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Ward Melville High School. File photo by Greg Catalano
Additional transportation costs would come from within the budget

By Mallie Jane Kim

Will Three Village secondary students get 35 minutes more sleep?

Most parents who showed up to comment publicly at school district-sponsored forums Sept. 10 and 17 believe they should.

“This is basic biology,” said one parent, who identified herself as a neurologist and pointed to scientific studies on adolescent sleep needs. She said allowing teens to sleep later impacts more than academics and test scores. “Mental health improves, physical health improves, there are less motor vehicle accidents from those seniors,” she said. “It really seems like a very small price to pay for all of those advantages.”

The school board is considering a proposal to shift Ward Melville High School’s start time to 7:40 a.m., from 7:05, and push the junior high schools back from 7:40 a.m. to 8:15. Under the plan, Minnesauke Elementary School would join the three schools that start at 9:25 a.m., and Nassakeag would stay at 8:40. 

The district is gathering feedback from all residents and employees through an online form to inform the school board’s decision. Each household in the district was sent a flier with a QR link to the form.

The proposed schedule requires nine additional buses and will add an estimated $1.4 million to the transportation budget, based on the district’s 2024-25 contract with the bus company, which is subject to change. Those funds, however, will have to come from within the existing overall budget, which for this school year is $236 million. Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon has made it clear there is no will within the district to go above the state-mandated limits on increasing taxes year over year.

“We don’t have an unlimited pot of money,” Scanlon said. “We do not want to exceed the tax cap for any of these issues.”

The superintendent noted that the district has already been working to tighten its belt anywhere possible, including a $770,000 savings from restructuring the administration and about $3 million from retirements last year.

At the forums, some parents pointed out that in the context of a $236 million budget, $1.4 million amounts to about half a percent.

“I can’t think of anything we could do that is this easy for a million dollars that could benefit the kids this much,” commented one parent on Sept. 17.

District officials have publicly acknowledged they believe early school start times are a major problem for adolescents but have pointed to issues of transportation logistics and related costs in delaying a change.

Scanlon, who mentioned about 10% of high school students chronically miss first period, presented a detailed background of efforts to make secondary school start times later, as well as the rationale for trying to do so. 

“The issue for us is the way the schools are structured,” Scanlon explained, referring to the staggered school start times that allow the district to use far fewer buses than if all the schools started around the same time. “This is saving us money — if we change back to a different configuration, it’s going to cost us money.”

The current setup started in 2011, after the district adjusted start times to use fewer buses. For that effort, Three Village received a management efficiency grant from New York State paid out over three years and totaling $747,789, according to the district. 

But some commenters said these early start times highlighted an equity issue within the district: Certain parents have the ability to drive their students to school in the morning, which isn’t possible for those who have to be at work early or do not have anyone to stay home with younger sleeping children. 

“What we’re saying is the kids who have advantages — whether that be financial or their parents’ time — can sleep an extra half hour or 45 minutes and do better in school,” one woman argued. “And their mental health is more important than those kids who don’t have those advantages. That’s really troubling.”

Not all public commenters were against the early start times. 

“I thought it was disciplined,” said a woman who identified herself as Karen and said she had two Three Village graduates and current student. She added that her son couldn’t compete as a track athlete because he was up too late at night, studying. 

“If we had moved that start time up later, he would have stayed up even later,” she said. “I know in my household, it would not work.”

Others on social media and at the forums raised concerns about future transportation costs soaring due to the New York State mandate to electrify bus fleets in coming years, something Scanlon emphasized was out of the district’s control and an “unfunded mandate.”

Scanlon indicated that, as of the Sept. 17 meeting, about 200 people had participated in the online survey, and so far the opinions were varied. He encouraged every stakeholder to participate and let the school board hear their feedback.

“They read everything,” Scanlon assured audience members. “They will read every comment made by every community member, good, bad and indifferent.”

The online feedback form will be open until Sept. 30, and the board of education plans to discuss the issue in October.

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From left, senior Sophia Anderson, AP art teacher Stefanie DiLorenzo, video production teacher Chris Esser and senior Jeremiah Moody. Not pictured: Hannah Kravets and Rafael Bennett. Photo courtesy of the Three Village Central School District

Two Ward Melville seniors and two recent graduates were recently selected to have their work displayed in the prestigious All-American High School Film Festival.

Congratulations to seniors Sophia Anderson and Jeremiah Moody, and to Ward Melville High School alumni Rafael Bennett and Hannah Kravets.

The AAHSFF is the premier destination for talented high school filmmakers and media arts enthusiasts from around the world. The four students were chosen as Official Selections, which are films that will be screened at the festival from Oct. 18-20. Each year, thousands of films are submitted by student filmmakers from around the globe and the best are selected by a panel of judges as Official Selections. All Official Selections are eligible to be nominated for an award which will be announced on Oct. 20. The festival takes place each year in New York City.

 

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Board of Education meetings are typically held at William J. Brosnan School. Photo credit GoogleMaps

By Lauren Feldman

At the Sept. 5 Northport-East Northport Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Dave Moyer and his team presented on Professional Learning Communities, an educational plan that has been under consideration by the board in recent months.

The presentation goals included introducing foundational Professional Learning Community principles, providing examples of teacher collaboration, discussing the role of eduCLIMBER in supporting PLCs, and sharing district plans for year one implementation.

“PLCs are not a program, they’re not an initiative, they’re a culture,” Moyer said.

Moyer began by discussing John Hattie, who performed a study to help determine the most crucial aspects of schooling that affect learning. Hattie identified the top factor as what he called Collective Teacher Efficacy, or a collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students. This is the concept on which PLC is based.

The PCL Method focuses on the surrounding areas which impact student growth. Courtesy Northport Board of Ed

PLC promotes that the purpose of schooling is to unite teachers in student education, not just rely on the efforts of a single teacher. “When teachers share their best strategies with one another, students win,” according to a PLC video that Moyer played for the board. “By sharing strategies, resources and data, teachers create more opportunities for their students to reach grade level and subject proficiency. PLCs give you the opportunity to improve your teaching practice with a team that shares your vision.”

Moyer explained that, crucially, PLC is teacher collaboration based on measurable evidence. “There are things we do in school that we think affect student learning, but in actuality don’t impact student learning,” he said. “Collaboration is critical, and the practice has to demonstrate results.”

PLC collaboration seeks to answer four questions: What is it we want our students to learn? How will we know if each student has learned it? How will we respond when some students do not learn it? How can we extend and enrich learning for students who have demonstrated proficiency?

The superintendent’s team also talked about work the district has done over the summer to begin to implement PLCs in Northport schools. One action is the implementation of a new way to track data, called eduCLIMBER.

This system is designed to provide district data alongside nondistrict data to better inform schools of the status of its students. On a student level, eduCLIMBER can help chart academics, but also attendance, behavioral incidents and interventions. On a district level, the tool can be used to track student, parent and staff surveys, school climate and culture and budget. 

Teachers can then use this data to better inform specific goals in the PLC process.

Moyer also discussed plans for implementing PLC this academic year. During a recent administrator retreat, attendees reviewed concepts from “Cultures Built to Last: Systemic PLCs at Work,” a book by Richard DuFour and Michael Fullan.

The first Monday of every month would include teacher collaboration time: meetings designed to complement and strengthen the work of PLCs, where faculty can discuss what is and is not working in their classrooms.

Principals will also have to assess the specific needs of their schools and provide the district with a focus area for their PLC plan. This will help the district understand what each school is aiming to improve for the academic year.

Members of the board posed some follow-up questions. When asked for data on what other schools have implemented PLCs, the superintendent and his team were unable to provide that information, though Moyer said there are lots of reasons a school may not implement PLCs, including insufficient data systems, or districts being otherwise unable to report on their students.

The superintendent emphasized that PLCs take a long time to implement. In high schools, they may take up to 10 years to flesh out. However, he sees this system as a positive way forward for Northport schools.

The board thanked the superintendent for his presentation, and many members valued the vision of PLC for the district. Northport schools will move forward with PLC implementation, and track student and school progress as the year continues.

The next BOE meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18.

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Photo courtesy of Rocky Point School District
Photo courtesy of Rocky Point School District
Photo courtesy of Rocky Point School District

With eager smiles and backpacks in tow, students of the Rocky Point school district kicked off the school year on Sept. 4, ready to meet new teachers and reconnect with old friends.

At Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School, cheerful sidewalk chalk messages of positivity and kindness set the tone, as students were welcomed back to classes.

The district’s first week unfolded smoothly, as students, faculty and staff, across the district’s four buildings, seamlessly transitioned from summer fun to the inaugural days of September.

— Photos courtesy of Rocky Point School District

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Superintendent of Schools, Jessica Schmettan. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad

By Aramis Khosronejad

A Port Jefferson Board of Education meeting was held at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School in the afternoon of Sept. 10. The meeting was led by Superintendent of Schools Jessica Schmettan. 

The report began with a review of the damage caused by the flash floods that swept through the Port Jefferson community in August and the possible repercussions. Then the report shifted to an overview about the summer programs that were available to students over the summer. Toward the end of the meeting, the chair of the Port Jefferson Royal Educational Foundation, Leza Di Bella, covered news on the annual fun run, which aims to fund projects in the school district. 

Schmettan’s report opened up with updates on the flood damage the local schools suffered due to the flooding that took place. The band room in the high school lost a wall, the entirety of the lobby was flooded with rainwater, the “bowl” in front of the high school was entirely flooded and ruined, as well as various losses to school materials and tools. 

The cleanup was quickly and impressively done before the school reopened. Deputy Superintendent Sean Leister addressed the funding that would need to take place in order to facilitate the repairs done to the school such as replacement of “music stands and chairs.” Leister explained how the district hoped to make Port Jefferson eligible for recovery funding. Meanwhile, he warned the board to anticipate some budget transfers. 

A few updates at the high school were highlighted during the meeting. The high school has implemented a new retaining wall behind the school, the middle school family consumer science classroom was redone, and a shining new computer lab was constructed which was an initiative led by Robert Neidig, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Summer programs

Award recipient, Tracy Zamek. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad

The meeting then moved to an overview of the different, eclectic programs the school district facilitated over the summer. Jodi Cahill, the director of special education, took the podium and began by describing the extended summer program held for special needs students. The program was divided into three age-based cohorts with 25 children total. Highlights included a “clowning around” event with Jester Jim, a Paris 2024 Olympics-themed program, a Holtsville Ecology Center field trip, an under-the-sea collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension and bowling at Port Jeff Bowl. The program concluded with a field day, in partnership with Sayville BOCES, featuring activities for the children. 

Michael Caravello, director of music and fine arts, then took over and talked about the various music programs that were available for students over the summer. The programs were aimed to encourage “collaboration and problem solving in a relaxed, fun atmosphere” according to Caravello. He mentioned how next summer they hope to broaden their array of programs beyond just musical instruments and onto further fields of fine arts. 

Next, Adam Sherrard, director of health, physical education and athletics, talked about the eclectic collection of sports. The athletic programs included football and tennis through volleyball, all meant to encourage younger children to become passionate and engage with Port Jeff athletics in the future. Older high school students also participated in these programs and helped coaches train and practice with these kids. In a turn of events, the summer athletic program this year increased in participation after a steady decline in recent years. Summer programs also consisted of a book club, social skills program, as well as STEM for both secondary and elementary students.

Di Bella took the podium and talked about the annual fun run. An award was given to Tracy Zamek, a BOE trustee, for her contributions to the school district. It was in fact her idea to facilitate the fun run which has funded so many Port Jefferson School events. The run this year will be held on Sept. 28.

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New principal, John Holownia, in front of Ward Melville High School. Courtesy John Holownia

By Mallie Jane Kim

For Ward Melville High School’s new principal John Holownia, the first week of the 2024-25 school year has been a bit surreal — he grew up attending Three Village schools and graduated from Ward Melville in 1999. 

“It has been fantastic,” he said. “It’s not something I ever imagined when I was a high school student walking around the hallways.”

Holownia returns to his old stomping grounds after serving as an assistant principal at Shoreham-Wading River High School since 2019, and before that as a special education teacher in the Comsewogue school district.

It’s not his first time returning to his home turf, he said, as he coached football at Ward Melville for a few years as a young adult in the early 2000s after earning his bachelor’s degree in English literature from Princeton University. Returning mid-career as the high school principal, though, is a whole different ball game.

“My biggest priority right now is to just learn,” Holownia said, pointing to the high school’s reputation for excellence and his desire to keep it that way. “The most important thing I can do is learn how things work here and how things have been done in the past, and get a real feel for what has made Ward Melville such a successful place.” 

Holownia replaces acting principal Paul Gold, an assistant principal who stepped in last November after the previous principal, William Bernhard, was reassigned. Gold has since retired.

Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon, who was a social studies teacher at the high school during the years Holownia attended, said he looks forward to the new principal’s successful administration.

“John will be a tremendous asset to Ward Melville High School,” Scanlon said in an email.

Holownia is already thinking ahead to the structural changes the district has planned for 2025-26. The plan is for sixth grade to move up from the elementary schools into the junior high schools, and for ninth grade to move into Ward Melville, making it a four-year high school. 

District staff and administrators have been working out over the past year the adjustments and structural modifications necessary for the high school to accommodate adding an academic grade level.

“Certainly that’s going to need to be well-coordinated,” Holownia said. “We’ll be putting all those programs and things in place to make sure we’re ready for that change.”

But for now, he’s focused on acclimating to the current set of students under his purview. 

Three Village Board of Education officially appointed Holownia to his position April 3, and he’s been working in the building since July 1. He has enjoyed seeing staff and students filling the corridors after a quiet summer of preparation, he said. 

“The energy in the building really comes from the kids,” Holownia said. “It’s been exciting, and definitely a great start to the year.”

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METRO photo

Since schools reopened following the pandemic, more than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent. That is an estimated 6.5 million more students than before the pandemic, according to a Stanford University study, conducted in partnership with The Associated Press.

But, that is not the only price our students have paid, as a result of the pandemic. The time away created massive academic setbacks, and transformed our classrooms from that of pen and paper to computerized, at-home assignments — to this day. Our children no longer can enjoy the pleasures of a snow day, because their work can be accessed from bed.

Our children no longer can enjoy the pleasures of a snow day, because their work can be accessed from bed.

And, to boot, a mere 13% of K-12 students give their school an A on making them excited about learning, according to a recent Gallup and Walton Family Foundation-State of American Youth survey.

So, with the U.S. ranked only 38th in math scores and 24th in science, according to a 2015 study, what can we do to keep our children engaged, and focused on their school work?

TBR News Media offers a these suggestions, from our online research:

1. Maintain open communication with your child’s teachers and school administration. Your continued positive involvement shows your child that you value their education.

2. Involve your kids with nature. The more relaxed your children are, the greater the likelihood they will develop sharp critical-thinking skills, and maintain focus.

3. Offer incentives. It is no secret that any reward — no matter how small — is psychologically proven to bolster work performance.

4. Support teachers. With the added stresses of adapting to challenging learning environments, it is important to offer cooperation and compassion.

5. Provide hands-on learning opportunities, when possible. Tactile learning is shown to be much more engaging, stimulating and far more likely to be retained and implemented in daily life. In other words, it can feel more useful to a child, than worksheets, which can be repetitive and uninteresting.

Remember, Whitney Houston was onto something!

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Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo
Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo
Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo
Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo
Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo
Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo
Back to school on the North Shore 2024. Photos from Syntax and Toni-Elena Gallo

Local students had their first day of school on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Their parents happily saw them off, and the kids were excited to catch up with all of their friends on the bus, and in the parking lot.

 

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Suffolk County Community College recently completed its Summer High School Offshore Wind Turbines course, designed to introduce high school students to the burgeoning field of wind energy. Photo courtesy of SCCC

Suffolk County Community College has announced the successful completion of its recent Summer High School Offshore Wind Turbines course, designed to introduce high school students to the burgeoning field of wind energy. The college held two separate summer sessions and provided students with a comprehensive, hands-on learning experience.

The first camp was comprised solely of participants from the South Huntington School District. The second camp welcomed students, including those from the South Huntington School District, as well as participants from the New York State STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) grant program

The program is sponsored by a grant awarded by the Offshore Wind Training Institute, an organization administered by SUNY Farmingdale and Stony Brook University. The grant is titled “Strengthening the Wind Energy Education Pipeline (SWEEP).”

The offshore wind turbines course is part of Suffolk County Community College’s broader effort to prepare students for careers in the renewable energy sector. This grant also enabled the college to expand its welding and composites training programs. Since the launch of these programs, students have successfully completed both the welding and Introduction to Basic Composite Technology courses, with a majority of students passing the American Welding Society (AWS) certification exam.

As part of the students’ comprehensive training experience, all students in the welding and basic composite technology programs also participated in career exploration workshops. These workshops featured guest speakers from the National Offshore Wind Training Center, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and Community Offshore Wind, offering valuable insights into the industry and future career paths. As a result, a number of students have already interviewed with labor unions for potential pre-apprenticeship opportunities in the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Additional students are scheduled to participate in these programs throughout 2024 and 2025. An inaugural cohort of a 60-hour composites course, leading to a national certification by CertTEC, is scheduled for Spring 2025. The college has also developed offshore wind career exploration modules in collaboration with the Institute for Workforce Advancement. These modules aim to engage underrepresented populations and post-high-school students by providing insights into wind energy fundamentals, local projects, and career opportunities. To date, three workshops have been held, with 12 more planned throughout the remainder of the grant project. Portable simulations will be used to enhance engagement at career fairs, libraries, and community venues

About Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk County Community College is the largest community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, enrolling approximately 21,000 students at its three campuses in Selden, Brentwood and Riverhead. Suffolk offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), and Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees, as well as a variety of certificate programs. Offering affordable college tuition, a highly respected Honors program, workforce training programs, extensive extracurricular activities, championship athletic teams, and numerous transfer programs, Suffolk is a first-choice college for Long Island students. Visit us online at sunysuffolk.edu.

Research/Work reported in this press release was supported by SUNY System Administration under SUNY Offshore Wind Training Institute.

STEP is funded by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Project # 0516-24-0041Office of Access, Equity and Community Engagement Services (OAECES) & Office of Postsecondary Access, Support and Success (OPASS).

 

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Stony Brook University: Entrance sign

Stony Brook University MAT Program serves a key role in graduating future physics teachers

For the seventh time in nine years, Stony Brook University (SBU) has been recognized by the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) as a member of the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) 5+ Club for its outstanding work in graduating nine physics teachers in the 2022-2023 academic year.

From left, Muxi Liu (Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Physics), Dr. Gillian Winters (Lecturer, MAT Program in Physics), and Daniel Treu (MAT Graduate). Photo by David Genik

This significant feat was achieved through the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and Astronomy and administered by the Institute for STEM Education and the School of Professional Development.

“In this science and technology driven modern society, early physics education is increasingly important. In recent years, the Department of Physics and Astronomy has been a national leader in producing well qualified high school teachers through its MAT program, now directed by Professor Angela Kelly,” said Chang Kee Jung, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “We have received the 5+ Club recognition seven out of the past nine years, and in Academic Year 2022-23, we graduated nine new physics teachers, which is an historic record for our MAT program. As the chair of the Department I challenge the program to become a member of the 10+ Club, which is yet to be established. We are very close to the Chair’s challenge goal and I am very proud of our MAT program.”

“The SBU Department of Physics has a long history of excellence in physics teacher preparation, which grew under the stewardship of Dr. Robert McCarthy for many years,” said Angela Kelly, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Institute for STEM Education and director of the MAT Program. “We plan on redoubling our recruitment efforts to reach the Chair’s goal of 10 physics teachers per year to serve secondary students on Long Island and beyond.”

According to the APS and AAPT, graduating more than five physics teachers in an academic year puts SBU in the 99th percentile of all US colleges and universities. With a shortage of qualified physics teachers in the United States, SBU’s MAT program serves as a driver in remediating this shortage. Further, the MAT program was previously identified as a thriving physics teacher education program in the 2018 PhysTEC study of eight exemplary programs in the United States.

 

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