Seven NYS Regents Reject New Teacher Evaluation Changes
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4598
In an unusual show of dissent, seven members of the 17-member Board of Regents have signed a statement opposing the recently enacted new teacher evaluation law and the State Education Department's proposed regulations that would make student test scores the most significant factor in teacher evaluations.
Citing their accountability to the public and their review of research, the seven Regents say the current amendments "are based on an incomplete and inadequate understanding of how to address the task of continuously improving our education system."
In order to "remedy the current malfunctioning" teacher evaluation system, they call for a delay of implementation; a significant reduction in the weight given to student standardized test scores, a reduced role for "external" evaluators, and consideration of the developmental needs of English Language Learners and special needs students. Click here to read all six of their "essential" proposed amendments.
The Board of Regents is elected by the Legislature and charged in the State Constitution with the power to set P-12 education policy. The new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) law, enacted by the Legislature and Governor as part of the State Budget on April 1, set key parameters but left it up to the Regents to interpret the details through regulations.
Among the signers of the opposition statement is Regent Judith Johnson, who was elected in March by the Legislature to represent Scarsdale and other communities within the 9th judicial district (Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Orange and Rockland). Back in April, as a participant on the Scarsdale Forum panel discussion on the Common Core held at Scarsdale High School, Regent Johnson received a standing ovation from the audience when she called for a reconsideration of the new teacher evaluation system.
The position of the seven Regents is similar to that expressed recently by 40 area superintendents, who created an online petition to "Suspend and Amend" the NY teacher evaluation law. As of the date of this writing, the on-line petition had 20,450 New York signers, with over 200 from Scarsdale, including Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman.
The NYS PTA also wants the law delayed and revised with input from parents and teachers. The Assembly has already passed a bill to delay implementation of the new teacher evaluation law; however, with the Legislative session about to end on June 17, the Senate has yet to take action.
The NYS PTA is now urging members to send a message to their Senators: "Time Out on Educator Evaluation Provisions".
NYS PTA education coordinator Catherine Romano writes: "As the recent opt-out movement showed, parents are concerned about over-testing and over-reliance on student test results to evaluate teachers and principals. Assessment is important, as most parents and teachers realize, but the new system goes too far and makes a single test at a single point in time the predominant factor in educators' evaluations."
Maroon and White Celebrates Spring Athletes
- Details
- Hits: 6476
Maroon and White held a celebration to honor their spring teams on Tuesday June 2nd. Despite the rain, volunteer parents stood outside to barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers for 400 guests, provided by Omaha Steaks and donated by Danny and Beth Bernstein.
Special awards were given to the following students:
Spring Athlete of the Year: Hailey Thornton and James Nicholas
Haley Thornton is a junior on the Girls Track team, and the #1 in the girls pentatholon in Section 1. She also holds the Scarsdale record for the 100m hurdles.
James Nicholas is a Senior and a three sport all state athlete. He recently won the 2015 Boys State Golf championship, and will be playing football and golf next year at Yale University.
Peppers Family Award (female) Taylor Mancini
Taylor is a senior at Scarsdale High School and is a captain of the Girls Softball team. She is a three sport athlete, and has played at Scarsdale High School for 12 seasons, barring one winter season lost due to injury.
Peppers Family Award (male) James Nicholas and Jonny Dorf
This award goes to the male student who has success both on the field and in the classroom. Jonny Dorf and James Nicholas are both exceptional students at Scarsdale High School, and exceptional athletes. Both of these students will be attending Ivy League Schools next fall. James is a star golfer, hockey player and football player, and has been named all state in each of these sports. Jonny is another star student, with a high GPA in the most difficult courses at the High School. On the field, and court, he is captain of both the soccer and tennis teams, and is known as an extremely fierce competitor, and a model teammate.
Nina F. Mooney Award: Bridget Horwood
This award goes to the athlete who is positive nand enthusiastic for their sport, and is a good teammate. Bridget embodies these things, as she is always looking for ways to pick her teammates up, in order to help the team and help each person individually. She was nominated for the award by two coaches this year, and also served as captain of the Lacrosse team.
Nonie Knopp Memorial Award: Jake Zurkow
Jake Zurkow is an athlete who also embodies the idea of a positive teammate. Even though he was not on the field or on the ice the most, he was always working the hardest at practice. He tried to work hard for others as well, trying to pick up his teammates and help them improve alongside himself. He was dedicated in every sport he played, and was a valued member of every team he has been on.
Elizabeth Timberger Memorial Award: Sara Arbelaez and Janet Frehil
This award is presented to two students who perform the behind the scenes tasks. Both of these ladies were managers of the Girls Volleyball team in the fall, and they worked hard to keep the practices functining and the team alert and ready to go. They also provided crucial statistics on each player to the coaching staff, in order to make the coaches better able to pinpoint weaknesses and correct mistakes. They were always willing to do the little things to help the team succeed, even though they weren't always given the credit. 
Several teams had excellent seasons. Both the boys' golf and tennis teams were undefeated in their leagues and sent players onto the state tournament. James Nicholas competed in the NYS tournament at Cornell and took first place among the 99 entrants.
The track team had another very good season. Finishing second in the league. Sophomore Greg Crowley qualified for nationals as well. The Girls Track team placed third in the county.
The boys' tennis team finished their season undefeated in the league, and won their league. They sent two doubles teams and 3 singles players to the sectionals and Senior Jonny Dorf went onto the state tournament. The three singles were Jonny Dorf, Luke Smith, and Sam Gray, one doubles team was Chris Landgrebe and Jacob Eisenstein, and the other was Zack Schulman and Rich Bennett.
The Boys Lacrosse team endured another difficult season, finishing 2-14. The team shows some promise however, graduating only 6 seniors. The girls lacrosse team finished 9-8 this season, losing in the playoffs to Fox Lane.
The Boys baseball team finished 8-11 this year, with significant wins over White Plains, New Rochelle, and rival Mamaroneck. Fox Lane unfortunately beat them in the playoffs. All Section - Tyler Mandel, All Section Honorable Mention - Harrison Wirth, All League: Will Eisler, Ryan Huo and Jacob Stein. The girls Softball team had a good season, going 11-9 but losing in the first round of the playoffs.
The Boys Golf team went 24-0 in the regular season, Josh Goldenberg and Ethan Bunzel lost unfortunately, in the Conference Championship. James Nicholas, however, won the State Championship at Cornell on May 31. The boys team also has the highest winning percentage of any team at Scarsdale High School this year, and they have won 20 of the last 21 league championships, and are 3 time defending section 1 champions. Four girls golf team members have gone to sectionals this year, 2 are in the Top 20.
The Chinese Community is at Home in Scarsdale
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 13890
Judging from the number of new faces in the schools and around town, it appears that the Chinese population is on the rise in Scarsdale. According to the 2010 census, about 5.9% of the total population is of Chinese origin and the numbers seem to be growing each year.
From the information provided by the Scarsdale Chinese Association (SCA), the majority of these new residents came to the States as college or graduate school students many years ago. Upon graduation, they started working in various companies and eventually settled down in the US. Many have lived here for more than a decade and are naturalized U.S. citizens. They are professors, finance whizzes, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and professionals from all walks of life. Job opportunities brought them to the New York area, and when it was time to raise their families, they came to Scarsdale for the same reasons that many young parents choose to relocate here: easy commute, nationally renowned schools and the close proximity to the city. There is access to the rich cultural life in Manhattan and its an easy trip to Chinatowns in Manhattan, Flushing Queens, and 8th Ave Brooklyn.
We spoke with several members of the Scarsdale Chinese Association including Claire He, Rita Pan, Vivian Lin, Sharine Chen, Laura Liu and Julie Zhu. They all have 
children in the school system, ranging from elementary to high school. On average they have lived in Scarsdale for five years. They are actively involved in the community working on the PTAs, SBNC, multicultural committees and the Boy Scouts and are passionate about issues surrounding the curriculum and STEM projects.
Scarsdale Chinese Association (SCA) chair Claire He commented, "The SCA members love Scarsdale as our adopted home, and are making every effort to contribute to the schools and community."
Vivian Lin added, "In addition to the excellent school systems, Scarsdale is a well-established community that shares our values including a focus on education and family. With the open atmosphere here in Scarsdale, Chinese Americans have opportunities to contribute and to have their voices heard."
While most of the Chinese families are professionals who moved here in the past ten years, there are also long-time residents with grown or college-age children. They are the "pioneers" and share their local knowledge with their younger neighbors. Occasionally, some families move here directly from China. As a new economic powerhouse, China has produced many successful business owners and professionals who want to seek new opportunities for themselves and their children. There are similar trends in top school districts in California and Boston area as well.
Since the children of the mothers we interviewed were born in the U.S., the kids are American citizens who speak fluent English. In order for the children to learn their native tongue, many attend weekend Chinese schools just like some local kids go to the Hebrew school. At the weekend school they practice language and also learn about Chinese culture. The largest Chinese School in the area conducts lessons every Sunday morning at the White Plains High School. It is a well-organized volunteer-run organization that serves more than 600 students --and many Scarsdale moms are actively involved in its operations.
Mandarin is now taught as a language course at Scarsdale High School and 
some parents are advocating for it to be added to the Middle School curriculum as well. Superintendent Thomas Hagerman said that the administration will consider the pros and cons of adding Mandarin to the Middle School curriculum.
Some Chinese families include grandparents who live with their children and grandchildren, and can often be seen bringing the children to school. The tradition comes from the Asian cultures, where seniors are highly respected and multi-generational families are common. While adult children bear responsibility for taking care of their elderly parents, Chinese grandparents, many who are highly educated, contribute by taking care of their grandchildren. The Scarsdale Senior Club is popular with the older set and meets at the Scarsdale Library. Chinese seniors can network, celebrate holidays and enjoy each other's company at these meetings.
Where does the community shop to find authentic Asian ingredients? H Mart in Hartsdale and Kam Sam in White Plains are among the most popular Asian grocery stores here. Residents also travel to Flushing, Queens to shop. Local Asian fusion restaurants are also patronized by the Chinese community.
Given the large number of young Chinese professionals working in the New York metro area and their focus on educating their children, the women we spoke to believe that the Chinese population will continue to grow in Scarsdale. One SCA member said, "As long as Scarsdale's school district (amid ongoing and unprecedented pressure from the state) continues to strive for excellence, maintains its independence and global outlook, there is no reason why Scarsdale won't continue to attract like-minded families."
Dr. Nicole Conkling Weds Dr. Eric Daniel Wang
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 6948
Dr. Nicole Conkling, daughter of Scarsdale Village Clerk Donna Conkling and Thomas P. Conkling, was married to Dr. Eric Daniel Wang at the Church of St. Augustine in Ossining on Sunday May 24, 2015. Dr. Wang is a son of Dr. Neng Eva Wu of Vestal, N.Y., and Dr. Hong Wang of DeWitt, N.Y.
The bride and groom, both 28, met at Stony Brook University, from which each received medical degrees. They both are residents in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center; Dr. Conkling is in her second year and Dr. Wang is in his third.
The wedding reception was held at The Castle in Tarrytown and the cake was provided by Lulu Cake Boutique in Scarsdale.
An Ossining native, Nicole worked for the Scarsdale summer camp for two summers in high school, where she met Jennifer Buckmeyer, a Scarsdale resident who was her maid of honor at the wedding. Nicole interned at the Public Safety Building for two summers during her undergrad years, and also worked in the Scarsdale Building Department for a year before she started medical school. She also taught Stanley Kaplan classes, worked with hospice and was a member of the Taconic Opera.
The bride will continue to use her name professionally. She graduated summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University. Her father is a program manager for energy service for Public Service Electric and Gas Company in Newark, where he oversees energy efficiency.
The groom graduated from Cornell. His parents are professors of electrical engineering, his mother at Binghamton University and his father at Syracuse.
Photo credit: Frank Farina
Keeping Teens and Tweens Safe
- Details
- Written by Stacie M. Waldman
- Hits: 6337
William Galvin said, "Mother Nature is providential. She gives us 12 years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers." That was the topic of the discussion on Thursday, May 7th at the Scarsdale Middle School PTA where author and parenting expert Joani Geltman, MSW discussed parent and teen relationships. She has been in practice for 30 years and recently published a book for parents of teens called A Survival Guide to Parenting Teens: Talking to Your Kids About Sexting, Drinking, Drugs, and Other Things That Freak You Out. Ms. Geltman kept the audience highly engaged by focusing on the following topics:
• The development of the emotional brain vs. the thinking brain (and teen drama)
• Smartphones, texting, dangerous apps for teens, and how to stay on top of it as a parent
• Becoming increasingly self-conscious and sexual development
The battle between the feeling brain versus the thinking brain and teen drama
Ms. Geltman talked about a study that compared the teenage brain to the adult brain with the hypothesis that their brains behave the same way emotionally. Slides of human faces were shown with various emotions. "The frontal cortex, or the thinking part of the brain was activated in adults," Ms. Geltman reported. "However the amygdala, or the feeling part of the brain, was activated in teens." She discussed how this may contribute to what makes the teen-parent relationship challenging. "You are living in a different brain than your teen, literally," she said. "Teens live more in the moment and are more emotional because of this...teen drama anyone?" Teenagers are on a journey of self-discovery. They need to learn by trial and error and parents need to let them learn. "Sometimes just saying 'I get it' is better than lecturing your teen," she suggested. "Acknowledge their pain, but don't minimize or exaggerate it. Don't tell them what to do- kids need to learn how to cope." She talked about how sometimes things that seem inconsequential to us, both positive and negative, feel like the best or worst things ever for a teen. "Teens get caught up in moments and you may not always find what your teen is doing to be likeable," Ms. Geltman said. "Teach them core values and trust them to eventually learn how to make the right choices. "
Smartphones, group texts, dangerous apps for teens, and how to stay on top of it as a parent
Social media, smart phones, and apps now play a role in our child's development whether we like it or not. By sixth grade, most kids have phones and from a social and safety stand point, Geltman thinks they should. However, she warned, "...smartphones are the new binkie. Kids get easily addicted (as do adults) and they're a total time suck. I've never seen so many kids with anxiety and depression and I think these phones are partly to blame for that." She recommends involving kids in the process of setting limits on phone use; for example, saying something to the effect of, I get how important the phone is to you to keep in touch with your friends. But let's figure out a reasonable amount of time for you to be on it. 
Geltman also recommended having knowledge about what is on your teen's phone and computer to protect them from potential harm. "You absolutely need to understand apps including their icons," Ms. Geltman cautioned. "Ask your kids to explain what the app does and why they need it. Apps can be very dangerous and parents should have oversight. To do this on your teen's smartphone, go into settings, general, restrictions and then you can require that a password needs to be entered by you in order to download an app."
Why can apps be dangerous?
Yik yak and Snapchat are all about secrecy and there is no reason these apps should be used by your teenager. Ms. Geltman recommends allowing the use of Twitter or Instagram instead. "Make your kid convince you why they need the app. Snapchat texts disappear right after you read them," she warned, "so monitoring this is impossible." Group texts can also be harmful because they can become a form of peer pressure. Ms. Geltman suggests advising your children to back themselves out of the group text if it seems inappropriate and also letting your kids know that you've heard stories of people taking screen shots of group texts. Oovoo is a new video form of group texting that requires a person be included but can also allow the initiator to then exclude the person from participating. Instagram is okay, according to Ms. Geltman, but KIK (another side to Instagram) is not. For instance, if a camp friend posts pictures, a friend of a friend can see them and another person with KIK can connect with you privately. Therefore, this is not recommended for teens. "Facebook Messenger" is a popular way for teens to connect. "You may not see a lot on their Facebook walls but if you click on messenger, you'll see a lot more of what's going on," she said. YouNow, Meekat, and Periscope are live stream video apps and are dangerous for obvious reasons. YouNow even lets people all over the world buy "fan points" earning money for the person who is live streaming the video.
Geltman summed up by urging parents, "...know your teen's phone, limit the number of apps downloaded, don't allow cell phones in bedrooms, require at least two hours cell phone free a night (even if homework is done), don't allow cell phone service at school even if it's off, and monitor it periodically."
Becoming increasingly self-conscious and developing sexually
Geltman also talked about the imaginary audiences of teenagers. "They're hyper self-conscious," she said. "For example, in elementary school kids measure themselves against other kids in a competitive way, such as comparing spelling test scores. But in middle school, it becomes 'I got the best score on the spelling test and everyone thinks I'm so smart/such a nerd.' Teens and tweens think that everyone has a thought about them." This causes a lot of angst for teenagers and social media doesn't help at all. Teens also begin to pursue attention. "They may discover what it's like to feel sexy," Ms. Geltman said, "I have news for you parents. You may not want to hear it or admit it but this is normal! Denial or judgment will just push them away." She suggested trying to relate to your teen by making up examples of relationship stories, and asking your teen what they would do in a hypothetical situation rather than saying "you better not or you're not allowed," as these strategies will backfire. You can also use movies, or TV shows as examples: "Once I heard a story that a bunch of boys were trying to get some girls to take their clothes off and one girl just pretended she was sick and went home. "Kids aren't usually bad kids," Geltman added. "They're just consumed with themselves and how to fit in. Monitor your kids, educate them without telling them what to do, and talk to them. Do these things and you will have succeeded as a parent."
You can learn more from Ms. Geltman about parenting your teenager by reading her blog, following her on Twitter, or ordering her book. She also loves running "Ask the Expert" parties where groups of parents book her to discuss better managing teens.
