Monday, January
27, 2003...At Monday’s School Board meeting, Mr. Jon Roth, Director of
Athletics, announced the 2002 Fall Scholar Athlete Teams. The New York State
Public High School Athletic Association recognized these teams. A team receives
the Scholar Athlete designation if the overall grade point average of a
predetermined number of athletes on a team is at least 90%, but additional
requirements are also considered. The 2002 Fall Scholar Athlete Teams and their
overall grade point averages are as follows: Golf (90.26), Boys’ Volleyball
(90.72), Girls’ Volleyball (94.24), Girls’ Tennis (93.13), Girls’ Soccer
(91.69), Boys’ Soccer (91.03), Football (90.62), Girls’ Swimming (90.79), Girls’
Gymnastics (90.92), Girls’ Cross Country (90.49) and Boys’ Cross Country
(91.23).
Mr. Roth also recognized a number of athletes for
receiving honors above and beyond league status. The Girls’ Soccer Team
qualified for the New York State Championship. This is the first time in over
ten years that a Grand Island High School team, male or female, has qualified
for this championship. Two of these soccer players received All State Honors:
Savannah Stolzenburg (2nd Team All State) and Jamie Dougherty (3rd Team All
State). With 146 goals, Dougherty is the leading scorer in Western New York and
Grand Island’s all-time leading scorer. Mr. Roth stated that Stolzenburg and
Dougherty are “unquestionably the two most successful girl soccer players we
have had in years.” Also in Girls’ Soccer, Tina Coates and Savannah Stolzenburg
were named to the 1st All WNY (Western New York) All Academic Soccer Team. To be
on an All WNY All Academic Team, a player must have a combination of high grades
and athletic skill.
Other athletes also earned honors.
Kelly Beatty finished 3rd in New York State in Diving at the State meet this
fall. This was Beatty’s second trip to the State competition. In Golf, Tom
Rajczak and Matt Hagen were Section VI State Qualifiers, and Jeff Pickel earned
a spot as an alternate. John Colosi was named a 1st All WNY Boys’ Volleyball
Player. Grand Island has never had a 1st All WNY Volleyball Player before.
Colosi holds a career and Viking season record for “kills” in volleyball. In
Boys’ Cross Country, Kevin Buzzelli was named Champion of the Niagara Frontier
League Meet. He placed 4th in the Section VI Tournament. In his second
consecutive trip to the State meet, he finished 29th out of over 130 athletes.
In Football, Pat McCarthy earned these honors: 1st Team All WNY Linebacker, 1st
Team All WNY All Academic Football Team, and 1st Team All New York State
Linebacker.
Mr. Roth concluded his presentation by
congratulating all of these outstanding athletes. He stated that they make him,
as Athletic Director, “very proud.”
The School Board then
approved the minutes of the January 13 and January 16, 2003, meetings of the
Committee on Special Education. Also, they approved the minutes of the January
22, 2003, meeting of the Committee on Preschool Special Education.
Next, Dr. Karen Karmazin, Assistant Superintendent of
Curriculum/Instruction, presented a report to the Board concerning Staffing
Guidelines for the 2003-04 school year. The staffing guidelines outlined in her
report are recommended in order to achieve equity across buildings with respect
to the student-teacher ratio. It is important to note that the district is not
bound to these numbers contractually—they are recommendations only. The
information that follows is taken from Dr. Karmazin’s report.
Elementary Guidelines
Class Size Guidelines by Grade Level
Kindergarten First & Second Grade Third through Fifth Grade
18-22 20-24 22-26 For
example, it is recommended that a first-grade teacher have no less than 20
students and no more than 24. These guidelines were shared with the principals
at every school. They are consistent with other suburban schools across the
county. The distribution of students at the various grade levels and across the
three elementary schools (Sidway, Huth and Kaegebein) results in a decrease of
six classroom sections and teachers.
Dr. Karmazin noted
that the most pressing needs at the elementary level are to maintain adequate
reading assistance, particularly at Kaegebein, in order to improve student
achievement and to implement a reading intervention model at Sidway Elementary
in order to aid struggling readers among Grade 1 students. Two part-time
positions in the areas of English Language Arts and Math will be added to
improve student achievement. They will provide coordination and staff
development across all three elementary school buildings.
Middle School Guidelines
Guidelines by Grade Level or Subject Area
__6th_ 7th, 8th Math, S. Studies, English Science LOTE(1) HAT(2) ___PE__ Health
24-28 105-125 100-120 120-140 90-110 120-140 115-135
PE = Physical Education
(1) - Languages Other Than English - student load is typically spread over 6 classes
(2) - Home and Careers, Art and Technology For example,
it is recommended that a sixth-grade teacher have no less than 24 students and
no more than 28 per class. Guidelines for the subject areas reflect the average
number of students assigned on a daily basis to the seventh- and eighth-grade
teachers in those subject areas. For instance, it is recommended that a
seventh-grade Social Studies teacher have, on average, no less than 105 pupils
and no more than 125 pupils per day.
Dr. Karmazin’s report
includes the recommendation that one additional guidance counselor be added at
the Middle School level.
High School Guidelines
Guidelines by Subject Area
English, Math, S. Studies, Science, Art, Physical Health
___LOTE, Computers___ Business Tech. Education 12th Grade
105-125 85-105 90-110 130-150 120-140 Please
refer to the above explanation under Middle School Guidelines in order to
interpret the High School Guidelines. As an example, it is recommended that a
High School Science teacher have, on average, no less than 85 students and no
more than 105 students per day. Current projections indicate no significant
change with regard to the total enrollment for the High School population of
1,020 students. Based upon new guidelines, Dr. Karmazin projects a decrease of
1.6 positions in the High School.
Unallocated
Positions
Since enrollment fluctuates in terms of the
overall number of students and the number of those enrolled in specific subject
areas, Dr. Karmazin recommends that 4 unallocated positions should be included
in the school budget.
Note: The staffing projections are based on the
enrollment projections that were made in January 2003 and should be used for
budget planning purposes only. Specific staffing determinations are subject to
change until September 2003.
The Board next turned their
attention to Personnel actions. They approved the following substitute teachers:
Catrice Byrd (Elementary and Special Education), Dianne Germele (Elementary),
and James Woodridge (Music). Two resignations were accepted by the Board. These
were Gary Lazik, Bus Driver, effective January 21, 2003; and Henry Buck,
Substitute Bus Driver, effective January 28, 2003. Finally, the School Board
appointed Catrice Byrd as a Substitute Teacher’s Aide.
Dr.
Karen Karmazin then presented an Update of the Grand Island Comprehensive
District Education Plan (CDEP). This plan was created by a group which included
faculty and administrators from all schools and representing all disciplines,
parents, representatives from business and higher education, a Board of
Education liaison, and others. The CDEP is a strategic plan that looks at
English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies to identify ways in
which student achievement can be increased.
Dr. Karmazin
presented graphs that showed English Language Arts and Mathematics Performance
at the Grade 4 and Grade 8 levels. Achievement was shown in terms of a School
Performance Index (SPI) and was compared to the State Standard. In the English
Language Arts (ELA) Assessment, the State Standard was 145 in the 2001-02 school
year. In that year, Grade 4 students in Kaegebein and Huth performed above the
State Standard with a SPI of 174 and 188, respectively. Grade 8 students also
did better than the State Standard in the ELA Assessment; their SPI was
159.
In the Math Assessment, the State Standard was once
again 145 in the 2001-02 school year. In that year, Grade 4 students in
Kaegebein and Huth performed above the State Standard with a SPI of 166 and 183,
respectively. With a SPI of 157, Grade 8 students also beat the State Standard
in Math in the 2001-02 school year.
The goals of the
Comprehensive District Education Plan (CDEP) are to (1) close the gap in English
Language Arts in Grades 4, 8 and 11 and (2) close the gap in Math in Grades 4
and 8. The gap referred to here is the room for improvement between a school’s
most recent School Performance Index and an SPI of 200, which is what the CDEP
hopes to have schools achieve. This would mean that all students would be
performing at high levels of proficiency. By 2014, all New York State students
must achieve proficiency levels of 3 and 4 in the English Language Arts (ELA),
Math, and Science Assessments. The ELA Assessment covers listening, reading and
writing. All students who enter High School as freshmen in September 2001 or
later will be expected to show academic proficiency by passing Regents exams
with a score of 65 or better in English, Math A, Global History and Geography,
U.S. History and Government, and one Science course.
The
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Thomas Ramming, next spoke about the boiler
project at Charlotte Sidway School. The Board has received word from the State
Education Department that the project will be approved. Two new boilers will be
put in at Sidway. Dr. Ramming stated that bids will be taken beginning in early
February. The Board unanimously approved funding for this
project.
Board President Jeri Schopp mentioned the 25th
Annual Legislative Breakfast. It will be held on February 8, 2003. She also
thanked the Grand Island PTA Council for the reception they hosted to honor Dr.
Ramming as the new Superintendent of Schools and remarked that the event was
well organized. Dr. Ramming then expressed his appreciation to all those
involved with the reception.
The next meeting of the School
Board will be at 7 p.m. in the Middle School Little Theater on February 10,
2003.
