by Alex Brooks
At the Hoosick Falls School Board’s Organizational Meeting on July 9, Rick Ferrannini nominated Greg Laurin for another year as President of the School Board, and Laurin was unanimously elected. Because current vice president Rick Ferrannini had made it known that he did not wish to be the Vice-President of the Board this year, Laurin nominated John Helft as VP, and he was unanimously elected. Both were sworn in, as was Clerk Pam Cottrell and Superintendent Ken Facin.
[private]The Board kept committee appointments as they were last year.
The Board made the usual annual appointments, which were the same as last year: Physician services provided by Martinez Family Practice, Dentist Dr. Paul Bobinsky, Independent Auditors The Bonadio Group, Legal Counsel William Ryan, Jr of the firm Tabner, Ryan, & Keniry, LLP, Official Newspapers The Eastwick Press and The Eagle Newspaper.
The Board made a long list of appointments for the High School, Elementary School, and Special Education Summer Schools, and also approved numerous appointments for summer curriculum writing.
Superintendents Report
Superintendent Ken Facin told the Board that the 2015 edition of the Albany Business Review’s annual ranking of school districts in the Capital region has been released, and the Hoosick Falls District is ranked #21 of the 84 Districts listed. It was #26 last year, so it has moved five places higher. The High School was ranked number 18. Superintendent Facin said this shows progress, but he is aiming higher. “We want to be top twenty, and eventually top ten.”
Facin said a letter was sent to parents and to the community about the District’s new “Mindfulness” initiative. The letter said a mindfulness education program will be introduced when school starts again in the fall. The core practice will be a few moments of quiet reflection and calm breathing at the start of the day. The letter said, “There is growing scientific evidence that suggest mindfulness practices provide a range of cognitive, social, psychological, and health benefits.”
Facin also said the District will debut a new website this week, which he said will be “cleaner and more professional” than the existing one. Facin said he is very pleased with it. It was built by teachers and students. The student team consists of three Juniors – Lindsay Krause, Alyssa Forbes and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who volunteered their time to create the website.
New Testing Company
Superintendent Facin said the contract for developing tests of assessment of grades 3-8 in English and math was awarded to a company called Questar, Inc. It is a five year contract for approximately $44 million,
“The good news is that Pearson was sent packing, said Facin. Pearson is the company which has handled test development until now, and they have come in for a great deal of criticism in recent years. Facin said he didn’t know much yet about the new company, so “we will have to see how it goes.”
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said in the NYSED press relase about the contract, “New York State teachers will be involved in every step of the test development process. Teacher input is critical to building a successful state test, and that’s why the new contract emulates the collaborative process used to develop the Regents Exams.”
Upcoming Meetings
The Board scheduled three meetings in August. August 6 and August 20 will be workshop meetings beginning at 6 pm, and August 27 will be the regular monthly Board meeting at 7 pm. The first workshop meeting on August 6 will be about the District’s facilities, and the Second on August 20 will be for presentation of the State of the Schools report.
In other news:
• John Helft said the new pellet boiler will be fired up this week to test it
• The Board accepted the donation of a black panther statue from Frank Sheldon and family, which was valued at $500. Facin said it will be delivered to the shop for painting, and after it is painted, it will be unveiled at a later date.
• The Board approved establishment of the Graphic Design Club as an extra-curricular Club.
• The Board accepted a donation from the Hoosick Falls Central PTA of $75, for prizes for the fourth grade Reading Counts program.[/private]