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REMAINING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM
NOVEMBER 2007 COMMUNITY MEETING
From Vicki Wright, superintendent
of schools:
I am
trying to complete the questions and answers to our
community residents from the November meeting. It is then
my intent to begin a review of the questions and discussions
that came up at the January 19, 2008 meeting.
QUESTION: A woman spoke very
highly of Dr. Barone. How can we as a district keep this
gentleman here within our district?
ANSWER: Dr. Barone has been a
great fit for our district in this time of transition.
However, he is a retired school principal and had agreed to
work with us only through the month of December. Because
the person we had hired to begin in January was not able to
come on board as principal as planned, I asked Dr. Barone,
and he willingly volunteered to continue with us through the
end of the current school year. At that time, the District
would conduct a comprehensive search to find a permanent
probationary principal. We are in the process of doing that
search. The closing date for applications is coming up
soon, and we will then review the qualifications of the
candidates and conduct our interviews. As much as Dr.
Barone has been willing to assist us, we have to have
someone in place on a permanent basis. I do believe that
Dr. Barone, although he loves being here, still would prefer
to have the option of being retired or working as an interim
as it may suit his needs and timeframes.
QUESTION: A person was upset
with bathroom doors that that close improperly. When will
they be fixed?
ANSWER: I was not aware that we
had difficulties with bathroom doors. I have advised our
director of buildings and grounds, Mr. Gene Doane, who is
working on the situation. Since I did not know what school
was involved, he was going to follow up on all schools. To
date, I know that we have fixed at least 6 bathroom doors at
AWB. We will continue to monitor until all the doors that
need adjustments are fixed.
QUESTION: Why did the school not
evacuate our students during a bomb threat.?
ANSWER: Sometimes it is not
advisable to evacuate students. We called in the fire and
police departments who work in conjunction with the CRT
(Crisis Response Team) which is our internal team. They
evaluate the situation and the location of the threat.
There is then a clean sweep of a particular area such as the
auditorium. If that place is safe, then the students go to
that location while the area near the threat is swept and
then the entire building is swept. Sometimes, it is safer
for students to remain inside away from danger that may be
outside. Those decisions are made by the authorities on the
scene at the time.
QUESTION: Do students who may
be distressed over the bomb scares have any support
opportunities within the school?
ANSWER: Yes, there are many
opportunities and resources within our school. We have
counselors and social workers who go into classrooms and
discuss important issues like this. In the middle and high
schools, students are able to easily access our social
worker, psychologist, guidance counselors or deans of
students for opportunities to talk and be heard. We provide
these opportunities for all students. Students can tell
teachers or their building administrators that they need to
speak with someone, and that person follows up rather
quickly to provide the student with the necessary supports.
Our teachers and staff are very sensitive to the needs of
students.
QUESTION: What are the issues surrounding
the teachers’ vote of no confidence?
ANSWER: This is a situation I
take very seriously.
To date, I have not been
presented with a document from the teachers’ association
that states their concerns with the actions of the Board of
Education or the central office administration which
includes me. I do not know how the vote was taken or how the
teachers were notified of the vote.
I do know that there are concerns
regarding the audits which have been addressed in preceding
information, the lack of follow through on things that had
been discussed or brought to our attention, and a concern
that we can not bring the business office functions into
alignment and that we are not able to stop the errors that
have occurred in the business office. There is an overall
lack of trust. I do not believe that that the Board nor the
administrators nor I have done anything seriously incorrect,
but we are people nonetheless.
It is my intent to be as open,
clear and responsive as possible and restore a more
collaborative working relationship with the teachers’ union.
QUESTION: What programs in
technology will be expanded? Will teachers receive their
materials they need? Will we hire another technology
teacher in the future?
ANSWER: We have already begun
to expand our technology program. This year we added
Project Lead the Way at 7th grade which is a
hands-on approach to the teaching of new technologies. One
of our teachers went through some intensive training during
the summer; we ordered and received all the required
materials, and the program has been going forward. From all
reports, our students enjoy the course which is designed to
inspire students to be more comfortable with technology and
hopefully increase their interest in it for career
purposes. Next year we will bring the program into 8th
grade, and then continue it into the high school.
We are
also exploring other technology programs that will provide
our students with opportunities to acquire a 5 unit sequence
in technology. This is the way we need to go in order to
meet and exceed the New York State Standards. We are quite
pleased with the direction we are taking. Yes, we do hope
to add another technology teacher at the high school for the
’08-’09 school year.
Click the following
links earlier questions and answers from the November
meeting
Part
2 of questions
Part 1 of questions |
