March 2016 Highlights Newsletter - the Hornell City School District!

Hornell City School District
March 2016
Highlights
District prepares for budget shortfall
B
Board of Education
John McNelis, President
Kerry Davis, Vice Pres.
Joshua DeLany
Jessica Hess
Judith Rose
Superintendent
Douglas Wyant, Jr.
ased on anticipated costs and aid projections
from the Governor’s proposed budget, the
Hornell City School district is preparing for a
significant budget shortfall this year.
Reductions in the district’s teaching staff
through attrition are planned, said Superintendent Doug Wyant. A number of staff members
will retire during the next 12 months and most,
if not all of those positions will not be filled. The
reduction in staff will result in slightly increased
class sizes in certain classes, Wyant said.
Wyant and Patrick Flaitz, school business
official, said the Governor’s budget proposal
includes an additional $778,000 in aid for the
district. However, much of that aid is earmarked
for specific purposes and can’t be used to support general instruction. Only about $324,000 of
that figure is foundation aid that can be used for
operation and instruction.
State legislators are currently developing the
2016-17 state budget, so the actual amount of
aid the district will receive has not been determined. The state budget is due on April 1.
Legislators say they are pushing to eliminate
the GEA (Gap Elimination Adjustment) this year,
said Wyant. While he agrees that should be a
priority, it will only allow the district to keep an
additional $4,900 of the aid proposed.
“Our legislators are aware of our situation
and realize the only real way to address the
funding problem is to implement the foundation
aid formula as it was intended,” Wyant said.
Also contributing to the budget shortfall is
an anticipated 26.5 percent increase in health
insurance premiums for employees. Flaitz said
increases have been relatively low in past years
and the large increase is due to an increase in
usage of the health care plan.
There is good news, however. A review of the
district’s transportation system uncovered incorrect information that determined how much aid
the district
receives.
As a result,
the state
owes the
district a
significant
amount
of transportation
aid from
previous
years
and the
district will receive more transportation aid going
forward.
Also, the district’s state-mandated property
tax cap percentage is higher than anticipated.
Initially, the district expected to be limited to a
.12 percent tax cap. Instead, the figure is 2.94
percent. The increase was the direct result of
decisions the district made last fall when it set
the tax levy for the current school year $70,000
lower than anticipated.
“The money is available now when we need
it because of the good decision the board made
several months ago,” Wyant said.
Since a one percent increase in the tax levy
yields about $69,000, the district anticipates an
additional $200,000 from taxes, Flaitz said.
Key dates:
April 20 Approval of Educational Plan and Budget
May 3 Budget Hearing, 6 p.m.
May 17 Board of Education Member Election and Budget Vote
What
you
Highlights
can
do:
Walter connects her classroom to the community
I
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t’s difficult to capture the energy and enthusiasm Computer/Reading Teacher Linda
Walter brings to her classroom in a short article.
Throughout her years of teaching at Hornell
Intermediate School, Walter has transformed a
basic computer skills class for fourth through
sixth-grade students into a fun, hands-on experience that connects them with their community.
“I’m interested in giving our kids experiences
that will set them apart from students in other
schools,” she explained. “I want to give them as
many advantages as I can.”
Students take her 13-week course each year
to learn the basics of typing and computer operation. Walter also teaches her students to use
software, including Movie Maker, Prezi, Premiere
and Photoshop. Each year, sixth-graders demonstrate what they have learned with one of several
community projects.
“It’s kind of snowballed,” Walter said of
the project. “It’s something that students look
forward to in sixth grade and we have a lot of fun
with it.”
During the past three years, sixth-graders
produced videos for clients from the community,
including the YMCA, the police and fire departments and the public library. For example, one
project was a training video for the Hornell fire
department that demonstrates how to use an
AED (Automated External Defibrillator).
The student-produced videos premiered at
the Red Carpet Event, which is held in the community. Last semester’s event was held at the
Spotlight Theater. This semester, the event will be
held at the Main Place. Prior to the premiere of
their projects, students walk an actual red carpet
and enjoy a celebration in their honor.
Another culminating event recognizes
veterans in the community. During the 2014-15
school year, sixth-graders hosted World War II
veterans at the school for a day of interviews.
Prior to the event, students researched the
names and fates of the men who had served
in World War II. At the event, they videotaped
interviews with the veterans.
“The community has supported us so well,”
Walter said. “We had 150 guests that day.”
This year, students hosted veterans of the
Korean War for a similar project. All the materials
they collected were organized and donated to
the Hornell Public Library’s archive. Next year,
Vietnam veterans will be invited to participate.
In the future, students will work with the
Railroad Museum to interview railroad men. This
project will help the
museum preserve
stories from Hornell’s
days as a railroad
hub.
To provide
another avenue
for students to use
their technology
skills, Walter began a
weekly TV broadcast
at the school this
Linda Walter
year.
She worked with maintenance staff to create
a small broadcast studio in a former faculty
lounge. Students broadcast announcements
and classroom news on their fictional TV station,
WPIG.
The station name coincides with the school’s
theme Our Principal Promised to Kiss A Pig, by
Kalli Dakos. The theme covers both a school
wide reading challenge and character education
program. At the Intermediate School, PIG stands
for Perseverance, Integrity and Greatness.
Students are excited by the new opportunity,
Walter said. “They show up at 7:25 a.m., before
school, to be broadcasters. Kids are signed up
two months in advance to participate.”
Walter has taught at the Intermediate School
for 19 years. She completed her undergraduate
degree in Elementary Education at Roberts Wesleyan College and earned her Master’s degree in
reading from Alfred University.
Walter’s husband, Jamie (Jim) teaches
seventh-grade social studies at the High School.
They have two grown children, Christianna and
Cory.
Intermediate students broadcast once a week from the WPIG news desk.
Highlights
Project combines storytelling, art and fun
T
wo classes at North Hornell Elementary
School are combining storytelling, art and
local history to create stories that will eventually be turned into books.
Andrew Oesch and Brett Hunter, codirectors of the Hornell Community Arts
Center and Alfred University employees,
developed the project that will be completed
this spring in Michelle Kendall’s kindergarten
and Heather Rao’s first-grade classrooms. The
cost of the project will be covered by a grant
from the ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes.
Oesch and Hunter will visit the classrooms five times during March, April and May
to lead students in various storytelling and art
activities. Through the activities, students will
develop their own story around characters Ghost
and Robot. According to Oesh and Hunter, they
will use these story motifs to help students think
about their relationships to friends and family.
During their first visit, Oesch and Hunter
introduced Ghost and Robot to the students, and
explained that these characters live in the Railroad
Station in Hornell. Then, they helped the students
create their own ghost costumes and taught them
how to move like ghosts.
During the next three visits, students will
continue to build the story of Ghost and Robot
and perform the stories. All activities will be
documented through photographs, writing and
taping so the story can be turned into a book.
At the conclusion of the project, Oesch and
Hunter will create a book that will be shared with
each classroom. They also will provide a special
edition of the book to the school library.
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Students in Michelle
Kendall’s kindergarten
class ripped large
sheets of paper (above)
and pasted them on
large sheets of adhesive
(left) to create ghost
costumes (below).
Then, they practiced
moving like ghosts in
their new costumes
(below left).
Highlights
Board will expand to
Teachers consider how
seven members on July 1 poverty impacts learningJuly, Hornell’s Board of Education will
and how to help
Inexpand
from five to seven members. District
voters approved a proposition to add board
seats in the May 2015 Board of Education
election and budget vote.
When voters head to the polls in May, they
will elect two new members to the board and
fill a third seat currently held by John McNelis,
whose term is set to expire on June 30, 2016.
All three of the new members will serve a
five-year term.
If you’re interested in become a member
of the board, please contact Superintendent
Doug Wyant at 324-1302, ext. 1450 to learn
more about the role and responsibilities of
board members.
Beginning April 1, prospective board
members can pick up a nominating petition
from Carol Eaton, district clerk, at 25 Pearl
Street, Hornell weekdays between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m. For a candidate’s name to appear on
the May ballot, a completed petition must be
returned to Eaton by 5 p.m. on April 27.
I
n September, Hornell district staff and faculty
members simulated what life is like for families
living below the poverty line. The training
provided roles based on real families receiving
services from community agencies. Since the
Hornell City School District has a high percentage
of families living near the poverty line, this training was designed to help staff members engage
students who struggle with poverty.
In an income ranking in a recent Business First
publication, Hornell’s median income of $39,442
placed the district 20th out of 21 within the GST
BOCES region and 426 out of 452 in greater Western New York. Currently, out of a total enrollment
of 1,771 students, 65.22 percent receive a free or
reduced-price breakfast and lunch.
Following the training and the release of data
that reinforced its importance, helping students
who live in poverty has become one the district’s
primary goals. At monthly professional learning
workshops, administrators have been studying
the book Engaging Students With Poverty in Mind
by Eric Jensen. The book has served as a resource
for practical strategies for raising achievement,
which administrators have shared with staff at
after school faculty meetings. Based on seven
factors that Jensen has identified (health and
nutrition, vocabulary, effort and energy, mindset,
cognitive capacity, relationships, and stress
level) the goal is to continue to build awareness
and provide successful strategies to ensure all
students can achieve academic growth.
25 Pearl Street
Hornell, NY 14843
607-324-3012
www.hornellcityschools.com
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