Working
Session at Community School Board 2
A
community school board is the policy making arm of the district
and decides, in its working sessions, such issues as extension
of the school year, the process of hiring a principal, and events
of importance in the schools of the district. The working session
is open to the public though the public cannot participate. After
the working session, individuals can speak before the community
school board, giving viewpoints or asking questions ranging from
budget to policy to specific requests.
On the evening of March 25th, Anthony Alvarado, Superintendent
of Community School Board 2 (CSB 2), at the monthly working session,
discussed with board members the feasibility of extending the
school year for one month in the summer. Each board member is
a liaison to several schools and gives a report on what's happening.
Among events reported were: Wagner Intermediate School held a
conference on standards, P.S. 183 hosted an all-day principals
conference, P.S.1 is celebrating 100 years and was the first public
school in New York, and Baruch Campus High School, a new school
is opening in the fall. A question about distribution of funds
was raised with regard to Staten Island. They received 11% of
the funds but have only 4% of the schoolchildren in New York City.
Votes on various issues was done by oral roll call.
Parents and former school board members posed questions or read
opinion statements. Dr. Barnett, a former member of CSB2, spoke
about the recent governance legislation and how it removes the
power of the school boards. He stated that the Chancellor now
has control of the elementary schools and this law should be repealed.
Superintendent Alvarado spoke about the standards project that
District 2 has been funded to carry out by the Central Board with
an allocation of $21/2 million dollars. According to Alvarado,
we must raise the standards of education for all children. During
the summer, students not meeting standards will come in for an
extra month of instruction. Reduced class size (15) and a literacy
intervention program are some of the components of the program.
The University of Pittsburgh has been named to do research on
CSB 2's program.
Education
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