Making Connections

A Great Opening Week of School: The students and staff were excited to be back and it was fun for me to get to meet the class of 2028. We had a couple of bus delays and a few gremlins in the new phone system, but I consider the week a huge success.

A Winning Weekend: Over the weekend my favorite college and NFL teams (Syracuse Orange and Buffalo Bills) won, and our Marching Band had its first victory as well. I am trying to remember the last time both of my favorite teams won on the same weekend!

Open Houses/Curriculum Nights: Last week, and over the next two weeks, are our open houses/curriculum nights. On opening day with the staff, I stressed the importance of making connections with students and families.

Open houses/curriculum nights give our staff and you as parents a great opportunity to meet face-to-face and establish a good communication flow. I appreciate your patience with parking and crowds during these times. Most of our open houses and curriculum nights have near 100% attendance, which is a good thing. Your commitment to the success of your children is as important as any other part of their educational journeys.

This week we really start to buckle down and establish how the rest of the school year will operate. In my next blog I will give you a complete update of our Capital Project, including milestones for when some of the larger pieces will be complete.

Thanks for your support and enjoy the week.

Chris

They're Back!

Many of us in education chose this profession to help children to become adults, and to teach them a thing or two along the way. This opening day was as exciting as my first opening day; it simply never gets old. Summertime is great, but it is lonely without the students around. I begin to feel like a grumpy old man dealing with "big people problems".  As soon as the students step off of the buses, the big people problems go away, and I instantly feel about twenty years younger.

As tough as it is as parents to watch our children drive away in the big yellow bus, or close the car door and run up to the school, can you put yourself back into their shoes and imagine how they really feel? I would love to ask an astronaut how they felt the first time they exited the earth's atmosphere, because I bet that a kindergartner stepping off of the bus for the first time must feel the same way.

A new environment, decisions to make that they have never had to make before, and experiencing feelings that they were only told they would feel. Bravely, they make their way to their classrooms. They share glue sticks, playthings and learn to listen and to raise their hands if they have a question.

By the second or third day it is as if they had been there all year. It is truly an amazing thing to watch, and the raw emotion that you see from our youngest students has not changed in twenty years. At that age kids really are, well, kids!

On the flip side, I want to take an opportunity to wish our recent graduates well, either in college, the workforce, or the military. I was exceptionally close to our most recent graduates because my son was one of them, and I think the hardest thing for them to realize is that any reputation they had, good or bad, is now gone; it is up to them to forge their way. They too are brave.

What was expected of them by us goes out the window, and what they expect of themselves takes over. That can be scary for students who were coddled maybe a little too much growing up. It has been very interesting to watch this group free fall, collect, scatter, and land on their collective feet. There are many success stories and "high school underdog to adult champion" stories in the making. Enjoy!

It was a great opening day, and I look forward to sharing stories of our first week when I write again.

Enjoy!

Chris

Look for the Positives

Connecting with the Community at the State Fair: Well my New York State Fair diet is in full stride. I think I am going to turn into a Gianelli sausage if I eat any more of them, not to mention that I have had more ice cream in the past week than I have had all year.

I want to give a big THANK YOU to all of the parents, employees, community members, and students that my wife and I have run into at the Fair. It has been really challenging to adjust to our new "empty nest" at home, so the Fair has been our refuge of sorts. Everyone we have seen (and I am talking dozens of people) have been so complimentary of the District, our school community and our vision; that it is very humbling and fills me with great pride. Thank you for all that YOU do to support our students!

The Positives Out Weigh the Negatives -- It isn't hard to find negativity. Just turn on the news or open your favorite news app and you will find articles and stories that make you want to stay in your house and never come out. Have no fear, because I am going to share many positives that have happened right under our noses this summer!

Wildcat Marching Band Preview: The stands were packed on our turf field as our Marching Band showed off a good portion of their upcoming show, Bugs. If you missed it, Bill Davern, our Director of Fine Arts, broadcast the majority of it on the smartphone app called Periscope. You can download the app and follow him (and me), then you can go back and view the performance. I am really excited for the upcoming Marching Band season.

Replacing Old Instruments: Sticking with the Fine Arts program, I have been working with Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli about obtaining some funding to help replace musical instruments that are old, outdated, worn, and damaged. We have created a three-year plan to replace the dozens of instruments that need to be replaced for a total investment of $168,000.

The Assemblyman and I met recently to discuss the plan, and he was able to help us with $150,000 of that project meaning we will be able to complete our three-year replacement plan in one year with no impact to our taxpayers. With the 50th anniversary of the Marching Band right around the corner, this grant from the Assemblyman will come in very handy. I would call that a positive.

Supply Drive is a Success: On Saturday, community member and volunteer Deb Troiano did it again. She coordinated for the West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council a community effort to collect school supplies for our needy families. They raised enough money and supplies to help over 95 local families that included 200 children.


That is an incredible but necessary undertaking, and she deserves credit for organizing supply drives, enlisting adult and student volunteers, and creating a process that is seamless, confidential, and fulfilling to families in need. As one parent told me, "Mrs. Troiano's work helped ease the stress of the start of school and she can now concentrate on helping her child to become adjusted to school." Thanks again to the District Council and especially to Deb! I would call that a positive.

Saving for the Turf Field: Two years ago the community authorized the school to start a "savings" account to replace our existing turf field when the time comes. Having a savings account takes all of the emotion out of replacing the turf and also ensures that there is no tax impact when the time comes. Our turf gets used a LOT.

Our existing turf has two to three years left before we need to replace it, but through responsible budgeting and planning we have enough in that savings account to replace the turf when the time comes without any impact on our local taxpayers.

We are actually in the beginning stages of pricing out what it would cost to convert our other grass field at the high school to turf so our Marching Band, athletes, and community members can use the field(s) longer and to eliminate the grass maintenance costs. We also think it might be possible to do this conversion with no tax impact. We will keep you posted. I would call that a positive.

I have many more positives to share but you get the picture. This week your homework is to try to find as many positive things as you can and bring them to the dinner table to share them as part of your conversations. Leave the negativity for another day. Enjoy the week!

Chris

Appreciate What You Have Each and Every Day

Appreciate What You Have: On my way home from work I pass a cemetery. Each day I look and see grieving families hovering over a spot on the ground. It is surreal sometimes because my mood is usually happy, and I am thinking about what I am going to do when I get home. The people at the cemetery appear to have lost their absolute everything and are the saddest they have probably ever been.

As a Superintendent, I have worked with tens of thousands of students and families and from time to time tragedy, or near tragedy, has struck. This summer has provided a quadruple dose unfortunately. When I was younger I used to be able to help a family work through a situation and then just go back to work seemingly unfazed. As I have gotten older and my children are grown up and at college, the hurt and sadness sticks with me much longer when these situations arise for others.

I cannot understate the importance to appreciate who you have around you each and every day, because that can change in the blink of an eye. I have seen it, felt it, lived it. Give the extra hug, have the extra conversation, hang out the extra time, and appreciate those who are close to you. Hopefully you will never have to thank me later for the advice. If you cross paths with someone who is experiencing something awful, help them out. Simple as that.

West Genesee High School is a Reward School: On a much more positive note we should all appreciate the school District that we live in and all of the employees who make each and every day of school possible for us. I am certainly proud to come to work every day and was especially proud when I opened up the mail and found that our high school is a New York State Education Department Reward School Award recipient.

This is a VERY rare award to receive and it is given to schools that can demonstrate sustained excellence. The high school received the award because students who have struggled coming out of eighth grade have still been able to graduate on time, our number of Career and Technical Education endorsements has been consistently high, and our graduation rate (completion rate) has been exceptional (currently at 94% in comparison to the state average of 76%). We are all a part of something special; let's keep it going!

By the time I post again, I will have been to the New York State Fair about four times. I cannot wait! Enjoy the rest of the week.

Chris

Game On!

A Busy Summer: As you are reading this, our fall sports programs are in full swing. Our Marching Band has also been rehearsing for about three weeks and they are gearing up to the annual Marching Band preview on Friday, August 28. Don't get too excited though. As Labor Day falls so late this year, we are still a good chunk of time away from when school buses are rolling and our students are back in classrooms.

While video games, driveway basketball, Kan Jam, wall ball, and maybe a vacation kept kids occupied this summer, so did some activities that are anchored with school.

Wrestlers young and old took part in a good old fashioned car wash fundraiser to help themselves out as well as a charity.

Our talented musicians performed what they learned this summer at a concert held on August 7.

About 20 of our West Genesee Middle and Camillus Middle School students went to Cornell University to participate in some summer engineering programs. 

Since I was not able to make it, I am going to have to ask the students exactly how wind turbine energy is converted into actual electricity because that is what they built and learned how to do. I wish they had these types of programs when I was a kid! 

Building Construction Update: This week we begin to test out the air conditioning at Stonehedge Elementary School, which is pretty exciting.  Also, we received state approval to begin the bidding process for the work that needs to be done at Onondaga Road Elementary, East Hill Elementary, and West Genesee Middle Schools. We hope to have work underway in those locations before the snow flies. The Capital Project continues to be coming together quite smoothly and on budget. Two good things!

Tax Rates are Released: Lastly, tax rates were just released. We are pleased that for the eighth year in a row the tax rate is lower than what we projected when voters went to the polls in May.

What makes this year even more significant in terms of the tax rate is that the rate includes the impact of the Veteran's Tax Exemption. As far as I can tell we were the only school to offer the Veteran's Exemption, and we are pleased that the community is able to help our veterans AND have a tax impact that was less that what was anticipated.

Thank you for the continued support and enjoy the week.

Chris

So Much for "Dumb Jock" Coaches

I have been a superintendent for a long time, and without fail there are people who still think that athletic coaches are just "dumb jocks". That they played their sport in high school or college and then decided to use their name and reputation to coach students "the way they were coached" or played themselves. Wrong! Last week our varsity football coach, Joe Corley, demonstrated why this is not true.

Football is an interesting sport. While at times other high school athletic teams may be more successful, it is rare that other sports get more fans than the local high school football team. Some of that is the nostalgia that the crisp fall air at the stadium gives community members. For other people they are drawn to football for many different reasons.

When we hire varsity coaches we are not necessarily looking for the person who is going to bring the most wins. More importantly, we are looking for people who care about the program and will develop the athlete from the youngest of ages right through college. Coaches who want to be a positive role model and mentor are who we seek out. As a superintendent I need to be able to look ANY parent in the eyes and tell them that I would let my own children play for that coach.

Coach Corley and his football program have certainly had ups and downs. They have played in the Carrier Dome at the end of a season and have not made it to the post season. Throughout that time, coach Corley and his staff have worked to keep players safe, be solid role models, and help students reach their potential both on and off the field. He has had great success in developing players and working with college coaches to get players opportunities after high school.

More importantly, he has been a champion for student safety, especially in the area of head injuries. It is rare that I would spend an entire blog post on one coach, but an essay he recently authored about making the game of football safer struck a chord with me, and I wanted to share it. Please take a moment to read his take on making the game of football safer by clicking here. West Genesee is fortunate to have a thoughtful, compassionate, and forward thinking coach, and I am even more excited about the season than I was before. #WildcatPride.

Enjoy the week!

Chris

A Beautiful Day to be Recognized

I think that one of the most powerful things that people can experience is raw emotion. I have known our Boys Lacrosse coach, Mike Messere, since 2008; and raw emotion is something that I have not seen from him.

That all changed on a beautiful Saturday morning when he was surrounded by his family, friends, and dozens of his players and coaches for the official dedication of our turf field in his name. I was honored to be the emcee of the event and after a few brief words and the official dedication, I gave the microphone to him.

At that moment, over forty years of emotion appeared, front and center. He was very moved by the showing of support and paused to collect his thoughts. What came next? He thanked his family, his players, his coaches, and everyone else he could think of for helping the Boys Lacrosse program and him, as the coach, to achieve the level it has.

He turned the microphone back to me, posed for some pictures, and returned to coaching a summer lacrosse team!

I would like to thank everyone who made it to the event. Photographer Larry Duran took a professional panoramic photo of those who participated in the dedication ceremony, and as soon as the picture is ready we will make it available to anyone who would like it.


Over the next few weeks the new recognition sign will be mounted above our scoreboard along with a new "Home of the Wildcats" sign that will go underneath the scoreboard. Both signs are in the traditional blue and gold colors. #WildcatPride!

This week we will continue to fill open positions, register new students, work on the Capital Project, clean classrooms, and receive materials for the fall. Summer is anything but quiet!  Enjoy the week.

Chris