led initiative). Schulhof praised the student representatives for their thoughtfulness and encouraged all students to reach out to the BOE with their questions and concerns noting it is important for them to have students’ perspective and feedback.

Schulhof also made note that the BOE, and members of the administration, have been attending many events around the district to disseminate information about the proposed budget and the upcoming vote on May 21st. Schulhof reminded those in attendance that voting will be held at Scarsdale Middle School gym from 7am to 9pm and parking will be made available in the lower circle.

Before handing things over to Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick, Schulhof announced that the New York State Budget Aid has been officially restored and thanked representatives like Amy Paulin for tirelessly advocating on behalf of our district.

In addition to sharing several highlights from happenings at each of our schools, Dr. Patrick called attention to a number of special dates in May:

-May 1st Principal’s Day
-May 5th Holocaust Remembrance Day
-May 7th Teacher Appreciation Day
-May 8th National Nurses Day
-May 5th-11th Public Service Recognition Week
-May 12th Mother’s Day
-May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Dr. Patrick shared his appreciation and gratitude for all of our district’s hardworking and dedicated principals and assistant principals, teachers, nurses, and public servants such as the members of the BOE.

Auditorium Bids

In his cabinet update, Mr. Andrew Lennon announced that the bid for the Auditorium Project has been published and he hopes to get approval by May 23rd. He also said that the committee has started to select materials for the project and some of those items are on display outside of the auditorium at the high school.

Field Study

Lennon also announced that the Field Study is currently underway and that physical locations have been visited and that a community forum will be held on May 23rd at 7pm at the Village Hall to update the community and to provide an opportunity for questions and feedback.

District Safety

Another notable announcement from the meeting included an update from Dr. Patrick about the district’s Safety and Emergency Management Plan. Patrick informed those present that an updated annual plan will be adopted on June 10th. Discussions of changes to the current plan include new swatting and elopement policies. He also described that there is a 30 day comment period before the June 10th adoption and encouraged our community to provide their feedback.

What exactly is “swatting” and “elopement?” Assistant Superintendent Eric Rauschenbach explained,

“Swatting: calling Districts with the intent to cause panic by reporting ongoing violence and/or a plan for such.

Elopement: Student running away from the school.

The State has required these be elevated to annexes in the plan (emergency specific procedures) because of the rise in the swatting incidents across NYS over the past 3-4 years. We have had processes for dealing with this type of incident since its increase but this just formalizes the procedure. Elopement was added as well to formalize how the District would respond if a child were to run away. Again this is a situation which our schools have discussed and trained around for a long time.

To be clear the actual annexes are additions to the Building Emergency Plans not additions to the public facing plan (except for the listing of their existence). All of our emergency annexes contain specific procedures that are kept confidential.”

To watch the meeting in its entirety and to learn about items such as the BOE’s Leadership Succession Plan, their Self-Evaluation Process, and the Superintendent’s Evaluation Process, please see here (https://vimeopro.com/scarsdaleschoolstv/boe2324)

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Written by Wendy MacMillan

Published: 02 May 2024

Created: 02 May 2024

Last Updated: 02 May 2024

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The “Wait Until 8th” pledge, a movement by parents to delay getting a smartphone for their children until the end of 8th grade, is gaining momentum within our Scarsdale community. Last week, Social Worker Lauren Tetenbaum Dorman wrote a Letter To The Editor in which she described the pledge as one way that parents can work together to help our children to be happy, healthy, inclusive, included, and safe.

This week we have learned that parents from kindergarten through 5th grade are banding together and promising to sign the Wait Until 8th pledge including families from Quaker Ridge with students in second grade and fourth grade, families from Greenacres with students in Kindergarten, first grade, thirrd grade and fifth grade, and families at Fox Meadow with students in first grade.

We reached out to Sharon Mayeri Chesler, a Greenacres parent who is helping to spearhead the movement here in Scarsdale for more information about the pledge and why she thinks it is important for our children and our community.

Why is taking the Wait Until 8th pledge important to you and your family?

Chesler: “I see the harm that comes from kids having access to smartphones -- it's addictive (adults have trouble putting their phones down) and distracting, there is access to inappropriate content, and kids can be cruel (in general) and that is exacerbated by the ability to do it anonymously. I understand the need to give your child a phone so you can contact them if they want to stay late after school, but that doesn't require them to have access to a smartphone or unlimited texting.”

Why do you think others should join you in the pledge?

Chesler: “There was a tech discussion at SMS a few months ago and they showed this chart:

The fact that in sixth, seventh and eighth grade 10%-15% of the reason kids got phones was to fit in with other friends who have cell phones, really resonated with me. This is something we can fix if we work together as a community to make our kids healthier and happier.”

Do you have a sense of how many people at Greenacres are willing to take the pledge?

Chesler: “Yes, right now we have 29% of 5th graders, 28% of third graders and 41% of Kindergarteners who have signed. I think the earlier we start sharing this pledge with parents the better. We need the PTA and School District to help us get the word out -- so that when kids get to middle school this isn't the norm.”

Kristen Zakierski, another Greenacres parent, said she is happy to sign the pledge because, “Our primary job as parents is to keep our kids safe - physically and psychologically. The negative impact of smartphones is abundantly clear and delaying their access and educating them about technology is part of that job. It was a no-brainer to me and my husband to make this pledge.”

It seems Zakierski and Chesler are not alone in their concerns about young children having access to too much technology.

Ariana Green, a mother of three in Fox Meadow writes: "At Fox Meadow, we are starting a new group, Go Slow on Tech, because norms around here must change. Scarsdale parents are giving kids devices and access to platforms much too early. Friends with middle schoolers and high schoolers I've spoken with in cities throughout the country say where they live parents are scaling back and only giving their kids flip phones. It's time for that here.

The data is in: The social media-addicted guinea pig kids are not alright. We want to give kids back their childhoods and parents back their tweens and teens. We are thrilled that Wait Until 8th pledges are active in at least three of the elementary schools [I can confirm FM, QR, GA, could be more], meaning parents agree to wait until at least eighth grade to allow kids to be on social media.

The tech companies have figured out a way to make their platforms engrossing and addictive, especially for kids with developing brains and stronger cravings for social acceptance.

It's normal that not everyone gets invited to the ice cream shop or a sleepover. It's not normal that an eleven year old has to witness being left out in real time, as Snapchat shows everyone's location and then kids post TikTok videos of their group sleepover dates for all to see."

Another parent, Courtney Hunter, detailed for us the real-world reasons she believes delaying access to smartphones is critical to the mental health of our children. She writes, “In my professional capacity, I am the VP, Public Policy for Crisis Text Line and a volunteer crisis counselor. Crisis Text Line is a national nonprofit providing free, 24/7 mental health support and crisis intervention services via text, chat and WhatsApp. We receive approximately 4,000 texts per day mostly from young people struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, and other issues like eating disorders, self harm, and bullying. Through this work, I've gotten a front row seat to the challenges that young people are facing today. Smartphones and social media have exacerbated these challenges. Unfortunately, we experimented on an entire generation of young people's developing brains and the outcomes have been horrific. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for youth, eating disorders and self harm are on the rise.

The pledge is critically important because the only way to limit the harms of smartphones and social media is through collective action. If we are not fearful of our children being left out, we will be less likely to give in and get them smartphones. It's not about limiting communication, but rather, increasing their ability to develop connection. The lack of in real life connection is what is propelling the mental health challenges and the loneliness epidemic we are currently facing. With smartphones, comes access to the internet and inevitably, social media. Even if the apps are not downloaded, the content can be accessible without accounts and there are no limits on advertising to young people. It's like giving a vape pen to a child and saying "I'm not giving you the cartridges to smoke." They still can find the means to access the harmful content.

We have enough research to know how detrimental smartphones are to developing brains, enough to know now what the tech executives have known for years and why they won't allow their own children to have them. However, what we do with that research is up to us. We have the power and ability to change the trajectory of our children's future if we act together. I'm sure the families that are suing social media companies for the death of their children to suicide, eating disorders, fentanyl poisoning, etc. would like the opportunity that is presented to us now.

In terms of an outcome, I am hoping we can come together as a community and stand united to give our children the best future possible. We have been promoting the pledge through word of mouth and emails to other parents in the community, starting with our children's classmates. The opposition I have heard so far is that it's been a right of passage for those entering middle school (6th grade) to get a smartphone. I think for parents with older children that have already given those children a smartphone, it's hard to walk it back now for their younger children which I totally understand.

My question to those in opposition is "what's the downside?" in signing the pledge if we all act together? And yes, we can all get them flip phones, they still make them.”

Courtney Engel, a parent from Fox Meadow who has also signed the pledge, had this to say: “The Wait til 8th Pledge empowers parents to delay giving children a smartphone until 8th grade. Parents can still give their children smartwatches, basic phones, iPads, video games, and screen time.

The beauty of the pledge is that it only comes into effect when ten or more families from the same grade in each school sign. Those families are then contacted and their emails exchanged to kickstart communication and connection. It essentially helps families make a choice that maybe wasn’t as popular in the past by creating a new norm that is also acceptable.

Quaker Ridge second grade was one of the first grades I saw that promoted the effort. And now both Kindergarten and second grade in Fox Meadow have taken the pledge and the list is growing daily. This is very much word of mouth from many parents - and yes, ironically being promoted on social media.

By signing the Wait til 8th Pledge as early as Kindergarten - parents are now able to set their own personal limits with smartphones and social media, and one that hopefully won’t stifle socialization with their peers given that others are on board.”

For more information about the Wait Until 8th pledge see here (https://www.waituntil8th.org/)