by Alex Brooks
In a marathon four and a half hour meeting on August 9, the Hoosick Falls School Board approved revisions and updates to many of its fundamental policy documents. The documents included the student /parent handbooks for high school and elementary, the Faculty Handbook, the course offerings for the upcoming year, the textbooks to be used, the Transportation Manual, the Coaches Manual, the Volunteer Manual, the District Safety Plan, the Academic Intervention Services policy, the Professional Development Plan, and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) agreement between the administration and the Hoosick Falls Teachers Association.
During the discussion of the Student Handbook the Board discussed the rules about drug and alcohol incidents and when they will lead to loss of eligibility for extracurricular activities like sports. This brought up the issue of vaping, which has become a significant problem over the course of the last year. The administrators present estimated that at least half of the upper-level students are using vaping products on a regular basis, and it is starting as young as 5th or 6th grade.
Superintendent Ken Facin said, “Joe Camel is back.” He said many years of anti-smoking efforts had reduced the smoking problem significantly, but now all those gains are being reversed with the introduction of vaping. High School Principal Pat Dailey said for many of the kids you’re up against addiction rather than belligerence when trying to get them to stop vaping. He also said sometimes the parents don’t back up the school in its efforts to get students to stop vaping. He said as many as half of the parents don’t care about stopping their kids from vaping.
State of the Schools Report
At this meeting High School Principal Pat Dailey presented the annual “State of the Schools” report, detailing various measures of student performance.
The graduation rate for 2017-18 was 88%, compared to 83% last year and 87% the year before. 96% of those were Regents diplomas, compared to 88% the year before and 95% the year before. 30% were advanced regents, compared with 34% last year and 42% the year before. 9% were advanced regents with honors, also down slightly from the previous two years.
The Class of 2018 had 55% planning to attend 4 year colleges and 26% planning to attend 2 year colleges. While the overall percentage of college-bound students has remained steady over the last three years, more students are going to four year colleges and less students going to 2 year colleges. In the Class of 2016 there was a slightly larger number of students going to 2 year colleges than going to 4 year colleges, and now the numbers are 2-1 in favor of 4 year colleges. Superintendent Ken Facin said he is pleased by this trend, as the school is trying to instill academic ambition in its students and this result bodes well for their futures. The Class of 2018 had 6% going into trade schools, 2% going into the military, and 11% going directly into employment. These numbers are similar to those of the last few years. The Class of 2018 had students accepted at such prestigious institutions as the Rhode Island School of Design, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
The number of disciplinary referrals in the 2017-18 school year was significantly higher than in the two previous years, and administrators said that the discipline problems are very concentrated in a relatively small number of students. Over one third of the disciplinary referrals in this school year were incurred by a group of just 20 students. Facin said, “on Craig’s list, we have the cheapest apartments,” and it is bringing high-needs families into the community. Facin said, “We have had some kids coming into the school with substantial prior disciplinary records,” and a number of them are proving to be significant discipline problems.
Assistant High School Principal Stacy Vadney said of the some of the students being referred, “the mental health needs are alarming.” Facin agreed, saying many of the kids who need them are not getting mental health services. “The County is overwhelmed,” he said.
Facin said the District is planning to revive the GED program for students who are not able to succeed in the regular school program. He said some of the kids who are incorrigible in a regular school setting become more responsible when they start earning a paycheck and must develop the discipline, habits and skills needed to keep their job.
Dailey said there was “a big jump” in Special Education classification in the the 2017-18 school year. 14.7% of the students were classified Special Needs, compared with 12.5% and 13% in the two previous school years.
Reading assessment scores were similar to those of recent years, but Facin said, “We have issues in reading,” and he feels improvement in reading skills is central to success in education. He said of 100 kids that go to college, only 40 of them will complete college and get a diploma. “The difference is reading comprehension.” The key to becoming a proficient reader is reading at home. Elementary Principal Amy Netti said the Elementary School has five reading teachers and focuses as much as possible on developing reading skills. The “Parents as Reading Partners” program is a way to enlist parents to help kids improve reading skills, but not all parents take part in the program, so they have set up programs to have staff read to the children or to have 5th graders read to the kindergarten kids.
Facin said some families are having trouble supporting their kids learning. He said, “There are a lot of issues in this community – as lot of stress, a lot of economic issues – it’s disheartening to see some of these families.” He said the District is seeing more homeless families and more opioid-addicted parents than they ever have before.
Regents results this year were similar to the last few year, with the usual excellent results in English, dramatic improvements in Geometry and Algebra 2, and some slippage in the sciences.
The District’s ranking among Capital District public schools is #41, down from #38 last year and #32 the year before. School Board President John Helft said, “We’re going in the wrong direction. What can we do about it?”
Facin said, “We just have to do a better job.” He said the community has changed over the years, and the needs have gone up. He said when he first started at this school, open houses were packed, and now they are sparsely attended. He said the school will seek to reach out to parents and enlist them as partners. But he expressed great confidence in the school’s faculty to rise to the challenge. He said the group of teachers and administrators now at the school is an extraordinarily caring and creative group and they will find ways to keep the school moving forward, whatever the challenges.
The Board passed a number of motions to accept resignations and to hire faculty for the new year. In doing so, Facin remarked that there is a shortage of teachers nationwide, and some states are paying substantial hiring bonuses to teachers, although New York is not doing that. Facin said although the market for teachers is tight, Hoosick Falls has an advantage because it has a reputation as a good place to work. Teachers who work at Hoosick Falls have been telling their friends who are teachers in the area that Hoosick Falls is a great place to work, and that has helped the District to recruit quality teaching staff.
The Board accepted a last-minute retirement from Kindergarten teacher Kathleen Mau, who will be retiring. She has worked at HFCS for 32 years. Elementary Special Education teacher Jodi Hogsberg will be stepping into Mau’s position, and Christine Daigle was hired to replace Hogsberg.
The Board passed a motion to use $68,739 for renovations to create a new nursing station between the High School and the Elementary School so that it can serve both. It will have separate entrances for each school. Facin said work has begun. The asbestos has been removed and workmen are building the new space now, and the plan is to have it ready for the opening of school.
The Board approved a rate increase for substitute teachers for the upcoming school year. The new rate is $125 per day for a certified teacher, $100 a day for a non-certified teacher with a BA, and $80 per day for a non-certified teacher without a BA. Facin said, “We are struggling to get certified teachers. This is still low, but it’s better.”
The Board approved tax rates for the 2018 school tax collection. for the Town of Grafton it is $219.91 per thousand; for the town of Hoosick it is $19.55 per thousand; for the Town of Petersburgh is is $30.67 per thousand; for the Town of Pittstown it is $28.97 per thousand; and for White Creek it is $31.04 per thousand.
The Town of Hoosick’s rate per thousand is the lowest because it has just completed a revaluation and its equalization rate is now 100%. Grafton’s rate per thousand is much greater than the other towns because its equalization rate is very low – 8.9%.
Facin noted that the District’s tax levy is about $14,000 less than it was last year, so if anyone’s school taxes go up, it is because of factors beyond the District’s control. In particular, some in Hoosick will be paying more and some paying less because of adjustments to property assessments from the recent revaluation, but the overall levy is reduced from last year’s levy.
Board goals
The School Board adopted student performance goals for the upcoming school year, including 90% passing and 40% mastery on NY State Regents Exams;90% graduation rate, with 50% earning advanced Regents Diplomas, and a 3.0 or higher class average in each Advanced Placement course.