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Written by Ann Klein

Published: 01 February 2023

Created: 01 February 2023

Last Updated: 02 February 2023

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After much discussion about the inclusion of new holidays into the Scarsdale School calendar, Dr. Patrick unveiled the proposed 2023-24 school calendar at the Board of Education Meeting on January 31.

This proposed calendar, as Dr. Patrick noted, was the culmination of a new process for Scarsdale involving students, parents and the input of teachers. Dr. Patrick reminded everyone of the need to balance sometimes opposing needs, and the desire to be more inclusive of the diverse student body. He acknowledged that the calendar is not perfect for everyone.

The proposed calendar includes a pre-Labor Day start date of August 31, with the trade-off of a two week December break. The calendar includes celebrations of Diwali, Lunar New Year, and Eid al-Adha, with Eid al-Fitr observed as a Superintendent’s conference day. The elementary school conference days have been moved to be contiguous with weekends. Dr. Patrick also pointed out that the late end date of June 26th is set by the state. The date for graduation and rain date have not yet been decided.

There were two comments about the calendar:

Cecilia Schiera of Lockwood Lane spoke of the importance to her family of celebrating the end of summer, including Labor Day weekend. For Ms. Schiera and her husband, the end of summer is an easier time to at work to take time off, and it has been their tradition to travel and see family at this time. She also noted that as a working parent, it is harder to schedule childcare for the two week December break.

Former Board Member Art Rublin of Donellan Road praised the process, agreeing with the board that it was well-managed. He gave his support to the inclusion of the new holidays, noting that around 25% of the student population of Asian heritage.

The draft calendar will be presented to the board to be voted on at the February 13th meeting.

Board members Jessica Resnick-Ault, Suzie Hahn Pascutti and Ron Schulhof all had questions and comments regarding the draft calendar. Schulhof noted that the two week December break could accommodate travelling and would also met with students request for time to decompress.

Other Business

Dr. Patrick and others shared some of the goings-on about the district, including the Lunar New Year celebrations at the elementary schools.

Eric Rauschenbach, Assistant Supertindent for Special Education and Student Services reported on the lockdown system integration, which is expected to launch either after spring break or next fall.

Personnel

Dr. Jigar Jadav has been recommended for appointment in the tenure area of Mathematics and will be assigned to the high school, while three teachers announced their retirements. They are Janie Fitzgerald, Scarsdale Middle School teacher, who has served the district 32 years; Nancy Pavia, Elementary Math Coordinator, who has served the district 34 years; and Pamela Winders, Fox Meadow teacher, who has served the district over 36 years. All present wished them well.

Policies

Mr. Rauschenbach updated the board on two policy changes, one on the use of Timeout Rooms, Physical Restraints and Aversives (note: Scarsdale does not use aversives, which are defined as negative stimuli, as in punishments) and a policy update on homebound instruction.

Rauschenbach noted that New York state does not allow the use of aversives and they are never used in Scarsdale. He explained what a Timeout room is and how it could be used but said that Scarsdale does not currently have any students who require a Timeout Room. However this policy outlines how they are to be used if required in an I.E.P. He also explained how physical restraints are used in the event of an emergency where no other intervention can keep the student safe, and how parents are notified if this occurs.

Regarding the updates to the policy for homebound instruction, Rauschenbach noted that 15 hours of secondary and 10 hours of elementary homebound instruction have been the practice in Scarsdale since Covid. This is for students who need medical leave, say for surgery or a long illness. This is not the same as homeschooling. Both of these policies may be found on the Board website.

New Textbooks

Dr. Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment presented a proposal for four new textbooks. He noted that they are recent works, two published in 2022, which is a way to outsmart A.I. programs like chatGPT, since the artificial intelligence doesn’t have much to say about them. All four are for the ELA curriculums. Two middle school novels, both by Aisha Saeed are Amal Unbound and Omar Rising. Both books examine issues around class, equity and the agency students have for social justice reforms. The two high school books are Sigh, Gone by Phuc Tran, a memoir proposed for 11th grade and Trust, for AT English by Hernan Diaz.

The meeting concluded, with the announcement of many School Budget meetings on the calendar.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 06 February 2023

Created: 06 February 2023

Last Updated: 08 February 2023

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Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service (SFCS) today announced it has selected Lisa and Jordan Copeland to receive its annual Rising Star Award in recognition of their volunteer leadership and contributions to many Scarsdale organizations. The annual Rising Star Award recognizes leaders in the Scarsdale Community who have demonstrated dedicated, impactful and active community service.

The Award will be presented to Lisa and Jordan Copeland at the SFCS 2023 annual benefit gala, Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the Scarsdale Golf Club.

“This award recognizes that Lisa and Jordan have transformed their backgrounds in law, business, and education into careers of civic and social service engagement,” said James Genova, LCSW, executive director, Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service.
“Together, they are using their experiences to benefit others, with specific focus on healthy youth development and care for those with mental health needs. This is why we honor this dynamic couple as two of Scarsdale’s finest rising stars.”

The Copelands moved to Scarsdale to raise their three sons: Caleb (20, SHS grad, attending college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Henry (16, 11th grade), Aidan (13, 8th grade). They also have two rescue dogs, Trixie and Spike.

Lisa Copeland

A former New York City public elementary school teacher, Lisa became a “professional volunteer” after moving to Scarsdale. She is a long-time member and former president of the Junior League of Central Westchester, committee chair and treasurer of Cub Scout Pack 60 for seven years, and spent many years as Class Parent Coordinator for the Edgewood PTA. Lisa has also served on the Drake-Edgewood Neighborhood Association, where she created newsletters and planned community-wide social activities. Currently, Lisa is serving her sixth year as Board Chairperson of Family Services of Westchester, one of the county’s oldest and largest social service and mental health nonprofits. Lisa is also currently serving on the board of The Sharing Shelf, a clothing bank for children.

Lisa is an owner and director of her family business, which provides services, resources and information for foundations, corporations, individuals and families. Lisa is also an owner of Andersen Corporation, the window and door manufacturer founded by her great-great-grandfather.

Jordan Copeland

Jordan has also done a lot of volunteer work in Scarsdale. Currently he serves as Associate Village Historian. One of his largest projects so far has been a widely-viewed presentation on the History of Black People in Scarsdale. He also serves on the boards of the Scarsdale Public Library (finance officer), Scarsdale Adult School (finance chair), Scarsdale Historical Society (vice president) and is an Assistant Scoutmaster in Boy Scout Pack 4. Jordan was formerly the Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 60 (of Edgewood School) for 7 years, and chaired the School Board Nominating Committee, the joint committee of the SBNC, the Advisory Council on Youth, and the Education Committee of the Scarsdale Forum, and was a Little League coach for six years.

With degrees in law and in education, Jordan clerked in federal court for a year, and then was a public defender in the Bronx for ten years. He also taught fifth grade in a Bronx public school for seven years. The past three years Jordan has been spending most of his time writing and recording music and volunteering in the community. He also has been a Director of Andersen Corporation since 2003, and is chair of its Environmental, Social, and Governance Committee.

Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service

Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service (SFCS) is a nationally recognized family service agency accredited by the Council on Accreditation. The agency has been an anchor in the community for almost 100 years, providing counseling services and supportive programs to local individuals and families in all stages of life. Our mission is to strengthen and support family life and to contribute to the well-being of our residents. We believe families matter and that healthy families are the cornerstone of a healthy community.

Tickets will go on sale shortly. Click here for more information, or call (914) 723-3281.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 17 January 2023

Created: 17 January 2023

Last Updated: 24 January 2023

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If you have a toddler who will be ready for preschool in the fall, now’s the time to find out what programs are available and enroll them for September 2023. The good news is that Scarsdale offers many wonderful options for children’s first school experience. Take a look at the descriptions below and email or call the schools to set up a tour and see for yourself.

Happy hunting!

Congregation Kol Ami’s Early Childhood Program is dedicated to nurturing young minds and providing an engaging, joyful community. We offer classes for ages 14 months through 5 years old including our stellar Pre-K/5’s program. While Jewish learning and values are embedded in our curriculum, we are an inclusive community and embrace children and families of all faiths.
We believe children learn best through play and exploration, and our developmentally appropriate curriculum fosters learning through purposeful experiences and guided activity. We recognize and respect each child’s unique qualities and strive to foster their growth in all areas of development: cognitive, physical, social, and emotional. We view children as eager and capable learners and respect children for who they are now, as well as for their potential. Learning is incorporated in all aspects of our day through meaningful experiences and hands-on activities that foster curiosity and a sense of self and community. We believe classrooms and other indoor and outdoor learning environments provide powerful and meaningful opportunities for teaching. We are committed to outdoor education and offer a full garden and Teva (nature) curriculum. We have a working garden, where children plant, tend, and harvest. Our school’s philosophy is not bound by a single educational theory. We use many of today’s best practices in education including, but not limited to project-based learning, collaborative exploration, and differentiated instruction. We provide a print-rich curriculum which exposes the children to literacy and numeracy in all classes, and we offer enriching experiences for play and cognitive and social emotional development.

For more information call our Director, Merav Veetal at 914-949-4717 ext 107 or email [email protected] to schedule a convenient time to connect with us.

JCC Mid-Westchester offers engaging and enriching programs for children ages six to five years, including toddler classes, a Fives kindergarten bridge class, and early/after care at its two locations. Our exceptional staff of early childhood educators will provide age-appropriate learning tools to foster independence and enhance listening, language, social, and academic-readiness skills. We provide a nurturing and safe environment based on the philosophy of purposeful play: we learn to play and we play to learn. Children of all ethnic and religious backgrounds are welcome. Contact Caryn Symons at [email protected]. Learn more and register at jccmw.org/nursery-school-general-info/

At Hitchcock School we believe that early childhood experiences provide the foundation for one's lifetime. The Hitchcock School's program provides individualized experiences based on an authentic assessment to promote the optimal social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development of each child. We offer toddler, 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s morning programs. We also have an afterschool “Lunch Bunch” for our 3’s and an “Extended Day” for our 4’s.

The Hitchcock School Program provides a variety of activities and materials based on developmentally appropriate practices that emphasize concrete experiential learning to achieve the following goals:

· Foster positive self-concept.
· Develop social-emotional skills.
· Encourage children to think, reason, question, and experiment.
· Encourage language and cognitive development.
· Encourage and demonstrate sound health and safety, and nutritional practices.
· Enhance physical development and skills.
· Encourage creative expression and appreciation for the arts.
· Promote respect for the cultural diversity of staff, children, and families.
· Be responsive to individual family home values, beliefs, experiences, and language as well as to the individual learning needs of all children.

Please contact us for more information and to set up a tour! 6 Greenacres Avenue, Scarsdale, 914-723-0922 or email us at [email protected]

Young children respond naturally to music. With spontaneous delight, they listen intently, sing along, and move to the beat. At Hoff-Barthelson, our teachers build on these early inclinations, inspiring a deep enjoyment of music while guiding the development of music-making skills. Our Early Childhood Program encourages and supports the development of children’s minds and bodies through Dalcroze Eurhythmics, a renowned teaching method that pairs music and movement.

Weekly classes for children aged 9 months- to 5-years-old incorporate exercises and games that involve singing, moving, improvising, and using small percussion instruments to promote keen inner hearing and rhythmic sensitivity. Props such as colorful balls, hoops, scarves, and puppets animate musical concepts, engage the senses, and spark the imagination. Even the very youngest children develop focus, spatial awareness, fine and gross motor skills, social skills, and the ability to work with others—all while having fun!

Group classes in piano, violin, flute and guitar introduce the joy of making music with others while teaching basic playing technique, and foundational musical concepts.

Join us at an Open House on Monday, January 23, 2023, from 10:00-11:30 am. Spring classes starting soon. For additional information and to RSVP for the Open House visit. https://hbms.org/early-childhood/ Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 914-723-1169, [email protected]
www.hbms.org

Mazel Tots® at Scarsdale Synagogue provides a warm and stimulating environment, which encourages children's curiosity and helps them to grow socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Our warm and nurturing staff will guide the children through a curriculum filled with a variety of child-centered and developmentally appropriate activities that are safe, fun and friendly. The children's spiritual growth will be enriched by the study of Jewish holidays, traditions and family values. We also offer a group of special activities such as sports and games, music, creative movement, sign language, nature, yoga, karate, science, art atelier, dance and more! We have two beautiful playgrounds and gardens, plus a fully equipped indoor play space featuring ride-on toys, gym equipment, giant blocks and stepping stones just to name a few! Our Early Childhood Program serves children from 18 months through those Kindergarten-bound! For more information please contact Jody Glassman, Early Childhood Program Director at 914-723-3001 or [email protected]. You can also visit our website. Scarsdale Synagogue is located at 2 Ogden Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583. 914.725.5175.

The Scarsdale Congregational Church Nursery School (SCCNS) has a 65-year history of nurturing the hearts and minds of children. We are a play-based, non-sectarian preschool instilling a desire to learn by encouraging verbal expression, promoting social development, and supporting the development of fine motor skills. We offer preschool programs for 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds, with partial and full weeks available. For program options please visit our website at www.sccnurseryschool.com. SCCNS preschoolers have the opportunity to participate in music, Spanish, the arts and gym with skilled specialists who visit weekly. We also offer after-school Enrichment programs, including STEM, cooking, and more! Our safe, diverse, bright, and nurturing classrooms are located on the grounds of the Scarsdale Congregational Church. During the summer months, we also offer our six-week M-Th Inchworm Summer Program, where children can socialize and play among their peers. Each weekly theme is filled with fun and exciting activities. For more information or to schedule a tour, please email the director at [email protected].

At Westchester Reform Temple’s Early Childhood Center (ECC), we strive to create an environment that fosters social, emotional, physical and cognitive growth, as well as, creativity and confidence. Our warm, nurturing teachers provide children with the tools they need to communicate with each other and with the world around them. At the ECC, children learn about Jewish holidays, traditions and lifelong values which help them to become confident members of our community. We emphasize STEAM concepts through hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and math investigations which encourage young learners to achieve developmental goals. Through inquiry and play-based instruction, we provide students with an opportunity to learn language arts, math and handwriting readiness skills that prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. We facilitate learning through small groups and foster relationships between our children and their teachers, specialists and the WRT clergy. Lunch and afternoon classes are available for older children. For toddlers between the ages of one and two, we offer parent/caregiver participation classes for socialization and fun: These classes are facilitated by an ECC social worker and ECC teacher. These classes are wonderful opportunities for making friends for adults, as well as children.

End of the year Mini Session and Summer Play Place camp offered. For further information regarding school registration, please contact ECC Director [email protected] or call us at 914 723-5493.

Yellow Acorn Montessori’s mission is to encourage the social, emotional, and cognitive development of the child by providing a comprehensive Montessori education, cultivating independent thought and foundational skills as well as awareness of their environment, empathy for others, and social ease and confidence. The Early Childhood Program (3-5 years) and Toddler Program (18mos-36mos) include Language, Math, Science, Geography and Culture, Practical Life, Sensorial, Music and Art and more.

Enrollment Information:
Early Childhood (3-5 years)
Toddler (18 months-36 months)
Full Day Programs offered

Contact Information: [email protected], 46 Fox Meadow Road, Scarsdale 914-725-2173