May 31, 2020
Dear Garden City School Community,
Even though the past week of school was shortened due to the Memorial Day holiday, it was a busy week for our district! I am proud to see our students continuing to demonstrate creativity and ingenuity in their remote learning work. I am also inspired by the many parades and events taking place across our community to celebrate our students. While we aren’t physically together, I know that our children and their loved ones appreciate these kind gestures.
As we begin to wind down the 2019-20 school year, please note that Tuesday, June 16 will be our last day of school. Teachers will focus on end of the year activities on June 15 and 16. Since New York State required districts to continue instruction through spring break and through any unused snow days, districts are meeting their 180-day instructional mandate sooner than anticipated. You will hear more about specific end of the year activities from your building principal.
I have received many emails from seniors and their parents on wanting graduation on our campus with social distancing. We have scheduled a parade on June 15th with a later graduation date in July. Our hope is that we will be allowed to hold graduation outdoors over the summer similar to what was announced earlier this week for New Jersey. We will be giving you the July date later this week.
The Governor’s Office has been utilizing seven metrics in its deliberations to re-open New York State. The following dashboard has the latest changes. This dashboard is updated every few days, so feel free to check back for updates on the progress in each region.
Even with this early school closure, our work as a district continues. We are preparing for the school budget vote on Tuesday, June 9 by absentee ballot only. In addition to receiving your ballot in the mail, you should have received a budget newsletter, focused solely on our proposed spending plan. In addition, all budget information can be found on the district’s website.
In preparation for the vote, we will be hosting two online video budget chats this Monday, June 1. They will be held at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. via Google Meet. Visit the homepage of our website for details on how to join. I look forward to this dialogue.
For those families that take advantage of the district’s summer programs, while we cannot host in-person sessions, we are planning for summer learning opportunity for students. Students entering grades K-6 will have access to optional, on-demand content work, projects and challenges. This work will build essential skills and knowledge for the new school year ahead. Students entering grades 7-12 will be offered more course-driven work and be provided with project- and challenge-based opportunities where coursework allows. I will share more as we finalize our plans. We are also exploring the possibility of an on-line summer enrichment program through SCOPE. They will be surveying parents to see if there is any interest.
As we look forward to the 2020-21 school year, the district has formed a committee to examine different scenarios for reopening in the fall. While there is still much uncertainty about how and when we can reopen our buildings, we need to be prepared for any situation – whether it’s reopening to students, the need to continue remote learning, or a mixture of both. We will keep you updated over the next several months as our plans are developed.
Finally, I want to give you an update on administrative changes within our district. I will be recommending to the Board that Kevin Steingruebner be appointed as principal of Garden City High School. Mr. Steingruebner has done an excellent job as interim principal during the 2019-20 school year, and I know he will continue to serve as a dedicated leader in our high school community. Also at the high school, Martin Malone will continue with us as the interim assistant principal for the upcoming year. Mr. Malone is a seasoned administrator who has worked effectively with the high school administrative team this year.
At the middle school, Eric Nezowitz will be returning as the interim principal. Dr. Nezowitz brings enthusiasm and a strong instructional background to the school’s administrative team. He will continue the work started this year, including reimagining the home base program, instituting a new STEAM-related course for sixth graders and focusing on our sixth grade ELA curriculum.
We are in the final stages of interviewing candidates for the assistant director of pupil personnel services position. The Board anticipates appointing someone to this position at their meeting on June 16. I look forward to sharing more details at that time.
I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend.
Sincerely,
Kusum
Kusum Sinha, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools