The Lindenhurst School District welcomed back students Wednesday for the of the 2012-13 school year, and that night at the monthly Board of Education business meeting, Superintendent Richard Nathan reported it went well.
"It was a good opening day, and we're glad the rain held off," Nathan told attendees at the meeting on at the .
Changes for 2012-13
He also talked about some of the changes for the new school year.
"We have a new serving line at the . The ceiling at the has also been repainted and refinished. The speaker system has also been refreshed," Nathan said.
These were set in motion back in February, and completed this past Summer.
As a result of New York’s new anti-bullying law, the District updated its student code of conduct. It contains "a new cyberbullying code," Nathan said.
The District is also putting together new teacher evaluation guidelines as a result of the state's new mandate (revised teacher and principal evaluation law ), the superintendent said.
Going Green
The District is also becoming more eco-friendly.
"Beginning with the first progress report this year and going forward, all progress reports and report cards at the secondary level will only be available online through the Parent Portal of the District's website," Nathan explained.
"Paper versions will only be mailed by exception, at the request of a parent," he continued. "However, we do encourage parents to sign up for the Parent Portal to view the progress reports and report cards."
New Math
The District is also instituting a new math program at the LMS level. Called GO Math , it's part of the NYS Common Core Curriculum Standards .
The math curriculum change turned some of the math textbooks still in use into obsolete equipment, the disposal of which was one item on the agenda the BOE approved.
Other approved agenda items included an update to the Athletic Code of Conduct, plus several field trips - such as changes to dates of the LEFT field trips in September and October and a trip to Spain and Portugal for approximately 30 LOTE - Spanish Adelphi and 11th-grade students in March.
The APPR and Core Curriculum mandates have also made the District add two more superintendent's conferences to the roster this year: October 2 and March 14.
"But since we're now outsourcing the grading of the ELA exams for grades three through eight - which took teachers five days to score - teachers won't be out of the classroom any extra time because of this," Nathan said.
The superintendent then pointed out the upcoming Meet the Teacher nights:
- September 10: , 6:30 p.m.
- September 12: , , , and (please check with the individual schools for the exact times per grade.)
- September 13: LHS, 7 p.m.
- September 20: LMS, 7 p.m.
- September 24: SEPTA, meeting and Meet the Teacher Night at the LHS, 7 p.m.
Planners
Student planners were also discussed. After being questioned why they were cut by Board Member Ray Doran, LHS Principal Dan Giordano said after reviewing their use and finding many of them ended up being thrown out, it was a line item cut that saved about $8,000.
"We discussed we weren't giving out planners at last week's orientation, and parents were pretty okay with it," Giordano said.
BOE Member Ed Langone countered many students still do rely on the planners, and Doran said it might be disconcerting since so much emphasis is put on students using them when transitioning to the middle school.
"Could we possibly make some available for purchase at the students' or parents' cost?" asked Langone.
Giordano said he could look into it, perhaps offering something with less "bells and whistles" to be offered at the school store.
