February 2019

Dear Briarcliff Community:

With each passing week, Briarcliff students and staff provide us with reasons to be proud. And the past couple of weeks have been no exception.

What's Happening:

The High School announced the Class of 2019 Valedictorian, Andrew Kanovsky and Salutatorians, Letitia Chan and Isabella Wang.
Sophomore swimmers, Darren Johnsen and James Pastore, both qualified in the 200 Medley Relay for States. This event will be held at the Nassau County Aquatic Center on March 1st and 2nd.
On Sunday, February 10th, I had the pleasure of visiting the Katonah Museum of Art Young Artist's exhibit. I always enjoy the opportunity to see our students' work displayed among their Westchester peers in a true community celebration of creativity. The exhibit will be open through March 3rd. I hope many of you will have the opportunity to see it.
In successive weeks, Princeton-bound Maddie Plank was named both News 12 and Con Edison Student-Athlete of the Week. In fact, the Bears' League Champion Girls Varsity Basketball team will head into the Section I playoffs as the top ranked team in Class B.
And, not to be outdone, the High School's Literary Magazine, Briars & Ivy, took home multiple 1st Place and Gold Medal Awards from the Columbia, American, National, and Empire State Scholastic Associations… Wow!

With your support, these are but a few of the wonderful things our students and staff across the School District are accomplishing each and every day!

Community Forums:

I am sincerely grateful to the over 65 residents who joined our Community Forums on School Facilities and Infrastructure last week. These round table discussions, specifically designed to obtain community feedback on how best to attend to our schools' capital needs moving forward, were extremely informative. The next step will be for the BOCES consultants, who facilitated the gatherings, to compile the information collected. These findings will then be shared with Board of Education and broader school community. Please stay tuned.

Board of Education News:

I would like to share with you a few updates from our Board of Education meeting on February 7th:

At the request of the Board of Education, the Director of Instruction and Human Resources, Duncan Wilson, wrote and presented a white paper on high school start times including scientific research into adolescent sleep patterns and the national trend to delay the start of the school. His paper had four parts: 1) a summary of research in support of schedule changes and links to articles and organizations that support the work; 2) an analysis of what local and comparable school districts have considered; 3) examples of school systems that have gone through schedule changes including the potential issues; and 4) Briarcliff-specific considerations to be explored before making any decisions. The full paper can be viewed here.The Board determined the next steps to be a broader community discussion regarding the potential of a start-time shift. Please be on the look-out for Principal Coffees' invitations and other communications on the topic.

Budget season is upon us and, along with routine financial updates, many of the upcoming Board of Education meetings will be examining the different facets of our school department finances. During the February 7th meeting, two in-depth presentations were delivered: Athletic Director Christos Drosopoulos and Director of Pupil Personnel Dr. Debora Serio-Vaughan. At the February 28th meeting, the Principals from Todd, BMS and BHS will each present an overview on their building's educational programs. As always, I encourage community members to review upcoming agendas and attend meetings in person or stream them online.

As a District, we are constantly re-evaluating the health and wellness and social-emotional needs of our students. Occurrences of bullying and other unsettling activity are not the norm in Briarcliff however, when they do happen, schools and parents need to work together to address them through to resolution. Our faculty and staff follow best practices and recommended guidelines for all students K through 12. In addition to general vigilance, we do this by implementing a variety of programs and tools including mindfulness awareness, regularly scheduled conferences with counselors, access to a Student Assistance Counselor in BMS and BHS, the "see something say something" policy, and the ability to report issues while maintaining anonymity – there is even an App in our B-Button that allows a student or parent to "Report Bullying." In spite of these efforts, incidents of bullying sometimes require a more specific and empathetic response. We work to ensure that students are aware of the resources available to help them, and that they have trusted adults around them should they be experiencing difficulties. If you feel that your child may be being bullied at school, please contact your child's classroom teacher, counselor or building administrator and your concerns will be taken very seriously.

Finally, School Board candidate nominating petitions are now available by contacting the District Clerk, Juanita Brockett at jbrockett@briarcliffschools.org or 914-432-8130. Nominating petitions are due in the office of the District Clerk by 5:00 PM on April 22nd.

School Delays and Closings:

After the tease of spring weather, the snow is back. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we place student and staff safety at the top of a long list of concerns when considering school delays and closings. Delays and cancelations do not hold the same allure for adults as they do for kids, but schooling is a kid business. So instead of getting a call from me, do not be surprised if you get a weather-related call from a 3rd grader, or perhaps a special guest, during the ensuing days and weeks.

Until then, warm wishes! I hope you enjoy next week's winter recess with your children, families and friends.

Very Sincerely,

Dr. James Kaishian
Superintendent of Schools