School Safety and Security is Top of Mind at the Board of Education Meeting
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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School safety and security remain top of mind for district parents. At the October 21 meeting of the Scarsdale School Board PTC President Joey Silberfein gave lengthy public comments calling for the school administration to allow parent representation on the district’s Safety, Security, Emergency Management Committee and District Safety Director Mike Spedaliere gave an update on safety drills conducted by the schools to date this school year.
The issue of the composition of the SSEM Projects Committee was also discussed at the September meeting. That committee reviews and recommends projects for implementation. This committee is comprised of cabinet members (administrators), staff leadership and a member of the Board of Education. There are no parents on this committee.
According to School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman, the role of this committee is to define best practices, look for opportunities for mitigation and put these projects into a timeline for review and implementation.
At the September meeting, Board members Karen Ceske and Ron Schulhof asked the administration to assign a parent to this committee on a trial basis. Carl Finger asked the district to outline the roles of these various committees on the website to clarify confusion about the district’s four safety committees. (To date this information has not been posted.) At the conclusion of the September meeting, Dr. Hagerman said the composition of the SSEM committee would be re-considered. Since that time, a teacher was added, however parents remain unrepresented.
At the meeting on October 21, Joey Silberfein, who is President of the PT Council said the PTC Executive Committee was “Disappointed that the district has made a decision not to include parent representation in the newly formed SSEM Projects Committee which we understand will make critical decisions about safety and security measures to implement and how to prioritize that implementation measures in our schools.” She said, “We have yet to hear a compelling reason to justify the reason for excluding parents who represent over half the users of district buildings on such a committee.”
She continued, “Why is this so important? … First of all – these are our children in the buildings. We have an obvious stake in their safety, security and health. Our aim is the same as yours. Keeping our children safe. Second – we and our children use the buildings. As parents, we provide a much-needed perspective and feedback on safety measures that should be implemented. We also have access to information from our children and a different perspective than anyone at this table. We should use that perspective to the district’s benefit. Parents use the buildings in a unique way and our input is valuable and necessary. The parents in this community have not heard a consistent or compelling reason why parent representation should not be added.”
“The reasons we have heard articulated are that the committee doesn’t want to add parents, that parents are represented elsewhere and that there are confidentiality concerns. We believe these reasons are red herrings. Along with the Board of Education we believe that these questions should never have gone to the committee. The district should be making the decision about the representation of a district committee …. While representation on other district committees is also important and necessary that representation is not a substitute for representation on the SSEM Committee which plays a different role. In fact it’s this different role why teachers and Board of Ed members wanted to be added to the committee.”
“We are here again to press upon you the importance of parent representation on the SSEM Committee, a committee which has the role of ultimate policy formulation. There is also no basis to believe that the PTC President would not honor confidentiality or would somehow breach confidentiality. Dr. Hagerman has noted that the committee is mostly housekeeping and is winding down. If that’s the case, why would a teacher and a Board of Education representative just get added? Why would people object so strenuously to a parent being there?”
“All stakeholders should have representation on the committee and parents are equally important stakeholders. Parents should be there too. We are equally important stakeholders and we should be there too. The SSEM is missing an important voice that is integral to their decision making. If you are ultimately not going to have a parent on the committee, we implore you to get parent input before decisions are made.”
Safety and Security Update
Director of District Security Mike Spedaliere gave an update on year to date security activities reporting that the district has run:
26 fire drills throughout the district – some with the participation of the Fire Department
5 lock down drills – with the assistance of the police
2 evacuation drills and 7 bus drills
He said, “We are well on our way to meeting our required number of drills by December 31”
They have also been running tabletop training exercises and assigning school staff to their positions in case of an emergency. He said, “People will be familiar with their duties in the event of an emergency.” Mattey reported that the district is working on “Improvements to the lock down systems, evacuation procedures, identifying meeting spots and visitor procedures. He said that the district’s emergency communications system would be tested on October 29 with test emergency emails and texts sent to parents and high school students. In addition, Mattey reported that the district is looking to improve their overall internal radio communications within and between district schools.
Board President Scott Silberfein said he heard about several fires at Scarsdale High School due to vaping. Mike Spedaliere said there are cameras in the bathrooms and that aides are checking the bathrooms. However the two alarms had nothing to do with vaping. Dr. Hagerman noted that educating students about the dangerous chemicals involved in vaping was important to prevent students from risking their health.
Finally, the Board adopted the District-Wide Safety and Emergency Plan that details the district’s preparedness plan and emergency response protocols. The purpose of the plan is outlined here:
“Districts are required to develop district-wide school safety and emergency management plans designed to prevent and effectively manage such events to minimize the effects of serious incidents and emergencies. These plans also facilitate the coordination of the District with local and county plans and resources when incidents and emergencies occur” Districts are required to develop district-wide school safety and emergency management plans designed to prevent and effectively manage such events to minimize the effects of serious incidents and emergencies. These plans also facilitate the coordination of the District with local and county plans and resources when incidents and emergencies occur.
See the entire plan here:
During the meeting, Board member Ron Schulhof said he supported parent representation on the SSEM committee. In the follow-up comments to the meeting, Board President Scott Silberfein said it was up to the district to communicate with the PTC on the issue of the composition of the committee. Dr. Hagerman said they had met and discussed the issue.
Also of interest ….
Theater
The Board appointed Tobias Peltier as the new theater coordinator – a new title for the district. He is a Tony-award winner. During the facilities portion of the meeting, Stuart Mattey announced that funds may finally be available to update the theater/auditorium at Scarsdale High School, an item that has been cut from several bonds and budgets.
Lights at Butler Field
The Board approved a proposal to accept a gift of $48,502 from Maroon and White at their next meeting to begin the architectural work and soil borings to install the lights at Butler Field in advance of the fundraising to pay for the entire project. The target date for the fundraising of $810,000 is January 2020 and they hope to install the lights in the summer of 2020.
Rendering of proposed comfort station at Scarsdale Middle School.Comfort Station at Scarsdale Middle School
Another long-discussed item also appears to be in process. That is a bathroom – or comfort station at the Scarsdale Middle School Tennis Courts. The school district met with the Village to discuss the project. Mattey proposed a resolution to the Board to support the project at their next meeting. A memorandum of understanding or licensing agreement would lay out all the details around building and managing the station. Dr. Hagerman complimented the design and said it would be a nice addition to the district.
Greenacres Elementary School
A meeting with the Greenacres Neighborhood Association will be held on Wednesday October 30 at 7 pm at Greenacres. The community is invited. Mattey reported that the construction process and daily environmental testing are going well.
Watch the meeting online here.
Sports News: Raiders Win Section 1 Championships
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- Written by Anna Cho
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The Raiders Girls Varsity Tennis Team won the Section I Championship on Sunday October 13. The girls played over the course of three days against Somers, Harrison, and Byram Hills for the championship. Although some of the matches were very tight, the girls pulled through and continued to work their hardest and cheered each other on. The team sent one singles player and four doubles teams into post-season play.
On Friday October 11 the Raiders went 4-0 against Somers, then scored another 4-0 victory over John Jay. Harrison proved to be a very tough adversary in the semi-finals, where Scarsdale came out on top 4-2. Many of the matches against Harrison were split sets and went into grueling tiebreakers.
The final match was against Byram Hills when Scarsdale again scored a 4-2 win and took the Section 1 title. The victory capped off an excellent regular season when the team finished undefeated with a 16-0 record with no one on the team losing a single league match.
According to Coach Jennifer Roane: "This is the first team section 1 championship for Scarsdale. We were seeded #1 going into the tournament; The girls handle the pressure well and let their tennis speak for themselves."
Megan Niu and and Maggie Maronilla playing second doubles against Byram Hills.
Some of the players will play in the Conference tournament which starts on Tuesday October 15 at White Plains High School. The conference line-up is:
Singles:
1. Anya Kornfeld
Doubles:
1. Zoe Tucker/Natalie Hu
2. Laura Mendes/Luisa Mendes
3. Maggie Maronilla/Megan Niu
4. Maggie Akuetey/Emmilyann Tsai
Team members: Zoe Tucker,Natalie Hu, Anya Kornfeld,Luisa Mendes and Laura Mendes, Megan Niu, Maggie Maronilla, Maggie Akuety, Emily Anne Tsai, Devin Goldman, Sabrina Siegel, Anna Cho and Natalie Schonfeld.
Senior captain Maggie Akuetey, serving against Harrison.
Raiders Shine Under the Lights vs. Ossining
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- Written by Ray Cooper
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Scarsdale driving for a TD Deep in Ossining territory.There was a slight autumn chill in the air on Friday night September 27 as the Scarsdale Raiders hosted the Pride from Ossining. The Raiders were coming off their first loss of the season – to perennial powerhouse New Rochelle. On Senior Day, the Raiders put forth an extremely well balanced effort and dominated the Pride 43-20.
Scarsdale won the opening toss and took possession off the opening kickoff at its own 37. The opening drive began as a solid Raider ground game, and saw Quarterback Ben Miller keep the ball on a dash up the middle for a 35 yard gain, after a Julian Glantz 11 yard run. After two running plays from the Pride’s 26 yard line, Julian Higgins converted a 10 yard pass from Miller and ran to the Ossining eight yard line. In its only failure to score from the red zone the entire evening, Scarsdale turned the ball over on downs at the Pride five yard line. The Scarsdale defense, which was playing without co-captain Harry Song, held the Pride to limited yards on Ossining’s first possession. As would prove for most of the contest co-captains Sam Feldman and Dean Mancini led the Scarsdale front four in controlling the line of scrimmage. The Raiders were aided by what was the first of several holding penalties on the Pride – negating what might have been a large gain.
Raiders receive pregame instruction.
The Pride was forced to punt deep within its territory. The punt was shanked to the left and Scarsdale was left sitting pretty with a first down at the Pride’s 20 yard line. Runs by Higgins and Glantz brought the ball to the Pride four yard line. Glantz then rushed the ball in from the four yard line with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter -- behind solid blocking from the offensive line. Following an offside penalty on the extra point, Scarsdale switched to a two-point conversion attempt. Fullback Jake Potters took Miller’s handoff home and the Raiders took an 8-0 lead.
After a strong kick off by Bennett Abbe – who consistently put the ball deep in Pride territory all night, Ossining took the ball on a touchback at its 25 yard line. On the first play of the possession, the Pride’s RB fumbled the ball and Glantz recovered– putting Scarsdale in business at the 15 yard line of Ossining. Two plays later and with six seconds left in the quarter, Noah Borst took a pitch from Miller to the end zone. After the first of five extra points by Abbe, the Raiders took a 15-0 lead into the second quarter. Scarsdale controlled the ball for almost the entire quarter – a theme that would prevail for most of the evening.
Ossining took possession and moved the ball to midfield – highlighted by QB Jahseem Gray’s keeper. Mancini then sacked Gray for a huge loss on second down and Nose Tackle Edward Eforo and Linebacker Brendan Knopp stopped the Pride on third down forcing them to punt again. The Raiders then continued its strong running game as Glantz and Higgins moved the ball upfield. On a big fourth and one, Miller snuck in behind Center Eforo and Scarsdale had a first down. Miller then kept the ball for a 15 yard gain. After an incomplete pass and a stymied run, Scarsdale was faced with a long third down. With a little more then a minute left in the half, Potters then took a pitch from Miller for 31 yards and the Raiders third score of the evening. The Pride moved the ball towards midfield after RB Daquan Ray rushed the ball for a 20 yard gain. Ossining then tried a half back option, but Miller, who also plays corner back, intercepted the ball deep in Scarsdale territory. Scarsdale played the clock out for the rest of the quarter and the Raiders went into the locker room at halftime leading 22-0.
During halftime Scarsdale celebrated senior day by having its seniors and their families – as well as the senior cheerleaders -- come onto the field for a special honor:
The seniors are:
Scarsdale Senior football players and families await halftime ceremony.
Michael Callahan
Ian Rothenberg
Aiden Burden
Harry Song
Tom Reynolds
Adam Freihofner
Jack Cioffi
Sam Feldman
Chris Saenger
Dean Mancini
Tyler Miller
Richard Gao
The second half started with Scarsdale’s Potters putting a big hit on the Ossining kick returner. The Pride then put together what was probably its best drive of the evening. A mix of QB keepers and Ray’s running moved the ball to the Scarsdale half of the field. After a Gray 20 yard connection to RB John Turnquist and an eight yard rumble by Gray, the Pride had possession of the ball on the Scarsdale 16. Turnquist moved a draw up the middle to the Scarsdale six. Following a small gain on a keeper, QB Gray snuck in on a two yard plunge – putting the Pride on the scoreboard with a little under two minutes left in third quarter. On the extra point attempt, Mancini busted through the Ossining line and blocked the attempt – making the score 22-6 going into the final quarter of play.
Scarsdale started the fourth with an exciting series of plays. After a 13 yard gain by Higgins off a nice pitch by Miller, the Raiders struck on the longest play of the game. Quarterback Miller’s 20 yard pass deflected off the hands of the Pride safety and landed in the outstretched arms of receiver Noah Borst who sped down the field and took the ball to the house, completing a 65 yard TD. With the score now 29-6 early in the fourth quarter Scarsdale’s confidence was apparent. The ensuing kickoff to the Pride almost led to a turnover as Abbe’s planned short kick-off was almost recovered by Ian Rothenberg who raced down the field and showed tremendous hustle in almost completing an incredible play.
Ossining did not stop playing, and after a first down and a Scarsdale penalty, possessed the ball on its own 41. At that point the Raider defense again came through. On a fourth and six near midfield, Feldman made a solid stop of the Pride’s Ray, and Scarsdale took possession of the ball again. On the second play from scrimmage, the Raiders struck again! On a sweep off the left side, Higgins raced the ball 45 yards, landing another Scarsdale touchdown. Following another Abbe extra point, with 7:40 left in the game, the Raiders took an untouchable 36-6 lead.
The following set of downs saw the Pride undertake its best drive of the day – marked by a 20 yard run by Turnquist. A controversial roughing the passer call on a fourth and long gave the Pride the ball on the Raider 31 yard line. On the next play Ray took the ball on a 31 yard scamper into the Scarsdale end zone. The Raiders successfully defended the two-point conversion attempt and Scarsdale led 36-12 with six minutes to play in the affair.
Scarsdale had its final score of the evening on its last possession of the game. Potter ripped off runs of 20, 8, and 25 yards setting Scarsdale up inside the 10 yard line. Fullback Adam Freihofner blasted through the Pride defense for a three yard touchdown at the 3:02 mark, and the Raider lead soared to 43-12. The evening wrapped up with Ossining scoring a touchdown and converting a two-point conversion with 17 seconds left. The game ended with the scoreboard showing a 43-20 victory for the Raiders.
Coach Andy Verboys was quite happy with his team’s showing and said: “after last year, we were in unchartered water (in coming after a losing season) and we were looking for a strong bounce back year. We are starting to play as a team on both sides of the ball and I’m very happy with that.” Speaking to the immediate future, Coach was very optimistic saying: “we are almost all healthy now and getting everyone back will help us continue our progress.” Quarterback Miller echoed the coach’s comments by saying: “we are really becoming a family and playing great together as a team.” Verboys finally noted that his team had “won a few close games early in the season which built some momentum.” He looks forward to facing a “strong and fast” Mount Vernon team next weekend. The victory brings the Raiders record to a solid 3-1 while the Pride remains winless at 0-3.
Girls Tennis Team Completes Season Undefeated at 11-0
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The team celebrates Senior Day with Coach Jennifer Roane.The Scarsdale Girls Varsity A Tennis Team finished the regular season undefeated at 11-0, coming out number 1 in their league. Their final match was a 7-0 sweep against Mamaroneck.
The post season matches begin on Friday October 11. Scarsdale is seeded number 1 in the section.
The first post season match will be played against Somers at Somers on Friday.
The second round is Saturday at 12:30 against Edgemont.
The semi-final will be played on Sunday at 10 am at Harrison High School, with the finals at 1 pm.
Come out and cheer on this amazing team.
Raiders Tennis Team Scores 6-1 Vs. Horace Mann at Home
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- Written by Anna Cho
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Megan Nui and and Maggie Maronella after their 6-1, 6-3 win against Horace Mann.
The Scarsdale’s Varsity A Tennis is on a roll. Now at 9-0, the team scored two victories in the past week. They had a stunning 7-0 away match on Friday September 20 against Fox Lane and scored 6-1 in a non-League match against Horace Mann on Monday September 24.
Although the tennis team has played against Fox Lane previously, some of the girls were still nervous going into Friday’s match. However, as the match progressed, they got into the swing of things and simply, “played their game,” according to senior Captain Luisa Mendes.. With a really strong team this year, Mendes believes, “the team will win the league, win the conference, and go undefeated.” Junior Zoe Tucker beat rival, Leah Tuluca, in a grueling 6-4, 6-2 match. As this was the fifth time these two adversaries have played each other, Zoe claims she had to “go in with a specific strategy and although it was a rough beginning I pushed through and ultimately felt great about my match.”
The girls have had a 9-0 record so far, and hope to go undefeated this season. On this strong team, every player on the team is undefeated in League matches.
The team had another stellar day on Monday 9-22 with a 6-1 victory over Horace Mann, following their 7-0 shutout of Fox Lane on Friday 9-19. They have barely dropped a match all season.
Though Horace Mann is not in Scarsdale’s league, Coach Jennifer Roane set up the non-league match to give her team more court time against one of the toughest teams in the area. She told the girls, the match was a “challenge” that forced them out of their comfort zones.
The competition was fierce with players on all courts driving deep balls to the baseline and keeping their opponents near the fence. It was great spectating and a good opportunity to watch some highly skilled young players.
Senior Captain Luisa Mendes warms up before the Fox Lane match.Doubles team and sisters Luisa and Laura Mendes walked off the court with a score of 6-3, 6-4. We watched the duo hitting strong deep shots and challenging their opponents until the player at the net had the chance to put it away.
In second doubles, Megan Niu and Maggie Maronella scored a 6-1, 6-3 win. They said their strategy was to play consistently, identify the opponents weaknesses, adjust when they needed to and going for the poach at the right time.
In third doubles Maggie Akuetey and Emilyanne Tsai came away 6-4, 6-1. They said they hit steadily, take their time and wait
Maggie Akuetey and Emilyanne Tsai were all smiles after their 6-4, 6-1 win against Horace Mann. for an opportunity to be aggressive at the net.
We were not able to watch the fourth doubles team of Anna Cho and Natalie Schonfeld as they played on the other set of courts – but they looked pleased with their 6-1, 6-2 triumph.
Horace Mann brought some dynamite singles players with them on Monday. On court one, Scarsdale’s Zoe Tucker fought hard against Sofia Allinson. Allinson drives hard deep balls, both cross court and down the line and proved to be a fierce opponent. Though Tucket gave it her all, she came away with her first loss of the season, falling 6-1 and 6-2 to Allinson.
Natalie Hu hits a forehandat Fox Lane.Freshman Natalie Hu also had a long battle again Horace Mann’s JJ Ryu. The points were long and looked exhausting. Hu was undaunted by her senior opponent and won 6-4, 6-1.
In third singles, junior Anya Kornfeld had an easier time, beating Allison Markman 6-0, 6-0. It was a steamy September day and Kornfeld looked like she had a workout.
It’s a big week for the team who played Urusline on Wednesday September 23, scoring another 7-0 sweep. A non-league match against Harrison which was planned for Thursday 9-25 was cancelled due to weather.
Junior Anya Kornfeld, playing 3rd singles, is undefeated.
Teammates Zoe Tucker and Anna Cho shake it out after the match.
