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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 06 July 2023

Created: 06 July 2023

Last Updated: 22 November 2023

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The Scarsdale Board of Education unanimously elected new leaders and welcomed two new assistant superintendents to the dais at their July 6, 2023 meeting. Last year’s Vice President Ron Schulhof was sworn in as Board President and Suzie Hahn Pascutti as Board Vice President. Former Board President Amber Yusuf will serve for an additional three-year term as will Board member Bob Klein.

The tone of the meeting was a marked departure from last year at this time when the school district was in crisis. In the spring of 2022, the public learned about a series of mistakes in payroll processing resulting in a tax lien and penalties from the IRS. Though all fines and penalties were ultimately returned, the board and the community were deeply shaken. The Superintendent resigned in January 2022 and then again in May 2022 saying the IRS matter was “too much of a distraction.” In an effort to unravel the debacle, the Board retained a consultant to investigate what happened and engaged additional consultants to conduct the search for the next superintendent. At the July 2022 meeting they questioned the activities of their auditors and discussed the retention of additional auditors to review payroll processing procedures.

This year the group was calm and poised to begin the 2023-24 school year with Dr. Andrew Patrick at the helm as superintendent and seasoned board members in place.

New additions to Patrick’s cabinet are Meghan Troy who was promoted from Principal of Scarsdale Middle School to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Leadership Development and Andrew Lennon as Assistant Superintendent for Business who replaces Stuart Mattey who retired after eight years in that position.

With their new leaders at the head of the table, the Board held their organizational meeting, approving routine matters including the appointment of officers, district consultants and themselves as the audit committee for the 2023-24 school year. Andrew Lennon was assigned to certify all payrolls and to hold a district credit card and the Scarsdale Inquirer and the Journal News were named official publications for legal notices.

Code of Conduct

During a public hearing on the district Code of Conduct, PT Council President Leah Dembitzer asked if any potential changes were considered.

Patrick and Eric Rauschenbach said that the bulk of the conversation was about artificial intelligence and whether or not the district needed disciplinary measures around AI. They concluded that cheating and academic dishonesty are already covered in the Code of Conduct under plagiarism. Patrick said, “We thought it was premature to put it into the Code of Conduct but expect it to be an ongoing issue.

After thanking the Board and welcoming Troy and Lennox Patrick said that summer program improvement work is now underway and that over 70 meetings have already taken place between the end of school and now. He said the work “Includes a deeper dive into Reveal Math units of study, enhancing the ecosystem, Chat GPT and AI as a tool for World Language classes, incorporation of current events, media literacy and multi-modalities and literacy instruction and designing an interdisciplinary financial literacy course.”

The Treasurer reported that district revenues are over budget by $1,000,000 due to excellent interest rates.

Additionally Juneteenth has been added to the calendar as a district-wide holiday.

End of Year Tributes

Patrick and Board members thanked Amber Yusuf and Ron for their leadership during the 2022-23 school year.

About Yusuf, Patrick said, “Over the past two years, you've brought a strong and clear growth mindset to the work of board leadership. And you've understood well the important differences between being a board member and acting as a board is critical. You've been able to create an environment that allows for consensus to emerge. From thoughtful dialogue and from sharing, considered viewpoints. You've been supportive and in ways large and small, often behind the scenes to this new superintendent, and you've really helped to regain the confidence and trust of our community.”

To Schulhof he said, “Beyond bringing order to the function of Zoom public comment, your thoughtful questions, and clear explanations of your own thought processes serve as a model to both the board and the public. In education, we call this making your thinking visible and it's an important strategy that helps people learn. This is your approach to the work of board membership and leadership by making visible your decision-making processes you help illuminate the student-centered priorities that matter most to you, which ultimately makes the work for the board more transparent and accessible to our public.”

Shulhof credited Yusuf with her leadership on updating the school calendar, the renovation of the high school auditorium and in the search for a new superintendent.

Pascutti said this about Yusuf, “You know that “Profile of a Scarsdale High School Graduate” that we aspire to for our students? …. To me you are the very model of these qualities. A smart and critical thinker, a skillful practitioner, a lifelong learner, a compassionate leader, and a non sibi community member. You genuinely care about our students and school community and do this hard work for all the right reasons with grace and dignity and integrity. Your commitment to education and the whole child has been evident in how you approach everything you do and to guide our board work.”

Board members noted the team’s leadership through a difficult transition year and lauded Yusuf for continuing to serve in a non-leadership role for an additional three years.

Gifts

The Board accepted gifts for several schools, most notably a gift of $70,000 from the Greenacres PTA for work on the long-neglected courtyard of Greenacres School. The goal of the project is to provide outdoor space for whole-class learning, flexible spaces for small groups and independent work, and space to support students' mental health and wellbeing.

Phase one will cover all groundwork and will include improvements to the existing pavers and the addition of surface materials including pavers, synthetic grass, rubber surfacing and wood chip/mulch ground cover. Phase two will include outdoor tables and chairs for whole class learning, sun protection and other outstanding upgrades for an additional estimated cost of $48,000.

The Board accepted a gift of $70,000 to transform the courtyard of Greenacres Elementary School.

Take a look at the project plan above.

Additional gifts included

-$497 from the SHS PTA for non-sibi day stickers.

-$10,419 from Maroon and White to provide athletic banners for the high school and lamppost banner to celebrate athletic team successes.

-$10,000 from the Edgewood PTA for new cafeteria tables

The Board’s next meeting will be held on Monday August 28, 2023.

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Written by Wendy MacMillan

Published: 30 August 2023

Created: 30 August 2023

Last Updated: 31 August 2023

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Students are just going back to school this week but the Board of Education, and many of our District’s faculty and staff, have been hard at work all summer to ensure a smooth start to the school year. Much of this work was discussed at the Board of Education meeting held on Monday August 8th, 2023. Here are just a few of the highlights:

BOE President Ron Schulhof outlined planning, hiring, cleaning, orientations and so much more work done during the summer months. Schulhof also made note of the progress being made to improve telecom cell service in and around the high school and Fox Meadow. Work with Verizon on Post Road is currently underway and the BOE looks forward to continuing to partner with the Village to bring improvements from the other carriers they met with over the summer.

Dr. Edgar McIntosh presented on the “Rolling Gradebook” a new pilot program being implemented at the high school. For more details on the program, please see our article SHS Pilots New Grading System here.

In the Human Resources department there have been many new hires.

Faculty appointments include:

Timothy Leddy has been recommended for appointment in the tenure area of Special Education. He holds a BA from Hunter College and a Masters from Manhattanville College. Mr. Leddy holds New York State Certification in Students with Disabilities Grades 5-9, English Language Arts Grades 7-12, and Students with Disabilities Grades 7-12. Prior to joining Scarsdale, Mr. Leddy has been a special education teacher in the Eastchester School District.

Aimee Baez has been recommended for appointment as a Leave Replacement faculty member commencing on August 29, 2023. Dr. Baez will be working as the school psychologist at Scarsdale Middle School while Dr. Hasler is out on leave. She holds New York State Certification as a School Psychologist and in Childhood Education Grades 1-6. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bard College, a Masters in Science General and Special Childhood Education from Bank Street College, and a Doctor of Psychology from St. John University. Dr. Baez was previously an intern at the middle school and more recently served as a psychologist at the School at Columbia University.

Neil Epstein is recommended for appointment as a Leave Replacement faculty member commencing on August 29, 2023. Mr. Epstein will be the 7th grade social studies teacher at Scarsdale Middle School while Ms. Rothman acts as Interim Assistant Principal at the middle school. He holds New York State Certification in Social Studies Grades 7-12 and Social Studies Grades 5-6 Extension. He earned his BS in Finance from the University of Delaware and a Master of Secondary Social studies Education from Queens College. Mr. Epstein recently taught social studies in the Great Neck Public Schools.

Brandon Shea is recommended for appointment as a Leave Replacement faculty member commencing on August 29, 2023. Mr. Shea will be the 7th grade science teacher at Scarsdale Middle School while Ms. Mastroianni is out on leave. He holds New York State Certification in Biology 7-12. He earned a Bachelor of Science from SUNY of Environmental Science and Forestry and a Masters of Science for Teachers from Pace University. Brandon previously worked as an intern and student teacher at both Scarsdale Middle School and Scarsdale High School.

Jennifer McPherson is recommended to fill the position of long-term substitute teacher at the daily rate of $200 beginning August 29, 2023, and continuing as long as services are satisfactory and needed, but no later than October 31, 2023. Jennifer will be assigned to Scarsdale Middle School covering for Melissa Zeiler who will be on leave.

Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Student Services, Eric Rauschenbach gave an Update on our Day Automation System Integration (Lockdown system) and said that the new system is set to be up and running by October 16th of this year.

During Public Comments, SHS Senior Rick Yang advocated for the creation of a Tier One Wellness Center in our district. Yang quoted startling statistics that support the need for a wellness center in addition to outlining the specifics of Governor Hochul’s grant that allocates $8.3 Million to Create and Support New School-Based Mental Health Clinics. Dr. Patrick thanked Yang for participating in the public comments and asked Mr. Yang to please email him directly to continue the discussion.

Non-Resident Students

While there were many other business and action items discussed at the meeting (if interested, you can find those action items if you scroll through the meeting agenda here), one point of interest was information item 11.09 Policy 5152 - Admission of Non-Resident Students where the Board engaged in a discussion of the payment of tuition by non-resident students experiencing exceptional circumstances. Dr. Patrick gave an example of one such exceptional circumstance describing a student in their senior year, who is no longer able to afford to live in the district but has spent their entire academic career here. The BOE would like to bring forward a draft proposing an amendment to the existing policy in order for the Board to have power to offer continued education here in Scarsdale in extreme circumstances like this. Many of the BOE members spoke in favor of bringing forward such a draft saying, “It is in the best interest of the student.”

The discussion of admission of non-resident students brings to mind another recent headline detailing statements from the New York State Attorney General's Office and the state Education Department. "Our offices write to remind school administrators that all children and youth in New York between the ages of 5 and 21 have the right to a free public-school education, regardless of immigration status, language proficiency, or whether the student is living in a shelter, migrant camp, or other temporary housing," they announced.

For better understanding on this topic we reached out to Ron Schulhof who said, “My understanding is that the letter issued from Attorney General James and Commissioner Rosa outlines already existing Federal and State laws. The Board and Administration regularly review District Policies to ensure compliance with the appropriate laws. For example, last year the Board adopted Policy 5151 - Homeless Children to address changes in the requirements of the McKinney Vento Act and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). At this time, the Board has not been notified that any specific policy regarding admissions requires an update based on the letter from the Attorney General and State Education Department.

Unrelated to the letter from the AG and SED, the Board did engage in a policy discussion at the August 28th, 2023 Board meeting regarding Policy 5152 - Admission of Non-Resident Students. The discussion related to this policy focused on payment of tuition by non-resident students experiencing exceptional circumstances. The Board came to consensus to have the Administration present a draft update to this policy that would add that authority to provide exceptions to the required tuition payment by non-residents under exceptional circumstances. Currently, Policy 5152 does not provide the Board nor Administration such authority if a student experiences an exceptional circumstance that results in loss of residency. As of note, the authority for the Board to provide such an exception already exists in the Policy for the children of District employees upon the death of the District employee while the child is still a student in the District. Should anyone wish to watch the full Board discussion, please visit the Scarsdale Board Video Page. The video of Board meetings is usually posted within a few days of the meeting. The Board anticipates discussing a first draft of this policy update at the September 11, 2023 Board meeting.

Financial Risk Assessment

A presentation of the Review of the Risk Assessment Update Report was given by the District’s internal auditor Richard Coffey of CPA Cullen & Danowski, LLP. As described by the BOE in their agenda, “As part of the NYS Comptroller’s five-point plan to strengthen financial accountability, school districts are required to engage an internal auditor to perform risk assessments and help boards of education in developing internal controls to reduce financial risk. The purpose of the Updated Risk Assessment Report is to annually review the critical business processes of the District including governance, accounting, revenue and cash management, payroll, purchasing, facilities, student services, and student-related data.

After their review, a recommendation is made to the Board of Education for acceptance of these reports. In addition, the Audit Committee, upon consultation with the Internal Auditor and Administration, recommends an area of intensive review for the upcoming year to be included in the Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures Report.”

Mr. Coffee’s presentation detailed many aspects of the report including positive attributes where the District is doing well, in addition to highlighting recommendations for areas of improvement in their Corrective Action Plan. The Corrective Action Plan suggested nine recommendations including:

Recommendations:

We recommend that the District strengthen the cash receipts process related to funds collected at athletic events during the evenings and weekends by developing procedures to require that a designated administrator assist with having these receipts safeguarded in the safe with the schools’ main office right after the event. This would reduce the potential loss or theft of these funds while being held by a person from the event until the receipts are deposited a day or several days later in the safe.”

However, Andrew B. Lennon, Assistant Superintendent for Business, explained that eight of the nine recommendations have already been completed and the ninth is pending and actively being assessed. You can read the full Risk Assessment Update Report here and see the recommendations and the management responses here.

Mr. Coffee also presented the Detailed Testing Audit Report and Management's Corrective Action Plan. The report explains, “We note that the District has protocols in place related to the processing of payroll transactions that includes a Payroll Process document with detailed steps covering various procedures and internal controls designed to mitigate the inherent risk within the payroll process (e.g., Payroll Clerk is unable to set up employees in SMARTS) and the Business Office understands the need to have proper controls in place. We also found that the employees we interviewed demonstrate a positive attitude towards improving procedures and are knowledgeable about the requirements related to their responsibilities.” The report further states, “We found some opportunities to improve operations as a result of our engagement.” The six recommendations for improvement and our District’s management response can be found here.

Mr. Lennon explained that a great deal of work has taken place to improve this area of business in our district, which can be attested to by the management’s responses to the improvement recommendations.

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Written by Vivian Zweig

Published: 14 June 2023

Created: 14 June 2023

Last Updated: 15 June 2023

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Senior Slump: “When second and third semester seniors stop doing their homework, give up on extra-curriculars that actually require work, develop mysterious illnesses, sleep until noon on a Tuesday, ‘forget’ to go to gym class…” (Urban Dictionary). 

There’s a popular theory about the origin of Scarsdale High School’s Senior Options program: the senior slump. According to the theory, past seniors cut so many classes in the third and fourth quarters that they were in danger of not graduating. And so, the school created the Senior Options program to keep the graduating class on track to, well… graduate. The program requires students to complete a six-week internship of their choice. By giving seniors the opportunity to work in an area of interest, the program provides not only real-life work experience but also an incentive to meet the minimum number of educational hours required to graduate. 

The program has given students the opportunity to write and publish novels, conduct research, and so much more. So, what are students up to this year?

Interior Design 

Jadyn Susanke and Cate Bellesheim are interested in art, real estate, and interior design. Both Susanke and Bellesheim plan to major in fashion design and management, so it’s no surprise that they found an internship that combines their interests. The two are interning at Homestead Advisors, a company that stages, organizes, and designs houses. There, Susanke and Bellesheim sit in on staging and design consultations and participate in physically staging and de-staging houses. In addition to consultations and staging, the two spend time organizing and labeling inventory. The pair recently created three design spreads of college dorm ideas for each other as one of their final projects. Due to the intimate nature of the job—meeting and visiting clients—Susanke and Bellesheim have had their fair share of strange interactions. Bellesheim shared an amusing story: “One time during a client meeting at our sponsors house, a husband and wife came in, and the sponsor’s dog did not like the husband and would not stop barking at him. Jadyn and I kept running around, trying to keep the dog calm and away from the husband.” After the meeting, the pair found out that their sponsor’s dog could be suspicious of strangers. 

Medicine and Biology

The Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SVAC) senior options program has grown in popularity over the years. This program is a six-week EMT Basic certification course that teaches students patient care and response techniques. Alex Vetrone (pictured at top) is considering pursuing pre-med in college and would like to get first-hand experience with patient care and contact. He plans to volunteer as an EMT over the summer and throughout his college career. Each day, Vetrone sits through lectures and practices skills like taking vital signs. As a part of the program, each student is required to get ten patient contacts. Vetrone stated he had taken vital signs and questioned patients in the field. The hands-on practice required for the course often creates comedic situations. According to him, “One day we were practicing car extrications and our ‘victims’ [students in the class], decided to put on quite a show. While they were fake screaming and crying about how they didn’t want to be taken to the hospital, concerned pedestrians began to peak their heads into the SVAC parking lot.” The instructors, used to dealing with nosy bystanders, “just gave them a smile and a wave as [their] victims continued to scream bloody murder.”

Law 

Alicia XinAlicia Xin and Alison Jiang were involved in social and governmental extracurriculars throughout high school. Xin was particularly involved as a member and officer of Model UN. She stated that “I’ve done government internships before, and I wanted to look at different fields I could go into professionally and to help me make decisions about what to study.” Last summer, Jiang interned with Alison JiangShelly B. Mayer and Chris Burdick, where she learned more about politics. With their previous experiences, it’s no surprise that they decided to intern at Wilson-Elser, a law firm that specializes in medical malpractice, litigation, and insurance defense. There, the two draft summons and complaints, file documents, organize, and research for depositions. They not only love learning about interesting cases—illegal immigration, murder, insurance fraud—but also drinking the office’s free Swiss Miss hot chocolate. 

Nature Conservation

The weather may be wacky, but some students are enjoying the late spring at local nature centers. Noa Shiloach wanted to work outside for her senior options and has been interning at the Rye Nature Center. She was interested in learning how to help the environment, which helped guide her to the nature center. There, she learns about any and all things related to nature, from bird species to invasive plants and insects. Shiloach regularly helps care for the native species, weeds, invasive plants, and plants trees. Although it’s often hot and rainy, she “…like[s] that it’s outside and that [she’s] making a difference to the nature center and environment.”

Noa Shiloach

Education

You may have heard the phrase “Mazel Tov,” but what about “Mazel Tots”? Meena Venkatakrishnan is interested in becoming a child psychologist and loves working with young children. She decided to intern at Mazel Tots, a local Jewish nursery school at Scarsdale Synagogue, where she helps manage the classroom and entertain the “Tots.” Venkatakrishnan’s favorite part of her internship is “getting close to the kids and forming real connections with them” each day. The kids have adopted a fond nickname for her—Ms. Meena. There’s never a dull moment at the nursery. According to Venkatakrishnan, “just the other day I was told that if I were a cake, I’d be chocolate because I’m brown.” She certainly has her hands full, teaching her “tots” about more than just letters and numbers! 

Investment

Varun Bansal has been involved in business and investment for years as the president of the Business Club and Scarsdale’s branch of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA). Bansal stated: “I’ve always been interested in business and finance, and while I’ve done a lot of theoretical research and investing through clubs and competitions, I wanted to see how that compared to real life.” It’s no surprise that he decided to intern at Alight Capital, a hedge fund in the city. There, he not only applies his current knowledge but also builds upon it and learns more from his mentors. Although Bansal cannot make executive investment decisions, he sits in on various meetings and participates in company research. According to Bansal, sitting in on meetings “gave [him] more perspective on how professionals analyze companies and make decisions.” 

Mechanics

Avaneesh Rao is an aspiring mechanical engineer who has recently been fascinated by the design processes behind car manufacturing. He was excited to get some hands-on experience in an entry-level engineering environment by working at Casarella’s Auto Service on Hartsdale Avenue. There, Rao prepares the garage, performs basic repairs such as oil draining, and assists senior members in completing more advanced work. He describes his mentor as “patient” and the work environment as “relaxed” and “stress free.”  Ultimately, Rao’s internship taught him “how to better communicate and cooperate in small groups,” skills that will be essential to his success as an engineer. 

Baking

 Halle Jakubowicz can often be found in the kitchen, surrounded by the delectable aromas of cookies, cupcakes, or some other baked goods. To get more “formal training” and improve her skills, Jakubowicz made it her mission to intern at a bakery for senior options. After weeks of searching, she found an internship at SugarHi, a bakery in Armonk run by twin sisters Hillary Assael and Elissa Weinhoff. There, Jakubowicz works as a cashier and designs candy bouquets, college candy boxes, and gift baskets. Although she enjoys her tasks, she is disappointed that she does not have a more active role in the baking process.

Cooking

Fuji Mart in Eastchester is more than just a grocery store; it’s home to a Japanese restaurant called Ramen Musashi. Like Jakubowicz, one of Haochen Liu’s favorite hobbies is in the kitchen—cooking. According to him, “being around food has always been a part of my life and learning about it in a professional environment has always been my goal.” Since the beginning of his senior year, Liu has been determined to intern as a chef for his senior options. After weeks of searching, he found a job at Ramen Musashi, where he works the morning and lunch shifts. In the mornings, Liu makes onigiri (rice balls) for the supermarket to sell, sets up the kitchen, washes and cuts ingredients for the day, and prepares boba (bubble tea.) In the afternoons, he prepares and packages delivery orders for hungry customers. Unfortunately, the restaurant is only doing takeout currently, which limits both the number of orders the restaurant receives and the number of orders Liu can make. Despite these limitations, his favorite part of his internship is all the “incredibly passionate and willing to teach” people that he’s met. 

Like always, this year’s assortment of senior options internships has been particularly impressive. The program has not only allowed students to get work experience in a field of their interest but has also kept them on track to graduate. Jose Lamela, the program’s director, has ensured that each student has kept up with their 30-hour workweek requirements, fulfilling the state’s minimum time requirement. As the program ends, each student will be presenting to their teacher-mentor and peers. Then, it’s on to graduation!