Edgewood Principal to Depart, Girls Athletic Participation Declines and More from the Board of Education

The Principal of Edgewood School is leaving, girls athletic participation has declined and the District launched a new website to track the renovation of the high school auditorium. These were just a few of the items reviewed at the meeting of the Board of Education on Monday night April 17, 2023.

Auditorium Renovation

Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick announced that the District has developed a website devoted to the proposed renovations of the Scarsdale High School auditorium. On March 27 the Board authorized a bond referendum not to exceed $4.75 million dollars for much needed improvements of the SHS auditorium. The website is now available here.

Athletics

Girls participation rates in high school sports has declined.

Athletics Director Ray Papallardi explained that after accounting for the spring athletic season, the District is at roughly 62% participation for the course of the year with 908 students participating in interscholastic athletic programs. He also noted that Scarsdale, along with many others in the area, saw a bit of an anomaly this spring with male participation at roughly 64% and female participation at roughly 36%. Because the percentage numbers are usually closer to 50/50, Mr. Papallardi researched how we arrived at such a discrepancy this year and why female participation in sports saw a drastic decline. With only a quick reflection on the subject, he described many contributing factors to the decline including:

-A drop in senior participation because their early high school years took place during the pandemic when sports weren’t offered

-The desire of some students for less competitive and less time-consuming programs

-The feeling among some students that they won’t make it on to a super elite and competitive team or that it isn’t the right fit for them.

Papallardi discussed finding a space to create a suitable softball field, gifts from Maroon and White that will need Board approval and fall and winter varsity teams that were recognized as New York State Public High School Athletic Association Scholar Athlete Teams which is considered a huge accomplishment.

Papallardi also spoke about athletic administrators and coaches taking part in a new program called core training. The core training is still in development but in May, Mr. Papllardi will hold an informational meeting to describe how they will start to implement the new training that aims to develop a purpose based, educationally-focused athletic program.

Edgewood School Principal

In Human Resource news, Dr. Patrick announced that Edgewood’s current Principal Tashia Brown will be leaving at the end of the school year to pursue other academic opportunities. Dr. Patrick expressed profuse gratitude for Ms. Brown’s leadership especially through the trying years of the pandemic. He went on to describe two different options for finding a suitable replacement for Ms. Brown. Both options include a robust search and recruitment of the best candidate for the position. Since it is already mid-April it might be a challenge to do a robust national search at this time so Dr. Patrick will weigh conducting the search now vs. naming an interim principal from Scarsdale’s existing staff to serve for the next school year.

Patrick said that the Board had planned to extend an offer of tenure to Dr. Brown before learning of her decision to move on.

New District Physician

Eric Rauschenbach, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Student Services District, said the district is in search of a new District Physician and will submit a request for an RFP. Mr. Rauschenbach also gave an update on the automation system describing work to the PA system that will bring us closer to completing the project.

Kudos to SHS Social Studies Teacher Heather Waters

Dr. McIntosh then reported that he had recently attended the Global Educational Benchmarking Group convention in Washington D.C. At the convention Social Studies teacher Heather Waters was surprised with First Prize in the Global Expression of Thought award. Dr. McIntosh also spoke about the parent workshops taking place throughout the District providing parents with insight into our current math landscape and with tips and suggestions for supporting their children at home.

Energy Savings

Dr. Patrick discussed an information item regarding the Energy Savings Program and our agreement with Cenergistic for the behavioral energy savings program. While details about the RFP were discussed in a previous BOE meeting, Dr. Patrick opened the discussion to questions. Ron Schuloff asked if we could get started with the program this year if the Board were to approve the RFP tonight. Dr. Patrick said that we could.

More

Eric Rauschenbach reviewed the annual updates and changes made to our District wide Safety and Emergency Management Plan.

District Treasurer, Lisa Zareski, District Treasurer presented a Treasurer's Report where she detailed information about needed budget transfers explaining they are necessary because staff often move from one building to another.

New Textbooks

Speaking about curriculum, Dr. McIntosh described a new book that 8th graders will be reading in their English classes. The book, Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi is a modern retelling of the classic Pride and Prejudice. The students are reading this as a comparative text which encourages critical thinking and unlearning some of their own prejudices. Dr. McIntosh describes the book as “relatable” and provides students with an opportunity to read “Black joy”.

Budget Resolution

During the Action Items portion of the meeting, Colleen Brown recommended that the Board adopt the proposed budget resolution. The Board members each took turns voicing their support of the proposed budget and voted unanimously to pass it.

The Board also voted unanimously to adopt budget transfers, the property tax report card, an RFP award for a behavioral energy savings program, proposed new textbooks, the Heathcote Main Office renovations bid award, and a proposed gift to the Middle School.

The Board unanimously approved the Board Budget Insight Letter in support of the proposed budget which will be published in the next Insight publication.

School Safety

During public comment, two parents expressed concerns about school safety. Both parents advocated for a School Resource Officer (SRO) at each school and asked if the District had plans to hire such employees, especially in light of the school shooting that recently took place in Tennessee.

In response, both Dr. Patrick and Mr. Rauschenbach encouraged the parents to write to the administration so they could provide more detailed answers to their specific questions. They also said there are many factors that play into the decision to employ SROs in our schools … one is that it can substantially change the culture of the schools. Mr. Rauschenbach went on to highlight the work done by our District’s Emergency Response Team and our partnership with Scarsdale Police Department.

Ass’t Superintendent for Business Stuart Mattey reported on six upcoming facility bids and RFPS.

What’s Going On

Dr. Patrick reviewed some of the exciting things happening in our schools. In our elementary schools students are taking their learning outdoors into the schools’ educational gardens and learning about germination and planting. As spring brings good weather, many of the elementary schools have also restarted their “Walking School Buses” enhancing not only physical well-being, but social and emotional well-being too. Dr. Patrick also described a special performance at Heathcote Elementary, a visit from author Ellen Ho at SMS, the first annual “Able Lacrosse Classic” at SHS, and the SHS Science Research Symposium where seniors in the program shared their projects and presented their work. Dr. Patrick extended congratulations to the SMS Science Olympiad Team who brought home 10 metals from State competitions. In conclusion he drew attention to two important, upcoming dates: Eid al-Fitr on April 21-22 and Earth Day on April 22nd.

Board Updates

Board members gave additional updates on various happenings in our community.

Robert Klein spoke about an author visit on Tuesday, April 18th sponsored by the Safe Coalition with author Rachel Louise Snyder who will discuss her book: No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us.

Colleen Brown spoke about a meeting she attended at Southern Westchester BOCES on April 12th. Ms. Brown gave some details about their budget and then emphasized that it this year recognized BOCE’s 75th anniversary.

Suzie Hahn Pascutti reminded the audience about an upcoming joint SMS/SHS PTC program featuring our DEI consultant Dr. Derrick Gay. The program, Are Scarsdale Students Prepared for Success in a Globalized World, will be held in the SHS Auditorium on April 25th at 7:30 p.m.

The Board held a special meeting on Monday April 9th with several community volunteer and liaison groups including, Scarsdale Advocates for Youth (SAY), Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling, Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation, Maroon and White, and the Safe Coalition. BOE president Amber Yusuf described the annual meeting as an opportunity to enhance communication between all agencies and to discuss how the Board can further support each organization’s efforts. The meeting also ensures that all parties are aware of issues as they arise and of community sentiment. Yusuf added that the Board values their partnership with these organizations who help support our students and strengthen our community.

Watch a video of the board meeting here.