Spring Forward!

I will admit it was pretty tough to get up on Sunday morning. I could blame it on the Tipp Hill Run or getting home late from taking in Reaching for Marsby downtown, but either of those excuses for being a little slow on Sunday morning would be indicators that I am getting old. It must have been the time change. That transcends age and sounds like the best excuse to me!

Congratulations to the Academic Decathlon's 3rd place finish at the New York State's Championship over the weekend. The team tallied a total of 26 medals led by Emma Ryan, Andrew Fordyce, Kristina Konfederat and Alexander Pompo. Also contributing to the teams success were Kenneth Brill, Jerry Roy, Michael Richards, Lindsay Grome, Megan Nolan, Callie Campbell, Megan Petty, Nicholas Serrao, Tatyana Shakhov, John Lisi and Lauren Brieant. Nice Job representing West Genesee's excellent academic reputation!

Congratulations to the hockey team. While they came up just short of another state championship, they showed true poise through the entire season which culminated with a four overtime/shoot out loss to a very formidable opponent. Thanks for a great season.  Believe it or not, spring sports start today for our varsity and junior varsity teams!

If you were to ask anyone to describe me with one word, "activist" would not be one of them. That being said, if you want to know what your high school kids are talking about the answer would most certainly be "KONY2012". The KONY movement was started by a viral video created by an organization titled, Invisible Children Inc. The goal of the organization is to have young people and key adults (high school students, college students, celebrities, and public figures are the target audience) use the tools that they know best, texting, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to make Joseph Kony famous and therefore visible to parties trying to remove him from power. Kony is the head of an African resistance group who is known to be abusive on several levels to women and children. Still following me?  It sounds like a movie script, and there are certainly criticisms against the sponsoring organization as well. The bottom line, however, is that our students and their peers across the country are very aware of the movement and they want to get involved. 

The viral video is about 30 minutes long and can be found with a quick Internet search. I would rate the video PG-13, and I would recommend that you take a look at it if you want to be plugged into what your high school or college-age students are becoming a part of right now. We spoke about the whole thing at our dinner table one night, and it was certainly a more interesting conversation than the usual "Is your homework done and are your rooms clean?"

In other news, we have posted our budget documents on our homepage http://www.westgenesee.org.  Please check out the budget presentation for all of the details and feel free to contact me with questions. The quick facts about the budget are that:

• we are not adding or removing any additional programs;
• we will have some enrollment and attrition based reductions; and
• we will have a tax levy that falls below the tax cap. 

Last week we held our fourth redistricting meeting and again it was very well attended. You can find the minutes from that meeting, as well as the presentation that was given, on our website from the quicklinks section of the homepage. This project is coming into focus and the last two meetings will reveal the final proposals for the Board to consider for 2013-2014. Stay tuned and thanks to all who have been attending the meetings.

I am looking forward to the Festival of Bands later this week as well as a continuation of this warm weather!

Have a great week.

Chris

Closure

I wanted to publish one last post about the status of our bomb threat investigation before we move on to other things. As you know from my previous postings, we received notification that a high school specific bomb threat had been written on a bathroom wall in the high school on Tuesday, March 6. As a result of a thorough investigation, the person responsible for that threat was arrested on Wednesday, March 7.

Also on Wednesday, March 7, a young lady decided to try and "copy-cat" the threat from the day before. Unfortunately for her someone walked in and saw her before the ink was dry and she was taken into custody and arrested.

I have been asked why I released the names of the students to the media. I did not. The students are both considered adults in the eyes of the law and were arrested and arraigned as adults which made their names available to the public.

Both individuals were sent to jail on $20,000 cash or $50,000 bond. They were both charged with falsely reporting an incident which is a "Class D" Felony. They will both face these charges as adults through the criminal justice system, and both will also face "Superintendent's Hearings" which is a process where suspensions of over five days are considered, and they certainly will be.

Lastly, the process of evacuating the building, bringing bomb dogs to school, having bus drivers available, the cost of lunches that were not served, as well as other items related to this issue all have costs associated with them. These costs will be calculated and each of the two individuals responsible for our school disruption will also be responsible for paying this money back to the various organizations that were involved.

The bottom line is that it really doesn't matter where you go to school or work. People can make bad decisions. In our case two people made decisions that are going to have long reaching impact for them. If you are a student reading this, please think about what has happened and do not make the same poor choices. If you are a parent reading this, please have a conversation about the impact of choices with your children.

This is the last that I will mention these events as we have much more important work to do and what happened was not glamorous, cool, or something that anyone should support. Time to move back to normal.

Chris

Incident at High School on March 6, 2012

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your cooperation during our bomb threat dismissal today at the high school. Moving approximately 2,000 people from one place to the other, when time is of the essence due to the cold, is no small undertaking. Everyone from the students, staff, administration, and local authorities helped make things run as smooth as possible.

This incident remains an open investigation, but I can share that the high school administration was made aware of a high school specific bomb threat around lunch time. They immediately reported it to me, and we initiated our school safety plan for such events. Our transportation department had warm buses waiting for our students and staff and it took approximately eight minutes for everyone to be on a bus.

Within twenty minutes everyone was accounted for, and we just waited for direction from the police as to how long it would take to properly sweep the building to make it all clear to return. We learned that it was going to take longer than the regular school day, so we decided to dismiss students and by approximately 1:34 p.m. all of the buses were on the way to deliver students home.

We used Twitter (@cbrownwgcsd), SNN, our website, and Facebook to keep people informed as we worked through the process. I am very appreciative of all of the parents, students, and members of the media who "re-tweeted" or shared our factual and timely information so that everyone knew that all involved were safe, warm, and were going to get home safely.

We are actively investigating leads and hope to have a culprit in custody shortly.  Again, thank you for your patience, cooperation, and action. We will see you back at school bright and early tomorrow.

Chris

Enlightening

We had a very busy week in academics and athletics last week. Academically, we announced our Top Ten of the Class of 2012, seniors began to hear back from the colleges that they were accepted to, and many different students at Camillus Middle School competed for the honor of winning the Camillus Optimists Speech District contest.

The speech contest winners at CMS for the boys are Aren Burnside and Jack Barrett; and for the girls, Mackenzie Kittell and Haley Winks. The students from WGMS that competed on February 16, and who will also compete at the District Contest on March 14, are for the boys Mark Kopp and Nicholas Cantello; and for the girls, Helene Ferner and Hannah Humphreys. Congratulations to all.

In athletics, the Girls Basketball team took on a formidable team from Cicero-North Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. They fought valiantly against an incredibly strong opponent (one of their players will be playing for UConn next year) and came up short, but they definitely made us proud as they left it all on the court and represented our community very well.

Congratulations to the runners who earned their way to the podium at the NYS Championship in Cornell University’s Barton Hall on March 3. Kelly Powell (Section III Intersectional Relay-600) ran with two Cazenovia and one Skaneateles runner and came in 6th place. Martin Leff (1600m) came in 5th place for public schools and 8th place overall. Luke Potash (300m) also competed, placing 26th.

The NYS Swimming and Diving competition was also this past weekend. Congratulations to Joshua Byrne who competed in Diving. The Swimming team was also be represented at the competition with: 400 medly relay: Matthew O'Donnell, Collin Zapisek, Tyler Zapisek, Ian Bushnell; 200 medly relay: Matthew O'Donnell, Jacob Mullett, Tyler Zapisek, Ian Bushnell; 100 Butterfly: Matthew O'Donnell, Tyler Zapisek; and 200 individual medly: Tyler Zapisek. The swimmers all made it to the finals, and each relay made it into the top 20.

Our hockey team took on a pesky opponent in Niagara-Wheatfield on Saturday to a nearly full house at Shove Park. Defense and determination caused the Wildcats to wind up with the eventual upper hand and they will be returning to the "Frozen Four" next weekend at the Utica Auditorium to try and re-capture the state title.  Go 'Cats!

Martha Grener and the WGMS 8th Grade Band performed at the NYS Band Directors Symposium on March 3 and by all accounts did a great job representing our District.

Also last week I was invited by the District Leadership Institute (who also picked up the tab!) to attend a national think tank about issues in education.  I was one of 64 superintendents from across the country to have been invited to this event  in Phoenix, Arizona. Over the course of two days we interacted directly with the developers of textbooks, software programs, and pieces of hardware to let them know what we think students and teachers need to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. This is the first conference that I have walked away from in nearly thirteen years of being a superintendent where I actually felt smarter. Working with the actual developers of products like Google Chrome, Google Docs, The Discovery Channel, Pearson, and others was very inspirational because their products will now change based on OUR recommendations for children all across the country. Pretty cool.

We also conducted several round-tables where we discussed issues such as the Common Core Learning Standards, bullying, performance review systems, both local and state budgeting, wellness and nutrition in food service, special education, and English as a Second Language (ELL). It was very interesting to hear national perspectives on all of these issues and reassuring to hear that for the most part all of us are in the same boat except for one superintendent who I now consider a friend from a district located on an island in Maine (he takes an hour and a half ferry ride to get to the island).  He was the only one who mentioned that he did not have any cyber bullying issues in his district.  Shocked, we all asked what the key to his success was.  He said that there is no cell phone service and limited Internet access on the island so very few students have cell phones or Facebook accounts!

I also met another superintendent from California, another new friend, who has twenty percent of his students that do not speak English. Instead of having separate rooms and programs, as we do with our ELL students, every teacher is required to take two classes about teaching limited English speaking students and ALL of their ELL students are in regularly scheduled classes with all of the other students. The popular personal language learning program, Rosetta Stone, is also used.  Interesting concepts and enlightening to hear about what is happening in other states.  We all stole ideas from each other, and I am looking forward to trying some of the things that I learned from others in our District.

I also had a short period of down time, and I used that time to hike alone about three miles into the desert and climb to the top of a desert mountain that was about 2,000 feet above sea level.  At the top I spotted road runners, a desert rat (they weigh about 30 pounds and look like a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo), many different types of cacti, tumble-weeds, and a border patrol helicopter. Considering that I was in my running shoes and shorts and did not stay on the marked paths, I am glad that I was not warned about the scorpions and rattle snakes until after I got back to the conference center!

Stay tuned this week for information about our first 2012-2013 budget presentation to be held on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library, as well as the fourth redistricting meeting that will be held at Split Rock Elementary at 6:30 p.m. in the "Cafetorium".

Have a wonderful and productive week.

Chris

Welcome Back

I hope that all of you had a restful break. For a vacation week we were actually pretty busy at work.  We put the finishing touches on the budget presentation and will now prepare to present it for the first time on March 7. The first draft of the 2012-2013 school calendar has been created (it looks like Spring Break will be April 1-5, 2013, for those who would like to do some vacation planning). Training schedules for the anti-bullying program, academic standards implementation, and our new student management system have been created. Finally, we finished updating our new website. A pretty busy week indeed!

Some of our student athletes spent the week participating in their sectional/state competitions as well.  We have girls basketball, wrestling, swimming/diving, track, and boys hockey involved in competitions, and you can check standings and game schedules right on our website on the athletics page. Best of luck to all!

I did something out of the box last week as well. I went to New York City for a day to be on a panel discussion regarding digital publishing and the future of textbooks. It was very interesting to sit with people from across the country and hear that print textbooks are going to be a thing of the past in pretty short order. I am all for this transition as I watch elementary students walk from the school to the bus with more weight on their backs than they actually weigh themselves! Stay tuned.

As part of our anti-bullying initiative we will be hosting best-selling author Jay Asher on March 20 at the high school.  Mr. Asher wrote the book 13 Reasons Why about bullying and teen suicide.  He is going to be meeting with students all day on March 20, and then he will be holding an informational meeting that evening that will be open to the community.  Much more about this event will be available in the coming weeks, and I am looking forward to his visit.

Have a great week!

Chris

While on Break

Don't think for a second that I won't be working during February break, but I am hopeful that many of you will not be. That is why I wanted to get this post out early in the winter break so you can read it and then enjoy the rest of the week!

We have a lot of athletic activity happening right now, and I am going to refer you to our website so that you can see the progress and awards that our student athletes are achieving. I will also provide a summary of our winter campaign after all of our athletes are done competing this winter season.

We met with the Department of Transportation last Friday so they could show us their plans to make entry and exit into our high school safer for all of us. They are going to make changes to Hinsdale Road and the entrance to our high school opposite Hinsdale Road. They plan to add better crosswalks and electronic pedestrian crossing systems. There are also plans to add some sidewalks along West Genesee Street. While still in the final planning process and still needing to go through the Town, etc..., I personally see this update as an absolutely necessary change to ensure the safety of our community members. I would hope that this work, if approved, will take place beginning this summer.

There are a few topics being discussed in education at both the National and State levels and I wanted to explain those topics below in case you read or hear about them. If you have any questions about any of these topics, please feel free to ask.

Drop-Out Age

President Obama is tossing around the idea of raising the drop out age to 18. Currently, in New York State the drop out age is the completed school year after a child turns 16, and some schools have kept that age in their local policies and some have increased the age. From my point of view, and taking into consideration the few drop-outs that we do have, I am much more concerned about why a student would choose to drop out rather than when they drop out. I have recommended to the Board of Education that we keep our drop out age at 16 as we have had and continue to focus on why students are choosing to drop out.

Digital Textbooks

There is a large push from educational publishers right now for schools to convert their print textbooks to a digital format and have the textbooks, curriculum, and assessments delivered in an electronic format on an electronic device. The big question of course is cost. The next questions is the impact that digital material as opposed to print materials will have on student learning.

We are currently exploring both pieces of this initiative before making any decisions to either stay put with print materials, or move to a digital environment. There are ways to make a project of this scope economically feasible and in some cases even less costly than purchasing new print textbooks, but we are really taking the time to study the impact on student learning. Yes, we are in a Facebook, texting world, but the digital transformation is pretty new in our profession and there is a big difference in my mind between posting on a Facebook page and learning an entire curricular unit. Once we have had an opportunity to study things a little more deeply, I will update you with what our future plans will include.

Reverse Instruction

This initiative is also called classroom flipping and involves a teacher either using an Internet or video resource that the student watches at home. The student then completes their assignments during classtime with the more individualized help of the classroom teacher. Initial reports on a national scale find this teaching method to be promising. Mr. Misiano, one of our high school math teachers, is conducting a pilot of this method with one of his math analysis classes. I am looking forward to the first progress review. A very popluar website you can try is http://www.kahnacademy.org/.  It features free lessons that run about five minutes and cover a variety of topics. I don't think this is quite the future of education, but it is definitely a powerful and promising teaching and learning solution.

Transparency

If you remember in 2008 when I was hired, I promised the community that I would make sure that our business was as transparent as possibe.  This is why we use Facebook, Twitter, this blog, our website, and our newsletters the way we currently do. The proof that this has been working lies in the new state guidelines for open government, and we go above what even the most current regulations call for. We will certainly continue in this direction.

The Tax Cap

I think that there is a public misconception about the Governor's "tax cap" that he enacted not too long ago.  Essentially, the tax cap was advertised as a "two percent or less" tax levy for schools, libraries, and municipalities. The fine print, however, allows for adjustments to the tax cap both up and down for things like capital project payments, assessment growth, PILOT payments, and judgements for and against the District.  When all of those things are taken into consideration, the approved tax cap for our District is approximately 3.06%.  We will certainly present a budget that falls below this tax cap percentage, but I did not want you to be surprised when you begin to see stories about school budgets and you see tax cap percentages as high as nearly 7.5% and as low as -.7% , with plenty in-between. 

I have a presentation that I will place on the website after break that displays the state formula and how we arrived at our tax cap levy percent. Again, nothing to worry about, but I figured if I didn't provide a quick education you would be mighty confused when all of our schools have tax cap percentages that are different!  Also, just a quick note that if a school wants to exceed their tax cap percentage (which we will NOT), they need the budget vote to pass by more than 60%.

If you get a break, enjoy it; and if you don't, just remember that the grass is green and many of my friends are still playing golf right here in Syracuse, New York!

Chris

The Hills Are Alive

Well, they were alive with The Sound of Music over the weekend at the high school. The student performers did a wonderful job, and the crew and the "pit" were equally outstanding. What is always great about our performances is that the musicians in the pit are so talented that their playing allows us to focus on the stage and watch the amazing actors and actresses. Tremendous talent, and thanks for letting me escape from work for a few hours! (I saw the Saturday afternoon performance.)

Saturday morning, the majority of our Board of Education and I attended the Legislative Breakfast that was held at Baldwinsville High School. I have attended about a dozen of these events over the years, and this is the first time that I have ever seen students and parents from around the county address the elected officials who were present and really emphasize that they do not want to lose any additional opportunities in their schools. Board of Education members and superintendents echoed those feelings, and the elected officials received the messages loud and clear.

The difficulty for elected officials, superintendents, Boards of Education, and students is that everyone realizes that the resources are not available at the state level to "fix" what is happening. Everyone also realizes that the decisions necessary to adjust to the loss of resources are unpopular as well.  This "perfect storm" creates a mix of emotions, but it also gives ample opportunity for everyone to demonstrate leadership skills.

The 1930's and early 1970's are two great examples of times in our history when the chips were down, adjustments were made, and we recovered. In both situations, things looked differently in the end but somehow we still moved forward and continued to excel as a state and a nation. Those times weren't easy, but those leaders before us got the job done, and so will we. 

My personal feeling is that while we should spend brain power advocating to keep things the way that they are today, we should spend more brain power planning ahead and recognizing that we are cycling out of a time that has created a "new normal". Adapt and overcome. We will need to adjust and make the difficult choices that are necessary in education that will keep as many opportunities as possible while helping those who pay for those opportunities so that their quality of life is not negatively impacted by the cost of education.

At West Genesee we have made those choices and decisions over the past three years, and we are now creating a budget that represents the "new normal" for West Genesee. The past is going to have to be the past, and we have respected all that we have been able to offer. As we define the future, and that future will represent budgets that tax within the new "tax cap", our District will still provide as many opportunities as possible for our children. 

You will have to decide if you want to support this direction when you are asked to vote on the budget in May. The residents of our community have demonstrated their leadership capabilities in the past when asked to support our plans, and we will continue to be appreciative and respectful of that leadership as we move ahead.  I will post much more about the budget and what the tax cap actually means for West Genesee later this week.

Last week we held our third redistricting meeting, and again it was very productive.  The consultants presented the following set of slides click here to open or download the presentation which included a possible attendance boundary reconfiguration. The committee took the possible reconfiguration and created lists of pros and cons that the consultants will include for the next meeting that will be held on March 8 (location to be announced). Two decisions were made at the meeting: whatever reconfigurations are proposed none of them will ask elementary school students from one elementary school to split up and attend different middle schools;  that any re-configurations will include capacity for full-day Kindergarten. Again, a great meeting and I am looking forward to March 8 for the next meeting. 

Have a wonderful week. It looks like we could have some questionable weather (it is about time), so make sure to stay tuned to your local weather, our new and improved website http://westgenesee.org/ and my Twitter account http://www.twitter.com/cbrownwgcsd.

Thanks-

Chris