SHS Students Tour Spain During Winter Break
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Over the February winter break 20 students and two teachers traveled to Spain from February 6 - 19 as part of the Spanish exchange program at Scarsdale High School. This program is intended to expose students to Spanish culture and introduce the students from Spain to American culture. The first part of the exchange took place in October, when 20 students from Spain came to Scarsdale and stayed with host families.
Students on this trip were able to emerge themselves in the Spanish culture since for most of the duration of the trip they lived with Spanish families. Scarsdale students experienced typical days in the lives of the Spanish students and attended school with them.
Along with living with the various Spanish students, Scarsdale students as a group toured the center of Madrid, visited Toledo and took an overnight trip to Seville. The students also worked on their Spanish speaking skills since most of the parents of the exchange students did not speak English.
The students who went on the trip said that touring and tasting food in Spain was incredible but what they liked the most was the relationships they created with fellow Scarsdale students on the trip.
SHS junior, Abby Ducker says, " My favorite part of the trip was touring Spain with my friends. Normally when I travel it's with my family but it was an amazing experience to travel with people from school rather than my family because I met a lot of people from different grades who I wouldn't have otherwise known. By the end of the trip we had all made so many memories and we bonded a lot and I think that this was the best part of the whole trip".
Commenting on the trip, school psychologist and former Spanish teacher Ernie 
Collabolletta said, "This is our fourth year with the program and we now do it on a yearly basis, not every two years like before or what the French classes do. We exchange with a school in Madrid called Colegio Ramon y Cajal. Something new we did was to go to Sevilla for two days with the AVE (super fast train) and stayed in a hotel for a night, and toured the city for two days. The kids loved it because it was so different from Madrid. The highlight of the trip was the language experience and this year, unlike last year, when four students had to go to the hospital, no one got really sick. The trip was fabulous. Although the kids were different and have unique personalities, they each came away with the experience of wanting to return."
Overall students raved about the trip, noting that mentors Susan Lasalle and Ernie Collaboletta, who accompanied the students, did a great job at making the trip fun and keeping everyone safe.
In Defense of the Non-Partisan System
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As many of you already know, Scarsdale will have its first "democratic" election for Village Trustee on March 15th. This year, voters will have the opportunity to write in the name of their candidate of choice, rather than simply vote for candidates that were selected by Scarsdale Non-Partisan Party. Traditionally, Scarsdale's one-party system allows voters only the power to say "yes" to the candidates selected by the Citizen's Nominating Committee, a group of elected nominators from Scarsdale's five school districts.
But this year, due to an administrative glitch, there are three open positions for Village Trustee, and only two names pre-printed on the ballots. This means that voters can write-in their own choice for Village Trustee for the open slot –and if they wish, they can write in names for the other two slots as well. Scarsdale will be using paper ballots so completing the ballots should easy.
Is this a reason to question Scarsdale's non-partisan system? Two community leaders believe the system has served us well. We received the following letter from Howard Nadel, who chaired the Citizen's Nominating Committee, and below that, we are publishing comments on the non-partisan system and the upcoming election made by Mayor Jon Mark at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday night February 23rd.
(From Howard Nadel)
I am writing on behalf of the CNC and the Non-Partisan System to address some concerns raised by some members of the community regarding the actions of the CNC. This year, I had the great honor of serving as the Chairman of the CNC. Previously, I served the CNC both as a voting member and as a non-voting member. Looking back on those times, I can say, without hesitation that the deliberations in the current session were conducted at as high if not higher level than any previous year in my experience.
Each candidate for village office was given an opportunity to appear before the CNC and to express their views to the CNC in presentations framed by a set of pre-determined open-ended questions. The CNC reviewed each candidate's statements and interviewed his or her references. In addition, outside sources of attribution were sought from members of the Organizations and Councils with which the candidates provided community service.
The members of the CNC began their deliberations in early December and concluded in late January. They sought attribution and checked and rechecked all of the statements they had received. And in the best tradition of the CNC, spirited but fair debate followed.
The members of the CNC are a group of volunteers, chosen in an open, village-wide election; they are not a "cabal." By participating in the CNC one has the privilege of meeting talented, accomplished candidates for government positions and decide, with fellow committee members, which persons would be the best nominees. The members do not choose based on gender, religion, or geographic location in Scarsdale. They do not have an agenda or favorite candidates.
The Scarsdale non-partisan system has worked for many decades and is not broken. It is widely regarded as a model of non-partisan municipal election system and has been supported throughout the years by the League of Women Voters as well as the Board of Trustees itself. New candidates Seth Ross and Jane Veron should NOT stand aside. They were selected by the same "broken system" which chose Mayor Mark, Trustees Stern, Lee, Callaghan, Finger, Pekarek, and Samwick.
If, as a few have suggested, the system is "broken" as to any one, then it is broken for all!
It should be noted that, by tradition, Trustees may be selected for two 2-year terms and not for one 4-year term. The instructions given to the committee for this session and the previous one last year were not to assume ownership of any particular trustee position by an incumbent, but to consider all candidates equally. This is believed to encourage greater interest and participation by new potential candidates than if incumbents were deemed to be favored. Service and track record for two years as a Trustee should certainly be given significant weight, but there is no trump card. In this frame of mind, the CNC did not consider itself replacing one individual with another, but choosing the best candidate given all the information available to it. Although it is not usually done, an incumbent not selected to run for a second term could seek to run for another term again, in two or in four years, and be selected.
The Rules of Procedure which govern the CNC were created in December of 1930 and have been amended many times over the years, most recently in December of 2013 . The rules are available to all members of the community, and reviewing them will dispel any notions of secrecy as a goal in the proceedings:
"1. Each Committee member will observe strict confidentiality at all times as to all discussions and decisions of the Committee. Confidentiality is intended to promote an atmosphere conducive to free and open debate within the Committee. It is also intended to prohibit discussions by Committee members with their families, including spouses. The Chairman shall have sole responsibility for publicizing the results of the Committee's proceedings."
Those Scarsdalians who feel dissatisfied with either the process or results of the CNC, this or any year, can best find satisfaction by participating in the Procedure Committee and by running for and serving on the CNC. Anyone doing so will find that the selection process is a careful, considerate one; it does not follow pre-ordained ideas and results. The inside of the CNC room is not what the occasional naysayer may imagine it to be; the committee consists of thirty dedicated, thoughtful, nonpartisan citizens committed to their beautiful village and its future.
Howard L. Nadel,
Chairman of the CNC
(From Mayor Jon Mark)
The Pending Board Election
My comments this evening are not on a municipal matter per se, but on a subject that has an impact on oversight of Village matters, namely the upcoming election to fill Trustee positions on this Board.
For almost 100 years the Village has been well served by a Village manager form of government. What that means is that day-to-day the Village is managed by a full time professional staff led by the Village Manager pursuant to authority delegated by this Board. This Board of resident volunteers provides supervisory oversight of the Village staff much in the manner that a Board of Directors oversees the management of a corporation. Notwithstanding our volunteer status, we take our positions very seriously and among other things commit a great deal of our time to fulfill our roles in a thoughtful and responsible manner. A sense of giving back to the community in which we live is our reward.
The two year terms to which the members of this Board are elected are staggered and so each year there is a Village-wide election to fill positions of the Board members whose terms are up. The process by which that is accomplished is governed by the New York State Election Law. In order to meet those requirements the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party was formed to nominate candidates for election to this Board. The body that makes those nominations is the Citizens' Nominating Committee, or CNC, and its duties are laid out under the Non-Partisan Resolution. The resolution is available on the web site of the Scarsdale Procedure Committee at: www.scarsdaleprocedurecommittee.org.
Currently, the system works as follows: the Village is divided into five "election units" coinciding with the five elementary school districts. Each fall, each of the election units elects two representatives to the CNC, for a term of three years, so that the CNC has a total of 30 voting members, six from each election unit. Candidates for election to the CNC are named by petition signed by at least ten Scarsdale voters. The petition must be accompanied by a biographical sketch of the candidate. Any person may submit such a petition, and there may be several candidates for the positions to be filled on the CNC in any year. It is at this level that contested elections are a part of, and encouraged by, the system.
At successive meetings, the first of which must be held before January 10 each year, the CNC chooses a single candidate for each Village office for which the incumbent's term ends in that year. The CNC is, in effect, a caucus of the Citizens' Party, under which title the nominees of the CNC run for election. It is also important to note that notwithstanding this process, under New York State election law, almost any resident adult can get on a ballot by simply collecting 150 signatures and filing a request for inclusion on the ballot with the Village Clerk. Further, a person not on the ballot can be elected by write-in vote. In short, there is more than one avenue to being elected to a seat on this Board.
In explaining the rationale for the non-partisan system, former Mayor Warren Cunningham put it this way in 1940 on the occasion of celebrating the 25th anniversary of Scarsdale's incorporation as a Village:
"By means of its system of selecting nominees, Scarsdale has called into public service a succession of able men and women, expert in many fields. Under any other system they would not have been available. Few of them would have had the time or inclination to contest as partisan candidates for petty public offices, whereas all have responded willingly to the request of their neighbors that they perform for a time, a public service."
That brings me to this year's process and the circumstances we are presently facing. For reasons known only to the members of the CNC, Trustee Deb Pekarek was not re-nominated for a second term as Trustee. Quite frankly, that result took me by surprise. As I have said previously, Trustee Pekarek has served – is serving – with distinction as a Trustee. She is thoughtful, dedicated and committed to the Village. It is pleasure to serve with her on this Board. I believe that view is held by the other Board members as well. I see no reason why she was not re-nominated for a second term. However, that did not happen. Much to her credit Trustee Pekarek has taken that result with uncommon grace and has stated that regardless of that outcome she still supports our non-partisan system. I can only commend her for taking the high road in what must be a tough situation personally.
I would not have been prompted to comment on this matter
but for the second unusual event that has occurred. That is that the name of Seth Ross, one of the CNC nominees, will not appear on the ballot for the election to be held on March 15, 2016. It appears that this was a matter of an inadvertent oversight in the processing of required paperwork for which the Chair of the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Campaign Committee has taken responsibility.
As a result, in order to fill one of the Trustee seats this year a write-in vote will be required. While anyone can be written in, the two most logical names to choose from are either Trustee Pekarek or Mr. Ross since they have publicly stated their willingness to serve. In last week's Inquirer, Trustee Pekarek was quoted as saying that if she were voted in by write-in she would be "honored to continue to serve" and we would be honored to have her re-join us. However, according to the article Trustee Pekarek said she was not intending to mount a write-in campaign and will leave it to others to decide what to do.
As for Mr. Ross, the same issue of the Inquirer included an article profiling him, his credentials, his record as a volunteer in the Village and his interest in serving on this Board. I have worked with Mr. Ross in the past on Village matters and believe that he too would make a fine Trustee if elected.
And so here we are. The non-partisan system that has served us so well for so long faces a challenge of sorts this year as a result of the confluence of unanticipated events. As a Mayor with slightly more than one year left in my term, I have no vested interested in this matter and look forward to working with whoever is elected in March. However, it is my desire that the community not take the unusual circumstances presented this year to be a reason to doubt seriously a system that has allowed us to focus on the nuts and bolts municipal issues that matter without the distraction of partisan politics. It is my hope that those who care about how the Village operates can take the long-term view of the benefits of our system. Trustee Pekarek who has served the Village in an exemplary fashion but who was not selected by the CNC for a second term has stated that she remains committed to the importance of the non-partisan system and to the success of Scarsdale's political structure. This is as telling an endorsement of our chosen form of government as there can be.
Learn More About the Benefits of Studying Mandarin
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This article was submitted by the Mandarin in the Middle School Initiative Team: Just in time to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Scarsdale school administration took a very important step to give our students a strong world language program in the Scarsdale Middle School. Dr. Thomas Hagerman, the superintendent, and Ms. Lynn Shain, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum announced that if at least 48 rising Scarsdale sixth graders sign up for Mandarin, that globally important language will be offered in the Scarsdale Middle School. Dr. Hagerman also stated that if at least 48 students sign up, the administration will commit to offering Mandarin for at least three years in the middle school. This means that the 2016 cohort of 6th graders would be able to take Mandarin all three years before ascending to the high school, where Mandarin has already been offered for five years. The video of the Board meeting can be accessed here.
The Mandarin in the Middle School Initiative Team thanks the Scarsdale administration for offering Scarsdale parents and students the possibility for the first time in Scarsdale's history of being able to choose one of three languages in the Middle School. Last year's October 2015 World Language Survey for Fifth Grade Parents had a statistically strong response rate. As can be seen in the tables and data in the survey included here parents of fifth grade students chose Spanish and Mandarin as their top language choices for their children, significantly surpassing the choice of any other foreign language.
This week, fifth grade parents received a notice on Monday February 8th from Ms. Lynn Shain informing them that Mandarin is now a choice available to them for their children. Parents will receive forms on Tuesday, February 9th so that they can make their world language choice.
Earlier this January, the Scarsdale administration had already given the district the good news that in the middle school, it will increase the frequency of French and Spanish instruction to daily from only a few times a week. The academic literature concurs with Ms. Shain that increasing the frequency of exposure in a foreign language helps students deepen their aural and oral skills.
Many nearby public and private middle schools such as in Brewster, Briarcliff, Croton-on-Harmon, Great Neck, Mamaroneck, Manhattan, Pelham, New Rochelle, Princeton, Rye, Westport, and White Plains have already been offering Mandarin in the middle schools for quite a number of years. Scarsdale parents and students deserve to have greater choice in foreign languages in the Middle School that go beyond the Romance languages of French and Spanish.
The Mandarin in the Middle School Initiative Team is pleased to announce that it is launching a Facebook page, Scarsdale Learns Mandarin, to provide resources to Scarsdale parents who are interested in learning about the many benefits of studying Mandarin. We welcome you to join us.
Claire He, Brice Kirkendall-Rodríguez, Mayra Kirkendall- Rodríguez, Joanne Teoh, Wanna Zhong & Julie Zhu
FAQ's About Mandarin:
Are you wondering whether or not your child should sign up for Mandarin in sixth grade? Here are some FAQ's from students in the honoros Mandarin Class at Scarsdale High School for your consideration:
Why did I take Mandarin?
I first took Mandarin because I love Chinese food. Chinese economy is developing therefore learning Mandarin would make it helpful to get a job. My family members also took Mandarin and they enjoyed it. I wanted to learn how to translate the different Chinese characters I have come across in my life. In high school the mandarin class is taught by Ms.Gu who is great and we all love her. I mainly wanted to learn Mandarin to be able to connect with the 1.3 billion Chinese people in the world.
Is learning Mandarin difficult if I am not Chinese?
If you are not bothered by memorization, Mandarin is not difficult. I found it fun and easy. It is also easy because there is no conduction like in Spanish and French.
Is learning Mandarin fun?
Yes it is fun because we play a lot of games in class and our teacher is great. This interactive learning that we have every day in class tremendously contributes to our learning and makes it fun. The Chinese culture is very interesting and our teacher constantly makes sure to incorporate Chinese culture into our curriculum. We also got to go on a field trip as a class to China town in the city. The small classroom environment we have in Mandarin class makes the learning environment fun because it keeps everyone engaged.
How can Mandarin help me later in life?
China's economy is growing and there are many Chinese people in the world so being able to communicate with people who speak mandarin will prove as an advantage later in life.
And here are responses from Kara Elcik who is an SHS senior currently in Mandarin Honors class:
Why did I take Mandarin?
I started taking Mandarin when I was living in Hong Kong and I wanted to learn how to speak the language that most people in China spoke. I continued taking Mandarin when I returned to the states because I found how valuable being able to speak Mandarin was and I did not want to lose the Chinese culture I loved in Hong Kong.
Is learning Mandarin difficult if I am not Chinese?
Many people who take Chinese are not Chinese and these people have never found Mandarin anymore difficult than those who are Chinese. I have friends in my class who are Chinese and friends who are not Chinese and I never feel that any of us have an advantage over each other.
Is learning Mandarin fun?
Learning Mandarin is so fun! Not only is the teacher amazing the classes are small so I have developed friendships with everyone in my class that I would never had the chance to form if I did not take Mandarin. Our teacher Ms.Gu understands how Mandarin can appear almost impossible to learn but she finds a way to make it fun and interesting making all of us want to continue learning. Along with all these benefits it is an extra bonus to surprise all my friends by telling them that I speak Mandarin.
How can Mandarin help me later in life?
I have already seen how helpful Mandarin is and I'm only 17! Mandarin has helped me and my fellow classmates get into the colleges we aspired to get into. Mandarin adds to all of our unique personalities and has given all of us a different perspective of the world that we will carry with us no matter where we go.
Letter from Brice Kirkendall-Rodriguez
Introductory Mandarin at the Scarsdale Middle School? Carpe Diem 5th Graders!
Our schools' superintendent Dr. Hagerman and the administration are to be commended for seizing upon an unexpected opportunity to create a cost-neutral pilot program for Mandarin instruction at the Middle School. It's a bold step that demonstrates a willingness to adapt and to be nimble. These positive attributes are often associated with successful companies but are not always acknowledged when observed in the public sector. All members of the community should applaud this clear sign of leadership. Parents of fifth graders can make an even more significant statement of support by actually registering their children to study Mandarin if this was ever an aspiration.
While it is true that our Chinese-American community has been passionate about the addition of Mandarin at the Middle School, this should not be mistaken for an attempt to dominate a program of study. On the contrary, it would not be surprising if most of the 20 or so fifth-graders that have native speaking abilities in Mandarin will choose to study Spanish in the Middle School. Would you enroll your fluent child in a class that the administration has stated will be introductory? Advocacy for Mandarin in the Middle School is born of a love of the Chinese culture and recognition of a previously glaring omission in our school curriculum. Ironically, the most likely beneficiaries of this pilot will not be the most public voices behind the initiative. Rather, this is a terrific opportunity for children with little to no prior exposure to the language.
For the first time in Scarsdale, sixth graders will have the opportunity to challenge themselves to learn a level 4 language well ahead of the pressure to build a college-ready GPA. Your rising sixth grader will actually have an advantage over his or her three year older self because your student's brain is better equipped at age 11 than at age 14 to begin learning a new language. If there are classmates of Chinese descent, they are likely to have the same fears and apprehensions about learning a new language as any child in the class without Asian DNA. For those with some prior Mandarin exposure, the decision to register would probably be to strengthen their grammar and oral proficiency just as a child of a French-speaking parent might choose to register for French. If anything, fellow students with some prior exposure to the language make great study partners!
The introduction of Mandarin to the Middle School is not likely to dramatically change the proportions of students choosing each language. Spanish will remain the most popular choice because children can build upon their exposure to the language in elementary school and because it too is one of the top languages spoken in the world. However, if your child and you had always wished for more choices, carpe diem. You are being given a brand new opportunity to help your child develop a 21st century skill set. Combined with Scarsdale's new STEAM initiative, your child might one day be designing new products for customers that reside in what is soon to be the largest consumer economy in the world. Or, perhaps your child will grow up to treat patients here at home using the third most widely spoken language in the U.S...Mandarin.
Brice Kirkendall-Rodriguez
19 Fox Meadow Road
Fun at Fox Meadow Tennis Club
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An expected snowstorm that delayed and then closed schools on Friday February 5, didn't stop 32 paddle enthusiasts from playing in "The Vixen" at Fox Meadow Tennis Club. In an annual rite, the participants were separated into four teams and played in the snow until the sun emerged in the early afternoon. In a grown up version of color war, the pink, orange, green and blue teams battled it out and also enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Martines. In the end, the green team was the victor but everyone felt like a winner after a lively day of paddle and camaraderie. On Saturday February 6, Todd and Gail Leone won the mixed doubles final against Rick Sobel and Nanette Koryn in a close hard fought match 4-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Homestead Act Could Bring Big Tax Increase to Christie Place Condo Owners
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Scarsdale is now undergoing its second village wide tax revaluation in just two years, after a period of 45 years without a village wide reassessment. Part of this process is consideration of the adoption of the Homestead Act which would change the way the Village's 42 residential condominiums are assessed. Since all the condos in the Village are located at Christie Place (42 residential and 5 retail units), this decision has the biggest impact on those property owners. If adopted, these units would be taxed similarly to single family homes of the same value, rather than based on their potential rental income.
A joint meeting of the Village Board of Trustees and the Scarsdale School Board was held on Monday night February 1 to review the issue. According to a report from Village Assessor Nanette Albanese, the 42 residential homeowners at Christie Place would pay an estimated average of $14,464 in real estate taxes in 2017, on units valued from $737,000 to $1.9 million. If Homestead were adopted the average real estate tax for a unit at Christie Place are estimated to rise by $13,409 to $27,873 or almost double. On the other hand, if the Village does not adopt Homestead, and does not collect the additional $563,185 from Christie Place homeowners, the burden will be shared among Scarsdale's 5,698 homeowners at a cost of approximately $99 each.
The Village and School Board considered the adoption of Homestead in 2014, but after heated objections from the Christie Place homeowners, it was not adopted. Now the issue is on the table again.
In 2014, the stakes were even higher. Christie Place homeowners were paying an average of $11,500 in real estate taxes and if Homestead were passed, this number would have been tripled to an average of $36,000 a unit. When it was not passed, it resulted in an average $160 bill for all the other taxpayers.
At the time, Christie Place residents argued that their units were designated for buyers age 55 and up, who are therefore not utilizing the schools. When they purchased the units, no one knows whether or not they were made aware that their assessment status could change. Since a change in the law would impose a burden on a very small segment of older residents and offer a minimal benefit to the community, Board members voted "no" to adopting the Homestead at the time.
However, since that time Scarsdale seniors who live in single family homes have called on the Board to adopt Homestead, as seniors in single family homes are paying high taxes and also receiving no benefit from the schools. They don't think it's fair to provide this benefit to senior condominium owners.
The Scarsdale Forum's Assessment Revaluation Committee urged the Village Board to adopt the Homestead Tax Option in 2014, and that Committee is now preparing a report on the Homestead Tax Option for 2016. Commenting on the issue committee member Robert Berg said, "Based on the comments of the Board members at the February 1 meeting and my conversations with a couple of trustees afterwards, it seems likely they are not going to adopt Homestead. I think there is no principled basis to perpetuate a massive tax break for the Christie Place residents which is being paid for by the rest of Scarsdale's taxpayers. The Trustees in our non-partisan system are not supposed to act in response to political pressure from the loud, the wealthy, the powerful, and the connected. But that's what they did in their disgraceful decision to object to the Monte Nido project, when they should have stepped aside and let the wealthy, powerful neighbors deal with the issue themselves. And that's what I fear the Board is planning to do again in regard to the Homestead Tax option. Tellingly, the Village's Advisory Council on Scarsdale Senior Citizens unanimously recommends that the Village Board adopt the Homestead Tax option in connection with the 2016 revaluation. The Council correctly notes, in its letter to the Mayor and Trustees, dated November 17, 2015, that it is especially unfair for the many Scarsdale seniors who reside in single family homes (many of whom faced substantially increased property taxes following the 2014 revaluation) that the Christie Place residents continue to receive special tax treatment."
The Village Board will hold a hearing on the issue on February 9 following their regular 8 pm meeting at Village Hall. If they adopt Homestead, then the School Board can decide whether or not to adopt it. If the Village Board votes no, the School Board will not consider the initiative.
Learn more by attending the February 9 meeting at Village Hall.
