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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 14 February 2024

Created: 14 February 2024

Last Updated: 18 February 2024

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Scarsdale Superintendent Drew Patrick issued the following statement to the Scarsdale community on February 13, concerning the accusation of racial slurs at a Varsity Girls B Team game against East Ramapo on Feburary 10. He says below that an investigation has determined that the accusations are “factually baseless and untrue.” Also read a statement from Scarsdale parent Jason Paris who was in the stands at the game.

Dear Scarsdale Community,

Good evening- I hope you're in good spirits as you read this message. I am writing to provide clear and direct information related to last Saturday’s Girls Varsity B basketball game against East Ramapo. Unfortunately, recent media reports are painting an inaccurate picture of what transpired, so I would like our community to hear an account of the event from me, and an update on where things stand.

First, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to everyone involved in the recent Raiders for Research event. The collaboration between the athletic department, particularly the boys' and girls' basketball teams, and Scarsdale High School’s Breast Cancer Awareness Club, was instrumental in raising awareness and support for cancer research. Each of our basketball teams participated, with games spanning from 9 AM to nearly 9 PM. The event exceeded the fundraising target, raising $2,062 for the V Foundation. Congratulations to the players, coaches, and families that played a role in this great event.

Unfortunately, in the final moments of the 3:00 PM Varsity B Girls’ Basketball Game against East Ramapo, the opposing coach reported that his players were subjected to racially charged comments from a spectator or spectators. Our commitment to belonging and a safe, supportive environment for all students—free from discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and bullying—compels us to investigate all such reports. That investigation was ably led by our Athletic Director, Ray Pappalardi, and I’m happy to report that our investigation did not corroborate that there were any such comments made. While East Ramapo’s administration is still completing their side of the investigation, their Athletic Director joined Ray in issuing a joint statement yesterday that conveyed this conclusion.

Despite this, the news media has decided to report this incident as if it has been confirmed and verified as having occurred--a factually baseless and untrue assertion. While we are absolutely committed to providing a safe environment for our students and visitors alike, we must also be clear when we are wrongly accused of failing to do so. Importantly, the administrators from East Ramapo have not yet completed their side of the investigation, making the news reports even more problematic. Ray and I have each been in contact with our counterparts there, and we know that they seek the same positive experience for their student-athletes as we do. We look forward to the completion of their investigation, ideally by the end of this week. We will report any relevant updates or additional information, as appropriate, once that has been completed.

In closing, we remain steadfast in our support of our players, our community, and a school environment that celebrates diversity and mutual respect. We are proud of how our athletes conducted themselves this weekend, and congratulate them. Our students will continue to meet or exceed the high expectations we have for them, and we will all remain committed to fostering a welcoming, competitive athletic environment for all of our guests.

Sincerely,

Dr. Drew Patrick
Superintendent

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 05 March 2024

Created: 05 March 2024

Last Updated: 05 March 2024

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The following statement was read by PT Council President Leah Dembitzer at the March 4, 2024 Scarsdale School Board meeting.

To the Scarsdale Schools’ Community:

The Scarsdale PT Council Executive Committee, as well as the PTC Legislative Advocacy, and PTC Budget Study Chairs would like to alert our school community to the following: the Governor’s Executive Budget cuts expected school aid. The Executive Budget change to Foundation Aid will reduce state aid to the Scarsdale Schools in 2024-2025 by $558,720. In addition, and according to NYS PTA’s analysis, high needs school districts will shoulder 50% of the share of the proposed statewide Foundation Aid cuts. Thus, the students who need the most support from the state will bear the burden of the loss of funding.

Scarsdale PT Council calls on our parent community to take action, not only for our own community but also for surrounding school districts, non sibi.

As per the NYS PTA’s recent call to action, please note the following:

The Executive Budget cuts expected school aid by more than $400 million in two ways:

1. The Executive Budget terminates the “Save Harmless” provision. The provision continues funding for school districts with declining student enrollment, funding them at their current school aid levels. This proposed cut would affect nearly 400 school districts and would amount to more than $150 million.

2. The Executive Budget changes the Foundation Aid formula by modifying the way in which the inflationary measure is calculated: moving to an arbitrary and capricious averaging of 10 years (2014-2023) of inflationary (Consumer Price Index) numbers, excluding the highest and lowest years. This change would result in a cut of more than $300 million to New York State public schools.

NYS PTA and the Scarsdale PT Council Executive Committee strongly oppose the cuts to school aid proposed in the Executive Budget:

-This proposal will cause irreparable harm to some of our most vulnerable students.
-This proposal devalues children and the work that educators do each day to support them.
-This proposal compounds the difficulties in giving all students the support that they need to succeed.

Tell Governor Hochul that you support our children, educators, and schools!

Please Use Your Voice and Take Action!

Sincerely,

Leah Dembitzer, PT Council President
Meryl Satler, PT Council President-Elect
Jeanette Rosen, PT Council Secretary
Rokaya Hassaballa, PT Council Treasurer
Beth Cukier, SHS PTA President
Tina Lin, SMS PTA President
Ammr Vandal, Edgewood PTA Co-President
Jeanine Cole, Edgewood PTA Co-President
Jeannie Adashek, Fox Meadow PTA Co-President
Leena Gyftopoulos, Fox Meadow PTA Co-President
Jennifer Galeon, Greenacres PTA President
Deborah Bhatt, Heathcote PTA President
Erica German, Quaker Ridge PTA President
Joshua Mitts, PTC Legislative Advocacy Co-Chair
Rachana Singh PTC Legislative Advocacy Co-Chair
Irena Spiegel-Turner, PTC Budget Study Co-Chair
Ranjana Saini-Chandarana, PTC Budget Study Co-Chair

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Published: 29 January 2024

Created: 29 January 2024

Last Updated: 30 January 2024

Hits: 1933

Remy Weinberg at Second EditionThe Alternative School at Scarsdale High School provides students chosen by lottery with opportunities for community based learning. Weekly community meetings, core group meetings and special events like “Hallowanksgiving” and “Outing” all bring the students together to form tight bonds between the students and the teachers. Students have opportunities for leadership positions planning A School events. The students are encouraged to take initiative in their education by contributing new ideas for the SAS academic classes and outside of school activities. 

The January  Internship Program at the A School is just one opportunity for students to immerse themselves in real world jobs while gaining new valuable experiences. SAS students: Samantha Schneider, Henry Sperling, Monica Afran, Laura Chestnut, and Seka Slivjnofksi are all doing internships this month as they balance their work life with their school life.

 Here is what they are up to:

Sophomore Samantha Schneider is working with kindergartners at the Kids Base Program at the Little School in Scarsdale. For two and a half hours after school everyday, Samantha helps supervise the children, making sure they are staying safe and happy. She says she loves “working with the kindergartners and doing activities with them”. Having this internship is helping Samatha learn how to control and accommodate young children which can help her in the future if she wants to pursue a job in education. Samantha said that sometimes the balance between internship and school can be difficult but “not having classes with the A school for this month of January has made it less overwhelming”.  Overall, Samantha has been having a great time and she has really enjoyed working with the kids.

Henry Sperling, a sophomore at the A School, has been interning with the real estate company FTERE. Usually, Henry does the company’s paperwork such as sorting through their leases. He has traveled to the Bronx with his sponsor to meet with tenants and discuss their needs.. Henry thinks that his internship has been a “great experience” and he really likes the ability to choose his hours because it helps him to manage his school schedule.

Senior Monica Afran is interning  high school psychologist, Micole Horowitz. They visit special education classes at the elementary school. The students in these classes have a range of learning disabilities and they benefit from classes with a smaller student to teacher ratio. Monica has been spending most of her time in Jenna Mazzillo’s 8-1-2 class at Edgewood Elementary School. She helps teach the kids how to express themselves and learn language skills. She says, “My internship requires a lot of time spent driving, which can be difficult at times but as long as I stick to my schedule’s hours, it's no problem at all!”

Sophomore Laura Chestnut is working at the Pamplemousse Project Cafe in White Plains. Laura's job is to research cafe competitors and their products so she can compare them to offerings at the Pamplemousse Project. Her goal is to get inspiration on what goods and food to sell so that the company can become more successful. Laura works electronically at home so during her free time she will log onto her computer and get to work. Laura is learning research skills that she hopes to use down the line.

Sophomore Seka Slivjanovski interns both online and in person for the brand, Babo Botanicals. Some days she works at her sponsors home in Connecticut where she assists with research and upcoming projects. Seka recently worked on powerpoint presentation for a warehouse that Babo Botanicals is building. She also helped create the company's holiday makeup gift set. When Seka works online she attends zoom calls where she and the company's team do research on what ingredients are beneficial for the skin and how they should be included in the new skincare line. Her job in the office is hard sometimes but she says she loves the fact that she leaves her concerns at the office. 

Remy Weinberg, a sophomore at the A School has been working at the vintage clothing store Second Edition in the Scarsdale Village. Remy has always been interested in clothing and styling outfits so she was really excited to have this job.. Remy promotes the business by posting different outfits on the company’s instagram story and displaying the store's new items. Sometimes she will assist customers by giving them advice on what to buy and what clothing items will look good together. Remy thinks the balance between school and her internship is pretty good because she is “always looking forward to her internship because it's very fun”. Remy goes into the store anytime she has free time during her day at school.

The internship program at the Alternative School gives students great opportunities to explore their interests and learn valuable skills in the work world. Response from all the students we contacted has been overwhelmingly positive.

Juliette Gross is a sophomore at the A School. She enjoys dancing and loves to read! The A School means a lot to her so she enjoys educating others about it.