Knight Insight

Economy and Efficiency: What are we doing?

2012-01-05T06:57:00.002-05:00

Part 1 in a three month series.

At the first community forum related to the 2012-2013 spending plan for the Tully Central School District a number of items were discussed. School Business Administrator Tiffany Nesbitt spent some time reviewing basic information related to the Tax Levy Limit imposed upon schools through legislation. Other discussion took place around funding inequities between poor schools and wealthy schools as well as legislative concerns.

Throughout the dialogue that took place during the evening, two questions were asked that prompted this commentary which will continue for the next few issues of Knight Insight. The first question was “what are we doing” in taking steps to reduce costs in all areas of the district. The other was “why aren’t we letting people know” the steps that are being taken to address the fiscal challenges that we and every other school district in the area are facing.

So begins a series of articles about what we are doing to become more efficient and responsible for the taxpayer dollars.

Based upon our reviews and suggestions from staff and community steps have been taken to produce savings in the area of energy. Below you will find some examples of these steps.
New lighting has been installed in the high school bus garage that will reduce costs by a little more than $1,000 per year in that facility alone. The investment for this change will be repaid in as little as 3 years.
During the recent renovation project in 2009, the elementary school was zoned in order to provide better control over heating and cooling areas.
In that same project the Junior-Senior High School received energy efficient windows to replace single pane windows that were originally installed in that building.
Another part of the 2009 project installed a waste oil heater system in the Junior-Senior High School transportation facility that makes use of oil removed from vehicles to heat the building thus reducing fuel costs in this area.
We are currently investigating grant funding to work with students on a project to install lighting sensors in rooms to turn lights off after the room is vacant for a period of time.

We are monitoring the positive impacts of these changes to assess the financial savings that will result both now and into the future. The district is also regularly reviewing our energy use and seeking opportunities to save on these costs.

Next month we will focus on the topic of grant funding to provide additional opportunities for our students.

Everything Old is New Again

2012-01-05T06:56:00.002-05:00

Some programs are just too valuable to let them fade away. In past issues you may have read about the Tully Rotary Books for the World program to help children around the world benefit from age appropriate reading materials that might not otherwise be available. This year’s Tully Rotary President also set forth a charge to develop an extension to that program to have a local impact as well. The local project would provide books for children right here in Tully.

Several years ago, under the Literacy Across the Ages banner, a collaboration between the Tully Teachers’ Association, the Tully Elementary School PTO and the district provided books for two year olds and four year olds in the district. That old program will soon be new again with Tully Rotary joining the collaboration and a new program name—Books for the World: Tully Edition.

Watch in the March Knight Insight for details on how you can register your children to receive a free book on their second and fourth birthday through this community partnership. Together we will work to address literacy worldwide and right here in Tully.

Tully Students Present Art Show and Sale

2011-11-16T08:18:00.002-05:00

The Tully High School Art Club will present a Fall into the Holidays Art Show and Sale on Saturday, November 19 from 10:00 am until 4 pm. The show and sale will be held at the Tully Train Station on Grove Street in the village of Tully and will feature more than 40 pieces of creative visual arts in the areas of drawing, painting, photography and wearable art all created by Tully students. Many of the works will be for sale to benefit the activities of the High School Art Club.

Admission to the show and sale is free. If you have questions in advance of the show, please contact the Tully Junior-Senior High School Office at 315-696-6235.

Happy Holidays

2011-11-16T08:17:00.002-05:00

It seems hard to believe that we are once again in the flurry of the holiday season. Concerts, new sports seasons underway, shopping, decorations all contribute to the joy of the season. We begin our holiday season in our learning community by saying “G’day Mates” to our visitors from Australia. Three teachers (and two spouses) will be living with families in our community and immersing themselves in our school and region for the week of December 4.

As our teachers and administrators visited their schools we were greeted warmly and openly into their schools and culture. If you get a chance to see them in school or in town, please welcome them in the same manner.

Both Deborah and I wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season!

International Link Program Brings Australian Educators to Tully

2011-11-16T08:16:00.002-05:00

For several years, the Tully School District has been in a relationship with a coalition of schools in Education Queensland. This partnership originated through Tully’s Regional Professional School participation with SUNY Cortland and has resulted in two teachers and two administrators visiting and learning in the Australian education system over the past two years.

For the week of December 4, our Australian counterparts will reciprocate with three educators living in our community with families and learning our schools and cultures. In addition to the Tully schools, the visitors will visit the BOCES to learn about career readiness programs and opportunities for students there as well as some other schools in our region. They will also spend some time at SUNY Cortland to learn about our pre-service teacher preparation programs that send student teachers to practice in the Sunshine Coast area of Australia.

We look forward to our visitors time in our learning community and hope that you have an opportunity to welcome them to Central New York and Tully in particular.

Sex Offender Notifications to End

2011-10-13T11:12:00.001-04:00

The district received the following information from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department related to the notification of sex offenders residing in the district.

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) now offers an alert system regarding level 2 & 3 registered sex offenders. This system allows you to sign up to receive free alerts via e-mail, text message or fax whenever a Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender listed on the DCJS website moves into or out of a community or location of interest to you. You can register with NY-Alert at the following website: http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/nyalert.htm Once you go to this web site, you will be instructed on how to register for this service.

In an effort to make the exchange of sex offender information more timely and efficient, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office will no longer send e-mail notifications to school districts. This will be effective November 1, 2011. Once you sign up for NY-Alert, you will be notified immediately of offenders moving into or out of your area. This immediate notification will eliminate any delay in your district receiving information about an offender.

As always, information regarding level 1, 2 & 3 offenders can be obtained by calling the NYS Sex Offender Registry at 1-800-262-3257. Additional information regarding level 2 & 3 offenders may be accessed via the Internet at criminaljustice.state.ny.us.

As our district residents are aware the Tully School District includes communities in Cortland County as well as Onondaga County. The Cortland County Sheriff ended this notification practice several years ago.

Since we no longer receive the updates regarding the status of sex offenders within the district boundaries, the schools will be unable to provide this information to our families.

A time to be thankful…

2011-10-12T11:19:00.002-04:00

As we come into what promises to be one of the busiest times of the year, it is always good to think about being thankful. I have the privilege of working alongside an incredible staff here in the Tully learning community. No matter what role they play in the lives of our students, no matter what challenges lie before them, it is appropriate to give thanks for the wonderful environment in which our children grow and learn.

In discussion with colleagues throughout the region, it is clear that Tully is someplace special—not perfect but certainly special in how we are able to bring the focus back to our students. The season of Thanksgiving is one that reaches beyond ourselves and into the very heart of our community. Thank you all for being a part of what makes this place so special.

Testing Schedule Forces Tully Schools to Modify Current Calendar

2011-10-11T09:08:00.000-04:00

In a testing schedule for the current year that was released in late August, the State Education Department placed mandatory state testing during the time period that about 10% of the schools in the state, including those in our area, had scheduled the annual April break. Because of this late release and unexpected conflict with the testing schedule, the Board of Education was forced to modify the school calendar for the current year. The April break will now include Good Friday on April 6 and continue through the week of April 9. Classes will resume on Monday, April 16.

Information on this change and a link to the updated calendar has been on the school website for several weeks. You can always view the up to date calendar on the school website at http://tullyschools.org. Click on Forms/Documents at the top of the page then Parents/Community on the left. You will find a link to the calendar and other useful documents for families at that page.

We apologize for any inconvenience this change on the part of the State Education Department may cause the families of our district.

District to Add Auto Attendant to Phone System

2011-10-06T22:14:00.000-04:00

As the finances of the district become more and more restrictive, steps continue to be put into place to make our operations more efficient. As was discussed in budget preparation sessions last year, an administrative support position was not replaced after a planned retirement. As the roles of that position are spread across other people in similar roles, the decision was made to implement an auto attendant system to assist everyone as they work to “do more with less.”

The system will be tied to the district telephone number of 315-696-6200 and will enable the caller to reach most destinations through one menu. The maximum number of menus anyone will need to navigate is two before reaching a destination. All direct numbers will continue to function in their normal manner but the auto attendant system will provide a single telephone number for users to remember as they seek to make contact within the district.

The menu configuration was designed through consultations with school staff as well as telecommunications consultants. We plan to put the new auto-attendant system into full use upon our return from the Thanksgiving holiday break in late November.

Again the number to use for your single point of access to all areas of the district after the Thanksgiving holiday is 315-696-6200.

Preparing Students for Their Future, Not Our Past

2011-09-13T08:04:00.000-04:00

At a workshop this summer, the presenter used the phrase in the title of this article as a guide for our focus in education. For the first time in several years, it refreshed my view on our role in this field.

At the September Board of Education meeting, an overview of current instructional technology and the vision for the future in our schools was shared. A reflection on this information provides insight into the promising direction our programs are moving.

I am right there with many members of our community. There were no computers when I was in school—simply getting a calculator was pretty exciting!!! The world was also a very different place. The amount of information that our youth of today must access is tremendous compared to “the good old days.”

We are moving toward an environment of anytime, anywhere learning. An environment where students and staff have the opportunity to reach out and access the world to use every opportunity to learn. Whether it is through smartphones, tablets, ereaders, public access to wireless Internet, cloud computing or any of the many other tools for research and learning available, we have a responsibility to our students and our future.

Education today is exciting and changing as are the challenges of tomorrow. The Tully learning community is in a position to help our students understand our past so that their future is bright and promising.

It is great to have everyone back!

2011-08-10T11:02:00.000-04:00

Once again we begin another year of academic programs for our students. There are some exciting programs coming into place throughout the district. A revamped enrichment program will focus on building wide opportunities for the elementary students as well as an extension of the program to include students in the Junior High school age groups.

A pilot project that was recently highlighted in both the print and broadcast media will find Kindles in the hands of an English class in four area districts. The grant was developed by Tully staff and expanded to include collaboration with one English teacher in the LaFayette, DeRuyter and Fabius-Pompey districts. The project is completely grant funded through the Central New York Community Foundation and is the first of its kind supported by this organization. We are excited to be a part of this program.

We are also working to get repairs to the roofs in several district buildings caused by the intense hailstorm this past May. The go ahead was finally received from the insurance company in August and it is hoped that all work will be completed by the start of school in September. We have been able to use local contractors for much of the work which has helped speed up the process.

The summer has been busy but the most exciting time for me is the return of our students to our hallways. I look forward to seeing everyone again.

Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges

2011-07-07T17:09:00.000-04:00

I have actually heard one or two folks suggest that this focus, created by my predecessors, be changed for the Tully School District. I had some time recently to reflect on these words that are found in many places related to our school. It is my belief that this phrase is perhaps more in tune with education today than it has been in many years.

We have overcome many challenges and continue to face many more. We are faced with governmental commentary that doesn’t fully understand the impact of their words or actions toward the education system. Our students are faced with different challenges in their lives than many of us ever experienced at their age. A new standard for education has been set by the State Education Department—a standard that is perhaps long overdue. While it will create challenges for education, what we have discovered is that we can meet and overcome those obstacles just as we have done in the past.

We have seen an increase in our graduation rate after four years of high school. Not only have we seen a great percentage of students passing many of our Regents results, but we also found an increased level of mastery in most of the exams this year. The state has changed the focus from simply getting through to what is called “college and career ready.” In a similar fashion, our district has placed our own focus on reaching mastery. We will not rest on the laurels of one year but instead continue our work to provide a sound and solid education today for the ever increasing challenges of tomorrow.

Commencement 2011

2011-07-07T17:08:00.000-04:00

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I’m through with playing by the rules
of someone else’s game
Too late for second guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It’s time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes, and leap

Members of the Board of Education, administration, faculty and staff, parents, guests and graduates;

These words of the song Defying Gravity from the hit musical Wicked in many ways describe the Tully Central School Class of 2011. You are the future of our world. Each one of you has the opportunity now to trust your own instincts. You have been provided with the tools to investigate, to create and then, as the song says, to leap.

As you leave the guidance and direction provided by the staff in the Tully schools, you must take what you have learned here to change the world for the generations who will follow you. As you move forward into schools such as Cornell, MIT, RIT, Kenyon, RPI, Vermont, Cortland, Crane, Purdue, OCC, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, LeMoyne, Johnson and Wales, St. Boniventure or the Armed Forces and others, you will always have the basis of things learned from your own families as well as your school family.

I had the privilege of hearing Sir Kenneth Robinson from Los Angeles speak last year and have read his book The Element. Robinson says, “The good news is that we can always try to think differently. If we create our worldview, we can recreate it too by taking a different perspective and reframing our situation.”

The world is not always an easy place. You already know that as you have matured and endured through some of the most contentious times of your generation. You have witnessed changes in our world live and as they happen. As you step into this environment you must not only think differently in order to create new and better ways of living, but you also have a responsibility to lead future generations toward new ways of learning.

I often quote Charles Fadel from his book 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times. He states, “Four powerful forces are converging and leading us toward new ways of learning for life in the 21st century:

• Knowledge work
• Thinking tools
• Digital lifestyles
• Learning research

These four forces are simultaneously creating the need for new forms of learning in the 21st century.”

Therein lies the charge for the Tully Central School Class of 2011. Make the world a constant learning environment. Understand that whether you are going into International Business, Engineering, Medicine, Education, Diplomacy, Music, Sports Management, Automotive Technology, Culinary Arts, Public Relations, Fashion Design, Audio Production, Military, Criminal Justice, Homeland Security, Construction, Farming and Agriculture or any of the other many fields your class has chosen for the future, you must always grasp new ideas and concepts as well as opportunities to continue learning until the day that you pass the torch to those who follow you.

I’m through accepting limits
Cause someone says they’re so
Some things I cannot change
But til I try I’ll never know

People will tell you that you cannot change things. The reality is, you can. But just as the song Defying Gravity says, if you don’t try, you will never know that you can make those changes. It is upon your shoulders that we place this charge to change the world; to look at things differently and not be held by limits, just because someone else tells you they exist.

Change the world.

If the future of my generation is in your hands, I can rest at ease. Congratulations and I look forward to the changes that you will create as you defy gravity.

Excel at any chosen endeavor

2011-04-13T06:44:00.000-04:00

With the May issue of Knight Insight each year is found a wealth of budget information. Other information throughout this issue covers details of the 2011-2012 budget proposal. Additionally information can be found in brochures, online and at the numerous public information sessions held each year throughout the community.

Due to the forward thinking of the Board of Education several years ago, the Tully district has been able to use reserves while implementing efficiency measures and continuing to provide the vast majority of programs offered for many years to our students. In some areas we have even increased opportunities.

We review schedules and offer electives that students have sought. We led the way in our BOCES to provide Distance Learning opportunities for instructional purposes for our students. We have sought collaborations in purchasing and in course offerings. Our graduation rate after four years of high school is back on the rise.

The proposed budget is focused on maintaining the majority of courses and programs available to students while increasing the instructional time available in the core subject areas. While change and reductions are always difficult, the proposed spending plan continues the focus of our mission statement to enable our students to be responsible for themselves and the world at large and to excel at any chosen endeavor.

Tully District Shares Proposed 2011‐2012 Budget

2011-04-05T16:11:00.000-04:00

The Tully Central School District shared their program budget proposal with the Board of Education on Monday evening, April 4 at the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting. The proposal was developed after receiving input from community, staff, and students over a period of several weeks and through a Community Forum in mid-March. The Board also held an open Budget Workshop in mid-March to review the input received to that point and shared commentary from the Community Forum on the school website.

The budget proposal holds district spending for the coming year flat. Due to reductions in revenue in several areas, the proposal carries a tax levy increase of 1.45% or 25 cents per thousand on the tax rate based upon 2010 assessment data.

The proposal reduces staffing by the equivalent of 3.5 full time teaching positions (2 full time positions and three half time reductions). Two of the half time positions are reduced through attrition. Declining enrollment has played a major factor in each reduction among the teaching staff. Additionally one administrative clerical staff member will not be replaced upon retirement during the 2011-2012 school year. The district is also reducing various assistant coaching positions and is seeking volunteers to serve in these positions.

The Tully schools have taken a number of steps in recent years to minimize the impact of major cost factors in the operation of the school district. Cost saving changes that impact the current and future fiscal picture have been negotiated with the instructional and non-instructional staff in the areas of dental and health insurance among others. The district administration and staff voluntarily froze wages during the current school year and are in the process of negotiations to include long term savings through insurance changes. Additionally, the building administrators have volunteered a pay freeze for the upcoming fiscal year. When all of the savings are combined it is projected that the district will save in excess of $130,000 per year through these negotiated changes to contracts. The majority of these modifications will have a long term benefit to the financial planning of the district for years to come.

The spending plan proposed to the Board of Education provides minimal impact to the programs and activities available to the students while being responsible to the taxpayers of the district as well.

And now, the rest of the story!

2011-03-18T17:27:00.002-04:00

Those of us “more experienced” folks may remember the late Paul Harvey, a radio personality with a unique voice that was easily recognizable. The most memorable part of his shows always left you hanging at a commercial break with the comment, “After the break, the rest of the story.”

Lately you may have heard or read in the media, the commentary from the New York State Governor touting a State Comptroller’s Report that most of the schools in our state have no problem covering his budget reductions with their reserves. He is even quoted in one media source as saying, “It’s a threat. It’s a game.”

So now, the rest of the story!

The New York State Comptroller’s Report to which our state executive refers says much the opposite. Instead it states, “Regionally, districts in Central New York and the Finger Lakes appear to have the least ability to tap reserves to mitigate the proposed school aid cuts” and also “Many districts that could use reserves to completely cover aid cuts would deplete all or most of their reserves in a single school year in order to do so. This one-time fix would severely limit their flexibility to deal with future challenges.”

Finally, in an assessment of the long-term implications of using reserves, the Comptroller’s Report states “The Governor’s proposed 2 percent tax cap, if passed, would limit local districts’ flexibility to raise additional revenue to make up for losses in State funding.”

The statements from the Executive Office take one line from a four page report to turn the taxpayers against their schools. I encourage you to read the entire report available on the school website at http://tullyschools.org.

The Real Story on the Governor’s Budget

2011-02-13T16:40:00.002-05:00

Governor Cuomo recently stated that he has only cut school districts aid on average by 2.9 percent of their budget. Through Governor Cuomo’s reduction of $1.8 million, the Tully Central School District is being cut in state aid by 9.8 percent of its budget or approximately 19 percent of its state aid. School districts in our region of the State rely heavily on state aid revenue as we have less property wealth than downstate New York. In fact, state aid makes up 51 percent of our budget revenue.

You may be wondering why districts who rely heavily on state aid are seeing larger cuts. The formulas are complicated but are based on district wealth and enrollment. So as the Governor continues to state that schools are only being cut 2.9 percent, in actuality cuts reach as high as 11 percent of their budgets under his executive proposal.

We will continue to work with our legislators to seek funding from sources that may be available in the Governor’s proposal. Please watch our website and this publication for updated information as work progresses on the spending plan.

Tiffany Nesbitt, School Business Administrator

Working together…

2011-01-03T11:26:00.001-05:00

As we move forward in 2011 it is time for us to come together to face the challenges of providing a quality education program for our students. At the same time we wish to fulfill our responsibility to the taxpayers. We have been encouraged by the efforts of our staff to modify agreements to provide savings to the district in terms of salary and/or benefits. Many of these agreements result in little or no new expenditures by the district and some actually provide direct savings to the district.

We continue to work to find efficiencies in all areas of the district. Input from our staff and community members have been helpful in this effort. While we cannot provide any true indication of our financial status for the next year until we determine what revenues we will or will not receive from the state this year, we have been spending many hours working on budget issues since last spring.

Now is the time that we need your input. Please do not hesitate to call, fax, email or otherwise communicate your questions, thoughts and ideas regarding the 2011-2012 spending plan.

Syracuse Symphony Brass Quintet to Perform at Tully Schools Jan. 26

2010-11-15T14:16:00.002-05:00

The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the Tully Schools will be a part of the celebration. The orchestra’s Brass Quintet will provide two performances at the Tully Elementary School Auditorium on January 26, 2011.

The first concert is for the students and will be held during the afternoon. This concert is provided at no cost to the district since Tully instrumental musicians earned second place in the Orchestra’s annual Practice Marathon last year. Their “prize” is a complimentary ensemble performance for the school.

At 6:30 pm on January 26, all community and family members are invited to a free performance of the ensemble in the elementary school auditorium. The Brass Quintet will provide a concert program that will be sure to entertain and educate at the same time. The evening family concert is sponsored by HSBC Bank USA NA, Tully Branch. More information on these master musicians follows.

John Raschella, Trumpet

A native Syracusan, John Raschella received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the Curtis Institute of Music. He is a member of the International Trumpet Guild and currently holds a teaching position at Hamilton College. Mr. Raschella is also a member of the Syracuse Symphony Rock Ensemble. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and with the Eastern and Spoleto Music Festivals.

Ryan Barwise, Trumpet

Ryan Barwise, trumpet, is a graduate of Northwestern University and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. During the summers of 2004 and 2005, Ryan was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Mr. Barwise has also performed with the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, and Spoleto Festival USA. Other summer appearances have included fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

Paul Brown, Horn

A native of Chicago, Paul Brown joined the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in 1973. Mr. Brown attended the North Carolina School for the Arts and the Juilliard School of Music. Mr. Brown has performed with the National Ballet of Canada, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, as well as many other orchestras. He performs with the Skaneateles Festival, the Society for New Music, and the Spoleto Music Festival.

John Sipher, Trombone

John Sipher hails from Roanoke, VA and has studied at James Madison University, graduating cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in music education and a jazz studies minor. John received his master's degree in trombone performance at Yale University in 2008 and after graduation joined the New World Symphony. John joined the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2009 as Principal Trombonist and serves on the music faculty of Hamilton College.

Jeffrey Gray, Bass Trombone

Bass Trombonist Jeffrey Gray joined the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in 2000. Originally from Ohio, Mr. Gray received his bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and also serves as a member of the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gray has won two international competitions, the Donald Yaxley Solo Competition and the Lewis Van Haney Competition. He was invited to Europe as a featured performer at the 2000 International Trombone Festival in Ultrecht, The Netherlands and has performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Happy Holidays

2010-11-06T18:28:00.002-04:00

It seems that time passes by us more quickly each year than the one prior. Once again we are upon the holiday season—a time when many reflect upon things of the past. I am always grateful and appreciative of the wonderful staff and students with whom I have the pleasure to spend time each day. At the same time, the warm and supportive community in which we live is a blessing to my wife and me. Both Deborah and I wish everyone a safe, happy and joyous holiday season and we look forward to the beginning of our sixth year in the Tully community.

What is happening?

2010-10-19T00:14:00.000-04:00

As we are into a full swing of programs for the year, I thought it would be useful to share some new things being put into place for our students and families. A major new program that has been requested for years by our students and families is the ability to view grades and other student information online through a personalized password system. The high school administration and staff piloted this project last year and are now opening it up on a much broader scale to provide enhanced opportunities for parents to be involved in their child’s learning process.

We have again expanded our use of the Ed Alert system to provide earlier sex offender notifications and information via email to those who use this system. We will still do the mailings as we search for other methods to reduce costs but still maintain this important information service for our families. If you have email and wish to make use of the EdAlert system, there are a number of areas that you can choose for information and notifications. Text message notifications are also available for those with texting capabilities on their cell phones. Go to the school website at http://tullyschools.org and click on the EdAlert button on the left.

Many of our Special Education teachers are working toward certification in the Wilson Reading program. The Wilson program has been in use on a limited basis for several years but the availability of federal stimulus funding over the last two years has made a wide scale implementation of this successful program possible in our district.

A focus on writing has expanded through new interest and participation in the Seven Valleys Writing Project through SUNY Cortland. Several elementary school teachers have become actively involved in this program through a series of grants prepared and administered by Mrs. Anne Marie Heymann who supports student writing in the elementary school. High school staff members have also been involved in the Seven Valleys Writing project for several years in order to support a broader emphasis on writing with the upper age levels as well.

These are only a few of the new initiatives underway for our staff. Each of these areas have been developed in response to input from parents, students and staff members over several years. Your input is important to the continued development of our learning community. Do not hesitate to let us know your thoughts.

The changes of the fall season

2010-09-16T19:17:00.002-04:00

As the change in leaves is upon us and the crisp air of fall greets us each morning, we look at a few of the new opportunities in the coming year for our students.

The catalog of both building libraries is now easily accessible from any Internet capable computer. Simply go to the link on the left side of the school website (http://tullyschools.org).

We have expanded distance learning opportunities to include American Sign Language (ASL) II in addition to a new group of students beginning ASL I. Distance learning is taught by instructors in another location to multiple schools simultaneously. Spencer-Van Etten and LaFayette schools join Tully students for these course offerings.

The same technology used in distance learning is also being used by staff in both buildings to expand the experiences available to students through virtual field trips. Tully students will be able to reach much further than local venues in order to have fully interactive opportunities to learn. Elementary school students will continue their explorations from last year in the use of handheld computers in their learning at various grade levels.

Work is in progress to seek grant funding to implement digital ereaders into the classroom to provide a broader range of books and resources to students. These same devices can provide “anytime, anywhere learning” through their always available Internet access without ongoing fees.

Many more opportunities have been developed and will continue to enhance the learning for our students in our charge. If you have any questions about the new ventures for your students, please contact the building administrators or my office. We would love to demonstrate what is available in our schools.

Innternational Link Program--A Reflection

2010-08-08T16:18:00.000-04:00

After an intense week of learning in the schools of Education Queensland, we now have relocated to our original lodgings in the tourist community of Noosa Heads in Queensland. It was great to have a day to unwind and reflect. Sit on the beach, people watch on the streets, relax, read and think about our experiences that seem like a month but in reality just took place over the last week.

Today (Monday for us and Sunday back home) we will take a tour of Fraser Island. This great sand dune island will present a number of ecological systems all in the couse of a day from fresh water lakes to salt water lakes, from dense rain forests to desert sands, a coral beach presenting rainbows of colors to dolphin and whale sightings as a regular occurence. It promises to be wonderful and educational as well.

Tomorrow we head to our airport city of Brisbane where we will spend two nights prior to departing for home. Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland and host to the Ekka or the Queensland State Fair. From all reports it seems to be similar to our New York State Fair with crafts, food and livestock from throughout the state including the Outback regions. It will be our last look into the culture of the country.

Brisbane is supposed to be a spectacular city to visit so we will spend a day investigating the sights and sounds of that location as well. Thursday morning we are off to the airport to prepare for another 20+ hours of travelling back to Tully.

Are we ready to come home? At this point yes. We will miss Australia? Without question we will. What we have experienced here has been perfect weather (even for winter), but a similarly welcoming and open arms approach by the people here. Not only our host families but the parents, teachers and students in the schools. The shop keepers in the streets were equally as open and welcoming always asking about the United States and where in New York we were from, etc..

The educational experiences were invigorating. The family relationship that existed between staff at all levels, between parents and staff and the absolute focus of every aspect of the school community on the children.
There was an expectation of success, whether we were in a large elementary school of 1,100 students or a small rural based school of 200. The same approach existed in the high school of 2,200 students as it did in the smaller but highly technology focused state school/college. The university setting held the exact same philosophy. Nowhere did I sense a feeling of competition. Every school wanted every other school to be successful in every way. They were supportive of the efforts of each other--as it should be.

Within the school there were similar frustrations with state and national standards and high stakes testing as wee find at home. There is a high level of curricular coordination and alignment to those standards. Perhaps the most important "why didn't I think of that" moment for me was incredibly simple. Do not focus on the test. Instead focus on the curriculum and pedagogy.

In our country we are so focused on the test results that we seem to have forgotten that the best way to achieve good results is through quality instructional practice. We compare schools to other schools and one class to another class. When the tests change and a new initiative comes along we have to rethink our strategies and start all over again.

Instead if we develop a systemic approach to instructional practice that present sound pedagogy we will sustain good learning through the variations of the political whims tthat seem to shape our educational programs at the state and national levels. We are returning to that focus in Tully with a new focus on a careful alignment of the Math curriculum on a K-12 basis. While some may say it exists, actual practice would present evidence to the contrary. This is not a short term process. As the Math project moves along we will begin a similar focus on ELA and continue until our curriculum is solid and provides a consistent guide for the instruction of our students.

Our friends and colleagues in Australia are going through the same steps, with some amazing results. The children are no different than ours. They come from small city and rural environments. They come from broken homes and from homes with a consisten family structure. The economic levels vary in their schools just as in ours. Their common thread to success at a very high level is the same focus as we had put into place earlier this summer-a solid focus on curriculum.

Will the relationship with Education Queensland continue? It will take many months to determine the viability on an ongoing formal relationship. What will indeed continue is the conversations and the use of technology to continue to allow us to share and support each other as we approach similar challenges in education.

Was this International Link project a success? In my mind it was. Any time that educators can sit and share there is a positive learning experience. Michele and I were able to do this together as well as independently of each other thus expanding the learning experience with which we return.

This International Link Project could not have taken place without the support and cooperation of the Tully Board of Education and staff as well as SUNY Cortland and Education Queensland. Just to have this take place took years of planning and the work of dozens of people on both sides of the globe. I know that I speak for Michele as well when I say thank you to each of those people. As I have stated in the past, it has been a most rewarding experience both personally and professionally.

Two More School Visits-Day 4

2010-08-05T16:05:00.002-04:00

Today was a day of renewing old acquaintances and experiencing new settings. In the morning we walked across the street to the Mountain Creek State High School. There we were joined by Donna Lancaster, Deputy Principal. Donna visited the Tully schools a little more than a year ago and spent time in Michele’s classroom during part of that visit. As we have found everywhere, Donna made us feel at home as she gave us a tour of the high school campus. The high school is a year 8 through year 12 campus of about 2,000 students. The school operates on what I call a split schedule with “senior” students—grades 11 and 12--attending classes from 7:30 am until about 1:00 pm and “junior” students—grade 8 through 10—attending classes from about 10:00 am until about 4:30 pm.

The shifted schedule provides opportunities for students to come in early or stay late to do additional research, catch up on work or for many of the senior students, to obtain work after school hours. The high school does not have the same level of school sponsored sports activities that are common in New York Schools. In fact most such activities are sponsored by private or community based organizations and not an expectation of the school. The community groups and the school share many resources.

The school also has some facilities that are actually leased out to private enterprise and also used by the school. These include a fitness center and a dance studio. While on campus, an outside organization actually operates and does much of the maintenance of the facilities while allowing the school to continue to use the space for their own instructional activities. An interesting approach to also provides financial support to the school program.

Another interesting aspect about which we have heard information on a regular basis is the fund raising activities of the school district. Through cooperative fund raising programs by the schools, entire buildings are constructed and maintained. The funding for the schools comes from the state level and the educational institutions do not have the ability to levy taxes. They are, however, permitted to actively raise funds in the community in order to provide the desired programs. A very different but interesting approach from that to which we are accustomed.

While at the high school Donna introduced us to another Deputy Principal and we had an opportunity to once again discuss the similarities and differences between the U.S. system of education and that in our host country. These conversations are always informative and help us to realize that similar challenges to ours are in existence beyond the system that we know.

After visiting the high school, we went to Chancellor State College. This is an educational campus that includes Kindergarten (or prep as they call it there) through university (or uni) level education on a single campus. All of the curriculum and resources are combined into a tightly integrated educational system on one campus. The buildings were each designed with the specific grade levels or education programs in which they were housed. Instead of having duplication of facilities for sports, performance, technology, etc. the resources of the uni and the public schools are combined into a single, quite spectacular educational setting. While this makes perfect common sense, it is not common in this country. We were able to meet with teachers as well as administrators as we experienced first-hand a unique educational setting. It was well thought out and impressive.

Following Chancellor we visit the educational technology division of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). USC is a fairly new uni in the region and seeks innovative and collaboration with the regional schools. Our host principal at Mountain Creek, Glenn McGowan has been integral in many of the relationships established in this manner with USC and the schools. We discussed collaborative efforts that might reach across the distances between our respective schools and how to use technology to support such ventures. The leaders at USC were very positive and upbeat about supporting such initiatives and offered us some temporary access to an incredible curriculum support system they have created for Education Queensland. We left with a very positive and upbeat feeling about the visit with the potential for future joint efforts in place.

We then returned to our home base school, Mountain Creek State Primary School. Glenn had arranged for interested staff to meet with us to learn more about our school in Tully. We provided a brief presentation that we had created to highlight our school and then entered in a general discussion. Tracey, a year 6 teacher who had visited the Tully schools, spoke about her positive experiences at Tully and the desire to increased relationships with our staff. Glenn also shared some thoughts about ongoing supportive and learning relationships covering a wide range of possibilities from blogs to posting videos of classrooms through best practices sharing and even m are face to face opportunities.

Michele and I each fielded a variety of questions from staff after the presentation and most took a business card with our school website in order to access faculty emails and investigate further sharing opportunities.

This was our last day at the Mountain Creek schools. On Friday we will spend the day at a more rural school, Glenview and experience a new group of educators and students. The principal there is Michele’s host “family” and has invited us to spend time with his staff.

The experiences that we encountered during this week in the schools have created an increased level of discussion and reflection for Michele and me. It has been rewarding both personally and professionally. Prior to our departure Michele had shared the descriptor of this trip as a “once in a lifetime experience.” Her words could not have been more true.

The Zoo and Special Needs School-Day 3

2010-08-04T17:07:00.000-04:00

Yet another incredible day has passed with some very different experiences. This morning we went to the Australia Zoo. Not only was the zoo and experience but one of the deputy principals who also served as our host for the morning was personal friends with Zoo founder, the late Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter). They had grown up together and her brother was best man at Steve's wedding and also worked as a crocodile handler at the zoo at one time.

The zoo was not a series of cages. Instead the environment in which every animal was found was as natural as possible. There were no steel fences around enclosures. Instead, they were all designed around special concrete enclosures formed to appear like natural rock formations. At lower levels there were thick glass enclosures instead of fences so that little children could also look into the enclosures with an unobstructed view. Many of the animals of the zoo were out in public and held by handlers so that all could get a close up look and ask questions. Even in the tiger den and elephant enclosure there were handlers in with the animals during all hours that the zoo was open to the public.

In the koala area and the two kangaroo areas, the public was welcome to stroll at their leisure with the animals freely lying or moving around without separation. They have become so accustomed to the public in this setting that you can approach them like a family pet, scratch their ears, and pet their heads.

The wombats were taken for strolls through the zoo on leashes led by their handlers (or in some cases the wombats led their handlers!!!). There were baby crocodiles, lizards, birds and other animals on display in the walkways held by their handlers. It was an educational experience from the time you stepped foot into the zoo itself.

One of the many things that impressed me was the fact that it truly felt as though Steve Irwin was still alive and you would expect to see him on a walkway at any moment. There is no mention of his passing that I saw. Instead there is a constant focus on Steve's vision and legacy. There are larger than life posters of Steve throughout the grounds urging you to work to save the animals and protect the environment. There is even a large ad banner by a sponsoring car manufacturer with Steve jumping up and down for joy. As strange as it seems, it truly felt as if he was still alive as you walked through the grounds.

Michele was able to achieve one of her personal goals for the trip--to hold a koala bear. We have the photos to document this. They are indeed cute and cuddly but wow do they have an odor!!! We also were able to see an approximately 10 foot long wild crocodile come nearly full length vertically out of the water to grab a piece of chicken held out from a platform. Apparently they do this in the wild and can actually grab animals from low hanging tree limbs. That was an impressive sight. I am glad that I was not holding the piece of chicken for that croc!!!

The afternoon was just as special. We visited a Special School that is entirely designed for students with disabilities. After spending some time with the principal of the school as he discussed philosophies and the funding challenges these students and families face, he led us on a tour of his facility. It was impressive. Every aspect of the design of each building was designed with their needs in mind. A group in the community had raised the funds to donate a complete building with a specially designed pool for the educational needs of the students in this school. The details were impressive even to the point of having the water levels flush with the sides of the pool to avoid small waves as water would hit the abutment and flow back against small faces. Instead, the drains are around the outside edges so the water simply flows over the edge, into the drain and is recycled back into the pool.

We were also shown an incredible sensory room (something we had sought on a smaller scale for our students witih special needs but the funding was denied by the federal government). It was one of the most impressive configurations of this type that I have experienced. We visited several classrooms and noted special steps taken to support the student needs.

Again, another exciting and informative day about the schools and also about Australia in general. Tomorrow we are spending some time at the Mountain Creek High School and also a public school and college combined onto a single campus as well as some discussions with the university people there about the integration of technology into the educational program.

Into the Classrooms—Day 2

2010-08-03T17:45:00.002-04:00

Each day we seem to feel the same—today was the highlight of the week so far! We spent the majority of today in classrooms and speaking to the folks leading those classrooms. It was great to get down on the floor with the students (getting back up was not as easy for me!!!) and listening to them explain what they were doing. Students, now getting comfortable with seeing us on campus, would come up to us to chat and ask us about our accents and talk to us about their trips to America (particularly Disneyland in California for the younger ones). The teachers were as eager to learn about the education systems in the United States as we were to learn about the systems here. It was a tremendously rewarding experience.

While Michele met with classroom teachers and shared in the classroom experience, I took the opportunity to meet with three SUNY pre-service teachers assigned to this school. Two were from SUNY Cortland and the other from SUNY New Paltz. We talked about the program, how they felt it had influenced them as people and as teachers. They talked extensively about the focus on the student in everything that is done at the school. We discussed how they had a concern that future employers in the United States might not understand the added value of this program in their portfolio and how it had broadened their understanding of education and of the world in general.

Michele and I then met with the Special Services staff (similar to our student support and Special Education programs). It is interesting to note that each school has a full time chaplain on staff, even though these are all public schools and not private or parochial. The role of the chaplain is to provide support and counseling to both students and staff as they work through challenging situations in their lives. Such a concept would be considered illegal in our state and most likely our country.

I enjoyed the opportunity to sit outside with some students at lunch. Very few students purchase any lunch items at school. The vast majority pack their lunch and there are restrictions as to what they can bring. Items such as potato chips are not welcomed in a student lunch but it was clear that fruit was a priority. Every student that I saw had some kind of fruit packed into their lunch bag. All 1,100 students were dismissed for lunch at the same time. They had what I would call “pod” areas under cover where they sat on the pavement in small groups of their choosing and chatted while eating lunch. When they were completed they would raise their hand and an aide or volunteer (not sure which) would tell them that when their area was picked up they could go. Very little, if any clean up was necessary after lunch and the students ran and played for a period. More than one thousand elementary students in free play throughout the campus with perhaps a dozen aides or volunteers watching around the grounds—what an enjoyable sight.

In the evening, Michele and her host gathered at my host home and we had a light dinner together. It was a great opportunity to unwind and chat in a relaxing fashion.

It was yet another exciting and exhilarating day. On Wednesday we will go to the Australian Zoo founded by the late Steve Irwin. Michele will get to hold a koala bear and we will see many other sights. From there we will visit a special services school. On Saturday we met a SUNY Cortland pre service teacher assigned to that school. It is a place that we specifically requested to see. Will Wednesday top everything else? We will see!

It's A Small, Small, World

2010-08-02T17:24:00.000-04:00

I am finding myself falling into a weird but productive mental schedule. Due to the time shift, things at home are pretty much moving along while we sleep here. On a normal day I will only sleep about 4 to 5 hours and that is also taking place here. I went to bed at about 10 pm last night and sure enough woke up at about 3 am. I decided to check my emails and messages and realized that this was a great time to touch bases back home. I felt refreshed as I had my normal sleep time and was ready to get to work.

I connected my cell phone to my netbook (I have arranged for a Global Wireless unlimited data plan on my phone while here) and dialed up. This enabled me to check news updates, respond to emails in near real time instead of the delayed response. After several back and forths, the Business Administrator and I decided to give Skype a try. I decided to wait until about 5:45 so that I would know the host family was up. The connection went well and Tiffany and I, along with the Internal Auditor, Lynn Riley carried on a great conversation about some committee meetings, some follow ups on things and some planning that was in place. My secretary, Mary Fisher came into the office and we were able to greet each other as well.

So the Skype things works well, even through a cell phone connection. It is a very dramatic example of the fact that the world has become a much smaller place. The fact that we can carry on an administrative meeting and planning session across nearly 10,000 miles with full audio and video from a regular household is amazing even to a geek like me.

What stands out even more to me however is the fact that in order for our students to be competitive in this new small world, they must understand the importance of these technologies as well as the importance of the face to face meetings that are enabled by them. They must understand how to think in terms of different time zones across our country or around the world. More importantly, it is crucial that our leaders of tomorrow that are in our schools today understand that the world in which they live is accessible to them and everything that they have to offer the world.

Into the Schools-Day 1

2010-08-02T17:22:00.002-04:00

Monday was a blur of activity as we had our first day in the Mountain Creek State School, an elementary school of approximately 1,200 students. After an introductory discussion with our host Glenn McGowan about the school we began to meet many staff members throughout the district. I will never keep everyone straight. The common theme was a warm and welcome attitude from everyone. They were eager to hear from us and seemed very pleased that we had taken the time to come to visit them.

We encountered two pre-service teachers from the SUNY placement program that we had met at a group video conference to Australia a few months ago in Cortland. We chatted briefly with them and hope to spend some time this week to chat with them and listen to reflections on how their experiences here have been different than their experiences going through the education system in the United States as students. That will be an important opportunity for me.

Michele and I joined Glenn in their weekly staff briefing over morning tea—a regular event in the lives of the locals here. The entire staff came together informally for general announcements, welcomes, comments, etc. of events for the week. Some were from the principal and others were just as needed around the round. Short and sweet, the time was used effectively. We were given welcome baskets to begin our stay (not sure how we will fit them into luggage!!!). Michele and I had compiled thank you gift bags for various places during our trip and this was one of them. We provided Glenn with a Thank You gift bag consisting of a specially designed (by Michele) Tully Black Knights tee shirt, a couple of Tully Central School pens and carabiners, a pack of Tully community note cards from the Village Mayor and Historical Society and an 8” x 18” print of an aerial view of the Kettle Lakes.

We also had the pleasure of revisiting with Tracey, a Year 6 teacher who visited Tully a little over a year ago. We laughed as we reminisced about the day that she and three of her colleagues had spent in Tully.

Then we got a brief tour of the campus and visited a few classrooms. The campus is laid out in a series of buildings each connected by covered but open walkways. All students wear uniforms (as do the majority of students in Australia we were advised) and most wear large brimmed hats when outside to protect from the sun (remember this is winter). Most of the students were in shorts but the adults were complaining of the cold weather. Michele and I thought it was great (about 70 degrees F) but some of them were actually wearing winter coats and winter scarves and apologizing to us for the cold weather we had to bear. We smiled!!!

The warmth and friendliness we had experienced throughout the communities so far also extended into the schools. The children and staff all seemed excited that we were there. They went out of their way to show us things in their school and to answer questions.

Michele and I joined Glenn as he hosted a regional principals meeting. This was particularly exciting for me as it gave me an opportunity to hear, and then participate when invited, about the broader issues that education is facing in Australia. Guess what!!! They are nearly the same as we face in the United States. Increasing mandates, prompted through funding, moving away from state control of education to a national standard, high stakes testing, frustration among administrators and teachers, etc., etc.. It sounded very much like an administrative discussion right here at home. Michele shared that it was great to be able to sit in on that type of discussion as it is not something that she has experienced before. The people around the table actively sought our input and comments and we found some solace in that we are not facing the challenge alone.

When we talked about curriculum design, I shared that textbooks in the U.S. are generally designed around a California curriculum since that is the largest population of students. They shared the same thoughts that much of their curriculum was being directed by one of the more populous states in Australia. It was fascinating to hear the similarities.

One comment that stood out to me was the belief that Australia should look at England (who instituted a National Standard many years ago) and look at the United States (working in that direction now but in a seemingly rushed manner) and learn from those systems on what not to do. In the end we all felt that a national curriculum was not necessarily a bad thing, perhaps even more feasible in a country such as Australia with a relatively small population. The concern was, and is, how we get there. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn from others.

From there Michele and I met again with Glenn and with their building curriculum position. We went through the various phases that they face with action plans in place to address various curricular issues. We discussed the differences and similarities in assessments and scoring rubrics and approaches to instruction. The curriculum person had just returned from teaching for a few years in Jakarta and was familiar with Everyday Mathematics used in the Tully district. We talked about our challenges with connections to the Junior Senior High School. We also discussed the many positive aspects of the instructional approaches used in Everyday Mathematics and strategized on the “instructional transition” that we are working toward in Tully. As the conversation progressed, Glenn began speaking of a way through technology to continue the conversations through online discussion groups and posting curriculum tools and documents into a shared resource accessible by both districts. He has some ideas on how to make something of this nature happen.

We spent a great deal of time chatting about professional development, its focus and design. I provided Glenn with a thumbdrive on which he agreed to place any and all documents that he felt would be useful for us to review on our way back and upon our return to Tully. Michele and I had the opportunity to sit for a while and reflect upon a whirlwind of a day. We discussed some ways to reduce the paperwork burdens of the teacher job, how to make our performance review plans and professional development more effective and focused. Michele gave further details on pupil free days, a concept used in Mountain Creek but unfamiliar to me. She knew of it in other districts in the states. An interesting concept that, well designed, can be incredibly effective for professional growth.

We were mentally exhausted from all we had taken in, but professionally rejuvenated. Tuesday will be a day for visiting classrooms and what promises to be more excitement for us each. I also hope to have an opportunity to spend some time with the SUNY pre-service teachers in order to learn from their experiences as well.

Why is this called an International Link Program?

2010-08-01T03:55:00.000-04:00

In the days and weeks leading up to our visit to Australia a number of people have asked, "Why is this called an International Link Program?" Some refer to it as an exchange program and others have called it a visit.

The purpose of the program is much more than an exchange of ideas about education. That can happen in many different forms. What we hope to achieve in through this visit in an ongoing relationship of connections in many different forms between our schools. In discussions over the last 48 hours since our arrival some great ideas for the future have come to light. Some of those ideas relate to follow up on things that are taking place here and connections between our school and SUNY Cortland in the future.

We also look to create a greater global awareness of our own students through relationships such as this. As stated by one of our hosts here in early discussions, the students in the United States have a tremendous responsibility to be globally aware and have an international understanding of what is taking place "as representatives of the only superpower in the world." That responsibility also falls to the schools and learning communities such as ours in Tully to assist in that knowledge and understanding.

Today was our final day of jet lag recovery (so far, so good for both of us) and tomorrow we begin a full schedule of interactions throughout the week with students and staff at every level of education. We will visit classrooms, meet with administrators locally and regionally, meet with teachers and meet students. The purpose will be to enhance our understanding of education here and to better prepare our own students for the issues that take place world wide. Michele and I both are as excited about the next five days as we were with making the trip in the first place.

Our host for these two days has been gracious and informative. We have had fulfilling discussions about many issues in the schools and in the lives of each of our respective nations. Should nothing else take place (which certainly will not be the case) the interaction of these two days has been an educational experience in itself.

We will pack tonight as the rest of the week Michele and I will each be staying with different families in Mooloolaba. We will be picked up here at 8:00 am in the morning (6:00 pm on Sunday for everyone back home) and the week will begin. More to come on this exciting International Link Program.

Early Sunday Morning, August 1

2010-07-31T17:02:00.001-04:00

Wow, was I tired. I feel asleep at about 9 pm and slept well until about 5:30 am local time. The morning time frame is not far off from my normal "wake time" at home so I guess I am adjusted to the jet lag.

I got up and sent a few text messages back home. I made some adjustments on my phone to bring the weather and time to the local information. I did a quick check of the news feeds from home and from the national newspaper of Australia.

There is no Wifi in this small family run motel so I decided to connect to my cell phone. I have a global wireless data plan and decided to see how well it would work. It is great. I am using that connection now to post the last several blog entries. I will also be using my Twitter account to update in small bursts from my phone.

Received a text message back from family that they were wrapping up Saturday activities (remember I am just waking up on Sunday).

One thing that I have noticed is the difference in daylight hours. Last night, it was in early dusk as we walked down the street to find a place for dinner at about 5:00 pm. By the time we returned at 8:00 pm we were into full darkness and had been for sometime.

This morning, I would not describe sunrise until about 6:45 am and that was perhaps not even a complete sunrise by that time. The seasonal change is noticeable from that perspective. Just one small thing that was noticeable already on our excursions.

Today Michele and I decided that we would be on our own until we met Colin at 1 pm. I will shower and probably take a stroll through the village and perhaps get breakfast in order to begin to work myself into that mode. Tea time is very important here. I don't mind tea but it is not something that I do normally. Once again, this will be a good time for me to involved in the lifestyle and culture of our host country.

Remember to watch here and on Twitter (see the school website at http://tullyschools.org/ for a direct link to my Twitter accounts) for updates and future ramblings about our International Link program.

Saturday, July 31

2010-07-31T16:53:00.002-04:00

Colin Balfour is an outstanding host. He has been to the United States twenty three times and is a great guide to help us understand cultural difference from the very begining. We chatted about the quality of service on airlines, the fact that tipping is not to be done in Australia, and the choices for coffee are far fewer than in the United States. We spent about a half an hour just sitting with Colin at the airport coffee bar chatting about such things. As I don't drink coffee, I settled simply on water. The conversation was wonderful and informative and brought us into the right mind and spirit for our excursion over the next two weeks.

I have met Colin in the United States on three or four different occasions as we have worked with SUNY Cortland over the past several years to facilitate this International Link program. He is an employee of SUNY Cortland and facilitates student teacher placements from SUNYs in Cortland, Brockport and Postdam here on the Sunshine Coast. This is an incredible opportunity for these students to understand and work in another educational system and still receive accreditation through New York State toward their certification. Colin is a enjoyable man to chat with. It is apparent that he loves his work and loves this country and the culture here. We are fortunate to have him as our initial entry connection here.

Colin warned us about crossing the street and trying to get in the wrong side of the car. They drive on the right hand side and the steering column is on the opposite side as compared to our country. Sure enough, just as he had indicated, I went to the right hand door to get into the car--quickly realizing that I had reversed everything. When crossing a one way street, you need to look to the right and not to the left--important point!!!

We drove to Mooloolaba and had breakfast. Colin shared with us that breakfast is an important part of life here. There is a lot of business conducted over breakfast and for many it is their major meal of the day. After parking, we took a stroll along the beach walk and just relaxed at the wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean and miles upon miles of beach front. The average ocean water temperature in this winter seasons is about 68 or 69 degrees F. The air temperature on Saturday is about 75 degrees F and although a nice day, it is considered cool by many here. It is not uncommon to see long sleeve shirts and sweaters being worn--not by this writer outside of any dress shirts.

The breakfast time was enjoyable and relaxing.

We strolled a bit and ran into a SUNY Brockport student who was there on a student teaching assignment. His home is in Endicott, New York. We chatted with him about his experiences and this placement. We were impressed by this young man and his commitment to the children in his school. We asked about his plans for the day. "I left my beach towel at the pool at school so I am going to get another one and pretty much spend the day on the beach."

Based upon the crowd at the outdoor breakfast areas and the beach, I would say that he is not alone. Such is the pace of life here. We have often been told by those who live here and visited here that we just need to relax and go with the flow of life. "You Americans schedule yourselves way to tightly and you need to learn to enjoy life." That is apparent from the very begnning here. I like the approach!!!

We took a drive up the coast through several small cities and eventually to Noosa Heads, a small touristy area on the ocean. After driving us through the community, we settled in to our small family run motel. Colin is on a first name basis with the proprieters and we were graciously welcomed to our home for the next two days.

Colin shared that he would meet us at about 1:00 pm on Sunday and to relax this evening.

Michele and I each headed to our rooms. I really wanted a shower and some R & R time. She chose to take a long run along the beach and through the National Park that borders Noosa Village followed by a shower. At about 5:00 pm local time we took a stroll through the town and found a nice restaurant with seating on the sidewalk--a common thing here in this community. I smiled as I saw the outdoor heaters working around some of the tables--I was wearing a short sleeve polo shirt, short pants and sandals. We decided to NOT sit near the heaters!!!

Dinner was wonderful. Colin had advised that portions here were smaller than in the United States and more healthy in their presentation. We found that the portions were perfect and enjoyed a leisurely dinner while pondering what we would encounter in the coming weeks.

I was really getting tired by the time we got back and ended up sleeping soundly for the night.

We are here!

2010-07-31T16:30:00.001-04:00

After such a long travel time I am reminded of the phrase from Seussical!--we are here!!!

All flights went very smoothly, departed on time and landed a few minutes early. The plane was bustling with activity during the last couple of hours as people worked to freshen up, enjoy the breakfast served on the plane, get their belongings together, etc. in anticipation of the end of nearly 14 hours together in our confined space. For us the anticipation of arrival was also heightened by the new experiences we would face.

As we taxied I did a reset of my phone. Sure enough, just as Verizon had promised it came up on the Australian phone system providing me with full phone services including unlimited data as well as reduced roaming fees for text mesaging and voice calls. Sent a few quick texts back home to let folks know we were safely on the ground and then prepared for offloading of the plane.

If you have not travelled internationally before, you have not experienced what seeems like a preplanned walk for miles just to get to customs. After personally experiencing more than half a dozen international arrivals, I believe the long walk is designed to get the circulation going again in your body after a flight!!! I made several quick phone calls to colleagues at school and my wife and Michele was able to make a call to her family to let them know first hand that we had arrived. They were still fascinated (as we still are adjusting to) the fact that it was the next day from what they were experiencing. Basically, Michele and I completely missed, July 30--I hope it was a good day for everyone!

One thing that we have both noticed since arrival at the Qantas gate in LAX and continuing here is the friendliness and warmth of the people. Everyone has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome to the country. As we processed through customs, the agent there discovered an error on my travel visa, a wrong birthdate. In spite of what I was afraid would bring my travels to a quick end, she was polite and simply pointed it out. An immigration official watched from behind as she corrected the visa to match the date on the passport and said "No problem, we'll just correct it here!" I was then passed to the immigration official who made copies of each of the documents. I showed him my NYS Driver's License to further document my passport information. He politely expressed his thanks but said that I didn't need to worry and to please enjoy my stay in the country.

The processing through baggage and customs was very efficient. At customs Michele and I were sent into a different line with a red arrow. Uh-oh I thought, this is going to be a complete search. Instead, a handler with a beagle simply directed the dog to do a search of our luggage and we were on our way in less than a minute. I must say the search by a beagle created much less anxiety than a search by a German Shephard!!! I guess it may be just another way that the Aussies welcome you to the country.

After immigration, customs and baggage, all taking less than an hour from actual touch down, we exchanged money. They use a variety of bright colors in their money here to make it easy to distinguish between denominations. They also make use of coins in place of paper--we will need to adjust to some of those areas.

Colin met us just a few minutes after clearing the legal things and our experiences in our home for the next two weeks begin.

So where are we going on this International Link program?

2010-07-31T16:11:00.001-04:00

The Mountain Creek State Schools are in the small city of Mooloolaba in the Australian state of Queensland. This is geographically located on the northeast area of the continent.

In order to get to our host city, we began our travels by flying from Syracuse into Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. After a lay over there of several hours we made our next leg from Chicago to Los Angeles at the massive LAX complex. Fortunately, our incoming flight taxied to a gate across the hall from our overseas outgoing flight so there was no rush to cover a lot of ground in the couple of hours we had in LAX.

The last leg of the flight is the longest non-stop flight I have experienced. Just under 14 hours non-stop on a Qantas Airlines 747. If you are not familiar with the plane it is a massive piece of transportation wonder that carries hundreds of passengers.

We decided to change to exit row seats in order to provide more leg room for the extensive time that we would be on the plane. Success!!! The agents at LAX at the Qantas gate were extremely pleasant and helpful and were able to facilitate our request in spite of a nearly full flight.

This blog entry is being written approximately half way through the 14 hour flight. We left LAX a bit before midnight so many on the plane have used the time wisely after being provided a good meal, to get some needed sleep. That worked fine for me for a few hours until two infants in our section of the plane decided they no longer wished to sleep. Instead they chose to have a little “competition” to see who could scream the loudest. Oh well, sleep is over rated anyway! Michele was able to manage more sleep time and seems immune to the infants for a longer period of time than me.

I am estimating that we still have about six more hours of flying based upon the time that we left Los Angeles. I am very glad we got the exit row seating. Not only does it provide a needed opportunity to stretch our legs, the area directly in front of us is an open area equivalent to about two rows of seats. It is a nice area so simply stand and stretch, reconfigure the spinal column after being in an airline seat for so long and generally keep the blood circulating.

We are expecting to land in Brisbane, Australia at about 6:20 am Australian time—14 hours ahead of our time back home. As such you folks at home have put in a full day while we were in the plane and our day will just start when we deplane. Our plans are for a two day stay in a hotel in order to recover from the jet lag—we’ll see how well that works!

In spite of the travel time both Michele and I are excited about the opportunities that lie before us in the coming weeks. More to come in a later installment.

Statewide Superintendents Council reacts to release of grades 3 through 8 assessment results

2010-07-28T20:30:00.000-04:00

from the New York State Council of School Superintendents (http://nyscoss.org)

Reacting to the release of grades 3 through 8 state assessment results by the State Education Department, New York State Council of School Superintendents Executive Director Robert Reidy said,

“The results show a sharp drop in the percentage of students judged to be meeting standards. But at the same time the average scores earned by students remained about the same. This indicates that the drop in passing rates came from setting a higher standard, not from any fall-off in school performance.”

Reidy’s statement came after the Education Department released results from the states grade 3 through 8 assessments in mathematics and English language arts following an adjustment to the “cut scores” for those tests. Cut scores are used to distinguish levels of student performance on standardized tests, including whether a student is passing or meeting standards.

Reidy noted also that average scores in math remained about the same as in 2009, even though the Department expanded those tests to cover more material.

“We respect that the Department’s leadership conducted a review of its tests, concluded they were flawed, and moved to begin improving them,” Reidy said. “We weren’t satisfied with the tests, the standards, or our progress before,” he added. “The Department’s findings just confirm that we all have more work to do.”

“Commissioner Steiner and the Regents are setting higher expectations for schools and students. Superintendents endorse that goal,” Reidy said. “But much more needs to be done to achieve the goal than merely changing the passing scores on elementary and middle school tests.”

“Most importantly,” Reidy said, “the state needs to give schools a clear sense of the ultimate goal we should aim for – what should students know and be able to do when they graduate from high school. The 3 through 8 tests are just one part of a system that needs to work together to help schools lead students to that goal.”

Reidy noted comments by SED’s Senior Deputy Commissioner John King last week when the State Board of Regents endorsed adjusting the cut scores.

Speaking of past gains on state tests, Dr. King said, “The data shows that schools responded to the assignment they were given – they worked hard to help students achieve standards as measured by the state tests that were being given at that time. And more students did, in fact, pass those tests. The problem is that those exams didn’t sufficiently test students’ abilities – the bar was set too low.”

Reidy said, “Experience gives us confidence. As the state improves its tests and clarifies its expectations for students and schools, we are certain that schools will again achieve increasing success in helping more and more students meet the hopes we hold for them.”

Reidy also welcomed the Education Department‘s efforts to gain some relief from federal school accountability requirements and give schools flexibility in applying state test results to determine which students must receive extra help. But he added that many superintendents will feel an obligation to provide that help to any student whom state tests show is not meeting standards.

Reidy concluded, “We are concerned that schools could be set up to fail. We are being asked to do more for students – a decision that we endorse. But at the same time, state officials are threatening to cut school revenues, through state aid reductions and property tax caps, while not giving us any immediate real help in reducing costs. We expect the Commissioner and the Regents to be forceful advocates for the resources schools will need to help students succeed.”

Some Thoughts on Changes in Scoring and the Future

2010-07-26T15:21:00.002-04:00

I have had several inquiries from parents, the media and from our own staff about my thoughts and personal opinions on the new cut scores from the New York State Education Department. This has received a great deal of media attention and even more discussion around our local administrative discussions.

There are many different aspects to consider in this situation. First of all, I do not disagree with the statements that the improvements in test scores on state administered assessments have increased dramatically over the past five years. The Commissioner of Education provides data in his presentation (available on the Tully Schools website) demonstrating the ongoing projections when a student/district assumes proficiency based upon the scoring as it has been in place.

Therein lies the problem, not only with our own state assessment criteria but also with the No Child Left Behind premise. Each of these political structures defines whether or not a child is proficient through a single annual test—first, the grade level assessments in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) in each grade level from 3 through 8, then by a series of Regents Exams. Every assessment is a one time snapshot of that child on that particular day. There is little regard for developmental learning, still prevalent at the third grade level, or for environmental issues.

Fortunately, some of the assessments have moved away from the January timeframe this year. It never really made sense to me why such high stakes examinations would be given in the very height of flu season each year—a factor that can easily influence anyone in their performance including children and young adults.

The “carrot” here is money, pure and simple. Education is, by the United States Constitution, defined as a function of the state. Through the use of money as the carrot, the United States government is federalizing education in this country. This began with the institution of Title funding which placed requirements on certain aspects to provide support for at-risk students—certainly not a bad thing. This became much more prevalent with the implementation of No Child Left Behind and more recently the Race to the Top competition for additional financial resources.

These initiatives have been implemented because of substandard (based upon my own reading, not my own personal evaluation) educational systems in various states of the Union. Not being a native New Yorker (Southwest Pennsylvania is my birthplace and childhood home) I was not raised or schooled in the New York educational system. More than three decades ago as I pondered where I would enter my career field, New York was widely recognized as an excellent educational system and it is where I chose to make my home, primarily because of that. I was offered teaching positions in both New York and Pennsylvania but the educational reputation of my adopted home state is what brought me north.

What has changed over the last 30 years? We are now in the “middle of the pack” and find our geographically small neighbor of Massachusetts to stand alone as the United States representative that competes well against the world. I believe that education in this state has become reactionary and focused on chasing the wrong carrot. In just over 30 years education in this state has chased the following statewide initiatives…

• Regents Action Plan

• Effective Schools Movement

• Compact for Learning

• New York State Learning Standards (changed multiple times since their original implementation)

• No Child Left Behind (resulted in restructuring of New York State Assessment system)

• Race to the Top

• And now a push to realign the New York State Learning Standards to National Learning Standards in order to better qualify for Race to the Top funding.

In general, it takes from three to five years to begin to see the impact of a program implementation and five to ten years to truly assess the long term trends. We are barely reaching five years on a “new direction” before adjusting to another “new direction” from our state.

The recent actions by the State Education Department are clearly targeted to provide a more accurate reflection of the potential success of a student down the road. I completely agree with the need to make such changes. The challenge, however, is how to achieve this goal. Changing the scoring mechanism after a test has been provided and scored is not the method to refocus our direction. This is comparable to changing the rules to a game after the contest is over because you didn’t like the score.

Instead, we must take the data from these current assessments, and those from the past to determine where we want to be. If the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) is the target, then set the target and direct us all to develop the curriculum to enable our students to hit that zone. Some will make the case that not every student is college bound. While in full agreement with this statement, I also believe that working toward college preparedness will not hurt our students as they enter the workplace or other post-high school endeavors.

In this fiscal climate it is hard to not simply chase the money. Thirty years ago, we were meeting the expectations in this state. The target has moved and I am in full agreement that we must move with it. This will not happen by penalizing students and teachers who thought they were aimed in the right direction. Instead, we need to provide a clear focus on the target and provide a solid curriculum based that is aligned to standards, not to a test, and provides content and quality teaching that will make our students successful in their chosen endeavor as stated in the Tully District Mission Statement.

We will deal with the change in the cut scores. More importantly, however, we will focus on providing a solid, vertically aligned curriculum that will provide a continuum of learning from the time students enter our district until they leave. The curriculum will be based on the standards and not on the test.

We do not have the capacity within our district to do this in every subject area simultaneously. Instead we will review our data and focus on a target subject area and spend the necessary time and energy to achieve this goal. Then we will move on to the next area and do the same. Evidence has demonstrated that the single most important impact on student learning is a cohesive and aligned curriculum that is collaboratively developed and implemented across every grade level. Where a solid curriculum is in place for every subject area, students excel. The Tully School system has the capability to be among the best. We have the teachers and students who will make this happen.

Australia—So where are we going?

2010-07-25T21:15:00.002-04:00

As you may have read in the Syracuse Post-Standard, 1st grade teacher Michele McNerney and I will be travelling to the other side of the world to the Australian city of Mooloolaba in the state of Queensland. Mooloolaba is about a one hour drive north of the major city of Brisbane.

Because we will be in the Southern Hemisphere we will find the seasons to be the opposite of those in our northern hemisphere. They will be in school session there and be welcoming their “winter” weather. In watching the weather online, it appears that we will find the terribly difficult winter temperatures of approximately 75 degrees F upon our arrival.

While there we will spend a full week staying with families in the school community. Mrs. McNerney will be staying with the family of a deputy principal and I will be living with the family of the head principal of the Mountain Creek State Primary School. During our week in the schools we will visit classrooms, meet with teachers and students and also spend time with educational administrators at all levels of the system. We will visit other schools in the region as well as the University of the Sunshine Coast.

We also expect to have an opportunity to interact with SUNY Cortland student teachers in the schools there. SUNY Cortland has an eight year relationship with the Mountain Creek State Schools for student teaching placements abroad. Their insights of working in the Australian education system as compared to what they are accustomed in the United States will be of interest to us as well.

We will spend more than 25 hours in airplanes in order to reach our Australian hosts. The time zone will be 14 hours ahead. For example, 6:00 pm on a Friday here will be 8:00 on Saturday morning there.

We have had the opportunity to meet educators from this school when they paid a visit to Tully in the Spring of the 2008-2009 academic year. We look forward to our reciprocal visit and hope to establish a lasting an ongoing relationship with the Mountain Creek State schools through further exchanges and classroom connections as well.

We will use this blog as well as my Twitter account (viewable via the link on the school webpage) to keep the community, as well as our families and colleagues updated on our travels and experience.

Welcome

2010-06-30T15:43:00.002-04:00

As we begin the 2010-2011 school year we welcome two new administrators to our midst. In the Elementary School we welcome Mr. Brent Suddaby from the Mexico Central School District. Mr. Suddaby will take the place of Mrs. O’Brien who has accepted an administrative role in the DeRuyter Central School District. At the Junior-Senior High School we welcome Mr. Paul Schiener from the North Rose-Wolcott Central Schools. Mr. Schiener will fill the role held by Ms. Walowsky on an interim basis throughout the past school year as Junior-Senior High School Assistant Principal.

Mrs. Debora Cox will also take on new roles in the district while maintaining her role as Director of Special Education. In order to allow Mr. Suddaby to focus on the Elementary School students and staff, Mrs. Cox will assume a number of tasks formerly held by the principal role. Some of the new responsibilities include:

• administration, implementation and oversight of all Federal Grant funding.

• coordinate 3 – 6 state testing and work with the high school administration with their oversight of all State and Regents testing implementation

• serve as the BOCES liaison for Curriculum and Instruction

• facilitate intervention planning and implementation at various grade levels

The staff in each building has had an opportunity to meet with the new administrators prior to the end of last school year. Mr. Schiener began on July 1 and Mr. Suddaby on July 9. We welcome them as an integral part of the Tully learning community.

Graduation 2010

2010-06-26T20:16:00.000-04:00

Members of the Board of Education, colleagues, neighbors, family, friends and our honored guests—the graduates.

Once again we come together. How many times have you all gathered in one place like this? Whether it has been to enjoy an athletic event, a class meeting, a pep rally, an assembly, a drama production, or even for graduation practice just a few days ago; it seemed like you would be together forever.

Yes, there will be events and reunions. There will be graduation parties throughout the summer and farewell gatherings for those going off to higher education or other places for work. There will be text messages sent and communications through Facebook, Twitter, My Space or whatever the next generation of our digital world provides for us to keep in touch.

The reality is, however, this singular event is likely to be the last time that you all will be together at the same place at the same time for the rest of your lives. This is a time to reflect and also a time to celebrate each and every one of you, the graduates of the Tully Central School Class of 2010.

Upon reflection there are a number of developments and events that have shaped your lives since most of you entered Kindergarten in 1997. The iPod was released by Apple several years after you began school. Events such as Columbine in 1999 changed the school environment throughout our nation. This class of graduates ushered in a new century, one that has tremendous challenges, but also opportunities beyond what most of us could have imagined at your age. Cell phone use exploded to more than 4.6 billion users during your school career. Social networking such as Facebook and MySpace did not exist in your early school days (and yet the world continued to function!).

Perhaps one of the most startling statistics of our society during the past 13 years is the tremendous growth of text messaging as a communication tool. When originally developed the average text messaging rate for subscribers was 0.4 messages per month. More recent Internet research shows that now we have text messaging equal to more than 100 texts for every person on earth.

It is clear that this generation has changed the world in many, many different ways.

This class has also helped us to change the Tully learning community as well. With your help, suggestions and requests, there are changes in place to better prepare you for the world beyond these walls. Whether you are interested in agricultural studies to aquaculture, history or languages, physical therapy or criminal justice; if you are majoring in music or are looking to focus on physics; lead the way in renewable energy sources or work in the area of zoological habitats; the learning community that you have helped to shape provided the experience to start you on your way.

You have also expressed a desire to broaden the international exposure provided during your experiences here in Tully. This school and community have responded to those requests. The local Rotary and other exchange programs have supported you by providing a broader range of foreign students in our midst. Over the last five years, you have shared this building with students from Germany, Poland, South Korea, Brazil, Finland, Venezuela, Thailand, China, Australia, Japan and more. Some of you have also taken it upon yourselves to expand your knowledge of the world through your planned exchange travels next year to France, Brazil, and Venezuela. Additionally, our district has welcomed educators from Morocco, Japan and Australia in recent years to further open our minds to the world beyond Tully.

Do not keep your sights locked in a tunnel vision as you leave us today. Remain open to everything that the world has to offer. Don’t be satisfied with simply accepting what is presented to you. The world is only limited by your imagination.

Someone once said, “A school is a building with four walls and a tomorrow inside.”

Many among you have already reached beyond these walls to do amazing things that will impact our tomorrow. Among them are raising money for Haiti, or for an orphanage in China, spending a lunch time with Senior Citizens and who could forget Erin the rabbit and Calvin the carrot volunteering at the Mason’s Breakfast. You have made a difference for those around you and for those you do not know. For that I say “Thank You” and cannot express enough how proud we are of you.

As I considered what to say to you today, the lyrics of a song came to mind that was popular 25 years ago for many of us. It has returned to the charts in the past few months for this generation. With some modification of the words, I dedicate this message to the Tully Central School Class of 2010.

There came a time when you heard a certain call.
When you all just came together as one.
There were people dying and you had to lend a hand, to life the greatest gift of all.

You couldn’t go on pretending day by day, that someone somehow would soon make a change.
We are all a part of God’s great big family, and it’s true you knew love was what was needed.

You are the world, you are the children
You are the ones who made a brighter day, and kept on giving.
There’s a choice you made, for saving other’s lives.
It’s true you made a better day for each and every one.

Thank you for what you have taught us and absolute best wishes as you continue to make our world a better place for all. Congratulations.

Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges

2010-05-20T21:25:00.002-04:00

On behalf of everyone involved in the Tully learning community, I want to express appreciation for the continued support of the voters in our school funding plan for the 2010-2011 year. We are grateful for the strong vote of confidence for our programs and the vision provided by our Board of Education. The board will continue this forward looking focus with the return of Mark Drumm to the Board and we also welcome Denise Cardamone and look forward to her contributions as she assumes the seat vacated by Maureen Brophy. We will miss the leadership and school experience of Mrs. Brophy but wish her luck as she continues to enjoy her retirement with her family.

Together, we have already begun work on the 2011-2012 fiscal program and some early planning and projections for 2012-2013 to better position us to face the challenges of the future.

We are all in this together and it is by continue to work in a positive, collaborative manner that we can continue to provide an Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges.

Inspire students…

2010-04-18T19:22:00.000-04:00

In June of last school year our Board of Education Goals Committee met to develop a direction for the district for the 2009-2010 academic year. During that discussion a charge was made to the administration of this district. That charge was to Inspire Students, Excite Teachers and No More Business As Usual.

This vision was shared with our staff on opening day this year and we have seen wonderful examples of our staff creating exciting opportunities for our students. While not all inclusive, some initiatives that have created new opportunities for students and staff include:
• expansion of video conferencing and distance learning initiatives in both buildings
• increase in grant writing for innovative approaches to teaching
• increase in participation in the Seven Valleys Writing Project by staff in both buildings
• Environmental Science class in the high school with student research and development to create an aquaculture program, design and complete a windmill with solar backup to power the school’s athletic scoreboard
• joint elementary school library/classroom project to use the iPod touch for instruction
• providing access to more collaborative tools online
• visual arts online collaboration between our high school and a school in Kansas
• video conferencing relationship with our American Sign Language Class and the School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Solvay
• increased use of the Flip video camera in classroom projects district wide
• increasing projects in collaboration between Tully staff in both buildings and SUNY Cortland
• creation of a faculty based Ning book discussion group
• investigation of ereaders for use in our high school English classrooms
• pilot project in the high school to make grades available to parents online

The Board of Education provided the opportunity for our educational programs to meet our students using current technologies in which our students are familiar. The staff has taken that charge from the Board and provided a learning environment around the use of 21st century skills in our educational programs, a reality for our students.

Outstanding!!!

2010-03-12T18:38:00.000-05:00

In a review of the recent achievements of our students, the title says it all. Our students have excelled in Academics, Arts and Athletics.
Our students are receiving their college acceptance notifications. As they share them, it is exciting to know of the options available to them. Our Academic Top Ten students were announced recently and are featured in this issue of Knight Insight. Congratulations to each one.

As we look to the Arts, we recognize the wonderful performances of March including The Sound of Music. It is rewarding to see the combination of talent in the visual and performing arts come together through set and lighting design, dance, vocal and instrumental music and acting to bring to life such a classic musical production. Other music activities in the month only enhanced our local participation in Music In Our Schools Month.

As we work to provide opportunities to all students we also look at Athletics. As of the time of this writing we find incredible success stories in our athletes as well.

• Boys Basketball- League and Section III Class C Champions
• Volleyball- League and Section III Class C1 Champions
• Girls BB- League Champions
• Wrestling- 2nd Place in League
• Indoor Track- Section III Class C Champions
A fact that stands out as unique among many of our students is many of them have been involved in all 3 areas presented here. There are students featured in the Academic Top Ten who participated in the arts events while at the same time serving among our high level athletic competitors. Our students extend themselves to participate in the greatest amount of experiences available to them here in Tully.

We are proud of the achievements of every student in our learning community whether in the forefront or behind the scenes. They are truly outstanding!!!

Music In Our Schools Month: Just Imagine…!

2010-02-14T22:00:00.003-05:00

Every year schools across our nation celebrate the month of March as Music In Our Schools Month. The Tully schools are no different with no less than eight days with music events throughout the month. Mark your calendars to enjoy the cultural and educational aspects that music brings to our learning community at one or more of these events.

March 1-Syracuse Symphony Percussion Ensemble to perform for elementary and junior high level students in the Elementary School Auditorium. This program is made possible at no cost to the district because our elementary music students took second place in the region during last year’s Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Practice Marathon. Many thanks are due to all of those students who participated in this event and made this performance possible.

March 5, 6 and 7-Annual musical production at the Junior-Senior High School. This year the classic musical The Sound of Music will demonstrate the talents of our students. This is always an enjoyable event.

March 10-Syracuse Symphony Percussion Ensemble family performance. The performance of March 1 will be repeated for families at 6:30 pm in the Elementary School auditorium. There is no charge for this performance thanks to the ongoing support of Best Western Tully Inn who sponsors this program for the community.

March 26 and 27-Annual All-County Jazz Music Festival. The best jazz musicians from Onondaga County will come together for this annual weekend of rehearsals and performances.

March 31-Senior High School music students will present performances by several ensembles in the culminating event for Music In Our Schools Month activities in the Tully learning community. This event is held in the Junior-Senior High School Auditorium.

Just imagine what our lives would be like without the creativity learned through the arts. The visual and performing arts serve an important role in the complete development of the students in our community. March presents a unique opportunity to be a part of the arts in our community in many different ways.

Funnel Vision

2010-02-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

From the blog of the New York State Council of School Superintendents (http://blog.nyscoss.org)

There is a tendency to think about schools as though looking through a funnel, missing some bigger picture considerations.

It is often overlooked that school districts operate with more accountability and transparency than other entities, yet also with more limitations on some of their financial practices.

“Funnel vision” toward schools was evident in some of the media coverage of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s five-year summary of his office’s school fiscal accountability project earlier this week.

Much of the media coverage of the Comptroller’s report focused on its conclusions that school districts have accumulated reserves in excess of what current laws allow.

But there is a tension between the report’s findings (schools have “unnecessary” reserves) and its recommendations (schools need to have more ways to set aside money in reserve).

The implication of recommending changes to laws governing school reserves is that current laws don’t completely make sense. We agree.

Here are some examples of the exceptional accountability requirements schools operate under:

• School districts outside the Big 5 cities must put their budgets up for voter approval each year, a requirement not imposed upon counties, cities, towns, or villages. Except in New York City and Yonkers, public schools are overseen by independently elected boards.

• Schools provide other opportunities for public input into policy-making – mandated budget hearings and “shared-decision-making” procedures, as well as informal and voluntary efforts – community forums, advisory committees, and PTAs.

• School districts also send annual budget information notices to all residents, publish school and property tax report cards, and disclose administrative compensation. Again, these requirements are not imposed upon municipalities.

• The State Education Department also regularly publishes school and district performance data — test results, high school completion rates, and violent incidents, to name a few. Is there as much performance data available for any other public service?

• Every school district and BOCES in the state has been audited by the State Comptroller within the past five years, another mandate not imposed on municipalities.

Despite these exceptional accountability mandates, schools operate with tighter controls on at least some aspects of their finances than other public agencies.

For example, a school district is permitted to maintain an unreserved, unappropriated fund balance (a “rainy day” fund) of up to 4 percent of its budget. There is no percentage limit for municipalities.

Also, while both local governments and school districts may set aside funds for future pension contributions to the State and Local Employees Retirement System (ERS), roughly 70 percent of school employees are in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and, probably due to an oversight, pension reserve accounts cannot be used to save for future TRS cost increases.

School leaders who have shared reactions to the Comptroller’s five-year accountability report with us are impressed by his recommendations to give schools more ways to set-aside money for tax stabilization, teacher pension contributions, and retiree health insurance obligations. “Tax stabilization” – averting or moderating local property tax increases is one of the primary uses schools make of their rainy day fund now, with its 4 percent limit.

Governor Paterson has tried to argue that most schools have adequate reserves to absorb his proposed School Aid cuts, without steep property tax increases or spending cuts that would harm student services.

But that is not the picture that school leaders are looking at. Virtually every district which has reported to us expects to eliminate positions in its budget for next year. In some cases the cuts could be drastic – 5 to 10 percent of staff. A few may need to cut even deeper.

In 2003, the last time state aid to schools was cut, districts proposed budgets with local tax increases averaging 10 percent. That won’t happen this year. Some districts, especially those with little left to cut that is not mandated, have no choice but to ask for large tax increases. But most districts are aiming much lower, with the result that there will be steeper cuts to programs.

Our position remains: We will not minimize the challenges facing state leaders, don’t minimize ours.

Again, schools have more limited reserves than other municipalities.

“Rainy day” funds (unreserved fund balances) for town governments commonly exceed 10 or even 20 percent of expenditures. That fact is not widely known, because municipal fund balances are not reported on any state government website (as are school reserves), nor has every city, town, or village been audited in the past five years the Comptroller’s Office audited, as have school districts.

But are the municipalities over-taxing? Or are they being fiscally responsible, carefully setting aside funds for future contingencies?

The Government Finance Officers Association recommends maintaining an unreserved fund balance of between 5 and 15 percent of general fund revenues, or up to two months expenses. So what New York school districts are permitted to maintain as a maximum is less than what experts deem adequate as a minimum.

There are bigger problems with the Governor’s expectation that schools should exhaust all reserves this year.

First, as Comptroller DiNapoli has warned, next year could be even worse, due to the “funding cliff” facing the state and the schools, as federal stimulus aid expires under current laws.

Second, like other public agencies – or businesses or families – schools do need to have money in the bank to cover unforeseen costs.

Would a family feel comfortable with nothing on hand to cover emergency costs? Or how about an emergency fund equal to 4 percent of its annual expenses – the maximum that schools are supposed to have?

2010 and Beyond—What can we expect?

2010-01-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

As we move into a new calendar year, we attempt to look into the future and glean what it may hold. In doing so it is important to look to the past and learn from our history. We have made changes in our educational programs to offer new ways of learning to many of our students. We are working to incorporate new technologies into our learning environment to enable our students to reach beyond the walls of our school to experience new opportunities.

In 2010 and beyond we will emphasize our focus on improving our graduation rates—a number that has dropped in recent years. We will continue to focus on our mission of supporting our students to excel in their chosen endeavors. This year, we increased opportunities for students to experience the college and career prep programs through the BOCES New Visions programs. The result has been increased participation in the Environmental Studies and Criminal Justice programs offered through New Visions.

We also seek stability as we welcome Mrs. Mary Ann Murphy to her new role as Junior-Senior High School Principal. The challenges she faces are daunting, but her knowledge of the past will provide the direction to make the necessary changes for our future.

We also are aware of the fiscal challenges we face in the coming years. As demonstrated in recent years, the Board of Education has planned for these difficult times. We were ready to handle possible mid-year reductions from the state without major impact to programs. We will carry that planning into the coming budget process as well.

You are encouraged to engage in the budget planning through attendance at Board meetings, viewing information on our website or calling and/or coming in to ask questions. Tiffany Nesbitt, School Business Administrator and I would both welcome all who would like to chat with us about the budget in the coming weeks and months. Please feel free to give us a call and set up a time that we can meet.

If we work together, we can make 2010 and beyond a positive and exciting time for our learning community.

Proud Again of Our Students

2009-12-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege of joining our JSHS Art teachers and other adults to chaperone nearly 50 students to the Everson Museum today to view the Turner to Cezanne exhibition. It was a most enjoyable day. I was impressed with the knowledge of our students as they regularly inquired about various aspects of the artwork, styles of the artist and/or the time period of the work. It was evident that our students were well schooled and prepared for this exhibition.

At the conclusion of the exhibition tour, two different guides approached me to compliment me not only on the oustanding behavior of our students but also in their knowledge and questions. As has been the case so often in this district, I was proud to have they represent our school and community.

To each of the students---you made us proud!!! Again!!!

A wonderful discussion--7 Valleys Writing Project

2009-12-13T14:34:00.000-05:00

On Saturday morning, I spent several hours with three teachers from our district and a dozen or so others at SUNY Cortland. We spent the time talking and writing about writing.

Not how to teach writing, but instead how to encourage it--how to make writing a part of what we do every day? Instead of something else we have to fit into the day, we need to look at how we can incorporate writing into what we do in that day. Writing is such an important part of our lives, whether it is with a pencil and paper, via a computer keyboard or even from the keyboard of a cell phone. We write and so do our students. How can we channel that energy of our students into critical thinking and writing as part of our normal course of learning?

As the session concluded I have three thoughts, reactions and questions.

1. Where do we go from here? How do we carry this concept to other educators in our district?

It is a different way of thinking about what we do. Very similar in many ways to the concepts of SACI (School Alliance for Continuous Improvement) in which many of our teachers have been trained. To quote the old Apple Computer advertising campaign "Think Different!"

2. How do we provide additional professional development to our administrators? They are expected to "know" everything yet they receive fewer opportunities and less professional development that any sector of education in most districts. If we expect them to lead in this venture, we must also provide the opportunity for them to become a part of the vision.

3. How would the dialogue on Saturday have changed if students were in the room and discussion groups as well? How often have we sought their input on how they learn and consume information? One of the reasons we began the EdAlert system in our district was from a student response to the question, "How do you get your information?" The response, "from my cellphone via the Internet or text messaging." Ed Alert was expanded to directly communicate with students via this method.

It is apparent to me that writing reaches all student ability levels. A question asked among one of the discussion groups was "Why don't you think you are a good writer?" Somebody had to make that determination. Writing can take many different forms and the more students write the more comfortable they will become at writing better. It is like anything else that requires development.

Let's Write!!!!

What an incredible group of people--and the game was great as well!!!

2009-12-13T14:20:00.000-05:00

This past Thursday night brought together a long time and very intense rivalry between two neighboring schools--Tully and LaFayette--in boys basketball. The nearly full house was everything we expected AND LESS!!!

The game was incredibly close (Tully did hang on to win) but even more impressive to me was the action in the stands. Our schools have a wonderful relationship and this was clearly carried into the fans from each school. Parents and students alike cheered enthusiastically throughout the game. There were few if any jeers from the stands and the game lived up to the enthusiasm of the crowd. Building principals and staff members from both schools were on hand among their crowds and my wife and I enjoyed dinner in the lobbeteria between JV and Varsity games with the Superintendent and building administrators from LaFayette.

In times past, this would have been an event in which behaviors were a concern. In the past two years, the behaviors have been positive and energetic. Congratulations to both schools and all of the fans. We showed that rivalry can also bring a shared respect. I hope that this continues when our boys and fans visit LaFayette later in the season.

Happy Holidays.

The Holidays are Upon Us!!!

2009-11-15T16:53:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe thatwe are already in the midst of the holiday season again. It seems that we just opened the doors to another school year and yet we will soon usher in a new year.

As we bring 2009 to a close it is important to reflect for a moment and express our appreciation to all members of our staff, our Board of Education and those parents and community members who volunteer throughout the year in their efforts to make our learning environment safe, comfortable and beneficial to our students. One of our substitutes once asked if I realized what a wonderful place this was. Throughout the year it has been gratifying to hear this same theme repeated by parents and other visitors to our schools.

In our appreciation for being in this special place, my wife and I wish to every member of our learning community a safe and joyous holiday season.

Our Partners in Education

2009-10-18T20:40:00.000-04:00

Over the past several years, our school and others in the region have been working toward the creation of a Regional Professional Development School. A major partner in this relationship has been the teacher preparation program at SUNY Cortland.

The joint focus of this partnership is to strengthen the preparation of teachers coming into the field by earlier and stronger experiences prior to the start of their student teaching experiences. At the same time, current teachers in the field will benefit through sharing their expertise with students at SUNY as well as active involvement in ongoing research in teaching practices.

Our partnership with SUNY Cortland has also expanded our international relationships in the field of education. While our district has been the beneficiary of many positive student experiences by hosting exchange students from Rotary International and other exchange programs, we are now establishing relationships for our teaching staff with other nations in order to learn and share cultures and best practices. Our initial step in reaching beyond our own borders began with the Fulbright Exchange opportunity with Morocco a few years ago. Soon we will be meeting with representatives from Australia to discuss exchange opportunities and other relationships with public schools in that part of the world.

This year we enhanced the relationship with higher education by supporting teacher participation in an innovative and ongoing research project between the local classroom and a program at SUNY Cortland. This joint project has a focus of incorporating 21st century learning initiatives into our current educational programs—a crucial step in educating our students for the world beyond high school.

The partnerships established with SUNY Cortland and our neighboring schools have opened the door for our staff and students to experience new opportunities and skills. In doing so our goal is to better prepare them with an Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges.

NYSUT President:: Taking charge of our professions

2009-09-28T23:03:00.002-04:00

The following entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 am by Bob Lowry on EdVantage the blog of the New York State Council of School Superintendents

New York State United Teachers President Richard Iannuzzi warns members of his union, “The economic and political realities we face today make it critical that we act to support one another and to take charge of our professions before others — some well-meaning, but many not — define our professions for us.”

Writing in NYSUT’s bi-weekly New York Teacher (”Taking charge of our professions“), Mr. Iannuzzi observes,

Indeed, to take charge of our profession, we must be willing to develop and accept sound, research-based changes even when they make us uncomfortable; we must be willing to reject unwise changes; and we must develop the skills to demonstrate the difference.

He continues by addressing two issues that arise in New York State’s bid for a share of the $5 billion federal “Race to the Top” education reform fund — the roles of student performance data and charter schools.

For example:

If we wish to take charge of our profession, we need to actively participate in developing a model that includes student performance as one factor in measuring effective teaching practices.

and:

A similar role must be accepted with respect to charter schools. Research clearly shows that some charter schools exceed the performance of similar regular public schools. While the research also demonstrates that the performance of most charters is the same or below (with some significantly below) similar regular public schools, we should not deny the successes.

The article concludes,

Taking charge of our profession will require us to lead in proposing and embracing needed changes. Changes that can increase the chances that every child … will have an equal opportunity to receive an excellent education and changes that will increase our ability to close the achievement gap. Taking charge of our profession also means offering cogent arguments for rejecting change — no matter who or where it comes from — if, in our professional judgment, that change will lessen the availability of quality educational opportunity.

As with education, each of our professions is at a crossroads that can only be traversed safely if, when given the opportunity, we have the will to take responsibility for our work. For all our professions, taking charge is not about defending the status quo because it is the status quo, nor is it about being the bluest of blue states or looking at the ideas of others — in Washington or Albany — through rose-colored glasses. Taking charge of our professions is about being true to our mission, true to our principles, true to our professions and, most importantly, true to ourselves.

Teens Take on Technology at School

2009-09-18T08:20:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting research article I recently read. The article is written by Angela Titone, Senior Manager, CEA Research Library

Before her emergency appendectomy, the doctor of a friend's teenage daughter asked her, "So do you have any last minute questions before surgery?" The girl responded asked, "Do you have Wi-Fi in the hospital? I have a term paper I need to e-mail to my teacher."

It's not surprising. Teens today push for the newest technology with all the speed, apps and features they can get. They are connected through cell phones, text messaging, e-mail and social networking in a way that other generations have not been.

According to a recent CEA study, teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 use cell phones above any other electronic product (82 percent) in school, followed by headphones and MP3 players.

The Teens and Technology Usage in the Educational Environment study (August 2009), asked teens about technologies they use in school for personal or school reasons. The study included an even mix of males and females. The teenagers said they spend four hours a week using technology outside of school for school reasons and less than three hours per week using technology in the classroom.

Seventy-five percent of teens agreed that technology helps them with their education. "Teens want more technology to be implemented into the educational process, and they are finding ways to include these tools themselves," said Jessica Boothe, manager of Strategic Research.

News stories today include classroom tales of student blogs, classes streamed on the Internet and video games used to develop complex problem-solving skills. The Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health published in June by the Joan Ganz Clooney Center at Sesame Workshop, discusses the positive effects of video games in educating
students and promoting their physical well-being.

Teens said they are required to have some type of calculator more than any other CE product at school. Basic calculators were the most required type of (55 percent), followed by scientific (54 percent) and graphing (51 percent) calculators. But school administrators don't welcome all technology with open arms. Roughly half of teens (55 percent) report they "aren't allowed to bring some electronics devices to school".

Though teens show high aptitude for technology, the use of technology in the school is still limited. While nearly two-thirds of teens reported that technology is used regularly in their classes, only four in ten reported spending time in a computer class or lab.

While overall findings suggested low usage of technology in classrooms, teens enrolled in private schools reported higher levels of encouragement and usage of technology in their education compared to teens in public schools.

Back in 2001, CEA conducted the Technology and Education report to obtain adults' views on technology and education. Video games, laptops and digital cameras weren't even mentioned. How times have changed.

For more on the information about the Teens and Technology Usage in the Educational Environment study (August 2009) please visit the CEA website at CE.org.

The Vice President of the United States

2009-09-14T16:12:00.029-04:00

Recently, I was the invited guest of Senator David Valesky to join the audience of the Middle Class Task Force forum held at Syracuse University. The Vice President of the United States served as the moderator for this forum and was also joined by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Education. On the stage was a panel of five education dignitaries including Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

I was impressed with the open conversational style in which the governmental leaders discussed issues with the members of the audience. Those in attendance were a mix of parents, educators, high school students and college students. The Vice President did not remain on the stage, but brought his microphone right into the audience to speak directly with those who were asking questions.

I have always felt the Secretary of Education to be very straightforward in his comments, especially during the rollout of the federal stimulus funding. While elected politicians were encouraging school districts to save jobs and hire staff with the funding, the Secretary of Education was clear in the advice that this was not an ongoing funding stream. He encouraged schools to avoid expenditures "with a tail"--with ongoing costs after the stimulus funding ended. Our district took his advice and is focusing the additional stimulus funding on professional development, textbook purchases, some special programs and other short term financial expenditures.

Equally as straightforward were the comments of the Secretary of Education at this event. When questions were asked, rather than say "Call my office" or similar comment. Secretary Duncan stated, "I will be around for a while after we are finished. Come up front so we can talk about that issue in more detail and see if we can find a solution." It was refreshing to see such a personal approach for national level politicians.

I was pleased to hear the Vice President say, without hesitation, that education was one of the three pillars upon which the current administration was built. He remained focused on the topic of education throughout and the effort to find ways to make a college education affordable for middle class families. He pointed out the salary differentials for those who complete a four year college degree versus those who don't. He also praised Syracuse University for their high level of financial aid provided to students who attend that institution.

Overall, the morning was worthwhile and informative. The focus was positive and important for all learning communities. I am appreciative of Senator Valesky's invitation to join him in the front of the audience section for this important event.

Opening Day Comments 2009

2009-09-14T16:10:00.002-04:00

Welcome back.

First of all, I want to say thank you, particularly to the elementary school staff, for your patience and understanding throughout the summer as we worked and continue to work through the renovation project. While your classrooms are finished and you have spent the last several days or weeks getting things back to normal, the work will still continue outside the instructional areas. A special thank you is due to the cleaning staff for their tremendous efforts during this project.

The junior-senior high school will experience a much reduced level of disruption compared to the elementary school as work for the installation of the long overdue dust collection system will begin in the tech areas of this building later this month. We ask you to bear with us as we add this important function to the 7-12 facility.

As always there are many new staff members among our ranks. I would like to take time now to introduce several people with whom you will be working throughout this school year. First of all, please welcome our new School Business Administrator, Tiffany Nesbitt. Tiffany most recently served in this same role in the Owen D. Young Central School District. In addition she has worked in the business office in the Medina Central School District as well as our neighboring LaFayette district. As a graduate of the West Genesee schools, we are pleased to welcome Ms. Nesbitt back home to Central New York.

Mary Ann Murphy, although not new to us, will be working in a new role as interim Junior-Senior High School Principal through the first semester. Filling in for Mrs. Murphy as interim Assistant Junior-Senior High School Principal you will find Darlene Walowsky. Ms. Walowsky has been a teacher of special education in the elementary school for a number of years and was slated to work in the Junior-Senior High School in that teaching role this year. Instead she will spend the first semester completing her administrative internship. In addition, we are pleased to welcome Lori Saile who will be fulfilling a part-time administrative internship throughout this year with a sole focus on curriculum.

We also have new staff members in each building who will be introduced later today. I have met each one and am excited about the expertise and energy that they will add to the staff in our district. Welcome to you all. I want to take a few minutes this morning to speak about the coming year.

This weekend as my wife and I spent a great deal of time watching coverage of the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy, my wife mentioned to me, “It is incredible to think how much of our lives have been marked by Kennedy funerals.” Indeed many of us in this room can recall the time frames associated with these sad events—President John F. Kennedy, Robert, Jacqueline, John Junior, Rose, and most recently Eunice and Ted Kennedy.

As the reality of my wife’s comment settled in my mind, I wondered how many of our students were feeling the same impact from this event. Although I assume that many of them recognize the importance of this event, their lives have not been as marked by the life and death of members of the Massachusetts Kennedys. Instead the students in our classrooms measure milestones in their history with events such as 9/11, the Ipod, the war in Afghanistan and the second Iraq war, the pervasiveness of the cell phone, the netbook computer and the rapid expansion of social networking. The reality is that some of you with us today may use the same markers in your own lives.

While the past is important in order for us to plan our future, we must not force children to live and learn only in the world of our past. The expectations of everyone involved with the educational system have increased dramatically over the years since we were in school. At the same time, society has expectations for our students that were never placed upon us.

Our students are ready to move beyond the education that many of us experienced. They must be prepared to multi-task. They must be inspired to seek out and question what is presented to them. They must be provided the opportunities to learn in new ways in order to prepare them for today’s world after they leave these halls.

Last Spring I had a high school student who still attends here ask, “Mr. Pritts, why is it that good students don’t want to come to school?” Last Spring I had an elementary school father express similar concerns about his own child. They are not alone in these feelings.

Our students are able to read, write, communicate and research simultaneously. If you say they can’t watch any teenager at home. They are texting, checking their Facebook and Twitter accounts, looking up items for their school work on the Internet all while listening to their Ipod. We then ask them to come to school, focus on one thing and use a pencil and paper. It is time that we begin to explore new areas and meet our students where they are. Higher education and businesses throughout the world are recognizing this fact. It is time that we do the same.

I have been given three areas of focus by the Board of Education as we look to our goals for the coming school year. This charge is the centerpiece for district goals to be adopted later this month. Remember these as you work with our students throughout the year.
1. Inspire students
2. Excite teachers
3. There is no more business as usual

There will be stumbles as we try new things. When that happens we will reflect, adjust and continue to move forward. Even though we all understand that funding is not an unlimited resource in this day and age, I am saying that creativity is indeed unlimited. I expect you to hold me and yourselves to these words. Such a charge from a Board of Education is both inspiring and exciting.

We must apply this charge to every aspect of our educational program. It is not time to just think outside the box. Instead, it is time to throw away the box. It is time to energize your teaching. It is time to inspire our students. It is time to make them eager to come to school and to be in your classroom.

As I close my comments this morning, I want each one of you, in whatever capacity you serve in this district, to take the words of American Author Zig Ziglar to heart. “Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.” Use your abilities to their fullest and our entire learning community will be better because you are here.

Have a wonderful 2009-2010 school year.

Thank You

2009-09-01T19:00:00.003-04:00

As many may know the district has been in the midst of a renovation project with the majority of work focused in the elementary school building. As is the case with any summer work project, it is always a challenge to get everything done in time to open the doors for students in September.

Our elementary instructional and non-instructional staff have been tremendously flexible and patient as work progressed through the summer. Over the past week, as rooms were completed by the construction workers our cleaning staff moved in quickly to prepare them for teachers to reestablish the learning environments in the classroom.

The past week has been especially busy with things being completed as our opening day loomed close. Our staff worked through the weekend to clean and prepare rooms for students. As late as today, construction workers were finishing classroom items and moving out.

The hallways seemed cluttered this morning. Literally, hour by hour, positive changes were taking place. Even as I walked from one end of the building to the other, progress was clearly noticed.

I wanted to use this forum to say thank you to every staff member in the elementary school building that has put in the time to prepare the building for our students tomorrow.

We have details to complete, door frames to finish, some trim work, wiring for the secure door systems and some ceiling tiles to replace. The building is safe and ready for learning. This is due to the wonderful people that work for the benefit of the children of our school.

Thank you all.

Welcome Back 2009

2009-08-20T05:36:00.002-04:00

As the hallways fill with the excitement of a new year for students and staff alike, the day that I most enjoy is upon us. The first day of students back in the buildings is my favorite time of the year. This year our students will return to new faces among our staff as well as familiar faces in new roles throughout the district. In this issue you will have the opportunity to learn about Ms. Tiffany Nesbitt, our School Business Administrator. Mrs. Mary Ann Murphy, well known to many families in the district will be in the interim role of Junior-Senior High School Principal during the first semester of the year. Ms. Darlene Walowsky, known to many in the elementary school, will be serving an administrative internship during the first semester working with Mrs. Murphy while filling the role of Assistant Junior-Senior High School Principal. Another administrative intern, Ms. Lori Saile will be working with us on a part-time basis with a focus on district curriculum. New teachers in both buildings will be part of our annual focus in coming issues of Knight Insight.

Many behind the scene changes will also be in place as work winds down on the EXCEL renovation project. While some work will continue in the coming month, the bulk of the visible work will be complete as students arrive.

It has been a busy but productive summer. The coming year promises many exciting opportunities for our students. I am as excited as our students for the beginning of another year of learning.

BOARD OF REGENTS ELECTSDAVID STEINER COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

2009-07-27T15:51:00.001-04:00

Press Release from the New York State Board of Regents

The New York State Board of Regents voted today to elect Dr. David Milton Steiner as New York State Education Commissioner and President of the University of the State of New York. The Regents took this action at their July meeting held today in Buffalo.

Currently the Dean of the Hunter College School of Education at the City University of New York, Dr. Steiner is best known for his leadership of the national effort to transform teacher preparation and improve teacher quality.

Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said, "It is not enough to simply raise standards and hope for the best. Our teachers need to be prepared to help kids meet and exceed these standards. Study after study confirms that teacher quality is the most important factor under the control of schools in boosting student performance. David Steiner has pushed the envelope, challenged orthodoxy and developed rigorous evidence-based approaches that help prepare and support teachers in a diverse range of settings to lead their students to remarkable gains in achievement."

"In David Steiner the Regents have selected a bold and provocative education reformer," said Vice Chancellor Milton Cofield, co-chair of the Board’s Search Committee. "Steiner has deep hands-on experience in preparing teachers, developing curriculum and honing assessment tools," added Regent Anthony Bottar, who co-chaired the Search Committee.

As Dean of the School of Education at Hunter College, Dr. Steiner has led the growth of one of the most dynamic and diverse teacher preparation programs for public school teachers and principals in New York State. In the spring of 2009 the School of Education enrolled 2585 students – an increase of 400 during his term as Dean. Under Dr. Steiner’s leadership Hunter has dramatically expanded the school’s Special Education program, strengthened the Teaching English as a Second Language program, as well as the administration and training program for assistant principals, principals and superintendents.

Each year more than 70 percent of School of Education graduates go on to teach in public schools across New York State.

"I have dedicated my career to advancing the idea that with a strong core curriculum and rigorous teacher preparation and support we can help students in every school district achieve and succeed. For the past four years I have put that idea into practice leading an institution that has prepared many of the strongest teachers, principals and school administrators working in districts across New York State today," said Dr. Steiner.

"I am honored to be selected by the Board of Regents and look forward to working with them and school leaders in every district across New York as we continue to raise standards, improve accountability and work to transform the State Education Department into a hub of innovation and best practices to boost student achievement," said Dr. Steiner.

At Hunter, Dr. Steiner led a national partnership with the KIPP Academies, Uncommon Schools, Achievement First and Teach for America to create a dedicated teacher preparation program for charter and non-charter school teachers geared to the unique challenges of urban schools. Known as Teacher U at Hunter, the partnership has gained national attention for rethinking what rigorous teacher preparation looks like. This year Teacher U at Hunter will begin a new partnership with the New York City Department of Education to prepare 90 New York City Teaching Fellows in Special Education.

Dr. Steiner, in conjunction with the New York City Department of Education and New Visions for Public Schools, has just launched a Teacher Residency Program aimed at preparing public secondary school teachers in the sciences and English Language Arts.

Prior to Hunter College, Dr. Steiner served as the Director of Arts Education at the National Endowment for the Arts where he designed and inaugurated the first national program to fund intensive teacher-preparation to present major, complex works of art in classrooms; strengthened assessment and accountability systems to evaluate learning outcomes in the NEA’s arts grants programs; and worked with Jazz at Lincoln Center to co-develop the Endowment’s first on-line jazz curriculum.

From 1999–2004 Dr. Steiner was a professor at Boston University’s School of Education where he taught in the Department of Administration, Training and Policy Studies and the Department of Curriculum and Teaching. In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Steiner also served from 2002-2004 as the Chairman of the Department of Education Policy. From 1990-1998 Dr. Steiner served as Assistant Professor and Research Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Department of Political Science and Peabody School of Education.

He is the author or editor of four books including the upcoming Retreat from Judgment: The
Limits of Educational Reform and more than one hundred journal articles, papers, reports, chapters on education reform, teacher preparation, teacher quality and curriculum development as well as public presentations on education reform. He has worked as a consultant to the National Council on Teacher Quality and served as a member of the New York Board of Regents Work Group on Improving the Preparation of Teachers for Urban Schools.

Dr. Steiner has a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University and a B.A. and M.A. in philosophy, politics and economics from Balliol College at Oxford University. He is 51 years old and lives in Manhattan with his wife, Evelyne Ender, a professor of French at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He has two grown step children. Steiner will relocate to Albany upon assumption of his new role.

Steiner succeeds Richard P. Mills who retired on June 30th after fourteen years as Commissioner. Steiner will be the 13th Education Commissioner to serve the State since the position was created in 1904. His salary as Commissioner of Education and President of the University of the State of New York will be $250,000. He will assume his new post on October 1. Until that time Carole Huxley will continue to serve as Interim Commissioner.

As Commissioner of Education, Steiner will serve as chief executive officer of the State Education Department and as President of the University of the State of New York (USNY). USNY is comprised of more than 7,000 public and independent elementary and secondary schools; 270 public and independent colleges and universities; 7,000 libraries; 900 museums; 25 public broadcasting facilities; 3,000 historical repositories; 436 proprietary schools; 48 professions encompassing more than 761,000 licensees plus 240,000 certified educators; and services for children and adults with disabilities.

Summer and A New Year

2009-07-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

As we enjoy the summer months, the school grounds are busy with the EXCEL renovation project as well as planning for the coming academic year. We have many construction workers throughout our campus as they renovate environmental systems, replace windows and update the rigging and lighting in the high school stage area to provide a safer and improved experience for all areas of our campus. In addition to improved signage and outside lighting we expect our rooms in the older elementary school to have improved climate controls during the challenging periods of the winter months of our region.

A new addition to our school system will also arrive in the popular EdAlert system. For the 2009-2010 school year, we are expanding this family notification system to include last minute cancellations of athletic events and practices. While schedule changes will continue to be reflected in the League Minder software accessible via the Athletics portion of the school website (http://tullyschools.org), those last minute cancellations of practices or games will now be sent via email and text messages to those who subscribe to this service.

There is no cost to the program beyond the normal text message charges incurred by your cell phone service (if you select the text message option) and families involved with athletic activities are encouraged to sign up for this notification service. Simply go to the school website and click on the EdAlert button along the left side of the opening page. From there you can follow the on-screen directions.

Our testing this past Spring received positive feedback from those families involved and enabled us to expand this service for 2009-2010. You will also find other notification areas that may be selected during your sign up process.

Commencement 2009

2009-06-27T19:06:00.002-04:00

Comments for the Class of 2009 Commencement Ceremony

Colleagues, members of the Board of Education, parents, friends, and of course, our honored guests, our graduates.

Once again hundreds of people representing this learning community and the work of the past thirteen years have come together. This same ceremony is being repeated in high schools across our country and we are proud of every graduate everywhere. Today, however, we are here to express that pride for the Tully Central School graduating class of 2009. They are our children and more importantly, they are our future.

What does that future hold for them? I expect that we will see great things from these graduates of the Tully Central School District. This is the fourth class of seniors with whom I have been privileged to work in this building and I can truly say that each class has been unique.
Some classes worked for social justice, some put forth efforts for global justice. Others had their unique focus on individual members of their class. When I think of the Class of 2009, I see our future educators and policy makers; our future doctors and engineers; our future leaders in local, national and international issues as well as those whom we will see broadcasting information about our world. When I think of these graduates, I think of a single letter. The letter C.

First of all, this class is without a doubt one of the most Connected classes I have ever met. As each group of young people enters our system the importance of connectivity in some way or another is of tremendous personal and, to an increasing level, professional value. Whether through text messages, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, or the plain, now old-fashioned email, this class maintains a strong connected relationship to each other.

They are, however, just facing the tip of the iceberg in this demand for connected information. Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist for the Orlando Sentinel writes, “In 2006 the world produced 161 exabytes (an exabyte is 1 quintillion bytes) of digital data, according to Columbia Journalism Review. Put in perspective, 161 exabytes is 3 million times the information contained in all the books ever written. By next year, the number is expected to reach 988 exabytes.”
Ms. Parker goes on to write, “Yet with so much data coming from all directions, we risk paralysis. Brain freeze, some call it. More important, we also risk losing our ability to process the Big Ideas that might actually serve us better.”

Will this class lose the vision to develop the Big Idea? I think not.

During conversations with many of the students on this stage I have found the Big Ideas to be ever present. More importantly, however, this class has taken their connected lifestyle to independently research and identify not only the Big Idea, but alternatives as well, that may ultimately have a better result and greater likelihood of success than the original concept. Members of this class have quickly learned that we strive to create an environment here that encourages vision. From there they have learned to manage their connected world and develop a solid base of data to support their vision, develop a plan for implementation, and turn that vision into reality. They have used the resources within their faculty and their community to bring this all to life.

It is my opinion that the connectivity of this group of men and women has not and will not paralyze them. Instead this connected world has and will continue to serve this class well. They have learned how to manage it and use it for positive results.

Perhaps the major focus in my thoughts about this class is Caring. Over their high school career the young people on this stage have been part of important efforts, both individually and as team members to find cures and solve problems for others. There are members of this group that have traveled to developing parts of the world to assist and comfort those with medical needs awaiting a procedure or cure.

Others have come together with many of you here today to participate in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure or the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund and raise thousands of dollars to fight this dreaded disease. Still others have reached beyond our immediate community to participate in the annual Relay for Life in neighboring localities. As a result of these efforts, help is provided in the research to cure those afflicted with all forms of cancer.

Finally, in a manner that is not always found among the young men and women of this generation, I have been impressed with how members of this class care for and about each other. They appreciate their respective strengths and abilities in all areas. They support each other in the challenges they face. As I have already presented, their caring extends to all, known and unknown.

In closing I defer to the 18th century author and educator from England, Samuel Johnson, in completing my mental picture of the Class of 2009. Paraphrasing Johnson, “The true measure of a person is how they treat someone who can do them absolutely no good.” Based upon that ruler, the Tully Central School Class of 2009 measures up well.

We applaud you. We are proud of you. Go forth and continue what you have demonstrated so well to all of us. Remain connected and continue caring. My final thought for you on the letter C is this… Congratulations.

The Belize Zoo

2009-06-27T19:04:00.000-04:00

A new venture is underway to expand opportunities for school children in our region and throughout the world through a partnership between SUNY Cortland, the Tully Schools and a tropical forest zoo in the tiny country of Belize. On Thursday of this week, Dr. Thomas Pasquarello of the Political Science Department of SUNY Cortland and I will travel to this Central American country with video conferencing equipment in hand.The entire excursion is funding through a grant developed by SUNY Cortland.

While there we will be setting up the video conference/distance learning equipment to enable virtual field trips. This will provide the opportunity for school children to visit the Belize Zoo (www.belizezoo.org) and view native Belizean animals in their natural habitat. We will also have the opportunity to visit a school in a small village near the zoo to experience education programs in such a remote setting.

As our connection permits I will be blogging from Belize throughout our trip. It promises to be an exciting and educational trip.

On our way to Belize

2009-06-27T19:03:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Internet connectivity is a bit limited here so I am writing my entries offline and uploading them when I get to a connected system.

So where is Belize and why are we going there? As my alarm went off this morning at 2:30 am to make the first of our two flights to get this country the size of Massachusetts I was certainly thinking about that as well.

Belize is located in Central America just south of Mexico. It is a former British colony and from my research prior to the trip I learned it is the only Central American country that has adopted English as the official language. U.S. dollars are welcomed there and U.S. compatible electrical appliances will work just fine. Although Belize has its own currency as well, it is based on the U.S. dollar with one of our dollars always equivalent to two Belizean dollars. A relatively easy trip, we took Delta flights from Syracuse to Atlanta then from Atlanta to Belize City. Total air time is about 5 ½ to 6 hours.

SUNY Cortland has a number of programs in place in this tropical country. During conversations as we traveled I was surprised to hear of the frequency with which students and staff from the university travel to Belize to work on projects, serve internships or perform other research here. It is one of the few developing countries with the common language and currency of the United States and also within a fairly easy travel distance.

Belize is cognizant of its developing status but also proud of its rich cultural history. As much as we will be in this country to develop partnerships, it is likely that we will learn much more than we will share. Creating the ability for our students back in Central New York to experience some of this culture and environmental history first hand through video conferencing will enhance their learning opportunities as well.

About an hour and a half until we land. Each of my entries will be posted when I have Internet accessibility.

Belize-Perspective from a first time visitor

2009-06-27T19:02:00.000-04:00

Thursday afternoon...

At the airport, the heat and humidity was not as overwhelming as I had expected-a good start to the adventure. John from the Zoo picked us up at the airport and gave us a quick drive around Belize City before heading out to the Belize Zoo. Belize City is the largest city in the country with a population of about 100,000. There are very few tall buildings in the city and many of the residences on the outskirts are built on stilts--to preserve them during the high waters of the hurricanes which can afflict this coastal country.

What impressed me the most was the courtesy of people. There are two stoplights in the entire city. I saw few if any speed limit signs (including the highways outside of the city) and fewer crosswalks. People crossed the streets and entered from side streets pretty much at will but I never heard a shouting voice or heard a horn during our quick tour. On the highways there is a loose resemblance of lanes, but vehicles move to either side to allow other drivers to pass them. Gasoline prices are at about $4.30 at the station where John filled his vehicle but the feeling of folks is that the cost of living is comfortably low in Belize.

The city does not have large office buildings as we would find in Syracuse but there are a few more modern hotels, a few stores that resemble a "big box" store in the United States and one casino. Cruise ships anchor out in the harbor and run tours to the island country in smaller vessels. I did see a number of school bus vehicles that did not look much older than many of those still in use by districts in our region and exactly the same "school bus yellow", lighting and identification along the side that is so common among our schools.

John, our driver was very knowledgeable and very pleasant as we chatted most of the 45 minutes or so that it took us to travel on the Western Highway to the Belize Zoo. A new term was introduced to me during my preparation for this trip--ecotourism. It wS evident on the drive from Belize City to the Zoo. At numerous places along the Western Highway there were signs for ecotourism stops and agrictourism locations. The environment is a major focus of many in this tropical location and has been the focus of many who live and visit here.

My next installment will introduce us to the Belize Zoo's Tropical Education Center, our lodgings and the zoo director, Sharon Matola

Tropical Education Center of the Belize Zoo

2009-06-27T19:01:00.001-04:00

Thursday late afternoon...

The Tropical Education Center (TEC) of the Belize Zoo is set back about a half a mile from the Western Highway on a rough stone and dirt road. As John drove us into the tropical forest I inquired about the wildlife in the forest around the area. Anteaters, armadillos, jaguars, and a myriad a tropical birds was the immediate response. John excitedly explained how recently he had seen a jaguarundi in the wild for the first time. Apparently (to me the uninitiated in this area) this is a much smaller version of the very intelligent jaguar. I guess the full impact of the sighting did not display on my face so John went on to explain how rare it was for most people to see this animal in the wild.

As we parked under a raised cabin, Tom and I were each introduced to our lodging during our stay. After settling in to our spacious cabins raised will above the forest floor, Tom and I took a stroll around the grounds of TEC. Tom had been here six or seven times previously so it was great to have him as our guide. He was recognized and welcomed by TEC staff members throughout the stroll. We stopped near my cabin which extended over a pond as we watched and identified, with the help of displays on the walkway, several tropical birds that were darting from tree limb to tree limb. We checked out the dining area, the classroom, the various levels of lodging accommodations and the office and library. I was impressed with how the TEC has been developed into a living classroom and research lab completely through zoo admissions, grants and other outside supports. There are no local governmental funds that support the Belize Zoo or its educational mission.

As we greeted others at the TEC we met with two younger folks from Los Angeles and a father/daughter combination from Virginia. The daughter had done some internships at TEC in the past and chose to make Belize a vacation for them this year, including some time at TEC once again. In addition, there were two college age students staying at TEC as part of current internships at the facility. Tom and I spent some time in the dining room this first evening playing guitar and harmonica while leading others in song as dinner was prepared by the cook Muriel. Soon thereafter Sharon Matola arrived from doing her British Broadcasting Radio show in the city.

The best way to get to know Sharon as well as the country of Belize and the vision of the Belize Zoo is to use our local Onondaga County Library system. Although I did advanced research online, the best source was to read "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw." At our local Tully Free Library, I found this book in the system and had it delivered to our local facility. It is an easy read that I completed in a few days. Upon completion of that work, I truly felt prepared to make this trip and upon my arrival felt much more comfortable entering this new environment.
Sharon is a person around whom people feel immediately comfortable. There is no pretense and the passion she feels for here work here is clear from the very start. Tomorrow, Sharon, Tom and I are going to a local school in a small hamlet not far from the zoo. We will be part of the preschool graduation program there. Sharon is a frequent visitor there so Tom and I learned some of the songs that she has written about her animals to allow us to accompany her and the children on guitar and harmonica. As we continued to chat, sing and play guitar for several hours after dinner, Sharon also spoke of her animals at the zoo. She spoke of her animals by names she had given them and much in the same light as any of our parents speak of their children. She described one of her jaguars as "changing" and he has gotten into those teenage years. "What an attitude" she states with a sigh as a smile came to my face. Where have I heard that before? As we finalized our plans for our first full day in Belize we said our good evenings and retired to our respective cabins.

First Morning in Belize

2009-06-27T19:00:00.000-04:00

Friday morning...

Wow!!! I knew it was the rain season here, but last night was rain like I have not experienced before. Fortunately it waited until I was in for the night.

The constant and heavy downpour was loud on the metal roof of the cabin. The steady beat against the roof actually helped me to fall back asleep after the surprise of the sudden opening of the skies.

As daylight came through the windows, the rain had stopped and the singing of the variety of birds described in an earlier entry. After showering and dressing for breakfast at the TEC I stepped out onto my porch overlooking the pond. Two baby crocodiles were casually floating on the surface--a greeting not frequently encountered back home!

Today will be filled with new things for us as we go to the preschool and the zoo. We will also set up the video conferencing equipment and make connections back to Central New York. Stay tuned for a follow up on the day.

The Belize Zoo and more--What an incredible day!!!

2009-06-27T18:58:00.000-04:00

Friday afternoon...

An incredible morning and afternoon here in Belize. This morning we took an early stroll through the zoo. We saw many native animals to this area including the national animal of Belize, the Tapir. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Junior, the Jaguar a 2 year old Jaguar born at the zoo and raised completely by zoo handlers after rejection by his mother. He truly reminded me of a VERY LARGE house cat or dog as he rolled around, followed commands and came to the fence to allow the handlers to scratch his ears and face. They have a cage inside the main area for Junior where people can go inside the smaller cage while Junior lays on top to his belly rubbed or licks the face of those inside. I may just get brave enough to try this later or tomorrow (may being the key word here).

We also saw the boa constrictor that was out and about with visitors welcome to have the picture taken with him casually wrapped about their shoulders. While I was more than willing to take the photos, my braveness of the jaguar cage disappeared quickly when it came to a snake wrapped around my shoulders. Tom was more than willing to have his photo taken with the boa constrictor.

We did a quick set up of the video conferencing equipment and met with Celco the education director for the zoo. After this Sharon joined us to take Tom and I to a small local preschool program in a 4 through 12 year old school complex near the zoo. What we found were three or four small buildings (that would normally be called temporary classrooms in our region) surrounding a field that looked like a multi-purpose playground. Something that came as a surprise for me is the lack of windows in buildings. There are openings but very few buildings (including my cabin) have actual windows. Most openings are simply screened. There is no need to keep air out when there is very limited air conditioning and good air flow through a building is the standard method of cooling. Certainly no need for warmth!!!

The 4 year olds in this preschool program were great. It was one of many highlights of my visit so far. Tom, Sharon and I all took turns sharing the two guitars we had while Tom also joined in on harmonica from time to time. These children had never experienced a harmonica so this was a real treat for them as well. They were so proud to sing with us, share their names and have us celebrate their graduation today. The older students were outside looking in through the windows as well enjoying the music and singing along with us. Sharon visits this preschool program regularly and these children visit the zoo on a regular basis as well. Some time ago they had written a song about Junior the jaguar (mentioned previously) and they knew it well. It is sung to the melody of "Nothin' But A Hound Dog". What a wonderful morning. On our way back to the office, we stopped to see and pet a baby tapir that was impounded by the government when they discovered it being used as a house pet. It was an incredible little animal that is being nursed back to health by the zoo. We are able to pet it and listen to it almost purr in contentment as we rubbed the belly. What an experience to be in the cage with and petting the national wild animal of Belize.

We decided to skip lunch and instead do some video conference connections. The internet connectivity at the zoo is via satellite and while the speed is not that to which we are accustomed with DSL or Cable Modem in the Central New York area, it still provides a good method to get out to the online world. The primary challenge that we don't consider is that when it is really cloudy the connection speed is reduced. We were able to make some connections back to the Tully Elementary School and after a few setting changes, we connected to the Onondaga-Madison-Cortland BOCES Center in East Syracuse. We were joined by the Director of Special Education for the country of Belize as well as Mr. Bill Hopkins of Cortland who spends time in Belize working with special education programs. We spent some time in conference with Amy Spath who coordinates video conferencing and virtual field trips for the schools of the OCM BOCES as well as Dan Lake at BOCES who works with many of the schools in online learning as well.

The Belizeans were abuzz with the possibilities that this will provide for the children and the teachers of their country. They ability to collaborate with other educators and for school children visiting the zoo to meet and greet school children from Central New York and around the world.
It has indeed been an incredible day. We are all pretty excited about what took place today and now will begin the planning to bring the world to Belize and to bring Belize to our children.

This post is actually a live post. I will continue to make entries and upload them later tonight and tomorrow until I get back to the zoo to upload them again.

Belize Zoo at Night

2009-06-27T18:57:00.000-04:00

Friday night...

Although the Belize Zoo is closed during night hours, those staying at the TEC were privileged to a tour of the zoo at night. A small group of about nine of us were able to experience the true meaning of nocturnal animals in a real sense.

As we approached the ocelot, difficult to find hidden away in the trees during the day, the cat lept nearly four feet into the air and clung to the fence to get the piece of chicken held out by the zoo handler. The puma paced anxiously back and forth along the fence until a piece of chicken was tossed through the fence for him to savor. Even the crocodiles, docile during the heat of the day were quick to respond to our footsteps and the chunk of white chicken meat tossed into the water near his snout.

In area after area, the zoo was alive with life compared to the quiet of the stroll through the same area during the daylight hours. We have all studied and understand the meaning of nocturnal wildlife. This experience brought learning to life.

Jaguar Encounter

2009-06-27T18:55:00.000-04:00

Saturday late afternoon...

If you ever get a chance to come to the Belize Zoo, I highly recommend the jaguar encounter. In a previous post I mentioned Junior, the jaguar born at the zoo and completely raised by handlers after rejection by his mother. The jaguar encounter places you and a few others if you desire in a cage inside Junior's enclosure. Then Junior is let back into his enclosure. Junior is so in tune with people that he will come directly to the cage where you are able to reach your fingers through and scratch him on the head, body and ears. The cage is tall enough for me (at six foot tall) to stand in comfortably. Junior will do somersaults for you in order to get a piece of chicken leg as a reward. He puts his paws and jaws to the cage and gently takes the chicken from your fingers then instantly crushes the bone and chews it. (I asked Sharon if she could come to my house to teach my German Shepherd how to take something that carefully!!!)

The power of this animal is apparent at this close range as his body is all muscle. He effortly performs somersault after somersault for which he seeks applause and cheering. You can almost see the smile on his face as his teeth show and he becomes more and more animated. He pauses only to get another chicken bone.

Suddenly without warning, and seemingly without effort, Junior leaps to the top of the six foot tall cage and waits to show his appreciation. How does that happen? Simple... you stand up so he can lick your head, or if you look upward he will lick your forehead and face for you.

At first Junior's tongue felt like his teeth had grabbed my hair (what little there is of it) and I pulled away. Then I realized that the surface of the jaguar's tongue feels like many tiny teeth. I stood up again and Junior basically washed my head and face with his tongue. He was extremely gentle. That coarse sandpaper feel of the tongue was quite a surprise to me in this adventure.
When the young jaguar felt he had finished his task he casually dropped back to the floor of the tropical forest area. Again he pressed against the cage waiting for us to scratch his side while he purred contentedly. After a few somersaults the handlers called Junior back to his enclosure so that we could leave the cage and return outside to the pathway.

Earlier today, we joined Sharon Matola behind the scenes as she introduced Tom and me to several jaguars that are in rehabilitation. As she asked them to roll it was amazing to see these 150 pound plus cats calmly respond to her directions. They carefully took the piece of chicken from her fingers and put up a paw to get a high five through the cage.

I asked Sharon at one point, if there were any jaguars in the zoo that she would be able to get into their enclosure. Without hesitiation she said "Absolutely not. They would kill me in less than a second and wouldn't even think about it. These are wild animals and will always be wild animals." Although I knew this, it was a good reinforcement after watching the person known in Belize as The Zoo Lady hold such an apparent command on this incredible animals.

Upon my return home, I will be sending photos and small videos of different aspects of my trip that the Post Standard may choose to post here if desired. They are not professional but I believe they will give you some idea of the wonderful wildlife which we have encountered in this excursion and the educational value of this experience.

This will be my last post from Belize itself. We leave for home tomorrow and I expect that I will prepare another post during one of the flights reflecting on this experience. That will most likely be posted on Monday morning as my final entry. What I can say at this point is that I will return to North America with a completely new understanding of what one person can do to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals. This has been an incredible experience and I have learned much more than I could ever have shared.

The video conferencing connection was a success and an ongoing collaboration is planned. This was memorable. Tonight we will dine together, play guitar and sing the night away before we plan for the trip to the airport and the flights home tomorrow.

From the Belize Zoo, farewell.

Reflections on Belize

2009-06-27T18:52:00.000-04:00

Sunday afternoon on the plane...

Tom and I are on our Delta flight from Belize City to Atlanta with a connection to Syracuse. We are expected to land in Syracuse at about midnight tonight. (Late Note on Monday-we actually were delayed and arrived in Tully at 3 am this morning) The flight gives me time to think back on the last three and a half days.

This morning, prior to our flight, We spent time discussing the past and the future of the zoo with Sharon. She spoke with joy of the success of the jaguars that had been nursed back to health. As Independence the baby tapir took milk from a bottle and banana pieces from her hand, the spoke to the small, scared animal in place of its deceased mother. We met Field Master, a jaguar that had become too comfortable around those people who set up residence in his territory and regularly came too close to homes and their domesticated animals.
We watched as this killer jaguar responded to Sharon's soft spoken commands and rolled while gently taking chicken bits from her hand. As I stood on the steps face to face with this muscular mammal and listened to the Zoo Lady talk about environmental challenges of the animals of Belize I wondered about a similar impact to so many animals in our own region.

I previously mentioned "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw" as preparation for this trip. In those pages, the struggle of this one person to save the lives of so many animals from the intrusion of progress and prosperity was put to words. Until, I had the experience of sitting and watching the majestic macaws carefully preen each other and show off their feathers to me, it didn't completely sink in. Until I was able to place my fingers on the muscular skin of Junior, the Jaguar and feel him gently lick my forehead and face, the light bulb did not click on. Until I was able to gently pet Independence the baby tapir, it all came to a point. Every one of these majestic animals would have died, if not for the efforts of Sharon Matola and the Belize Zoo.

The Belizean government does not provide support to the zoo. They do, however, call on Sharon when a jaguar or other tropical animal has been captured on injured. She cannot say no to another of her "children"--she takes them all and struggles to bring them to some sense of rehabilitation, knowing that they seldom can be returned to the wild. She struggles to find the nearly one million dollars in US currency required to operate the zoo each year.

I am appreciative of the work of SUNY Cortland in their partnership with this endeavor in Central America. My hope is that we can now bring this same focus to the students of the Tully School district and others in Central New York and around the world.

The vision of this excursion was to expand the world of our school children to experience the world of tropical animals in Belize. The technical aspects of the vision are complete. The mental images that have resulted for me will last a lifetime.

Tully, NY--A Community of Caring

2009-05-25T14:19:00.002-04:00

How impressive it is to be a part of this wonderful caring community. In case after case, I continue to marvel at how members of our community come together to help others.

This past week we witnessed two such events in the staff and community participation in the Komen Race for the Cure and the Girls' Lacrosse Game for the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund in loving memory of Patricia Bailey.

More than 30 staff members joined by reportedly as many community members or more came together for the Komen event to raise thousands of dollars to fight breast cancer. The same week, more than a thousand spectators came to the playing field of the Junior-Senior High School for the lacrosse game to raise nearly $15,000 to fight this same dreaded disease in an event dedicated to one of our own, Patricia Bailey.

Many at the game stated they had to come just to be a part of the event. Many from schools other than Tully and Bishop Ludden also came be a part of the fund raising for the Carol Baldwin research. This year, a $50,000 research grant in the battle against breast cancer will be issued to an upstate doctor in the name of Patricia Bailey.

Tully is indeed a Community of Caring and a great place to be.

EXCEL Project Underway

2009-05-25T14:15:00.001-04:00

As our EXCEL Renovation project gets underway you will notice construction work at various locations around the district. Work actually began in many areas as early as April of this year with increasing efforts taking place in May and June. The bulk of the project will take place in the elementary school building with additional work throughout the school campus.

There will be work done on the outside of both buildings as well as lighting throughout the campus. Window replacements at the high school and a replacement of the lighting and rigging in the high school auditorium for safety reasons will comprise most of the work in that building during the summer months. A waste oil heating system will be installed in the bus garage and the entry steps and façade to the original 1930’s portion of the elementary school will be renovated.

During the project there will also be minor asbestos abatement procedures in place. The areas of abatement are quite small and contained to a few square feet in various locations around the elementary school. At the high school, this will be involve the removal of the window caulking as new energy efficient windows are installed in that facility. A notice of this abatement procedure appears in the June issue of Knight Insight and will also be posted in each building. All proper precautions and monitoring by outside agencies will be in place for each area affected by the abatement procedures. No asbestos abatement will begin in a building until those students are finished with classes for the school year.

A brochure outlining the EXCEL project approved by the voters is available on the school website. To date, the project is running on schedule and we expect to be complete with the majority of the work to enable on-time opening of school in September. We expect the results to
be a safer, more comfortable learning environment for our children for many years in the future.

Thank You for Your Support

2009-05-25T14:14:00.001-04:00

On behalf of the Board of Education and our entire learning community I want to thank you for the support provided to our school funding plan for the 2009-2010 school year. We are pleased to welcome back Mr. Ken Steiger, Mr. Dan Twentyman and Mr. Jan Kublick elected to the Board of Education for another three year term.

As we move past the recent annual vote, we are already planning for 2010-2011 and looking even further ahead to the 2011-2012 academic years. In doing so we believe that our district is fiscally positioned for the loss of federal stimulus funding in the future. In addition we will continue to deal with the challenges of a declining enrollment that is not expected to slow in the foreseeable future.

The puzzle we will face together is our ongoing ability to provide opportunities across many different areas of learning for our students while carefullymonitoring the impact of this process on our taxpayers. We believe that through creative approaches to instruction and learning and sharing resources with our neighbors we will continue to provide a quality Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges.

It is important to vote…

2009-04-13T14:53:00.002-04:00

May is the annual budget information month. As the district has done for many years, the May issue of Knight Insight contains a special pull-out section with details on the budget and information related to the upcoming vote process. Most school districts in the state are required by law to vote on the same date each year—this year it is May 19.

We believe this budget presents a balanced approach to the preservation of programs for students and a responsibility to our taxpayers. Some key points of interest include:

Spending increase 1.02%
Tax levy increase 0.32%
Some staffing changes due to declining enrollment
Balanced use of stimulus funds to prepare for the future as well as professional development and one-time projects to improve learning

It is important that everyone express their vote on this budget proposal. Last year, even though it was the smallest increase in many years, the school spending plan barely received enough support to be successful in providing for our student programs. Please make time to vote on the school spending plan on Tuesday, May 19. We truly believe this plan will support our learning community in Exploring Our World and Expanding Our Opportunities.

What a winter!!!

2009-03-28T08:47:00.001-04:00

As we look forward to spring and look to the end of the year, we must not forget the wonderful performances that warmed us during the cold weather of the last several months. We saw most of our athletic teams move into sectional play. Our girls provided great sports play in volleyball and basketball. Indoor track found several high level competitors in competition and our boys carried us well into sectional basketball playoffs with outstanding plays game after game.

Several of our FFA competitors will move on to higher level competition based upon their performances in early March. The memories and sounds of the fantasy that was Cinderella will linger for young and old alike as our student musicians presented this challenging musical production to full houses and standing ovations.

Our music department celebrated Music In Our Schools month through our own concerts plus the visiting performances by SUNY Fredonia and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet. Many thanks go to Montrose Properties and Tully Best Western for making the SSO performance a reality.

Every year, it seems like we will never top the prior year. Instead our students reach to higher and higher levels and amazing us once again. Congratulations to all. Once again we are proud of your achievements.

Partners in Progress

2009-03-28T08:44:00.001-04:00

Part 5 of 5 in a series…

In this the final installment of this series I would be remiss if I did not speak of the important relationships that exist between the Tully schools and the many businesses and organizations in the local community and the region. Local businesses contribute to the life of the school through countless donations of funds and material items for prizes, advertising and other means of support.

Additionally, we find partnerships with individuals and organizations in our community that provide benefits to our students without a resulting increase in school taxes. The newly formed Southern Hills Business Association looked to the students in the Computer Graphics Arts class to design a logo for their organization. Their competitive approach enabled students to experience a true business-like environment for this project with a substantial cash prize to the winning design.

In steps that have provided visible benefits to our community in general as well as our students we have generous members of our community that have banded together to provide field lights, scoreboards, dugouts and other items that are used by many. The Tully Arts Council has contributed equipment, costumes and other theatrical items used by students and adults alike. In addition, their numerous community based productions have brought together residents of all ages to the enjoyment of friends and neighbors.

At the same time, the school district provides reciprocal benefits to countless groups and organizations by allowing frequent use of the facilities twelve months of the year. Many of events sponsored by these groups would not be possible without the use of the school buildings and/or grounds.

The county has provided funding to help support the Literacy Across the Ages program for each of the past two years through the Department for Aging and Youth. Through this support as well as other organizations and businesses in the community, our students and Senior Citizens benefit with little or no additional cost to the public library or the school district. Others who have supported this program include Tully Nice N Easy, Tully Rotary, Tully Elementary School PTO, the Tully Teachers’ Association, P.E.A.C.E., Inc., Barnes and Noble Booksellers and OCM BOCES. In addition, funding has come through New York State to support this program in various areas. This program has enabled us to reach out to nearly 400 members of our community through the past two years without a major impact on your school taxes.

Throughout the series of articles comprising Partners in Progress we have demonstrated the high level of collaboration that exists within our community. The relationships that have been in place for many years and those of more recent design have provided benefits to our students and to our taxpayers alike. As we continue to seek methods to work with our neighbors in Tully and the surrounding, it is our belief that while there has been a demonstrated positive impact on our tax dollars, we are also Exploring Our World and Expanding Our Opportunities.

Partners in Progress

2009-02-14T07:45:00.002-05:00

Part 4 in a series…

As we move through this series on collaborations, I have chosen to focus this installment on our BOCES partnership. There are often outdated perceptions of BOCES programs or the role that BOCES plays in our educational system. The very name defined by the BOCES acronym—Board of Cooperative Educational Services—speaks volumes of the primary role of this important organization.

Our relationship with BOCES is perhaps the most extensive partnership that is experienced in the Tully schools. Our ability to secure advanced technology opportunities in a shared relationship is possible through the use of the BOCES system. Through many schools sharing a particular service common among all we are able to maximize the system and create a better end user cost due to the volume that a vendor can provide.

Many courses are available to our students through BOCES that would not be possible for a school to provide on their own. Where the Tully schools may only have three or four students involved in a particular class, the collaborate efforts of all 23 component districts provide sufficient student numbers to operate unique learning programs. This is most commonly found in Special Education and Career and Technical Education content areas.

One aspect of our partnership with BOCES that is behind the scenes yet saves hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars each year is cooperative purchasing. We work with other schools to gain volume benefits for our purchases in Workers’ Compensation Insurance, Health Insurance, Natural Gas and Electric, various food products as well as materials and supplies. In the current school year alone the Tully schools saved more than $300,000 in these purchase areas when compared with market pricing.

The final Property Tax Cap report to the New York State Governor (available on the school website at http://tullyschools.org/) sets forth the BOCES configuration in our state as a fiscally responsible system that should be available to all municipalities, not only schools. Among the recommendations in this report you will find, “Eliminate State Education Department approvals for participation by BOCES in agreements with other local government entities to provide non-instructional services…”

This important report also recommends several other areas already in place by the Tully schools as it recommends that districts “…provide health insurance coverage jointly with other public employers or school districts…” such as we do through our BOCES Health Insurance consortium. The collaboration and shared programming services offered through a BOCES partnership is also held as a model in this report, “School districts should consider joint planning to develop specialized programs that can be made available to other districts…”

The partnership between the Tully Central School District and BOCES covers a broad spectrum of program and infrastructure supports. This relationship enables us to provide opportunities for our students that would not be available on a local level. Through collaborations such as this we are truly able to provide an Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges.

Finally…

2009-02-14T07:43:00.001-05:00

EXCEL project released by State Education Department after nearly a year

After the longest period I have ever had a project held for review by the State Education Department, the EXCEL building project approved by the voters in November of 2007 has been given the go ahead during the second week of February 2009. The $2.45 million dollar project will be used for renovations in many areas of the district including the schools, bus garage and grounds in general. The primary focus of the project will be in the area of energy upgrades, health and safety, accessibility for those with disabilities and educational technology.

How can the district do a project in this challenging economy?
The funds for this project will not increase the tax levy to the voters. All funds are from a combination of normal building aid provided by the state, a special EXCEL aid fund from the state and the district’s Capital Reserve Fund. None of these funds can be used for purposes other than projects such as this.

Why did it take so long for the project to receive clearance from the state?
Districts throughout the state were submitting projects for approval at the same time as Tully. Because of the economy, the state has been steadily reducing the number of staff in the State Education Department. This combination of factors created delays in projects across the state, not just for Tully.

What happens now?
The district will be working with our architects to send this project out for bids as soon as possible, perhaps even by the time this issue reaches print. We will move forward and hopefully begin work in the late spring and summer of this year.

How can I get more information?
The brochure that was available prior to the vote in November of 2007 is on our school website (http://tullyschools.org) to provide more details on the areas to be addressed in this project.

An Open Letter To New York State Legislators

2009-01-21T19:51:00.003-05:00

This entry is provided courtesy of Lawrence M. Cummings, Executive DirectorCentral New York School Boards Association, Inc.

January 13, 2009

An Open Letter To New York State Legislators:

I am writing to address some of the complex issues regarding education funding in Governor Paterson’s proposed budget. I know you will also be hearing from the school districts you represent about their specific issues and hope you will find this backdrop helpful.

Funding for public schools would be cut significantly under Governor Paterson’s budget proposal. The $698 million figure widely reported in the press would more accurately be described as a $1.1 billion dollar cut plus a $133 million cost shift. So the total impact on schools will exceed $1.23 billion. Foundation aid is actually being reduced by $1.1 billion dollars; the $698 million is a “net” number of the aid reduction.

This requires an explanation: School districts are spending hundreds of millions of dollars this year with an understanding they will be reimbursed for a portion of those expenditures next year. “Expenditure driven aids” such as transportation, BOCES and special education are paid by the state to school districts on a one-year lag. To his credit, the Governor includes reimbursement for those expenditures in his budget proposal for next year. The cost exceeds $500 million and would thus represent an increase in school spending above the current year’s state budget. So in order to pay districts that money owed and still cut spending $698 million below this current year’s school aid budget, Foundation Aid will be reduced next year by $1.1 billion. And the $1.7 billion increase in Foundation Aid previously promised for next year will not be forthcoming. In fact, the Governor proposes to freeze Foundation Aid for the next two years.

Separate from the more than $1 billion cut in aid is a new unfunded mandate. It requires a shift of $133 million in pre-K special education costs. The Governor’s proposed budget shifts 15% of the cost of pre-k special education from the state and counties to local school districts.

How school districts are able to cope with these cuts and cost shifts will vary widely, and is a matter that demands your attention.

New York has nearly 700 school districts, and they are remarkably diverse. They range from large urban districts to very small sparsely populated rural districts. There are several dozen small city school districts, and many more districts located in suburban areas.
They all share a common mission, but they serve students with disparate needs. Among the factors that further complicate public education and its funding, some of these students are much more costly to educate than others.

A major division between districts, and one that should be of the greatest concern to you as we face this daunting fiscal crisis, is the fiscal capacity of these diverse school districts.

This can be illustrated very simply. Compare a district of 1,500 students in a community where the average home is worth $500,000 with another district having a similar enrollment but homes worth an average of $100,000. With an identical tax rate, the wealthier district can raise five times as much money as the poorer district to support its students.

The depth and breadth of a tax base, along with the income of its residents, determine a school district’s fiscal capacity. In addition to homes, some school districts also contain valuable commercial and industrial property, while others have none.

Property and income wealth largely determine the kind of education children will experience. State data reveal that districts that are above average in wealth are able to offer an enriched education. Poorer districts offer fewer amenities and must focus more of their efforts on remediation. Many of their students will arrive at their very first day at school unprepared to do even introductory work. Those schools’ major task is in trying to bring students who have already fallen behind up to grade level.

The financial circumstances we now face will impact these districts and these children very differently. Wealthier districts that already offer an enriched program will have to make cuts. But for the most part, those cuts will occur in programs not even offered to the children in less wealthy school districts. In more affluent districts, the wealth of district taxpayers affords them the opportunity to support an enriched program for their students.

The choices faced by school boards and administrators in less wealthy school districts will be harsh. They have far fewer non-mandated courses, fewer co-curricular activities such as clubs and service organizations, and they already provide far fewer opportunities for students to participate in sports, music, arts, etc. And if they don’t have it, they can’t cut it from their budget. So the choices they face about what to cut are limited to those few opportunities that they do offer their students that are not required by law or regulation.

It is critically important that you understand these differences. The Governor’s budget proposal makes an effort to moderate his proposed cuts, but does so insufficiently.

Most poorer districts that receive the minimum 3% cut in state aid will lose more aid relative to their total budget than those wealthier districts getting a 13% aid cut. This is a disaster for poorer school districts. They have fewer electives or non-mandated programs to eliminate. Moreover, their taxpayers lack the financial capacity to replace state aid cuts.

The chart below compares reliance on state aid; what the Governor’s proposed cuts will mean in actual dollars lost; and how that translates into dramatically different increases in the local tax levy if taxes were raised to replace the state aid lost. The chart clearly reveals that if cuts to education remain a part of the budget that you ultimately adopt it is imperative that you make those cuts more progressively than the Governor has proposed or you will literally threaten the ability of poorer districts to remain viable as schools.

Impact of Governor's Proposed Cuts

District A:
High Wealth District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
10% State / 90% Local Funding$2 Million State Aid
Impact of Governor's Proposed Cuts:13% = -$260,200
Proposed New budget: $20 Million (Frozen)
State / Local Funding:$1.7 Million State$18.3 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE:1.44%

District B:
Average Wealth District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
25% State / 75% Local Funding$5 Million State Aid
Impact of Governor's Proposed Cuts:10.5% = -$526,250
Proposed New budget: $20 Million (Frozen)
State / Local Funding:$4.5 Million State$15.5 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE:3.51%

District C:
Low Wealth District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
50% State / 50% Local Funding$10 Million State Aid
Impact of Governor's Proposed Cuts:7.29.7% = -$729,000
Proposed New budget: $20 Million (Frozen)
State / Local Funding:$9.3 Million State$10.7 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE:7.29%

District D:
High Needs District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
75% State / 25% Local Funding
$15 Million State Aid
Impact of Governor's Proposed Cuts:
3.32% = -$498,375
Proposed New budget: $20 Million (Frozen)
State / Local Funding:
$14.5 Million State
$5.5 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE: 9.97%

With the exception of the so-called “Big 5”, school districts have the power to levy taxes to fund their schools. However, unlike any other layer of government, school budgets are subject to a public vote. And the public is understandably frustrated with ever-rising school taxes. State aid cuts unavoidably result in shifting more responsibility to local property taxpayers. Yet raising local property taxes to fully offset the loss of state aid is simply not an option for most districts in this economic and political climate.

All districts are facing difficult choices with the cuts the Governor has proposed. But the most vulnerable districts, those of average and below average wealth, are literally endangered.

The Governor has noted that total school district reserves equal or exceed the size of his proposed budget cuts, and suggested that those reserves should more than offset the cuts.

First, it’s important to note that not all districts have reserves. Those that do have set money aside for particular anticipated expenses in order to prevent a fiscal crisis in the district when those expenses actually occur.

Second, the Governor has proposed a two-year freeze on Foundation Aid, and delayed by another four years the previously promised increases in Foundation Aid. It would be irresponsible for districts that do have reserves to draw them down completely in one year when faced with a multi-year problem.

And if committing reserves to solve this problem is the answer, why didn’t the Governor propose using the state’s “rainy day fund” to reduce the impact of his proposed budget cuts?

Given the situation the state is in, it’s fair to ask, “Why can’t school districts simply hold the line on spending?” That’s a question the public asks frequently these days. Our state legislators have asked the question as well.

Explaining why school districts can’t restrain rising costs requires you to confront one of the proverbial “third rails” of politics.

Legislative and regulatory constraints prevent school districts from restraining spending. Primarily responsible is what’s referred to as the Triborough amendment.

Triborough applies to public employees in New York State and is related to the Taylor Law, which was put in place in the late 1960’s to eliminate strikes by public employees such as police, fire fighters and teachers. It has been very effective in doing that, but it has done so at a steep cost.

Triborough provides for the terms of a contract to remain in force until a new contract is agreed upon. So when a contract between a teachers union or other bargaining unit and the district has expired (say at the end of three years), the provisions of that contract continue in perpetuity until both parties agree to a new contract.

Among the major cost drivers in school budgets is health insurance, which was once much cheaper to purchase than it is now. And when it was cheaper, most school districts (and even many private employers) provided health insurance to their employees and also paid most of the health insurance premium.

As the cost of health insurance escalated – literally year after year for more than the last decade – most private employers required their employees to absorb a larger and larger portion of the cost, if they continued to provide health insurance at all.

But in public schools, where the terms of a contract remain in force until a new contract is negotiated and agreed to by both parties, only minimal changes have occurred in employees’ health insurance coverage or cost. Because to secure concessions from employees on health insurance, school districts have to provide something valuable in return. They must “buy back” the value of the change in contract and often little is gained by the school district in return.

Consequently, most school district employees enjoy more comprehensive health insurance benefits at a much lower personal cost than their counterpart employees in the private sector. School districts are unable to significantly reduce their costs for health insurance without increasing costs in another area, like salaries.

While it sounds reasonable to expect school districts to simply “drive a harder bargain” with their employees, Triborough essentially requires employees to be compensated for any contract concessions they make, regardless of current economic conditions.

School districts will not be able to significantly slow the growth in employee salaries and benefits unless Triborough is reformed. School districts do not have the power to change Triborough. Only the Governor & state legislature do.

Another politically challenging impediment to reducing costs is in the area of special education. Every parent wants the best for their child. And that instinct may be even more pronounced in the case of a child with special needs. Federal laws and regulations govern the services that must be provided. New York’s special education requirements clearly exceed those required by the federal government and take precedent.

So when services are required for a child, those services will typically cost more for a child who lives in New York State than one who lives elsewhere. If New York State regulations regarding special education services were brought into line with federal regulations, school districts could spend less.

School districts don’t have the power to change SED’s regulations. The Board of Regents does. Or the Governor & Legislature could.

Most school district employees participate in the NYS Employees Retirement System (ERS) or the NYS Teachers Retirement System (TRS). Both are “defined benefit plans”, calculated on the number of years the employee works, their final average salary, and age at retirement.

Defined benefit plans are rare in the private sector. They are also more costly to fund because the benefits are predetermined, and not tied to the performance of the stock market, as a 401K plan typically would be.

The State Constitution does not allow benefits for current employees in the state retirement system to be reduced. School districts can’t make changes to the pension system. So the only way costs can be reduced is by the Governor & Legislature, and must be done so prospectively, for newly hired employees.

The Legislature and Governor made benefits more generous for current employees several years ago, which has now put an added burden on school districts. The Governor and Legislature need to create a new pension tier for new employees that requires a greater contribution from the employees, and a less burdensome one for school district taxpayers. Governor Paterson has proposed creating such a Tier, and we urge our legislators to support his proposal.

Given these constraints, cutting state aid and then telling local school districts to “tighten their belts” ignores the limitations that have been placed upon districts. Schools have the ability to cut positions, to try to raise taxes, and to find incremental savings through greater efficiencies, but significant savings can only be achieved if laws and regulations promulgated in Albany are changed by Albany.

One change under consideration in Albany, and already approved earlier this year by the State Senate, is a school property tax cap. This may be for many a much more politically appealing alternative than modifying special education regulations and revising Triborough.

Let’s see how a tax cap would really work:

First, it’s important to recognize that a tax cap is not the same as a spending cap. This is a very important distinction that has been lost on some people. A tax cap has far different consequences than an expenditure cap.

Below is an illustration that shows when state aid is simply frozen (not cut) a nominal 2% spending increase in districts would result in a 2.2% tax increase in one, and an 8% tax increase in another. The same budget increase and nearly 4 times the tax increase. And invariably the district with the higher tax increase will be spending less per pupil than the other. It all boils down to the relationship between state aid and district wealth.

WHEN STATE AID IS FROZEN…

District A:
High Wealth District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
10% State / 90% Local Funding
$2 Million State Aid
Proposed Budget Increase:2% = $400,000
Proposed New budget: $20.4 Million
State / Local Funding:$2 Million State$18.4 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE:2.22%

District B:
Average Wealth District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
25% State / 75% Local Funding
$5 Million State Aid
Proposed Budget Increase:2% = $400,000
Proposed New budget: $20.4 Million
State / Local Funding:$5 Million State$15.4 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE:2.67%

District C:
Low Wealth District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
50% State / 50% Local Funding
$10 Million State Aid
Proposed Budget Increase:2% = $400,000
Proposed New budget: $20.4 Million
State / Local Funding:$10 Million State$10.4 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE:4%

District D:
High Needs District
Annual Budget: $20 Million
75% State / 25% Local Funding
$15 Million State Aid
Proposed Budget Increase:2% = $400,000
Proposed New budget: $20.4 Million
State / Local Funding:
$15 Million State
$5.4 Million Local
LOCAL TAX INCREASE: 8%

Why does this matter? Because the impact of a tax cap on low wealth districts will be devastating. Salary increases – negotiated under Triborough – mandatory increases in pension contributions – because the stock market has lost value – health insurance cost increases – because the state and nation have yet to address our multiple forms of health care crisis – fuel cost spikes – caused by our dependence of fossil fuels imported from other countries – could all or individually result in a well managed school district experiencing a budget increase of much more than 2%.

Yet for a low wealth, heavily aid dependent school district facing a cut in the major portion of its revenue source could find itself proposing to raise taxes by double digits while its spending was growing as modestly as 2%.

So what might the consequences of a tax cap be?

For most low wealth, heavily aid dependent districts, it will be a complete disaster. There simply is not enough that can be cut from a budget to keep a property tax increase below the arbitrarily proposed 4%. And should a tax cap be legislated, you will very quickly begin to see some districts unable to maintain a basic core program.

If you determine the state is simply unable to maintain its current share of state aid to public education you must empower districts to control more of their costs. That means you must reduce pension costs, find ways to reduce districts’ health insurance costs, and alter the rules governing contract negotiations.

Those are the choices. Schools simply do not have the power to make this happen on their own.

Sincerely,

Lawrence M. Cummings
Executive Director
Central New York School Boards Association, Inc.
6390 Fly Road
East Syracuse, NY 13057
315.463.1904

Partners in Progress

2009-01-08T15:35:00.001-05:00

Part 3 in a series…

In previous segments of this series I discussed our relationships with our municipalities. The result has been a savings of your tax dollars used by all partners. This month I would like to discuss another type of collaboration that our district has worked to grow. Our neighbor school districts have worked with us to create opportunities for our students and financial savings for our community.

While we often are rivals on the athletic front, our collaborations with our neighbors have developed strong bonds among our students and our staff. For many years, the Tully and Fabius school districts have shared in the transportation of students to and from the BOCES campus in Cortland. This has been a very positive relationship that we are seeking to expand with other districts.

We recently joined the Homer, Fabius, Lafayette and Onondaga school districts to investigate sharing transportation routes we each travel on a daily basis. There have been attempts to move in this direction in the past, but the current financial situation requires us to look at every aspect of our operations and be as efficient as possible with taxpayer dollars.

We have recently seen the first result of this effort in shared transportation of students from Homer and Tully to the same school in the Syracuse area. We are also reviewing the possibility of shared transportation runs with our neighbors to parochial campuses in the Syracuse area.

Our expansion of opportunities goes well beyond the realm of transportation. Last year we joined with a Homer classroom to bring our students into their classroom via video conferencing to present a learning opportunity in Mandarin Chinese. The use of technology to expand the reach of our school walls continues this project this year.

Our partnership of sharing students between Lafayette in Tully has been a positive experience. The transportation of the Tully student to our neighbor campus in this first experimental year is in conjunction with a bus run to and from the Syracuse area. As a result, our student is able to take engineering courses not offered here with little or no impact on our taxpayers. Likewise two students from Lafayette are actively involved in our agriculture classes not available on the Lafayette campus. Planning is already in place to continue this successful program into the 2009-2010 school year.

These relationships with our neighboring districts are only some of the many that are in place in a variety of areas. We are also increasing our partnerships with colleges and universities in the region to enhance the learning for our students and provide professional development for our staff. We continue to strive to bring the maximum learning opportunities in the most cost effective manner possible.

Turning Challenge Into Opportunity

2009-01-08T06:05:00.000-05:00

Teen Institute students take the lead for change in culture.

I have been pleased and proud during recent weeks to see our Teen Institute students take the lead to address concerns with underage drinking in our community. Not only have the Tully members of Teen Institute stepped up to the plate but they have joined with their colleagues in Lafayette in this important effort. While there are those in our community who are quick to say you can’t do anything to stop underage drinking, the students of Teen Institute are not willing to accept the status quo. They are not willing to see lives lost without making an effort to change this disturbing culture. They are working to educate and inform their fellow students.

If you know or see a member of Teen Institute take a moment to say Thank You. They are setting a fine example for us all.

I applaud you.

Kinney Drugs Inc. Partners with the New York State Dental Foundation in Offering Free Dental Health Assessments

2008-12-12T14:44:00.001-05:00

Local volunteer dentists will be available at 45 Kinney Drugs throughout various cities on Saturday, February 7 from 10 am to 2 pm to perform assessments and provide certificates for entry into public school.

A law passed in 2007 encourages children in New York State to obtain dental health certificates declaring their readiness to attend schools at the time of entry and in grades K, 2, 4, 7, & 10. The purpose is to determine a child’s fitness to attend school, determining whether any painful conditions, obvious swelling related to clinical evidence of open cavities, or any other condition that interferes with a student’s ability to chew, speak or focus on school activities.

In addition, children who meet certain criteria can learn how to obtain free dental follow-up work through programs sponsored by the New York State health department.

Some area locations that will hold the assessments on Saturday, Feb 7 from 10 – 2 pm are:

Tully, 596 Route 11: (315) 696-8796
Cortland, 3666 NYS Rt 281: (607) 753-9359
East Syracuse, 7065 Manlius Center Rd: (315) 656-9925

There are many more locations in the Syracuse and Cortland areas. For additional locations or details, please contact Amy Pozzi at 315-434-9161 or you can also view the entire list of locations at the NYS Dental Foundation website: http://nysdentalfoundation.org

Partners in Progress

2008-12-12T14:41:00.001-05:00

Part 2 in a series…

As I write in mid-December for this January issue, we are all awaiting the presentation by the Governor of his state budget proposal for spending in the 2009-2010 school year. The economy continues to experience unstable times and we see companies shutting down both regionally and nationally. Each of these areas impacts our local economy as well.

Because of these times, the sharing of resources and the ability of municipalities and school districts to assist each other to maximize the taxpayer dollars takes on a much greater sense of importance than ever before. This series of information articles is designed to inform you of those steps that are in place to do more with less.

Last month, I discussed some of the ways in which the district has assisted municipalities in saving taxpayer dollars. At the same time both the Town of Tully and the Village have worked with the school district in ways that help us in saving your school tax dollars.

Throughout the winter months our municipalities work closely with the school district personnel to share resources and staffing to clear snow for us. While the school district has shared our loader and personnel to assist with removal of banks of snow from sidewalks, the village has also provided their trucks for the school district to use to carry away mounds of snow during the winter months.

The village works with the school’s agriculture program to plant and develop the flowers that hang throughout the village during the summer months. This provides a wonderful hands-on opportunity for our students at little cost to the school district. At the same time everyone who lives or travels through our village benefits from the enhancement this provides to our community.

In order to avoid the need to purchase additional land, the town permits the school to use town fields for athletic events and the school permits the town to use school fields. The school district shares in the maintenance of the fields in a shared services arrangement. This prevents duplication of staff and equipment and provides mutual benefits in reducing additional taxes.

On several occasions each year, the municipality and the school district will combine orders of similar products that are needed by each. This benefits everyone through lower pricing as a result of bulk ordering of a product.

As we recognize the common needs of our community, you can be assured that the village and the town work closely with the school district to provide more opportunities for our residents. Through our ongoing collaborative efforts we will continue to work to maximize your dollars in the most efficient manner possible.

Moving from Challenges to Opportunities

2008-12-12T14:40:00.002-05:00

It seems hard to believe that we are moving toward the end of our first decade in the 21st century. At the same time it is equally as amazing that January 1 marks the start of my fourth year in the Tully learning community.

Unfortunately, the New Year continues a challenging economic picture for many of our friends and neighbors. This situation weighs upon us heavily as we continue our efforts in defining a sound financial plan for the 2009-2010 school program.

Recently, the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief presented its final report to Governor Paterson. The report outlines a number of recommendations for schools and municipalities to streamline costs and thus save taxpayer dollars. In the Executive Summary the Commission states, “…during this time of fiscal crisis it is critical to work together to craft solutions and to evaluate in a cooperative and innovative spirit the options for restraining spending at all levels of government. The Commission urges school districts to focus on directing resources where they will have the most effective impact on academic performance, and urges the State Legislature to do more to provide mandate relief by acting on the recommendations made in this report.”

The report makes many recommendations welcomed by schools and local municipalities alike. Implementation of some ideas contained therein will require changes in legislation to have an effect on cost savings. Others are quite feasible and, in fact, are in place in many different ways right here in our own region.

Beginning last month and continuing for the next several issues of Knight Insight I will share many of the collaborations that currently exist between schools, municipalities, organizations and businesses right here at home in a series entitled Partners in Progress. These partnerships model the concepts presented by the Commission in their report. If you would like to review the Commission’s entire 100+ page report, it can be downloaded from the school’s website at http://tullyschools.org/.

As we work through this challenging fiscal year, I welcome your ideas. Please pass along your thoughts on how we can continue to use your tax dollars in an efficient manner as we are indeed Moving from Challenges to Opportunities.

Partners in Progress

2008-12-12T14:38:00.000-05:00

Part 1 in a series…

Last month I had the pleasure of attending the Town Hall meeting by our Governor at the Civic Center in Syracuse. The topic of discussion was the fiscal crisis faced by our state and Governor Paterson was surprisingly open, honest and frank about the situation we face. While maintaining a very personable relationship with the audience of about 500, he was equally serious in his focus to address this issue that affects us all.

During his response to questions from the audience I found myself thinking about the steps we have taken in the school district, town and village to work together in addressing these financial challenges. We predicted some of these scenarios nearly two years ago in our budget discussions within our community. In my mind I began to make a list of changes and efficiencies put into place between our school and municipalities as well as steps within the school system as early steps to improve our fiscal health. These changes will also assist us as we facing the current fiscal situation.

Over the next few issues of Knight Insight I will discuss various aspects of changes that serve to maximize the dollars of taxpayers in our learning community.

The focus on efficiencies actually began long before I had the privilege of coming to this district. For many years the Tully Central School District has partnered with our municipalities in ways to reduce costs to both the town or village as well as the school district. In every case, the translation is to more efficiently use your tax dollars.

The most obvious of these ongoing practices is visible to all who pass by the Junior-Senior High School campus—the shared fueling depot. This single point of fueling for gasoline and diesel powered vehicles is shared by several areas towns, the village, and county as well as the fire and ambulance districts. By providing a single point to deliver fuel, a duplication of building and maintenance of fuel depots has been eliminated thus savings thousands of tax dollars for the municipalities that make use of this station. While not directly impacting your school taxes, this school-based facility provides savings to you among several other tax bills that you may not have realized.

Gov. Paterson letter to School Supts and BOE Presidents

2008-11-26T11:51:00.003-05:00

According to media releases the Board President and I will be receiving this letter from the Governor of New York State. The text of the letter here was taken from a news release as I have not received it as of this posting....

Dear School Board Presidents and District Superintendents,

New York is facing a historic fiscal crisis. Over the next four years, we must close a record $47 billion deficit. Given the magnitude of this problem, every area of State spending, including education, will have to experience reductions. I have been voicing my concerns about the impact of the current economic downturn on our State finances since the day I took office. In August, I convened the Legislature for a special session, during which we worked together to enact $1 billion of reductions over two years. At the time, schools were held harmless to recognize the impending beginning of the school year.

By October, the economic downturn had become so severe that no area of the budget could be exempt from reductions. As such, on November 12, I proposed an $836 million mid-year reduction in aid to school districts for 2008-09. This proposal would have provided most, though not all, districts with increased funding from last year, and would have still allowed overall School Aid to increase by 16 percent over the last two years. However, at last week’s special session, the Legislature did not act. While school aid reductions remain on the table, it is unlikely the Legislature will consider them any time soon. Therefore, we would be well into the final quarter of our fiscal year and even further into the school year before any action would likely occur.

Unfortunately, this timing renders the proposal impractical for this fiscal year and I am withdrawing it. However, I will put forward further school aid reductions in the early budget that I will deliver in three weeks.

As I have said repeatedly, delaying action only makes our budget problems more difficult and painful to solve and we cannot solve our budget problems fairly without reductions in every area of spending. Fiscal management is all about making hard, painful decisions, and the rejection of a mid-year School Aid reduction by the Legislature means that deeper declines in funding for school districts will now be necessary in 2009-10 to ensure a balanced budget.

This decision to propose any reductions in education spending was a difficult one for me personally. In my time as a State senator, I had been one of the most vocal supporters in the Legislature of increased funding for school districts. But the unfortunate reality of our current, unprecedented fiscal crisis is that we will have to make numerous tough choices.

Next year, total School Aid is projected to increase by 8.8 percent or $1.9 billion. During one of the greatest fiscal crisis in our State’s history, that is a level of funding we simply cannot afford given that School Aid represents more than one-third of the State’s General Fund spending.

On December 16, my Executive Budget proposal to the Legislature will detail the level of support we can afford to provide for School Aid. But I wanted to write to you today to make my intentions regarding School Aid clear. This will allow you to begin planning for your fiscal futures more than seven months in advance of the 2009-10 school year which begins on July 1, 2009.

I acknowledge that your costs are rising, but I believe all levels of government must reduce spending. This year, I have reduced State agency spending by more than 10 percent. In this unprecedented fiscal crisis, school districts, like all levels of government, will have to take a similar approach and find ways to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their operations on behalf of taxpayers.

Additionally, it is important that these necessary reductions are analyzed in their proper context. No single fiscal year’s budget should be viewed in isolation. Over the last five years, School Aid has increased by 48 percent. Over the last two years alone, it has increased by over 20 percent. A substantial commitment to education funding will remain even after next year’s reductions

I invite you to join me as partners serving our taxpayers. Perhaps this crisis presents an invaluable opportunity for us to improve the structure of our educational system and how it is financed. I welcome any suggestions you may have.

I know that the months and years ahead will be difficult. But I look forward to your help and cooperation in addressing our State’s fiscal crisis. I know that together we can weather this storm and help get New York’s fiscal house in order.

Sincerely,

David A. Paterson
Governor of the State of New York

Fiscal Challenges

2008-11-26T11:49:00.001-05:00

By now I am sure you are aware of the fiscal challenges that we face as a state. A month or so ago the state of California not only ran out of money, but they also ran out of credit and asked the federal government for a $7 billion bailout for their state.

Recently, New York Governor David Paterson testified in our nation’s capital about our state’s need for assistance from the federal government to help relieve the growing financial crisis that exists in New York. You may also be aware of the governor’s proposed mid-year reductions to state aid for schools across the state. Although the New York State Legislature did not support the mid-year move, there is no argument from any source that the economic crisis is real and will only become worse in the coming months. It is no secret that the Governor is expected to include major reductions in state aid to schools compared to previous years when he introduces his budget proposal next month—nearly a month earlier than required by law.

Why are schools asked to scale back? Education funding is one of the largest portions of the New York State budget. In the past two years of New York State budgets education is one of the few areas that did not experience reductions in aid from the prior years. In fact, spending increases for education in our state came along at record high rates.

Locally, we used these funds to provide more academic opportunities for students, increased professional development programs and also to have a positive impact on the tax levy imposed upon the local community. Last year the levy increase was the smallest in our community in nearly a decade. At the same time, the outcry to lower property taxes exists, not only across the state, but also in our own local community.

School taxes are the target for the proponents of property tax caps. The target exists because in terms of dollars, school taxes make up the largest single amount of the total tax bill for most families in our region. At the same time, when compared with the village and town municipalities, our employment, facility space, geographic area and family population is also dramatically larger than either of these taxing authorities.

The Board of Education and administration is monitoring the economic situation carefully. Neither the mid-year proposal nor the expected reductions in state aid are surprises for us. We have publicly expressed concern about the ability of the state to sustain their level of spending and the expectation of possible mid-year reductions in aid for the last year or so during our budget process and in our public information sessions. We have lived through these scenarios in the past and the signs were right for the situation to arise again.

It is clear that adjustments will be required to offset increased costs beyond our control combined with what have been described by those closely involved with the process as “unbelievable” reductions is state aid.

It is far too early to make any definitive plans for the 2009-2010 year. We are not, however, simply sitting and waiting for the governor to present his proposal in December before we prepare scenarios. We have been working and planning for the potential crisis by developing a variety of “what-if” scenarios since early summer.

The fiscal crisis is real and we do expect to be required (in the governor’s words) to “share the pain” with other segments of the state budget. Through these economic challenges we will continue to balance our responsibility to the taxpayers with our responsibility to our students.

We will continue to work to keep the community informed as things move along.

Myths and Mysteries--The Factual Information on the Governor's Town Hall Meeting

2008-11-12T21:00:00.008-05:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of receiving an invitation and attending the Town Hall meeting held by New York State Governor David Paterson. The meeting was held at the Civic Center and the audience was made up of about 500 invited guests and members of the general public.

Overall, I was impressed by the governor in his personable and relaxed style. He demonstrated a wonderful sense of humor while at the same time being very direct and honest in his answers to questions from the audience about the fiscal crisis in our state. The governor was very clear in his message that there would be a need for all areas of the state to share in the pain associated with an economic recovery.

The governor was informative and complete in the majority of his answers. There are two areas, however, in which I took issue with the answers to questions from the audience.

First of all, the governor made the statement that 71% of the spending in education today goes to bloated administration. While I certainly cannot speak for every school district in the state, this information is just untrue for the Tully district and, I believe for most if not all districts in at least this part of our state.

For more than a decade, New York State has mandated line by line in every school budget what items are considered administration as compared with those parts that are considered program (or student focused aspects of the budget) and capital (the buildings, school bus vehicles and cleaning and maintenance staff). Throughout the state, school districts have no choice in what budget lines to place under these three categories--it is another area of state mandates. The two charts provided below show the complete line by line budget breakdown of what is included in each of the three required components.

In the 2007-2008 budget year, the administrative portion of the Tully school budget comprised just 8.13% of the total budget. This is a far cry from the 71% figure put forth by the governor. In the current 2008-2009 budget, that figure for our district is a bit higher at 8.34%. This figure remains at a relatively low figure and continues to provide nearly 70% of our taxpayer dollars going directly to the operation of programs for our students. I cannot imagine a district that would have more than 70% of their dollars directed to the administration of their schools. If this is the threshold that the governor is using, the Tully schools look very efficient in the overall picture!

The comparison charts below demonstrate this information in a graphical form. These charts were also shared in our public budget documents.

The second area of issue with the governor's statement is in the area of addressing the deficit in our state. When asked about the possibility of using the $1.2 billion of state reserves to address some of the deficit issues, the governor flatly denied any consideration of that as an option.

Today, however, when he announced proposed mid-year reduction of state aid revenues to school district--revenues promised to the districts last April and upon which current spending plans were built--the governor stated that schools should use their undesignated reserves to make up the deficit imposed upon them. While I agree with the governor that any municipality should be very careful with the use of their reserves, I find it frustrating that he is promoting that schools follow a fiscal practice that he has already announced that it is not a good thing for the state to follow. It would appear that "practice what you preach" does not apply for the state.

We are already working to determine how best to approach the possibility of a reduction of funds promised last Spring. We recognize the challenges faced on a statewide level and recognize that everyone must be a part of the recovery. We also recognize that these are only proposals and ultimately it is up to the Legislature to make the difficult decisions on the next steps in addressing the issue.

I do find it somewhat reckless, however, to throw out numbers that are inaccurate. This is also frustrating when the guidelines with which districts establish the numbers for the administrative portion of a budget are spcified by New York State.

At any rate, I felt it was important to provide factual information on these two areas. Our governor, our legislature and our district will have difficult decisions ahead. Together we will find a way to work through the issues and continue to provide quality educational programming for our students.

2009-2010 Calendar Presents Challenges

2008-10-27T11:44:00.002-04:00

Last Spring, it was realized that the 2009-2010 school year was a “short” year. This means that based upon how the calendar falls between Labor Day and when Regents are scheduled by New York State, we barely had sufficient days to get in the 180 days for instruction. The past several winters have been particularly brutal, not only with snowfalls, but even more so with high winds and dangerously low temperature levels all having an impact on when we can open school. Two years ago, we used every available snow day that was in the calendar and readjusted a Staff Development Day in order to avoid the need to bring students back to school after the New York State Regents.

Due to these circumstances the Board of Education began looking at the 2009-2010 school calendar at a Board meeting in March of this past Spring. After some discussion, the Board asked for the input from the teachers on the matter. The “normal” calendar would have only provided 180 days and did NOT include the day before Thanksgiving as a holiday for staff and students as has been the tradition here for many years. We looked at several options including a dramatically shortened February break as well as a start prior to the Labor Day weekend. This type of calendar is not new and tends to come around in a cyclical fashion occurring every decade or so as Labor Day shifts. Based upon the school calendars from past years when this type of situation is faced, the district chose to follow our past practice in this area and begin school the week prior to Labor Day.

This early start returns the day prior to Thanksgiving as a holiday for teachers and students and provides a necessary buffer for weather related incidents throughout the year while also following the number of teacher days provided in that contract. The district has the 2009-2010 calendar posted early this year in order to provide sufficient time for families to plan around this abnormal schedule. While this type of calendar can occur more than in a single year we don’t expect this to become the normal type of schedule for the Tully Schools. When it does appear these adjustments are necessary to accommodate the two days around which we work—Labor Day and the New York State Regents. It is hoped that the early adoption of this calendar will assist our families in their planning for next year.

Literacy Across the Ages-Beyond the Pages

2008-09-28T16:15:00.000-04:00

In late September we began a new session of Literacy Across the Ages our successful program to enhance the access to quality literacy opportunities across many age levels in our community. The wonderful participate by our elementary school students and staff, our Middle School aged students and staff as well as many of our high school students and their teachers brought together a wonderful environment for learning and partnering. The addition of parents and our Senior Citizens as well as the books that were sent to 2 and 4 year olds in our community completed the picture of a community wide program.

We are currently awaiting word on three different grant applications to support Literacy Across the Ages this year and have received a continued pledge of participation from our regional partners in this program including the Tully Teachers’ Association, the Tully Elementary School PTO, Tully Rotary, Tully Nice & Easy, P.E.A.C.E., Onondaga County Department for Aging, Tully Free Library, Liberty Partnership, OCM BOCES Adult and Family Literacy and others. This year we have also received additional support for the Senior Citizens in our community through Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

This year we are hoping to include more opportunities to meet with authors, more use of websites to enable families to learn together at home, additional parent partner oriented sessions and activities to bring the pages of our books to life. See more details, schedules and other information on Literacy Across the Ages on the school website at http://tullyschools.org.

Opening Day 2008

2008-09-02T07:37:00.000-04:00

What follows are my comments to the staff on the opening day of school 2008.

Welcome back.

The summer of 2008 has been one of the busiest I have experienced in my career. We celebrated as a community as we watched Tully graduate Lopez Lomong represent the United States in Olympic competitions. The stories and events leading up to the Summer Games were breathtaking and once again demonstrated the caring and supportive atmosphere of our learning community. Congratulations to everyone who had a part in the success of Lopez--both as an athlete and as a member of our community. Many will have the opportunity to congratulate him in person as he is scheduled to be available during the Community Fair this Saturday. I have been told by family members that Lopez really wants to speak with the elementary school children who raised thousands of dollars to assist those in the orphanage that was once his home.

As we left each other in June we celebrated growth in our academic programs at every level. Together we faced and continue to face the issue of declining enrollment like other schools in our area. Based upon enrollment numbers provided last week, it appears that the number of students attending our two buildings here in Tully has declined by another 40 this year. At the same time, we continue to find ways to offer new and exciting opportunities for our students at all levels.

We have been working with the administration of SUNY Cortland as well as staff from other districts to completely restructure the teacher preparation program in that institution. Other schools are doing the same in their relationships with teacher preparation programs throughout the region. Together we expect to see new and enhanced collaborations and opportunities both for those seeking to follow in our footsteps as educators as well as for our own staff. We hope to see some visible results from the Professional Development School project by this time next year, if not sooner.

We have been working with other schools to develop opportunities for new partnerships through sharing programs and students. Our purpose is to combine resources in order to open doors to new course opportunities in all districts involved. Discussions for such collaborations since last April have come into place with the Lafayette district. You may find one or two students from our northern neighbors in your classrooms here at the Tully High School this year. Likewise, one or two of our students may have the opportunity to participate in classes there for part of a day. This program will be an experiment this school year. If successful we hope to expand to more students and additional opportunities in 2009-2010. The JSHS building administrators and counselors have been a key part of this project.

We will continue our partnership with the Homer School district in providing a Mandarin course through video conferencing. We have also been approached by other districts who are interested in joining our innovative approach to programming and develop similar partnerships in other subject areas.

We will see new dual credit offerings for our students through course collaborations with SUNY ESF and SUNY Cobleskill. I have also been advised that discussions are underway to add a similar partnership through SUNY Morrisville at some point in the future.

A completely revised enrichment program will take shape this year in the elementary school. In reviewing the draft of that program, it promises to open new and exciting opportunities to more students across a variety of grade levels in the Elementary School. The advisory team that has worked to redesign this program deserves tremendous credit for taking on such a daunting task.

Literacy Across the Ages will continue this year. This collaboration between a dozen organizations and businesses impacts hundreds of children and adults in our community. The New York State Education Department is working with Tully and other area schools to provide support for this program and replicate it elsewhere in our region in order to create the first Rural Literacy Zone in New York State. We hope to see results from this work with State Ed sometime after January.

We have new staff members in each building who will be introduced later today. I have met each one and am excited about the expertise and energy that they will add to an already wonderful staff in our district.

Last year we ended with positive excitement about what had been achieved. I believe that we will continue to secure our place as a district of innovation through the manner in which we create opportunities for all students in our district. We met the challenges and obstacles facing us and we continue to move forward. In July we received the latest statewide graduation rate data and our district continued to hold a 90% graduation rate after four years of high school. As such we remain among the top four districts in our BOCES in this criteria.

It is with pride that I can say our staff has not taken the easy way of exclaiming why something cannot be done. Instead, time after time, challenge after challenge, I have witnessed you all come together to find creative ways to make things happen that provide an improved opportunity for our students. The phrase that keeps repeating in my mind is “Yes we can!”

As a result of the current presidential campaign we often relate these words to a particular political party nominee. Instead I am referring this morning to the title of a book published by an Irish children’s author named Sam McBratney. Yes, We Can! is a book for PreSchool and Kindergartners described by the School Library Journal as “showing the importance of celebrating individual talents and supporting each other.” That is what we are all about in education—celebrating the best among our students and among ourselves. Look around you and see the broad range of expertise that exists—then treasure and appreciate it at every level.

I challenge you to take these words to heart in the coming months. Build upon your success and continue the great work you have done to date. Take these words as your direction for the year. Focus on the positives. Find new ways to get the message to your students. Find new opportunities for learning. Find a new approach for those that need that little something extra to get past a challenge. Find a way to make this year at the Tully Schools an even greater success than the last one. No matter what obstacles face us, we will take our guidance from the words designed for our children. We will celebrate individual talents and successes among our students and ourselves and say, Yes, we can!

A New Beginning

2008-08-12T11:31:00.002-04:00

This is the time of year when we look forward to the return of all staff and students to our schools. As we ring in the annual post Labor Day ritual of books, lockers and new experiences we wonder what the year will bring. Rest assured that many wonderful things are in store for our students.

At the Elementary School Level we will see the following:

continuation of the Literacy Across the Ages program (we are currently seeking grant funding to support this program in 2008-2009 alongside the services of our collaborative partners)
introduction of a redesigned and expanded enrichment program

Students and staff at the Junior Senior High School will find:

new college credit courses through SUNY ESF in Environmental Science, SUNY Cobleskill in Agriculture and Onondaga Community College in Mathematics of Business and Finance
other new courses including Natural Resource Management, Horticulture & Greenhouse Management, Business & Personal Law, Film & Media Analysis, Studio in Clay, 1960's & the United States
continuation of the Mandarin Chinese program via video conferencing with Homer
a new program to share students and programs between Lafayette and Tully schools. Initially we will test this program with only a few students and if successful see an expansion in 2009-2010. This sharing of resources will open more opportunities for courses to students in both districts.
expansion of the EdAlert system to include notifications from the Counseling Office on scholarships, college visits, SATs and other such information. Sign up for EdAlert through the district website at http://tullyschools.org.

As you can see, we continue to seek ways to provide new and exciting opportunities for all. We look forward to a wonderful year as we present an Education Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges.

President Bush Specifically Mentions Lopez Lomong at White House Ceremony

2008-07-22T14:36:00.002-04:00

Taken from www.whitehouse.gov.

President Bush Welcomes Members of the 2008 United States Summer Olympic Team to the White House Rose Garden

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks. Welcome to the Rose Garden. Please sit down. We are thrilled to welcome members of America's 2008 Summer Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House. Welcome. (Applause.) Today we honor skill and discipline. You're here because of the support of your coaches and your trainers and your families and your friends. They are proud of what you've accomplished -- and so are the American people. And we're looking forward to rooting for you in Beijing. (Applause.)

Mr. Secretary, thanks for coming. I want to welcome the U.S. Olympic Committee staff; welcome the military personnel who are with us; and welcome the rest of you. (Laughter.)
In the coming days, around 600 American athletes will arrive in China for the 29th Olympic Games. You're going to compete in 30 different sports, ranging from soccer to sailing and from judo to gymnastics. Together, the talented men and women of Team USA will represent the great diversity of our country. You come from nearly every state. Some of you are young -- the youngest teammate is a 15-year-old diver -- and some of you are old -- er. (Laughter.) There's a 58-year-old sailor, which gives this 62-year-old mountain biker hope -- (laughter) -- that you may need me in Beijing. (Laughter.)

Team USA shows the great power of sports to bring people together -- and there's no sporting event that unites people like the Olympics. All Americans will rally behind you when you compete in Beijing. (Applause.)

We will be fascinated by the different stories behind each athlete. We will marvel at your hard work and your discipline. For example, the story of Matt Grevers. Matt seemed like a long shot to qualify for the U.S. team in the 100-meter backstroke. Because his parents are Dutch, the Netherlands tried to recruit Matt to swim for his team -- offering him nearly a certain trip to Beijing. Instead he chose to compete for the U.S. team, and ended up qualifying in both the freestyle and the backstroke. And when he swims in Beijing, it will be as a proud citizen of the United States of America.

Or we think of the story of Lopez Lomong. When Lopez was just six years old, his family had to flee their village in Sudan when it was attacked by the Janjaweed. Lopez was separated from his family, who assumed he was dead. The little boy spent three years -- three days running from the militants, and then ten years in refugee camps. He finally made it to our country as a teenager and his athletic career took off. Earlier this month, Lopez qualified for the Olympics in the 1500 meters. And now the boy who once had to run for his life is a man about to run for gold in Beijing -- representing the United States of America. (Applause.)

We think about Scott Winkler. Scott didn't spend his whole life training to become an elite athlete -- but athletic competition helped give Scott his life back. Scott was an Army specialist serving in Iraq when an accident cost him the use of his legs. He found healing in the Wounded Warrior Project, in his work to mentor young people, and in wheelchair sports. Last month, a magnificent throw earned Scott an American record -- and a spot on the U.S. Paralympic team. And here's the way he put it: "I fought for this country, and now I'd love to win for this country" in Beijing. Scott, we honor your service to our country, we thank you for coming today, and we'll be pulling for you. (Applause.)

America's Olympians have two very important things in common: God-given talent, and an appreciation for the hard work required to achieve true excellence. The amazing athletic displays we see on our TV every four years result from the hard work that our athletes put in during the four years. For us, it's a moment; for them it's a moment -- a life of dedication.
Olympians don't rest on their laurels -- they wear them. (Laughter.) Being a champion takes character. It also entails responsibility. In Beijing you will convey our nation's most cherished values. As ambassadors of liberty, you will represent America's love for freedom and our regard for human rights and human dignity. You'll represent to other athletes and to the people of China. In Beijing, you'll also represent our nation's character. As ambassadors of goodwill, you will be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. And by showing respect for your competitors, you will demonstrate America's respect for the world.

Laura and I look forward to joining you for the Olympics. I'm fired up to go. (Laughter.) I can't wait to salute our athletes, and I can't wait to share in the joy of your triumphs. And so today we send you off with congratulations on the success you have already achieved, and on the accomplishments we know will be yours in Beijing.

May you and your teammates compete "Swifter, Higher and Stronger" in the games. And may God bless you as you represent our wonderful nation. (Applause.)

A New Year

2008-07-22T13:51:00.002-04:00

While most consider January 1 as the start of the New Year, the school calendar starts each new year on July 1. Although students may not return until September, the books are closed on 2007-2008 and things begin to unwind for the 2008-2009 school year. Orders are placed, maintenance projects are lined up, curriculum work is scheduled and all of the varied tasks to prepare for the arrival of students are put into action.

Throughout the summer months many of our instructional staff will come together to enhance the instructional programs offered to our students and assess our curricular programs. At the same time others will work to enhance the learning opportunities already in place. Plans are underway to expand the use of our EdAlert system to include announcements regarding SAT/PSAT exams, scholarships and other important Counseling Office information for our students in the 2008-2009 school year.

This summer, the buildings and grounds will continue to buzz with many community activities including the Tully Arts Council, special community based speakers, alumni tours, Town Recreation programs and much, much more. We eagerly await the return of students back to the halls of the school buildings. In the meantime, it is far from quiet. The buzz and excitement of learning and planning continues throughout the year.

Commencement 2008

2008-06-28T17:22:00.001-04:00

The following comments were provided during the ceremonies of Commencement 2008 by JSHS Principal Peter F. Cardamone.

Good Morning: Parents, Friends / Mr. Burgett, Mr. Kublick, Mr. Pritts & members of the Board of Education / District Faculty, Parents, and Congratulations to you, Graduates…

This is truly a great day for us all – and it is especially a great day for someone like me – someone who has enjoyed your company throughout your senior year. And so today I open my remarks by saying thank you for the moments of this past year.

I know that your commencement this morning represents the beginning of the next stage of your life. This day will be remembered as a milestone for you. But today I ask you to also remember that -- along the way to this big event there have been many little things -- done by many different people -- that have made this day possible.

It was Rose Kennedy, mother of president JFK, who said “Life isn’t a matter of milestones but of moments.” I urge you to experience this milestone that is your graduation today -- while also being mindful of your memories of those moments that have brought you here.

I am asking that you take a little time now/ to reflect on your own moments and memories and contemplate your future. I wish for you to have a future where you have “A life worth living.”

In my brief time addressing you today I will attempt to deliver to you a short / but hopefully meaningful / message -- one that is worth the time you will spend listening to me.

Do you have an image of what your life would look like -- if it were to be a life worth living?

Have you had a role model to tell you or show you what a worthy life is all about?

Think, for a moment:
Is there someone who has brought courage to you?
Someone whose life has been close to yours?
Who in your life has been such of service to you?
Who has helped you love the good that grows within you?
Who has encouraged you to be the best you can be and grow to who you are today?

Stop now and take just take ten seconds to think of that someone who has loved you, been a role model for you, and wanted only what is best for you in life.
I ask you to do this in just ten seconds of silence now please.

Now I ask you - no matter where this person is today, either here with us in the audience or in heaven, to imagine how pleased they would if they knew that you thought of them just now.

There are reasons I am asking you to go through this exercise. It is not just because it has only been three months since I loss my own role model -- but because it is important for each of you to reflect on the one and only life you have to live here on earth.

And you have a choice – The choice to cherish others who have given you your many important little moments & memories.

You too should aspire to be an important person in the lives of the others.

Fred Rogers was well known for his “Mr. Rogers neighborhood” program
– No graduates that is not a video game program!
Mr. Rogers said “You bring all you ever were into every relationship you begin, and you leave something of yourself every time you meet another person.”

Nourish the memory of those who have been meaningful to you and the meaning you have given to others. What marvelous mysteries you’re privileged to be part of! Every day a slender thread that weaves together the complex fabric of your lives.

The words of Fred Rogers stand in stark contrast to the images of our modern society, which bombard you all constantly. You are confronted daily with lack of self-control and valuing for family. People feel empowered to say whatever is on their minds to you, no matter how hurtful or untrue. Bullying and Drilling behavior is all around you. Yes, for some people it is a “Win at all costs” society with no regard for the lies or distortions.

But you can counter this by living your own / good / life worth living.

Today I ask you to celebrate your life and resolve to make it a life worth living.

I offer for your consideration -- the example of your own role model that you just have called to mind -- as one sample of a life that is worth living.

Reflect on this image in your everyday lives, and treat the moments and memories they have given you, as lessons to take with you as you move out into the world.

As you look at the choices you face today, tomorrow and in your future,
It would be a good idea to pause & ask yourself, “What would my role model do?“

It couldn’t hurt, and you just might find that your life is better for having made someone else’s life a little kinder.

I leave you today, with your moments and memories of the little things that have made a difference in creating today’s milestone day for you.

And / be sure to take the time / to let those around you know / how important those little moments have been for you.

And so Graduates I end my remarks today with an addition to my opening statement to you,

“Thanks for the memories!”