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Ask the Superintendent - June 14, 2006
On Friday, June 9th, the New York State Assembly
Republican Task Force on Successful Schools visited
the Goshen Central School District. Goshen was one
of fourteen schools selected from around the State
for a site visit and participation in a roundtable
discussion to share our exemplary educational
programs. The goal of this Task Force is to gather
information on successful schools and successful
programs and to develop ways in which elected
officials from New York State may better serve their
educational communities. Leading the Republican Task
Force was its Chairperson, Fred W. Thiele, Jr., from
the 2nd Assembly District on Long Island and Annie
Rabbitt, representing the 97th Assembly District,
which is our home district.
The afternoon began with a tour of the Scotchtown
Avenue School, during school hours, to permit the
members of the Assembly to view our school on a
regular school day and to afford them an opportunity
to speak with teachers, staff and students. Leaving
the school to return to Main Street for our
roundtable discussion, the committee learned a very
good lesson: “Never try to leave the Scotchtown
Avenue School during the High School dismissal.” The
resulting delay prevented the scheduled roundtable
discussion from starting until 3:00 p.m.
One of the most impressive observations during the
afternoon was that the members of the Assembly had
done their homework. Their depth of knowledge
regarding schools and exemplary programs was
demonstrated as they asked probing questions and
solicited responses from our assembled guests.
Additionally, they knew a great deal about Goshen
and its personnel. Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt’s
research was demonstrated by referencing facts and
figures and underscoring our many successes. The
Assembly members were truly on a fact-finding
mission. In addition to looking at programs in good
schools, it was evident they were seeking our input
to enable the Legislature to help schools deal with;
Test Scores, School Finance, Learning Standards and
a burdensome property tax.
Originally there were five pre-selected agenda
topics. Unfortunately, we did not complete the
agenda, and it should be noted we went a half-hour
longer than planned.
School Finance was discussed in depth. Among those
topics covered were:
• Does a relationship truly exist between
instructional expenses and successful students?
• Should the State provide funding to help assist
districts with professional development?
• Disclosures on Long Island have underscored the
danger of lax financial oversight. Do you believe
that the Legislature took the correct steps to
tighten financial oversight?
With regard to Community/Parental Involvement, we
discussed:
• Does parental and community involvement play a
role in the success of your students?
• Has your district considered the creation of a
school-to-work partnership, or other partnerships
with local businesses? What resources would be
needed for the district to develop a school-to-work
partnership?
In the area of Regents Learning Standards, some of
the points raised were:
• Are there any key elements of your elementary
school English curriculum that you find particularly
successful?
• What can districts do to help students achieve
higher results on the 8th grade Math and ELA
examinations?
• How has your district assisted students in
outperforming their peers throughout the State?
On the subject of Technology in the Classroom, the
discussion centered around:
• What role do you think technology can play in our
schools?
• Has your district integrated technology into the
curriculum? If so, has it assisted in achieving
academic success?
Unfortunately, we were not able to complete our
discussion on School Construction. However, we did
talk about ways in which the Legislature could
increase building aid to our schools.
The entire program, the tour, and the roundtable
discussion were highly productive and exceptionally
worthwhile. There was a mutual respect and a general
feeling of accomplishment that this was a true
sharing of information and a learning session. As
the meeting drew to a close, we were all quite
surprised when Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt and
Assemblyman Fred Thiele presented school district
officials with the Excelsior Award For Excellence in
Education.
Roy Reese
Superintendent of Schools |
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