Burglaries Plague POB Area-Leave on Your LIghts and Be a Good Neighbor

This was passed along by an m.o.s. From the 8th. An attempt was made last night on a cops house in the bethpage side of plainview. Ok, confirmed burglary pattern here, plainview(bethpage area off floral) and hicksville(east side). Watching houses in evening for people leaving ( sports etc,) 5 confirmed, 2 attempts. Same m.o. Homeowner goes out, all spot lights unscrewed..most entries through sliders..in and out, often exited through a neighbors yard. On one, a neighbor remembered a white van, but was unsure if it was involved and last night, a suspicious, silver jeep laredo, what appeared to be up and down eileen off floral and making numerous slow passes. After civilian followed it, it split fast... Help the 8th, if you see any thing out of sorts, get a plate or call 911. If going out, leave lights, switch up cars etc..watch neighbors house. Pass this along to others, maybe we'll get lucky.

Where's Your Favorite Decked Out Holiday House?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Over and Done With? --Not If You Have Something t...":

Ok, here's one for you.

Where are the best holiday decorated houses in Plainview? We love to drive around and see them.

Ed's note: There is one off of Powell Ave in Bethpage. Take the SOB to Powell. Stop sign go right. Go about 2-3 blocks and make a right. The blocks there are only about 3 houses long with dead ends. So you will find it quickly if you made the correct turn. The house looks like the owners of Harrows live there. It's a riot of lights, dolls, and other Christmas iconography. Big fun.

Over and Done With? --Not If You Have Something to Say.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Happy Thanksgiving to All":

Is this blog over and done with?

Ed's note: I haven't written a topical entry in more than a year. All the entries have been sent in by people who are concerned about what is happening in our town and school district. I am guessing that the holidays are at the top of everyone's list these days, but I am sure there will be plenty of topics that are still of concern to the residents of our town(s) that will make themselves apparent in time.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

We here are taking a moment to reflect and give thanks for the roof over our head, the food on our table and the clothes on our backs. When there is so much sadness in the world I think it is important to have some perspective, and acknowledge how lucky we are. Anyone reading this blog, no matter how difficult this year has been, has more than most in the world. aVeryPlainview would like to wish you all a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving weekend. Travel safely

-suzala,
aVeryPlainview.

Please Lock Your Cars and Park Near Lights...

Another car was broken into last night- be careful! Pass the word



Audrey Avenue- Plainview

Stay Safe: Several Burglaries in Old Bethpage

Abstract of an email sent from a family who lives on Pasture Lane in Old Bethpage this week:

Over the past week 3 homes were robbed within two blocks. Most in the middle of the day or at dusk. One house on the corner was cleaned out and all valuables were taken. A house on Beatrice Lane was almost robbed. The guy (white guy with brown hair wearing a white hoodie) tried to push in his front door. Fortunately his son was home and the guy was spooked and ran.
As per the Nassau County Police....These guys are knocking on the front doors. If no one responds they go to the back door and break in. Dogs don't stop them. They let the dogs out and proceed to clear out the house.



Also, on Jane Drive, Michael Drive and John Drive cars have been broken into and items taken.



Pass it on -

New Thread: Ask A Board Member:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Part of the Problem with NY School Taxes...":

Good to see the President of the PCT on this site. I wonder why we have not seen any members of our BOE responding on this site. All of them must of been on here a few times at least. Maybe we could start a separate topic on this sight such as ; Ask a Board member or Questions for the PCT. Just an idea

Monthly Bullying Comittee Meeting Nov. 16th- Please Join Us

REMINDER

THE POB PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT BULLYING COMMITTEE WILL BE HAVING THEIR MONTHLY MEETING ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2010 AT ST. PIUS CHURCH (MADONNA HALL) AT 7;30 PM.

AS A FOLLOW-UP TO OUR BULLYING FORUM, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE ONGOING ISSUES RELATING TO BULLYING IN OUR TOWN.


SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED:


* THE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S GOAL FOR 2010-2011-"SCHOOL CLIMATE" WHICH INCLUDES THE CREATION OF "DASA" TASK FORCE.
* FOLLOW-UP ON THE COMMITTEE'S "RECOMMENDED ACTION ITEM LIST".
* SUMMARY OF BOARD OF ED'S MEETING AS IT RELATES TO BULLYING FROM OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
* SUMMARY BY OUR COMMITTEE OF THE SPECIAL PRESENTATION GIVEN ON NOV 2nd AT MATTLIN ON "SCHOOL CLIMATE" BY CHARLIE ABOURJILIE WHO IS AN AWARD WINNING TEACHER/EDUCATOR. THIS WAS A SPECIAL ONE-HOUR PRESENTATION THAT PARENTS COULD ATTEND THAT SUMMARIZED THE TRAINING THAT THE TEACHERS RECEIVED EARLIER IN THE DAY.

IN ADDITION, ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE'S GOALS IS TO BE A SUPPORT GROUP FOR ANYONE WITH BULLYING ISSUES.

EVERYONE IN THE COMMITTEE EITHER HAS HAD A CHILD WHO HAS BEEN A VICTIM OF BULLYING, KNOWS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN BULLIED, OR HAS BEEN BULLIED THEMSELVES. WE UNFORTUNATELY KNOW WHAT YOU MAY BE GOING THROUGH.

IF YOU FEEL YOU NEED SOME GUIDANCE AND HELP OR EVEN JUST TO TELL YOUR STORY, WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU IN ANY WAY WE CAN.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU JOINING US AT OUR MEETING.


POB PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT BULLYING COMMITTEE

Part of the Problem with NY School Taxes...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ready For Your Next Tax Raise?":

PLEASE POST AS A SEPERATE TOPIC
Part of the problem with our school taxes in NY
byE.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy. ejm@empirecenter.org
Will Andrew Cuomo defy the special interests that have long controlled Al bany -- starting with the public-sector labor unions whose political arm endorsed him -- to deliver the kind of change he promised in his successful campaign for governor of New York?

The answer is simple: He has no choice. The Empire State's fiscal problems are simply too massive to permit further dithering, buck-passing and corner-cutting.

Stuck: With a $9 billion budget hole next year, Gov.-elect Cuomo can't dodge bitter battles. Throughout his campaign, Cuomo explicitly and repeatedly promised to hold the line on spending and broad-based taxes. The new numbers mean he can't keep that promise unless the first budget of his tenure cuts spending below current levels.

-- will be property taxes.
In an audacious move, Cuomo began his campaign last May by calling for a broad limit on property taxes in New York. Moving beyond the 4 percent maximum cap on school taxes proposed two years ago by Gov. Paterson, Cuomo proposed a maximum cap of 2 percent on the annual growth in property-tax levies by all government units -- schools, counties, cities, towns, villages and special districts.

This cap could only be overridden by a 60 percent "supermajority" of residents. It would allow for limited, extraordinary exceptions, like capital expenses previously approved by voters. But it would otherwise contain no loopholes.

But Cuomo can't credibly propose a tax cap in isolation. It must be coupled with changes in collective-bargaining provisions that now make it hard for local governments and school districts to control their labor costs.

The changes should start with repeal of the Triborough amendment, which guarantees seniority "step" increases in pay even after a labor contract has expired. Above all, they must include fundamental reform of public pensions, which are about to skyrocket to levels never before seen in New York.



During much of the 44 consecutive years they controlled the upper house before 2009, the Republicans institutionally allied themselves with public-sector labor unions, especially the New York State United Teachers. During previous fiscal crises, they joined Assembly Democrats to enact major tax and spending increases.

"In many ways, we lost our way in the past, and we got the message and we're going to correct the direction of the state," Sen. Dean Skelos, the GOP leader, told The Post's Fred Dicker yesterday.

Cuomo needs to remind Skelos of that quote, early and often. Skelos & Co., for their part, need to hold Cuomo's feet to the fire.



E.J. McMahon is a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy. ejm@empirecenter.org



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/now_comes_the_real_fight_rgGLkJzbfV8PlLiZ3MpIbJ#ixzz14LM1MfIB

Wang Looking to Close Deal With Another Developer-Old Plainview Deja Vu?

Wang's Plainview property, considered for casino, selling to home builder
Originally published: October 27, 2010 12:09 PM
Updated: October 27, 2010 1:52 PM
By RANDI F. MARSHALL randi.marshall@newsday.com



New York Islanders owner Charles Wang is in contract to sell his 144 acres of Plainview property to home builder Michael Dubb, of The Beechwood Organization, Dubb confirmed Wednesday.
A week ago, Newsday reported that the Shinnecock Indian Nation was considering the Plainview land as a potential casino site. Dubb said he and Wang have been in talks for several months, adding that he was aware that the Shinnecocks were also on Wang's radar screen.
"To Charles' credit, he had options," Dubb said. "He possibly could have made a deal with the Shinnecocks but I think he wanted to do what he viewed as a more responsible use for the property."
Michael Picker, who oversees Wang's real estate holdings, was not immediately available for commenT.
Dubb said he hopes to build a "lifestyle community" similar to the Meadowbrook Pointe project he built in Westbury. While that project is only for people 50 and older, Dubb said he hopes the Plainview project would be for a mix of ages and housing types.
But while Dubb said he would prefer to build housing at the site, he would not rule out any other possibilities - including a casino.
"My first desire is to create a lifestyle community that will be an asset to the neighborhood - and an asset to Nassau County," Dubb said. "In the event we can't succeed at that, we would consider all other options."
But building at Plainview has been a challenge in the past. In 2003, Wang proposed an extensive mixed-use development there, to be called Old Plainview, but four years later he pulled the project amid community objections.
Dubb said he hopes to hold meetings with civic leaders and the community before even designing the project, in an effort to avoid the same fate.




"I'm really not making any plans or decisions until I have input from the community stakeholders," he added.




But Dubb said he did hope to keep the project simpler, without the many different uses, such as a hotel, shops and office space, that Wang had originally proposed.

Teacher Contracts; What's In Them?

Did you know that teachers who don't take the health plan from our school get paid over a $1000 a year?

What else does the SECRET CONTRACT negotions have inside them?

Possible Casino in Plainview?

Editor - Please start a new thread>

Everyone - we need to mobilize to ensure this does not become a viable option to the casino planners.

Shinnecocks eye Wang property in Plainview for casino
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/shinnecocks-eye-wang-property-in-plainview-for-casino-1.2382798

The Shinnecock Indian Nation is considering an extensive Plainview property owned by Charles Wang, the owner of the New York Islanders, as a potential casino site.

According to tribal trustee Lance Gumbs, the Shinnecocks recently looked at the 144 acres of mostly woodland between Old Country Road and Round Swamp Road.

The parcel is attractive as a casino site, Gumbs said, due to its proximity to the Long Island Expressway and because it's a far larger piece of property than some of the others the tribe is considering, including the land around the Nassau Coliseum owned by the county. The Coliseum is the home of the Islanders.

Use the link above for the remainder of the article.

Who Knows About Retirement Waivers?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ready For Your Next Tax Raise?":

Can a new thread be added for this posting?

Does anyone know anything about retirement waivers in New York State? Is our superintendent's license compliant with these guidelines?

Go to the NYS Department of Education website -
www.nysed.gov.
Click the icon for Parents.
Next, click Certification Verification.
Enter the superintendent's first and last name.

You'll find that his retirement waiver for the POBCSD issued on 7/1/07 expired on 6/30/08. It appears to have been reissued on 8/1/08 and then again expired on 12/31/08. The status indicated for both these waivers is "pending."

Is this something we should be concerned with? I know it is possible for online records to sometimes be outdated. I'm just curious if anyone knows more about this.

Ready For Your Next Tax Raise?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Math Spiraling in the NewTeachers Contracts, or, W...":

YOUR SCHOOL TAX BILL

October is the time when taxpayers receive their school tax bill. When you look at your tax bill it is time to question: Why is my tax bill so high and why does it keep going up every year so much? who is responsible for this?
the blame falls right on our fiscally irresponsible BOARD OF EDUCATION
Even if we have to replace this board one member at a time . with the exception of one new member, the rest of the board members needs to be REPLACED. They can take claim for all the great things that they have done, which does not mean anything when you can no longer afford to live here. Our biggest cost is LABOR and the board refuses to do anything to contain these costs. The board states that the children come first. If that is true than why do they continue to give big raises to the teachers at a time when we are in an economic depression and our aging school buildings are in need of MILLIONS of dollars of repairs . The school's attorney even stated at a board meeting that our school budget would be in a deficit with the loss of federal and state aid coming to an end . Yet they still continue to ignore the financial realities that we are up against. The longer this continues , the harder this district will fall wth layoffs, cutbacks etc

New LInk on Side: Suffolk County Bullying Bill

http://legis.suffolkcountyny.gov/clerk/gmeet/2010/GM060810.pdf

Math Spiraling in the NewTeachers Contracts, or, When 0+0+0 = 3...

I'm a tax paying parent has left a new comment on your post "What Happened At the Meeting and Why This Group Ne...":

New post please!

I have read on this blog that the teachers and the BOE have started their SECRET negotiations for the next contract.

How about the district offers the Union what they really deserve instead of what they want?

0% first year
0% second year
0% third year

Even with these 0% increases the overall salaries of the teachers will still increase by about 3%.

It’s amazing that 0+0+0= more than 3%.

BOE it’s time to try to keep us from going deeper and deeper into our pockets!

Do something about it NOW!

What Happened At the Meeting and Why This Group Needs to Step Up

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "How To Deal With Bullies": After attending the meeting the other night I walked away with a number of clearly defined thoughts about the problem.
Simply stated:
Bullying has been around forever.
The parent's view is that school personnel bury their heads in the sand and the bullying is allowed to continue.
The emotional impact is extreme to both the parents and the victims. Not even addressing the possibility of injury or death. The only solution thus far is for the victim to leave the school further traumatizing the victim. NOT ONE PERSON INDICATED THAT BULLING WAS HANDLED TO THEIR SATISFACTION.
Views of the parents and professionals regarding the bullies range from the desire for extreme punishment to a need to help the bullies who may too be victims.
The parents have had enough and want action NOW to help their kids and set policy to minimize the bullying issues in the future. There have been comments questioning the right of this group to band together regarding a problem. It seems to me that that right was not only protected by the constitution but encouraged by the constitution. When something is wrong in our society it is not only a right to band together for change but a duty that has been long ignored by our apathetic majority. The parents have stood by and accepted the lack of action by the schools for far too long. The principals, teachers, board, PTA etc have known about this problem and have done nothing. Now that the issue has been raised we are suddenly hearing that all of the people and organizations in "power" have put this on their agenda a few months before this group united. Yeah right! They have worked very hard for a long time in their efforts to accomplish nothing. Since no one else has done anything perhaps it is time for this group to step up, grow larger and force action. Clearly that action has to be a combination of changing the climate on a consistent ongoing basis starting at a young age, training for teachers and other professionals, counseling for the victim and the bully, punishment in varying degrees and in the extreme case removal of a child who is a sociopath. Some firm policy has to determined.
I realize that coming up with the ideal solution is just a dream but surely in a matter of months a basic plan should be formulated using the combination of ideas of this committee outside "experts" and the school personnel. Of course this will always be a work in process and we will not see the true results until today's kindergartners reach middle or high school, however today's victims need help NOW.
I wish this committee luck and I hope they can institute action NOW.

To All Parents on the Soccer/Basketball/Lacrosse/Football Field...

Things to think about for "Socce", Parents

· Be your child's best fan and support him unconditionally. He really does want/need your support.

· When you take your child home after a match or training session, please try to be supportive and always focus on the positive aspects of his game, don’t criticize him our his teammates.

·Develop a responsibility in your child to pack his own bag, clean his cleats and take a drink bottle to practice and games.

· Do not criticize the coach to your child or other parents. If you are not happy with the coaches you should raise the issue directly with them away from the field.

· Encourage your son to speak with the coaches. If your child is having difficulties in training or games, or can’t attend training etc. encourage him to speak directly to the coaches. This “responsibility taking” is a big part of becoming a mature person. By handling off the field tasks, your child is claiming ownership of all aspects of the game.

· Help your child to focus on the performance and not the result.

Remember - winning is not as important as the performance.

· Support all the players on our squad. Please do not criticize anyone.

Remember – children don’t mean to make mistakes. They want to succeed.

· Do not criticize our opponents, their parents or the officials.

· Never audibly dispute a referee’s decision. Referees make mistakes, some more than others. We all do. If you abuse or shout at the referee you are breaking the conduct code of the POB Soccer Club and risk generating a LIJSL fine for our team. In extreme circumstances, you could even be asked to leave the sidelines or our team will forfeit the match. You don’t want to escalate anything to that level.

· Parents should not coach from the sideline during our matches. Leave this to the coaches or you may cause confusion and erode your son’s confidence. Don’t make your son choose between listening to his coach’s instructions or disappointing you. Encourage them to play hard but don’t offer specific soccer instructions.

· Please remember – the game is for the children. It is not for the glory of the coaches or parents.



From the US Youth Soccer Website: TRUTHS about children and sports

· Fun is pivotal - if it's not fun, young people won't play a sport

· Skill development is a crucial aspect of fun - it is more important than winning even among the best athletes

· The most rewarding challenges of sports are those that lead to self-knowledge

· Intrinsic rewards (self-knowledge that grows out of self-competition) are more important in creating lifetime athletes than extrinsic rewards are (victory or attention from others)



SOME INTERESTING SOCCER QUOTES:

****************************************************



''Worrying too much about winning and losing gets in the way of development,'' says Manfred Schellscheidt, head of US Soccer's U14 program. ''There are always shortcuts that you can find to win the next game. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll be winning five, six seasons from now... We should be concerned about the players' performance, not the final score.''



*************************************************************************

Tony Carr, Head Coach -West Ham United

Up to the age of 13, is another crucial period. Throughout this time the emphasis should

be placed on having fun and enjoy playing. Too much emphasis is placed on winning at

all costs. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice. Improvement in skill does not

just happen overnight, and is unlikely to emerge just by playing in actual games.



*****************************************************************Fabio Capello who was in charge of Milan’s youth set-up for six years says the following:
“You should be focusing on two things: having fun and improving your technique. The other aspects can come later. What’s the point of cluttering his mind with tactical notions and formations? All you’re doing is stifling his ability to express himself.”

“Winning” too often is given top priority in our systems. Players are not seen as a “final product” traveling down a path of development, but instead what they can contribute now, to my team. A sad statement when you are talking about 9 – 13 year olds.

What should be our focus:
We must help players grow and provide a path that leads to improvement, creativity and learning.

The tool bag is portable…
Make sure you don’t focus on the “here and now”. Don’t worry about results but rather the strengths and weaknesses. The “tool bag” of raw technical skills can be taken anywhere the child goes. Keep filling the bag, enjoy the game and let time take its natural course.

*****************************************************************

Too often in America, a professional sport model is used in measuring youth sports success. Youth soccer is not immune to this misapplied standard. For soccer the situation is made worse by a desire of many adults to use measuring tools from other sports. In fact, it is maddening to many adults that soccer is not as black and white as with some sports in judging successful play. Many team sports played in our nation are statistically driven and coach centered.

Soccer is neither of those!


Truths & Motives for Participation

1. Have fun and to enjoy participating in sport.

2. Learn new skills and to improve on existing sports skills.

3. Become physically fit and to enjoy good health

4. Enjoy the challenge and excitement of sports participation and competition.

5. Enjoy a team atmosphere and to be with friends.


Suggestions for Parents
· Remember the truths and talk to your children with them in mind. After a game, ask questions about fun, skill improvement, learning experiences and having a good time with friends.

· See yourself as part of the team and supportive of the coach; avoid setting up a conflict in your child's mind between his or her parents and coaches. If you want to affect the coaching, volunteer to help.

· Develop perspective: remember what you could do at your children's ages; don't judge them by what you can do now. Kids will not become great players overnight.

· Develop an understanding of what your children want from sports—not all children want the same things. Determine if they want to be involved at all. ************************************************************

"The parents are the ones clamoring the loudest for wins, because they associate development with wins. If I teach kids new ball skills, and tell them to experiment with new ball skills during games, they’re going to make a mistake, lose the ball, and give up a goal,” says Sam Snow, the coaching director for US Youth Soccer. Many volunteer coaches have familiarity with football, baseball, and basketball, where coaches engineer team plays and manage discrete situations with the aid of timeouts and regular stoppages in play. In soccer, they are drawn to risk-averse, team-minded tactics that deliver a shortcut to wins, keeping parents happy without necessarily helping players’ long-term growth.

This is from a Sasha Issenberg former director of USA Youth Soccer, in an article for the Boston Globe.
************************************************

Sportsmanship is the ability to:
win without gloating
lose without complaining
treat your opponent with respect.
Treat everyone with RESPECT
Sportsmanship Tips
If you make a mistake, don't pout or make excuses. Learn from it, and be ready to continue to play.
If a teammate makes a mistake, offer encouragement, not criticism.
If you win, don't rub it in.
If you lose, don't make excuses.- it's okay
--

Where Was the PTA?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "How To Deal With Bullies":

The PTA is terrific at fund raising and at enhancing the school experience, but a change agent? Not a chance.

PTA has demonstrated that they will not aggressively take on challenging topics. If the math issue was left to the PTA, we'd still be waiting. I do not feel represented by the PTA. I cringe when I hear "parent input" at a BOE meeting because it usually means "let's go ask the PTA." Sure there are some ex-PTA leaders on the BOE, but you'll find a couple of members that were elected in large part because they ignored the PTA and actually affected change.

Grassroots coalitions drive change. Passionate people can get things done. This PTA nonsense of declaring they are the only show in town is ludicrous and counter productive. If you want something to change, get involved without worrying which hat participants wear.

Teacher to Student Bullying

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "How To Deal With Bullies":

The full article can be found at
http://searchwarp.com/swa333432-P2.htm


by Rev. Carla Goddard
Everyone is aware of peer on peer bullying and the Education system is emphatic about about not allowing the situation to arise and if it does how to protect the student who is being bullied. What about when teachers bully students. This receives virtually no attention. With the publicity surrounding peer to peer bullying, why is the idea of teacher to student bullying largely ignored in the education system today unless it involves sexual conduct? Is other types of bullying unplausible? Is there a definition for teacher bullying? Does it exist?
Bullying by a teacher is defined as a pattern of conduct, rooted in a power differential, that threatens, harms, humiliates, induces fear, or causes a student substantial emotional distress. What does that really mean? Abuse of power that tends to be chronic and often expressed in public, a form of humiliation that generates attention while degrading the student in front of others, students capabilities are debased and identity is ridiculed. In nearly every case of teacher bullying it is a singular target that this bullied repeatedly. Equally significant is that the teacher usually receives no retribution or other negative consequences.

Victims are chosen on the basis of either vulnerability or because of some devalued personal attribute the teacher perceives of the student. Once targeted, the victim is treated in a manner which will set the student apart from their peers. The teacher makes frequent references to how the student differs from other students whom the teacher perceives as more capable or valuable. As a consequence, the student because a scapegoat among peers.

Teachers who do bully feel their abusive conduct is justified and claim provation by the student. They disguise their behavior as an appropriate part of the instruction, as well as disguising abuse as an appropriate disciplinary response to unacceptable behavior by the student. However, the student is subjected to deliberate humiliation by the teacher that can never ever serve as a legitimate educational purpose.

How To Deal With Bullies

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Parents: Speak Up to the Administration and Becom...":

I atteneded the bullying meeting last night and heard some very disturbing stories. A presentation followed on the district is working on changing the climate of school, etc. What boggles my mind is the best solution of all is sooo very avail, and guess what folks its free. It won't cost the schools a dime. You don not have to hire new staff and new laws will not have to be passed. The solution is called .."Having the bully get in deep trouble". There, it is that simple. If these kids (no matter how old they are) know that there are severe repercussions, they will stop. Its that simple. Why are we going around in circles trying to stop this disturbing trend, when all you need is a straight line? Please, someone tell me why the school is so afraid to reprimand a bully?

No Power- School As Usual?

Is anyone else concerned that Mattlin MS and Central Admin have been without power for almost 2 full days. School has remained in session. Are there appropriate safety measures in place. Are fire alarms working? What about if there needed to be a PA announcement of an emergency? Teachers calling office or nurse? Parent trying to reach school. I didn't get emergency backup numbers...did anyone else? What is cause of failure? POB? LIPA? Is this not a PRIORITY one for whomever to fix?

Tenure Changes in NYC

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Taxes to Go UP Another 5%?":

NEW YORK CITY IS MAKING IT HARDER FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS TO GET TENURE, requiring their students to show progress in consecutive years before instructors gain the coveted job protection.

Traditionally, in New York City as in other places, tenure is granted to teachers three years and a day after they begin working. Critics have complained that the protections that tenure accords ineffective teachers makes them hard to remove. Before a teacher reaches tenure, principals can more easily fire them—but they rarely do.

Five years ago, fewer than 1% of New York City teachers were denied tenure. But last year, 11% of teachers were denied tenure or continued on probation, amid a push by schools Chancellor Joel Klein for greater teacher accountability.

Monday's announcement, which was made by Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a New York education conference, goes a step further—by creating new rules for when principals can grant teachers tenure, rather than leaving it up to their subjective judgment or inaction.

Starting with the 6,300 teachers who are up for tenure this year, the city Department of Education will implement a four-point grading system similar to the one passed by the state Legislature earlier this year: highly effective, effective, developing, and ineffective. Under the new rules, principals can only grant tenure if a teacher shows progress with students for two years in a row.

Teachers who are rated "developing" will get a chance to earn tenure after a year of professional development and support, and "ineffective" teachers will not be granted tenure and the chancellor will recommend that they be dismissed.

The teacher's union president, Michael Mulgrew, shrugged off the plans.

"There's less in the mayor's proposals than meets the eye," said the head of the United Federation of Teachers in a statement. "Right now a principal can deny tenure to a teacher for any reason. Most teachers would welcome an objective tenure-granting process based on agreed-upon standards."

Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Community Activism is Not a Spectator Sport

In response to a comment filed under the previous post about a way to relieve the tax burden was for the board to make sure all at our district were taxpayers in our district...

If the district knows about the students then the student's school is likely paying us to bring the student here.If the school is not aware of the outer residency issue then it is up to you to notify the school. I know of one parent who called the school a few years ago about a parent who lived in another town and brought their children to Plainview where the grandmother lived every morning so the bus could pick up the children. The parent who complained ,called the school and they looked into it and informed the parent of the children that they would owe the school $$$ for their children in our school. The result was that the children are now in their own school district. Community activism is not a spectator sport as many believe.

and About those School Supplies...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Taxes to Go UP Another 5%?":


The whole world is trying to "go green," worrying about emissions and using organic products, yet our school supply lists ensure that our community is doing our part to fill up landfills with lockerfuls of plastics that, if they even manage to survive the school year, get thrown away.


Educators believe that the more supplies you have, the better education you will get.


I had one binder when I went to middle school. It was denim and it only came in two sizes - small and large. The widths were predetermined and there weren't choices in 1/4 inch increments.


I never remember a teacher asking for anything specific in terms of inches for a binder except some didn't allow the small looseleaf. Mostly teachers didn't get involved beyond asking for something specific like a protractor or compass. Their focus was on teaching, not worrying about what paper we were using to write our notes on, what type of pen we used and I certainly was never asked to provide dozens of sharpened pencils as if I was expected to copy War and Peace straight through without the aid of a sharpener.


But back to that denim looseleaf. It had the multiplication table and useful formulas like converting feet to meters or inches to centimeters (which I never used) pre-printed on the inside back cover and a built-in clip on the inside front cover with killer grooves that really pinched your fingers if you got caught in it. Like everyone else I personalized the cover with hand drawn logos of rock bands, copied from popular albums and agonizing over details. Pink Floyd, KISS, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones tongue were all popular.


All my subjects were in this one looseleaf and as it got filled, I simply took the used pages out to make more room. We had textbooks that had our homework questions in them and we answered them on a sheet of paper in our looseleaf. We didn't get hundreds of pages of xeroxes to put holes in and manage.


I learned with these primitive supplies and methods. It seems like that by today's standards, providing only one source to keep school papers in is akin to child abuse.


Watching my child struggle to manage a file folder, agenda and various notebooks of different types and widths, I wonder how different his education would be if he didn't have to think about all the organization required by the learning and just focused on the learning.


Not only would it be cheaper (sorry Staples!) but I truly believe it would be better. Less is usually more.

Taxes to Go UP Another 5%?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Tomorrow Nights Board Meeting Agenda- Wellness Pol...":

How about someone bring up the issue of the teachers contract that is in SECRET NEGOTIATIONS.
Is the board going to cave in again?
As reported in Newsday last week:
the state comptroller has lowered the estimated return on investment of the pensions which means that we the TAX PAYERS will be on the HOOK for an estimated EXTTRA 5% INCREASE IN PENSION OBLIGATIONS.This is not a rumor but more likely an under estimate of how much more that we will be paying. Resident should look at their current tax bill and add an extra 5% to it and that will be what you will be paying next year , if not more unless drastic cuts are made in our budget that should come from the cost of labor not on the backs of working class citizens like ourselves who work a lot longer hours (that is for those residents who are fortunate to still be employed). I would like to know when are we going to stand up as a community and say enough is enough.

Tomorrow Nights Board Meeting Agenda- Wellness Policy.

http://www.pob.k12.ny.us/BOE/BOE%20Proposed%20Agenda/BOE_Agenda_Sept_13_2010.pdf



Approval of Wellness Policy at BOE meeting tomorrow night

Voice any of your concerns at the Board Meeting Monday night.

What Can I Do About Irresponsible Dog Owners?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Don't Get Shut Out from the Forum on Bullying/ Sch...":

Can you start a new thread for this topic that is clearly very different from all others?

Since this blog is about all aspects of life in Plainview, I have a subject I'd like to throw out for anyone's advice. I really don't know what to do here.

I live on a corner property. There are many lovely and responsible dog owners who walk their dogs and ALWAYS clean up after them. Unfortunately, there are a few who don't. I don't know what these people are thinking, leaving their dogs' feces on other peoples' lawns and sidewalks.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do about this one? Also, am I the only person in Plainview to have this problem?

Don't Get Shut Out from the Forum on Bullying/ School Climate Awareness

A repeat posting to remind everyone that the forum on bullying in our schools will be on September 28th. Entrance is free, however pre-registration is required and the seats are filling up. Bring a friend and come down and get informed on what is going on in schools, what the experts think and learn how you can help your children.
See below for details.

POB Parents Concerned about Bullying


POB Parents Concerned about Bullying
is a committee of concerned parents and other representatives formed to bring community awareness to the seriousness of bullying. We invite you to attend a forum on bullying on Tuesday, September 28th, from 7:30pm - 9:30 pm at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library.


Due to limited space

YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND

. Registration will be done on a first come - first served basis. Each registrant will receive an email confirmation and you must have this confirmation to attend. To register please email your contact information to

pobpcabreg@gmail.com

. If you have additional questions you can also
contact Patrice Finkelstein at dandpfinkelstein@hotmail.com or 516 639-4921.



The objectives of the forum include:

* Communicate concerns about the bullying situation as it currently stands in the POB school district.
* Discuss the implementation of a district-wide anti-bullying policy and school climate reform.
* Present to Administration and the Board of Education a list of recommendations, action items to further prevent bullying in the POB school district and community.

Agenda



7:30pm-7:45 pm Welcome and Opening Remarks



7:45pm –8:00pm POB Parent Testimonies



8:00pm – 8:15pm Overview/Update- Dignity for all Students Act (DASA, NYS Anti-bullying

Legislation) Samantha Frederickson Esq., Director Nassau County Chapter New

York Civil Liberty Union



8:15pm- 8:30pm POB Parent Testimonies



8:30 pm-9:00pm School Climate Reform: “A data driven strategy to prevent bullying, promote upstander behavior and create

even safer, supportive, engaging and responsible schools" - Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Co-founder and

President National School Climate Center (formerly, the Center for Social and Emotional Education)



9:00pm- 9:15pm Questions & Discussion



9:15pm- 9:30pm POB Parent Testimony / Closing Remarks



The discussion session will encourage brainstorming between attendees about the best direction to discourage and deal with bullying in our schools and community. We look forward to working together to create a kinder community, one where our children are more aware of the rights and feelings of others and will be less prone to victimize each other and more apt to defend those that are victims.

Safety First?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "First Day at POB and and the Disappointments Start...":

Author-Please Post this as a New Thread

Can anyone else comment on the Bus Transportation plan for this school year? Did anyone else get the "Efficiency" story?

My child is 10 years old attending 6th grade at POB Middle school and her late bus stop is slotted to stop on OLD COUNTRY RD.(entrance to my development) My child has to cross 2 streets at approx 4PM, a busy bank on the corner , on a block where cars cut off Old Country Road into the development where we live from 3PM on. My child will need to walk and cross this street where cars race in and out. Safety First or Efficiency? The stop on OCR is not at all visible from my home, so I will not see her get off the bus. It takes 3 minutes for the bus to come in one end of the development and out the other side back onto OCR. This is how it has been in the past 4 years. I called Transportation 2X and they refuse to change the stop: Citing that is "More efficient for the bus to go this route" I cited "the districts policy on the safety of our children being first priority." They still to date refuse to change the stop.

So my question is this: Who do I go to now? This is a BIG safety issue for any 10 year old especially in Bad Weather. I pay alot of money in school taxes, wo why cut here and compromise the Safety of my Child?- All for what "Efficiency? If they bothered to look at the amount of traffic and the flow of traffic at the 4PM time, the transportation department would see that the way they had it in prior years was more timely!
I'd like to know with all the other waste I have seen in this district everwhere: What is the financial savings here? Why do I need this aggravation?

BOE, Where are you now? Who gave this directive?

Teacher Evaluations May Be Coming to a State Near You

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/magazine/05FOB-wwln-t.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

The start of the school year brings another one of those nagging, often unquenchable worries of parenthood: How good will my child’s teachers be? Teachers tend to have word-of-mouth reputations, of course. But it is hard to know how well those reputations match up with a teacher’s actual abilities. Schools generally do not allow parents to see any part of a teacher’s past evaluations, for instance. And there is nothing resembling a rigorous, Consumer Reports-like analysis of schools, let alone of individual teachers. For the most part, parents just have to hope for the best.
The start of the school year brings another one of those nagging, often unquenchable worries of parenthood: How good will my child’s teachers be? Teachers tend to have word-of-mouth reputations, of course. But it is hard to know how well those reputations match up with a teacher’s actual abilities. Schools generally do not allow parents to see any part of a teacher’s past evaluations, for instance. And there is nothing resembling a rigorous, Consumer Reports-like analysis of schools, let alone of individual teachers. For the most part, parents just have to hope for the best. ......
- use the link above to finish the article

What Do You Think is Fair?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Vote with Your Wallet in Mind; It's Time for some ...":

Maybe we could start a new thread on this blog. Several people on this blog have said that teachers are "overpaid" It might be informative to hear what people think is fair compensation for teachers at various points in their careers. What do you think is fair for a 1st year teacher, a 5th year teacher with a masters degree, a 10 or 15 year teacher with a masters degree plus 60 in service credits and a teacher at the end of their career with 25-30 years service? no name calling, no talk about greed, just numbers and conversation.

Just as Badly Organized at POB for 6th Graders

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "First Day at POB and and the Disappointments Start...":

How about 6th grade at POB? This is the same old excuses for the incompetence. It was the mail etc.... Paperwork arrives today all disheveled in the envelope, 5 teachers listed on the class supply list , no schedule or explanation as to who teaches what and why there are 5 teachers listed with one teacher as HR? Why so many teachers and who teaches what? After 9 years of this , It's really hard to stay positive when even the simple things are disorganized in the start of the year. With my tax bill rising every year, I do have the right to complain and I am not being proactive to do someone else's job!

First Day at POB and and the Disappointments Start.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Your Voice is What's Missing...":

Sadly another year on the forgotten side of town has begun. My child started her first year in the middle school with what she called, "a disaster that was unorganized."
A melding of two schools where many did not know each other. Was there any team building games or activities where they could get to know each other? She was invited to a BBQ, what happened with that? Additionally, Plainview is an amazingly diverse town, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, Hindus, what were they supposed to eat? Somehow meat and cheese in a sandwich doesn't serve all.

Sign Up was total chaos. My daughter told me it took her 20 minutes to find her group and then she got to hear the same speech and see the same video that the principal presented last year at her elementary school. For this we came home early from vacation? And what about knowing who my child's teacher is so that she could meet others in her class? Finally, what about school supplies? My elementary school son got his in July when everything was 25cents, or a dollar. I leisurely shopped the drug stores and Wallmart looking for bargains in this tough economy. Nope, we now sit ten days before school, 3 days before a major three day weekend, and seven days before a major religious weekend, so that I can rush my car around and fight through Staples and the like to pay top dollar and hope that the supplies she needs are still on the shelves.
If this is an indication of how the administration runs POB Middle School, everyone on the neglected side of town, entering this new school in hopes of finally getting the great education we are paying for, is in for yet another 4 years of school devoid of planning, thinking and expertise.

I wonder if the do nothing Board will address this?

Your Voice is What's Missing...

We have only ourselves to blame. Look at the last election we had in the district. All the incumbent board members should of been voted out. This may sound like a broken record , I only repeat this because people continue to question why nothing ever gets done. Community activism and participation. That is what is missing . On the positive side , it is nice to see the interest in doing something about the bullying issue that confronts us.

Vote with Your Wallet in Mind; It's Time for some Teacher Give Backs

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Parents: Speak Up to the Administration and Becom...":


As we get ready to start the new school year we are reminded of last summer's debacle of negotiating the teacher's contract. In today's Newsday on page 5 we see how Copiague teachers gave givebacks to their district, saving their district 7 million dollars. Why our Board chose to say on one hand we didn't have the money for raises and then settle, giving the teachers their raise without any givebacks is just preposterous! The raises were very generous considering the settlements and givebacks throughout Long Island. The article mentions nine other districts that negotiated concessions from their teachers.
Please remember this as you make changes in your lifestyle to be able to continue to live here in Plainview, and remember this as you enter the voting booth in May. Ms. Lieberman and Ms. Bernstein hope you forget, because they were two of the four board members who chose to give the teachers their very generous raises and are up for reelection.

Newsday article:
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/copiague-teachers-salary-givebacks-save-7-million-1.2247678

POB Parents Concerned about Bullying

POB Parents Concerned about Bullying is a committee of concerned parents and other representatives formed to bring community awareness to the seriousness of bullying. We invite you to attend a forum on bullying on Tuesday, September 28th, from 7:30pm - 9:30 pm at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library.

Due to limited space YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND. Registration will be done on a first come - first served basis. Each registrant will receive an email confirmation and you must have this confirmation to attend. To register please email your contact information to pobpcabreg@gmail.com. If you have additional questions you can also contact Patrice Finkelstein at dandpfinkelstein@hotmail.com or 516 639-4921.


The objectives of the forum include:

• Communicate concerns about the bullying situation as it currently stands in the POB school district.
• Discuss the implementation of a district-wide anti-bullying policy and school climate reform.
• Present to Administration and the Board of Education a list of recommendations, action items to further prevent bullying in the POB school district and community.

Agenda

7:30 pm - 7:45 pm	Welcome and Opening Remarks
7:45 pm – 8:00 pm	POB Parent Testimonies
8:00 pm – 8:15 pm	Overview/Update- Dignity for all Students Act (DASA, NYS Anti-bullying Legislation) Samantha Frederickson Esq., Director Nassau County Chapter New York Civil Liberty Union
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	POB Parent Testimonies
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm	School Climate Reform: “A data driven strategy to prevent bullying, promote upstander behavior and create even safer, supportive, engaging and responsible schools" - Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Co-founder and President National School Climate Center (formerly, the Center for Social and Emotional Education)
9:00 pm - 9:15 pm	Questions & Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm	POB Parent Testimony / Closing Remarks

The discussion session will encourage brainstorming between attendees about the best direction to discourage and deal with bullying in our schools and community. We look forward to working together to create a kinder community, one where our children are more aware of the rights and feelings of others and will be less prone to victimize each other and more apt to defend those that are victims.

Parents: Speak Up to the Administration and Become Part of the Crowd

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Stratford, Where is the Administration?":

Why is it that more parents don't verbalize their disappointments to the district. I've spoken to principal, superintendent and even board members about my both my concerns and my satisfactions. Either they were doing a good job of pretending I stood alone or they truly have not heard these concerns before. Perhaps it was a little of both. Posting on here to vent frustrations is fine but people shouldn't be so afraid to raise their voices.

Lice Check Still Available

Merrie Radisch has left a new comment on your post "Lice Check Before the School Year Starts":

Lice checking day is coming up. It was featured in Newsday today.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/plainview-woman-offers-lice-checks-before-school-starts-1.2232335

Appointments are booking up. To avoid waiting, book an appointment as soon as possible. If you plan on coming but can't confirm a time, send me a message to let me know that you will be coming so that I can account for a certain number of people. Hope to see you all on the 7th. Merrie

Lice Check Before the School Year Starts

Merrie Radisch has left a new comment on your post "For POB Families Concerned about Bullying":

School is almost here and so will the lice outbreaks! On Tuesday, September 7th from 2 -5 pm I am holding a lice checking event with a professional lice removal company. In an effort to help reduce the number of lice outbreaks in school classrooms, this lice check will provide an avenue for your children and yourselves to be checked by a professional for lice. The check will be conducted in a private setting.

School nurses very often miss head lice and don't get to check the whole school until well into the beginning of the school year. It is too late by then, lice will already spread through the classrooms. In addition the American Academy of Pediatrics has advocated for allowing children with lice to come to school.

If your child has been in contact with other children this summer through camps or other programs or have had contact with children in these programs then they may have come in contact with lice.

Take advantage of this great opportunity. The charge is $10 per head, far less than going to your pediatrician and paying copays.

Start the school year off right! Come on down, get a head check, find out some great information about lice prevention and removal.

When: Tuesday, September 7th
Time: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Where: 103 Wilson Place, Plainview

Please RSVP to dmradisch@optonline.net or call/text 917-846-4502 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 917-846-4502 end_of_the_skype_highlighting to let me know that you will be attending this event and how many children/adults will be checked or if you have any questions. You may schedule a time but walk-ins are also welcome!

Looking forward to seeing you on the 7th!! Merrie Radisch

For POB Families Concerned about Bullying

We are a group of Plainview-Old Bethpage parents and residents who are
concerned about bullying in our school district. We are a committee that is
working towards making effective changes in this district regarding bullying.
We have seen evidence of bullying from our kindergarten age children all the
way up through high school. There are various forms of bullying. It can be
physical, emotional, verbal and the newest form; cyber-bullying. There are
children who perpetrate the bullying, children who are being bullied, children
who are bystanders to the bullying and children who are affected indirectly by
these events. Whether we realize it or not we are all affected. You may not even
realize that you or your child has a story of bullying to tell.
The Committee for POB Families Concerned about Bullying is hosting a
bullying forum on Thursday, September 28th (details to follow). Our goal for
the forum is to communicate with the POB school district and our community,
the seriousness of bullying in our district. Our early goal is to initiate a positive
dialogue between the community and the school district personnel.
We need your help as parents, children and residents of this community.
We
now know that there are a lot of stories of bullying that have gone untold and
unheard. We are asking parents and children to tell us their stories so that they
may be presented at the forum. If your story is not to be used at the forum it
will be compiled and submitted to the district with all the other stories of bullying so that your
voice can be heard. Stories can be shared via email, written letters, video, art or
however you or your child would feel most comfortable. All communications will
be kept confidential and no names in the stories will be exposed publicly. We
would like the district and community to work together to solve this problem.
If you or your child is able to share an experience about bullying, please contact
our committee at: POBconcernedparentonbullying@gmail.com.
Once again all names will be kept confidential.

Thanking you in advance for your support,
POB Families Concerned about Bullying

District Website Survey

Link found on the district website looking for your opinions/input on the use of our district website as they commence construction on the new one.


http://pobschools.schoolwires.net/pobschools/Forms/TakeSurvey.asp?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=34I673K14nl11

Nanny Looking For New Position

This is a personal request, I am friendly with a live in nanny that has been with a family for the last 5 years. The children have outgrown the "need" and she is looking for a new position. I would highly recommend her, as she is really wonderful, trustworthy, and clearly devoted to these two children who will sorely miss her..
Please contact me via a comment (which will not be posted) and I will put you in touch with her.
Sorry to bother anyone who is not interested.  - suzala

Teacher's Planned Field Trip Gone Awry

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "If the Administration Was Doing Their Job....":


The POB 8th grade Graduation trip to Ellis Island today was horrible! Why bother? The buses left 1/2 late. It was my impression (and the kids thought so too )that the children were actually supposed to go up into the Statue of Liberty and learn something. I heard that someone bought the wrong tickets and the kids actually just walked around the Lady and waved. Hats Off to the person who organized this trip. I heard it was the teachers. Oh was it the teachers who got the big raises this year? It was my impression as a parent that the trips were supposed to be for Educational purposes and not fun! I think the BOE needs to review this policy because the only thing educational about this trip today was that my kid came home with a bad sunburn from walking and sitting around outside for 2 hours..doing nothing. There was NO tour of Ellis Island by anyone. Most of the kids did not even know they could go inside the building on Ellis Island. So much for the educational reason and the point of the trip......
What was the point anyway? Can someone clarify this? Maybe when you take the fun away, this is what you get. The Merrick school district took the graduating 8th graders to Citi-Field this year.
Board of Ed and Administrators: Time to regroup and re-think the Field trip policy in the POB schools.....

If the Administration Was Doing Their Job....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Partnerships Between Parents and Schools?":

I don't think salaries correlate to quality of education or teacher ability. Salaries and raises are based on longevity and undeserving teachers get the same raises as more deserving teachers. Administrator output is not commensurate with their salaries. Our district is far too top heavy and generous considering the mess that exists. Parents concerns would be minimal if administration was doing their job watching and questioning and fixing what is going on. They are getting paid a lot to be managers and they should be managing and striving for improvements. There need to be district-wide standards and accountability to even things out among schools and classrooms.No one seems to care that some schools or classrooms do a whole lot more than others (except for the parents in the schools or classrooms that feel like they are being gypped).

The Bullying Problem- Define and Strategize Solutions

Suzala, can you start a new thread with this? By the way, thank you so much for running this blog.

Can we start a thread on this blog on how we can combat the bullying problem? As a community we need to come together on this. Yes, I know there have been meetings, programs, etc. Not everyone can get out to these things. Let's kick around some strategies that have worked for us.

As an educator myself, I've done quite a bit of research on this topic. Yes, I will share much of what I've come up with but I'd like to get a sense of what exactly the perceived problems are. This is an extremely deep issue that I will offer many ideas on. I would like some specifics first.

Anyone interested in a discussion?

Ed's note: Glad I can help- sz

Stratford, Where is the Administration?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Partnerships Between Parents and Schools?":

Stratford is far from what it should be. I wouldn't say it's all bad but I can see where parents would be dissatisfied with it. The parents there are great and so is the PTA. The low test scores should not be attributed to the special ed population there. The administration doesn't manage who is teaching what. It wouldn't surprise me if the principal were from the school of thought that her top priority is to support, protect, advocate for and defend the teachers. The students and parents are secondary to her paycheck and grievance avoidance.

Partnerships Between Parents and Schools?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BOE- Will You Have the Guts in July?":

If I felt like the education my children receive was of superior quality, I wouldn't feel the teachers' salaries in this district were so off the mark. Sadly, the school my kids attend (Stratford) falls short in so many ways. While I don't want to discredit an entire district by the shortcomings of hopefully only a small few, I cannot help but wonder how a community like Plainview could allow such mediocrity. The percentage of residents who attend board meetings, come out to vote, get involved in effecting change is extremely low. The board, nice as they are, rarely questions actions of the administration. As in most districts in America, they act as the community's "rubber stamp" for the superintendent.

The district lacks a strong leader who takes parent concerns seriously. There do not appear to be anyone overseeing the goings on at the building level. That explains why, for example, the literacy program at Stratford is so varied between classrooms. While academic instruction should be flexible to meet the needs of all children, the policy that the very program your child receives is at the exclusive discretion of the teachers with minimal administrative involvement is almost criminal. As they move from grade to grade, they're regrouped into situations where they're not all starting the year at the same point in regard to levels of achievement, acquired skills, curricular goals attained, etc).

The mentality is such that if you express any concerns, no matter how courteously, you're automatically branded "crazy" and a "troublemaker" and dealt with accordingly. While I disagree with "witch hunts" as I've detected perhaps a small few around town, some even on this blog, the concept of a true partnership between the schools and parents simply does not exist, at least not at Stratford Road.

Rainy Summer Day Activities...?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Which is the Best Pool to Join? Swimming Lessons?...":

Where do people take their kids on rainy days in the summer?

POB Area Martial Arts Opinions Too, Please

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Which is the Best Pool to Join? Swimming Lessons?...":

While we're talking about activities, can we get some ratings on the martial arts centers in the area? Is any one better or worse than any other?

Which is the Best Pool to Join? Swimming Lessons?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "No Frills=Big Fun":

Can someone give some feedback on the best pool to join in the area? I seem to know people who join either Plainiview, Syosset, Bethpage, Cantiague or Piquets Lane. That's quite a choice for me. Any suggestions on which is best?

Also, has anyone done the swimming lessons at any of these pools before?

No Frills=Big Fun

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Teachers (Union) and Their Communities":

Stratford Road had a recession-friendly family picnic this Friday. Families came together with no frills. No DJ. Bring your own food. The kids had a great time. Less can be more.

Teachers (Union) and Their Communities

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BOE- Will You Have the Guts in July?":

I teach in another school district on Long Island. My teachers' union is voluntarily working something out (combination pay raise/give back) with both our BOE and the other unions (administrators/support staff). We've ALL decided that this recession requires sacrifice on everyone's part. We've gotten nothing but kudos from our community. It is possible for teachers to have a true partnership with their community.

Required Reading for All

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/education/03standards.html?ref=education

The New Proposed Standards country-wide:
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

BOE- Will You Have the Guts in July?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "We're Not Complaining, Just to Complain":

Attention Board of ED:
Today Mayor Bloomberg in NYC announced his intention that all the city teachers and Principals will receive no raises for the next two years . Now there is a leader with the guts to take on fiscal responsibility. What will you decide when the contract negotiations start in July?

Special Thanks...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Parade was Wonderful!":

I think a special note of thanks should go out to Trio hardware. every year they go out of their way to promote the parade. Thank you.
Remember to patronize small businesses, they are the back bone of the community.

Ed's note: Couldn't agree more. Trio quietly supports many activities here in Plainview-Old Bethpage that might not happen without them.

The Parade was Wonderful!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Plainview OldBethpage Turns Out to a Great Parade!...":

It was a lovely day. All the students who participated were wonderful. I noticed that yet again for another year the principal from Parkway was there. It is great to see members of the administration participating in community events on their days off.

Plainview OldBethpage Turns Out to a Great Parade!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "We're Not Complaining, Just to Complain":

What a great day for a parade!
It's nice to see our entire community united together. Young and old - everyone had a wonderful time. God Bless America and thank you to all out troops!

We're Not Complaining, Just to Complain

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Looking for an Avenue That Fosters Real Change":

You are completely wrong, blindsided, and maybe a teacher,adminstrator or someone who does not get it. How can you net expect people to be angry when they receive a tax bill that is through the roof, they bring their kids to school where you have to first drive around the greedy picketing teachers who have already parked their lexuses, benzes, and infiniti's in the parking lot. Once you drop your kids off they walk into a building with brownspotted ceilings from the leaks, go into an auditorium whos speaker system is so old that the sound is terrible and then the kids sweat on the hot days because the buildings are so inadequate that they can not handle enough air conditioners. Then you look online and see that the teachers are earning 110.000, 95,000,115,000 etc. Like the last blogger wrote if we felt we were getting a good value for our tax dollar we would not complain but we are not. We are getting shafted by a greedy bunch of people who think they should be millionaires for teaching and a BOE who ignores economic realities of finance(most of them). If you really think people are just complaining to complain then you should do some more research. Enjoy your memorial day weekend:-}

Shame On Us

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Hold the Board Accountable":

Like that will happen in Plainview. Look What happen at the last election. The number of people who voted for Gary Bettan was disgraceful. He recklessly votes for the teachers raises, comes to a debate looking like he just came from a blog, and sits up on the stage claiming what he has done. Pretty sad if you ask me. Then you have Stephanie Nelkins who steps up to the plate unlike so many people that would not and she does not get anywhere the votes that she should have gotten. As far as holding the board accountable? the residents of Plainview just showed in the last election that they just do not care enough to get out there and vote for change and scream about the garbage that is going on. So shame on us for not getting involved. As far as accountability, good luck trying to spread that around

Hold the Board Accountable

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Only the Board's Attention Gets Things Done?":

Mark these words!

Mr.Rosenfeld will settle his next contract before the new board member gets on for fear that she may not side with his union demands. The need for this community to take back the board is still there. We must again say that this economy can not support constant growth of the district's payroll and the burden on the taxpayers.
There are two board members up for reelection who have been very generous to the union in the past, we must again turn out and vote in one or two members who agree with the community.

Let's hold our board accountable and maybe accountability will be spread throughout the district.

Only the Board's Attention Gets Things Done?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Looking for an Avenue That Fosters Real Change":

There are many positives about living in Plainview. No question on that one. What the schools provide is not commesurate with the taxes we pay. True, there are some teachers and administrators who are noteworthy but sadly there are many who are not.

As for me, I've worked my way up the ladder, courteously and professionally on a major issue regarding my child's lack of instruction this year. A concern for my child was never the priority of school officials. All that mattered to them was their own accountability. The buiding principal involved was actually dishonest with the higher ups. When I contacted the board, I must say that they were extremely supportive to me. It was only then that I was taken seriously.

As I started reading this blog and talking publicly about my situation, I found that this was by far not unique. It seems that issues are rarely handled at the building level. I was given lip service, interestingly enough the same lip service (verbatim) others got from this particular adminsitrator on a completely different matter. The objective was not to take the parent seriously and consider the child but simply to "get rid of" the parent.

Throughout the process, I suggested many solutions to the problem, viable ideas that came from extensive research on what should and could be done within the scope of a public school classroom. Until I got the board involved, the district didn't seem to care.

Blog is a Reflection of Community's Frustration

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "This is My Blog":

I think this has been a difficult year and there were many things going on here that people were upset about. The blog became a reflection of that frustration.
Most people tend to discuss problems or things that are bothering them and blogs are no different. If you go to any review site you will mostly find very good or very bad reviews - mostly very bad. Angry people tend to want to share their anger. Neutral people or satisfied people don't get involved. How often do you call a company to tell them how great their appliance works but you would call them if it needed 5 repairs in 6 months? You'd probably call to complain. It's human nature. Some companies run blogs just to hear negative things so that they can improve their products.
The blog had several posts saying positive things about the school budget and the capital reserve fund and points of view from teachers that would have never come to light in another way. I learned about the high school sneaker thing and voted online. I never would have known about that otherwise. Some posts are way out ranting but many are pretty good. Most readers can separate the truly negative posts from the ones that are raising valid points.
The posts about teacher texting - was that complaining or parents being honest about something that was bothering them that they didn't have the guts to bring up otherwise? It's an awkward topic and a big accusation. But your kid comes home with a story and you're upset about it. The blog gives anonymous cover so that people who might not talk might say something. Some comments were very negative but so what? At least the elephant in the room was out and it was being debated. Also, the blog broke the story about the POB Middle school charity basketball game not being played with teachers. People who went to the game would find this out anyhow but it must have bothered the person who wrote that post enough to want to share the information and they probably felt better after it was out in the open and everyone knew. They didn't have to say their name which makes it easier. The blog is a cross between confession and therapy. It's not all Jerry Springer.
Thanks Suzala for providing a forum for people like me who work full time and don't go to PTA meetings. I don't have an "in" about what's going on. I realize that the blog isn't everything but at least it's something and some of it is pretty good.

Needed: Avenue for Real Change

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Looking for an Avenue That Fosters Real Change":

The only way to resolve a problem is to first admit there is one. If we're not honest about things we'll never improve them.

To be fair, some board members did respond to the community's concerns about taxes and didn't support the teacher's contract. But voting against a contract doesn't solve the problem and make it go away, either. So you're right that we need an avenue for real change. I don't know what that is. That's what this blog can brainstorm.

Looking for an Avenue That Fosters Real Change

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "This is My Blog":

Why does this blog have a negative tone. When you look at what our school district has been and is going through is very difficult not to feel disenchanted, ignored, and the feeling of the BOE, administrators,the PCT and the teachers,not always working with our best interest as a priority. "our" meaning the community, the children, and the school district.
With all the stress that people have been going through with this depressed economy. Residents went to board meetings stated their case as to why the teachers should of not received any raises and the fact that the BOE knows we are facing a finacial tsunami ahead of us. Yet the BOE ignored common sense , the pleas of the community, and the well being of the infrastructure of our school so the greedy PCT could get raises. How can we not be angry when our tax bill goes through the roof to which the teachers and the PCT blatantly could care less about working with us. Instead they go to the board meetings whining why they want more money.
If we state our name we will be ostrecised in the community as a "trouble maker" or whacko.
This not simply complaining to complain, instead it is looking for an avenue that will foster real change and not politics as usual like it has been for a long time. Thank you editor.

This is My Blog

My name is Suzala and this is my Blog.

I started this blog about life in Plainview and wrote a bit of narrative about my observations. Through word of mouth people began making comments of their own and my entries and opinions became unnecessary. The Blog has become a community bulletin board: a service for the community. Recently I posted a request from the Principal of JFK-Plainview High School, Jim Murray, who wanted to raise awareness about a student competition. Morty Rosenfeld, PCT President, also used the blog to present his side on a variety of issues. - (I guess this site has more accessibility and viewers than the district website?) AVeryPlainview has had entries about the school district, teachers, administration, and its union, the PCT. While school has been the main source of content, recently the Blog provided space to post information and opinions about candidates running for the board and inappropriate behaviors on our ball fields that parents wanted the Schools and the Baseball League to be aware of.

AVeryPlainview has become an online forum for residents when traditional forums didn't seem to work. It would appear from comments posted on the Blog that there are people in Plainview and Old Bethpage who feel disenfranchised, unrepresented, and unable to speak freely in public. I understand the fear of being identified. I have heard about retribution in our district and about how those who do speak out feel that their children pay the price for it. I would like to go on record that I will be monitoring this issue for my own children going forward.

The Blog has a large following with new visitors daily, and the freedom to post anonymously is a great draw for many. I would love people to sign their names and stand behind what they say. Perhaps if all of us did this, there would be too many people for the district to punish by penalizing our children.

I have spoken out at board meetings and felt very uncomfortable. I still speak out occasionally but more importantly, I go to board meetings. I do this because it is the only way I can hold the district accountable. I am here. I am listening. I wish more people in POB did this -- I believe we would have a greater voice. Several years ago I attended a PTA meeting to find out more about the controversy surrounding the math program when parents were actually showing up at board meetings and yelling, and the PTA conferred with the principal and told me that the math program was not something that would be discussed there. I didn't feel like it was representing me or encouraging a dialogue between teachers and parents and I felt like I had no where else to go.

Clearly, AVeryPlainview is a venue for those of us who feel quiet suggestions do not work. One thousand signatures on the Remove the Math Program Petition wasn't exactly the conventional way to go, but it gave a voice for those who normally wouldn't speak up. The only people who thought it was whining are those who no longer work here.

The Blog is not my "little aria" right now and should probably be called the, "Voice of Plainview Old Bethpage." as my opinion has not been posted for many many months. I have printed almost every one of the comments I have received because it was not my place to censor the voice of the community. Many know I am friends with Stephanie Nelkens (who is in no way connected to AVeryPlainview) and it pained me to print some of what was said about her. In order for the blog to have credence, it had to be your opinion, not mine.

I will say that I am concerned about our district and the education that my children receive, and I will continue to talk to and work with the BOE, teachers, and the administration in any way that I can to ensure the best education possible for our children.

I encourage you all to keep writing. I hope my "coming out," will encourage you to sign your name to your posts and be counted. I will keep posting as long as there is something to say about life in PlainviewOldBethpage. Words are powerful.

Put in the Time, Then Ask for the Raise

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Sadly, the Children are Rarely Spoken About":

I can not believe that teachers are saying we should be happy not to be in Amityville or Hempstead. Personally, I think that the statement that blogger posted carried a tone of racism. It is inappropriate and wrong. I pray it wasn't a teacher who made it because it isn't the example I want for may children.

And to tell me to be thankful for "what I have" conveys a public employee entitlement mind sight. I don't "have" family or possessions. I earned them. Effort at work and effort with family/children build on these things. But you wouldn't understand. You don't view salary increases as a function of effort. You view them as something you "have" or "get" as a function of time.

And for the teacher to then say "You should be happy you are in Plainview"...Hello? I paid to be here.

It is you that should be happy to have a job in our schools. If Amityville and Hempstead are your standard for comparison...then quit and seek a job there!

But if you plan to stay...maybe you can consider putting in a 6.5 hour day like all of the districts you compare yourself with. After all, if you believe that salary increases are a function of time....the least you could do is put in the time before demanding the raise.

Some Give Backs Parents and Students Would Like

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Sadly, the Children are Rarely Spoken About":

For one, how about extra help after school daily - not just on Tues and Thurs. Secondly, how about every teacher have a web site (some good ones do--those who aren't afraid to actually communicate w/ their students) to keep students and parents informed about assignments, projects and tests?

Little League- Please Respond to This....

The cause of all the problems in Plainview Little League is the "BOARD" itself !!! They are obnoxious peopel out for their own agenda. Coaches like "***" , should not be allowed on the board and /or coach. "ed removed line". He disregards the ratings and chooses who he wants on his team and not who deserves to be. He then treats them like soldiers with his " not on my field" attitude and ruins their experience of baseball. Kids quit his team on a daily basis and yet he is allowed to mistreat kids because he is a board member.
How is it that he has 5 (half the travel team) travel players on his intramural team and he has lost every single game ?? Simple reason is because those kids are NOT the best players. They should NOT be on the travel team. They are his friends kids and his own son and are ALL over-rated to justify being on a travel team. One intramural team that has 5 "A" travel players on it should DOMINATE the league . EXPLAIN THAT !!! The entire little league is an embarrassment to Plainview!!!

Parents Vs The PCT Stronghold

People talk how wonderful the school is, but the real bottom line . Its the parents that make this school great , Not the overpaid teachers and administrators.

Parents take the time to make sure their children understand and get extra help (out of their own pockets). The family values of this comunity that education is most important.

I 100% agree that the Teachers union has a choking grip on our schools and does not care if services or extra activities are cut from our children, as long as they can keep getting their pay increases. Think of what we could have used the $ 1,700,000 of the budget that went strictly to the teachers raises that they did not deserve.


Stefanie is a true fighter for our kids but when only 5,000 people come out to vote ( most under the influence of the PCT) out of 20,000 we will never be able to get control of the board back to the citizens of this town.

The Work is Not Over Yet

Our Work is not Complete!

Oh the PCT had their hand in this election and still have the majority when it comes to voting on their contract. We all know who voted for the contract and the PCT went balls to the wall to make sure their inside man Gary Bettan won, they also tried their best to take down Angel Cepeda but failed. There is still work to be done, Mrs. Bernstein and Mrs. Lieberman are up for reelection next May, we have to continue to hold the board accountable for voting against our wishes. We are One Boardmember away from ridding the PCT of their majority.

Sadly, the Children are Rarely Spoken About

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The PCT Will Pick Your Board Members, if You Don't...":

Separate Post Please

My dear Plainview, the home of my childhood, the town I came back to so my kids could have what I always felt I had, a superior education. Oh, how you've changed.

We have a superintendent who trusts his administrators to do right by our children when so often they do not even come close. True, there are some who have a strong handle on things like at Parkway or the K Center but onto Stratford Road and you've got mediocrity, dishonesty and quite frankly substandard leadership where the individual child is the lowest priority in the building.

Our associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction is in way over her head. She has limited skills in effectively listening to and partnering with parents. Her goal is not to benefit the children but rather a means to fulfill her own ambitions, climb the career ladder and relish in her own success. Again, the individual child is incidental to the overall objective of her position.

The teachers are a multifaceted group. Many are hard working and devoted to our children. Others, although quite dedicated, simply do not have what it takes to effectively reach each and every child. Sadly, there are some who should have left the profession long ago.

How much involvement the board has in the day to day instruction of children and the management of teachers is unclear. Do they realize how many children are falling through the cracks? I truly do not know.

When I read this blog, I see that there exists so much animosity toward the schools. No question, I can relate to many of the complaints raised. What I cannot comprehend is how there is so much to say about the teachers, the board members, the financial crisis, etc, but yet when it comes to a discussion of the children, the most vulnerable members of this community, the ones for whom this school district is all about, the ones who have no voice but that of their parents, how is it that the children appear almost as an after thought?

The schools could be giving our children so much more. I wonder how many people out there feel as I do.

The PCT Will Pick Your Board Members, if You Don't Vote

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Cost of Living Should Determine Raises...":

Moderator Please make this a separate Post.

The only way to affect change is to come out and vote!

The PCT is calling it's members and telling them to flat out not vote for Angel Cepeda. Ask yourself why, could it be that he voted against the contract giving the teachers a raise. I'm sure they're happy with voting in Gary Bettan, he did vote to give them their raise. Now Bettan is all about fiscal responsibility, Ha! Gary you had your chance. Don't let the PCT pick your board, if you do you'll be complaining about this all over again.
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED, SHOW UP AT THE POLLS.

District Website a Tangled Mess

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Vote is Needed When the Money is Spent Too":

Why is our website such a disgrace? The other day I tried to find a lunch menu and got hopelessly lost in POB cyberspace. I gave up and googled Old Bethpage PTA and got onto that webpage and got my information. I even subscribed to their updates although my kids don't go there. It's a great way to find out what's going on our district.

Cost of Living Should Determine Raises...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Basic Education and Safety Should Come First,- Som...":

the administrators should be getting an increase in line with the change in the consumer price index. according to the handy-dandy budget information the district sent us this weekend that is (0.40%). the parentheses means the number is negative. the administrators should not be needing a raise since the cost of things actually went down.

More Money for Adminsrators or Fix the Schools?... Duh!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Basic Education and Safety Should Come First,- Som...":

How about we focus more attention on the teacher contracts then we will have enough money for the repairs. How about the Administrators contract? nothing has been said about that. What ever the teachers received you know the Administrators are getting at least the same if not more. With these outrageous salaries do you think the capital improvements and safety were the priorities of the board this spring?? I do not think so . So BOE maybe you should get your priorities in correct order

A Vote is Needed When the Money is Spent Too

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Where the Money Goes":

In regards to poster above about voters not having to vote on where monies from capital fund goes, this is simply NOT TRUE.

According to NYS EDUCATION LAW, "In addition to voter approval to establish such fund, voter approval must also be obtained before any expenditures can be made"

Basic Education and Safety Should Come First,- Something is Wrong Here

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Where the Money Goes":

Residents can go to BOE meetings to listen to and comment on the discussion of how the money will be spent. And it has to be voted on. Residents can vote against a project that they don't want.

The buildings need over $50 million dollars of work. The fund focuses attention on fixing a problem. Instead the budget has money going into technology like Smartboards. My kids never had a class with a smartboard and neither did I. I never went to school with leaks but my kids are. Something is wrong here.

Where the Money Goes

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Proposition #2 Explained":

It's a way NOT to hide money!!!! The community VOTES on how it is spent.

This gives more ACCOUNTABILITY to where money is and how it can be spent.

Proposition #2 Explained

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What is Proposition #2?":

Proposition 2 is a proposition to establish a Capital Reserve Fund in the amount of 5 million dollars. Voter approval is needed for this. Excess monies (if we get additional state aid, monies not spent during a school year, etc.) are put into this account and saved for Capital Repairs. These monies can ONLY be used for CAPITAL REPAIRS (not raises, etc) and what projects they are used for is also subject to VOTER APPROVAL. Basically, there are 3 ways School Districts can fund capital repairs 1) By including it as as line in actual budget. POB does this to the tune of a little less than 1 million per year. With 9 aging buildings, that's not too much. 2) By floating a bond. In this economy, NO CHANCE! 3) With voter approval establishing a Capital Reserve fund in which excess monies are placed and when projects need to be done going to VOTERS and asking for VOTER approval to spend monies from this account for projects. Hope this helps.

Proposition #2 and Plainview Herald Error

Stefanie Nelkens has left a new comment on your post "What is Proposition #2?":

http://www.pob.k12.ny.us/5-11-10%20budget%20release.pdf

There is a Press Release on the School District website about the budget and election. It says there are 2 seats up for election.

There are 3 seats up for election this year.

The Plainview Herald also has the same misinformation on their front page.

Ms. Nelkens Board Candidate Responds..

Stefanie Nelkens has left a new comment on your post "Last Night and Why I'm Going To Vote for Them....":

My opening was pretty much the same as the ad I ran in this week's Pennysaver (page 5). This may not be exact but it's pretty close.

I was introduced with the following by the representative from the League of Women Voters:
Stefanie Nelkens and her husband have been Plainview residents for 10 years and their son Max is a 4th grader at Stratford Road. She has served on and co-chaired various PTA committees, including the district-wide blood drive, PARP and SEPTA’s Executive Board. She earned a Bachelors in Computer Science. Stefanie served on the board of their co-op in Queens and was a trustee and officer of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center.

Then I spoke:

Good evening. Thank you all for coming and thank you to the PTA and League of Women’s Voters for sponsoring this event.
I have attended almost every Board of Education meeting for the past four years and have been an active participant. I’m not afraid to ask hard questions and represent the community’s concerns.
Report cards now come home prior to parent-teacher conferences and elementary school cafeterias no longer sell Gatorade and Pop Tarts because of points I raised to the school board.
After examining last year’s budget, I discovered that Stratford Road students were not receiving ELA workbooks and I lobbied the BOE for many months until equitable learning materials were purchased for these 3rd and 4th graders.
Several years ago I played a central role in bringing our district an instructional-based math program which raised our performance levels on state assessments.
Currently, I am the Vice Chairperson of the P-OB Public Library, having served for three years. I created a synergy between the schools and library by seeing to the inclusion of school textbooks and leveled reading books in our library collection.
I used my relationships to advocate and achieve common middle school reading lists. I participated in successful contract negotiations as well as suggesting outside-of-the-box solutions like 15-minute parking.
I hope to use my experience as a trustee of the public library to renew community trust in our schools. My proven leadership will ensure that our schools offer the highest quality education at the lowest possible cost.
I intend to bring transparency to the school district and as my track record shows, I’m about solutions.

My Candidate's Night closing was the following:

Former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles once said “The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”
I hope that when you go to the polls next Tuesday you will remember some of my recent accomplishments.
I hope that you will remember that when this district’s math curriculum was in crisis my leadership brought us a better math program.
Kids know more math than they did before I ran that ad in the Pennysaver inviting the community to speak to the BOE about our concerns about math.
I hope that you will remember that I have been fighting the battle to make this district more transparent. My questioning and follow up ensures that BOE minutes are made available in a timely manner in accordance with Open Meetings Law.
I hope that you will remember that I have achieved success in getting information about textbook spending, exposing inequities and I have worked diligently to ensure that kids in this district have equal opportunities to be exposed to a rich curriculum no matter which school they attend.
I hope that you will remember that my questioning the consistency of the Wellness policy led to the elimination of Gatorade and Pop Tarts from the elementary cafeterias.
I hope that you will remember that elementary report cards now come home prior to parent teacher conferences because of points I raised to the BOE. And, after many years of advocating my concerns regarding the content of the elementary report cards a committee has been finally formed to address this important communication.
I hope that you will remember that I successfully advocated for Stratford Road to provide outside staffing for arrival and dismissal at the car pool line and make changes, like eliminating buses from the car pool line, to put everyone’s safety first.
I hope that you will remember that my work on the library board has helped to create a 5 star library where the public and employees are happy. Everyone works together towards positive goals and that is exactly what we need here.
Remember my accomplishments and I’m sure I’ll be your choice for school board member. Thank you.