NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Here are some highlights from the Board of Education meeting last Tuesday:
BOE School Buddy System: The board announced a Board of Education School Buddy program that will deepen the connection between board members and each of the school communities, while building a stronger appreciation for the entire District. Each of the nine board members will be assigned to one school for each quarter. During that time, the board member “will go to as many of the events in the school as possible to learn about each individual school’s culture, climate, parents, and students,” the board’s description of the program reads. Teacher nights, award ceremonies, concerts, major PTA events – the board member will attend those celebrations and other activities that highlight what makes each school special and unique. Learn more about the program here.
Hiring Practices: The board discussed hiring practices in the District and agreed on a new practice: when the administration is filling any key position – school principal or higher – the top three candidates will be presented to the Board of Education for discussion and input.
Residency Verification: The district announced that it was replacing the re-registration, which had begun July 2 and was halted on July 24, with a residency verification process to comply with the New York State Education Department guidance. NYSED had advised that its regulations regarding checking the residency of students already enrolled in the District were meant to apply to individual cases, not for all students “regardless of whether a question exists as to the residency status of each individual student.” The current program, which stresses that no student will be denied enrollment merely as a result of the verification program, involves first processing incoming ninth graders this summer and updating information for the other grades over the coming school year. For more information, visit the District website, www.nred.org.
Safety Assessment: The District announced that the safety and security assessment conducted by the global contracting firm Guidepost Solutions has been completed and submitted. Guidepost representatives will present the report at the Sept. 4 meeting of the Board of Education.
Watch the entire meeting here.
Buddy System chart shows schedule for Board of Education members. Members are: President Jeffrey Hastie, Vice President Amy Moselhi, Christopher Daniello, Dr. Salvador A. Fernandez, Todd Kern, Lianne Merchant, Julia Muggia Ochs, Rachel Relkin, Paul Warhit