Scarsdale Track and Field Shatters School Records, Qualifies for Millrose Games and Qualifies for Nationals
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Boys 4x400 Relay Team (Left to right) Jonah Oxman, Nick Bernard, Eric Jacobson, and DJ Matusz.Even without a track at their disposal, the Scarsdale track and field team has had an exciting start to their winter season, with many individual athletes achieving high rankings in the section, state, and even nationally.
When the Scarsdale track and field coaches learned that they would not have a track at the high school for the winter and possibly spring seasons, they had to problem-solve and create a training plan that did not require the track. The solution amounted to sprint workouts on Dean Field, weekly trips to the track at Edgemont High School, and more runs on the roads. “Although there are some challenges, the coaches and runners have all stayed positive this season to stay competitive,” said Captain Sierra Donovan ’19. This altered training schedule was an adjustment for the athletes, but that did not prevent many of them from excelling.
The track team’s winter season is long, cold, and intense, so to avoid injuries and burnout, the coaches chose to put fewer meets on the schedule this year. However, the meets Scarsdale has attended have been exciting and action-packed. In just the first meet on December 9th, Sophia Franco ’20 ran a blistering 1:34.07 in the 600 meter dash -- at the time, the fastest time in the country and a new Scarsdale school record. She is currently ranked fourth nationally and looks forward to competing in that event at Nationals in March.
Franco will not be the only Scarsdale runner in attendance: at the Millrose Trials on January 9th, the boys’ 4x400 relay qualified for the elite Millrose Games and Nationals with a time of 3:27.77. DJ Matusz’s ’20 opening leg of 53.367 seconds started strong, followed by Nick Bernard (49.887 seconds), then Jonah Oxman ’19 (53.753 seconds) and a strong anchor leg by Eric Jacobson ’19 (50.763 seconds). “Mod [Coach Modafferi] told us individually what our race strategies were going to be, and we executed that plan well, which allowed us to run fast,” said Jacobson when reflecting on the meet. When the boys arrived at practice the next day, Coach Modafferi surprised them with news that their race also broke the school record.
Long-distance runners Lizzie Hurshman ‘22 and Caitlin Barotz ‘20That weekend at Leagues, Bernard and Jacobson built on their momentum from the Millrose Trials and had stellar 600 meter races. For the entire race, the teammates and close friends were leading the pack in the first heat, pushing each other in each lap. Bernard finished in 1:23.08 and Jacobson right behind him at 1:23.43. These times ranked #21 and #28, respectively, nationally. Running next to each other “definitely helped, as I wouldn't have been able to pace myself if I didn’t have someone right with me the whole time,” said Bernard. Jacobson was happy to run alongside his friend, calling it “a fun race.” The pair hopes to continue improving so that they place well at State Quals and States and have success at Nationals.
There have been many other notable performances this season that will carry some athletes to State Quals on February 17. On the girls’ side, these include Brooke Bensche’s high jump (5’2”) and 55m hurdles (9.17), Donovan’s 600m (1:41.20), Aliza Mehlman’s 1000m (3:10.32), Franco’s 300m (41.90) along with her 600m, and Victoria Capobianco’s 3000m (11:17.27). Relays that can advance are the 4x200 (1:52.40) and the 4x400 (4:12.51).
Middle-distance group picture after a workout at the Edgemont High School track Boys’ performances eligible to advance to State Quals include Ward Bandsma’s 1000m (2:41.38) and 1600m (4:41.52), Matusz’s 1000m (2:42.67), Jake Coleman’s 3200m (10:06.70), Andrew Levy’s 3200m (10:13.06), Bruno Tassari’s 3200m (10:17.23), Jacobson’s 300m (37.32) and 1000m (2:38.80) as well as his 600m, and Bernard’s 1000m (2:37.68) as well as his 600m. Relays that can advance are the 4x800 (8.22.05) and the 4x400.
With the County Meet coming up on Sunday January 27 and the Class A Meet the following weekend, the team hopes to continue improving and motivating each other so more Raiders can advance to State Quals and beyond.
Demographer Provides 5-Year Enrollment Projection for the Scarsdale Schools
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It was somewhat of a surprise last spring to learn that projected enrollment for kindergarten in Scarsdale was down – way down. Though traditionally each elementary school had three kindergarten classes, a steep dip in 5 year olds – and their parents – caused kindergarten enrollment to drop by 66 students for the 2018-19 school year. This meant three fewer kindergarten class sections and concern about what the long-range picture might be.
Administrators conjectured that changes in the tax laws had discouraged home buyers. A trend to keep children in preschool for an additional year had delayed enrollment in school and also contributed to the dip.
Now, as the district begins the budgeting process for 2019-20, Assistant Superintendent Drew Patrick invited demographer Richard S. Grip to attend the January 14 meeting of the Board of Education and present his projection of five-year enrollment trends for Scarsdale.
Why can he only project for five years? Grip had a very good response. He explained that a big factor in enrollment projections are birth rates. Given that kindergartners are only five when then enter school, he said it was difficult to project enrollment of those who have not yet been born.
Before discussing projections, Grip provided a demographic analysis of the Scarsdale community, based on numbers from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey. Here are a few interesting facts:
Diversity: The community as of 2016 was 81.4% White and 14% Asian. 22.9% of residents were foreign born.
Residents are highly educated – 87.9% have a bachelors degree and 57.2% have a graduate or professional degree.
The median family income was reported at $250,000 plus.
There were 5,863 households with a median value of $1,311,900.
Grip also provided an analysis of the age distribution of Scarsdale’s population and it was interesting to note the large population of children and adults from 40 – 60, with a pronounced dearth of residents between the ages of 20 -35.
Turning to his projections, Grip introduced the concept of “Kindergarten Replacement” saying, “The district has experienced negative kindergarten replacement in eight of the last nine years. Negative kindergarten replacement occurs when the number of graduating 12th grade students is larger than the number of kindergarten students replacing them in the next year.” He said Scarsdale has experienced negative kindergarten replacement in eight of the last nine years. However, these losses were partially offset by children who moved in for higher grades and reduced the overall loss.
Using data about births, fertility, housing starts and home sales Grip provided projections for the school population for the next five years. His medium projection forecasts expects to see a decrease of 227 students in the next five years. He anticipates that the total school population will drop from 4,683 in 2019-20 to 4,456 in 2023-24. Between 2009 and 2018, overall enrollment in the Scarsdale Schools ranged from a low of 4,726 to a high of 4,821, so these new numbers are somewhat sobering.
His projections for incoming kindergartners hold steady at around 280 per year, which is higher than the 259 students enrolled this school year, but nowhere hear 2013-14 when 350 students enrolled.
Despite this dip, overall, Grip was very optimistic about the future of the district. He said, “This is an excellent district and people are clamoring to get in.”
Twelve Elected to School Board Nominating Committee
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Twelve candidates were elected on January 8, 2019 to join the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee for 2019.
Here’s who will serve:
Edgewood: David Benderson and Amy Schiff
Fox Meadow: Laura Gelblum and Seema Jaggi
Greenacres: Todd Cohen, Jennifer Fischer and Xue Su
Heathcote: Anirudh Bansal, Chris Marks, and “Laura” Ying Liu
Quaker Ridge: Ekta Sahni and Rob Tepper
This year’s new members will join the existing SBNC members of the committee serving staggered three-year terms. Note that Todd Cohen will serve a 2 year term in Greenacres, Anirudh Bansal will serve a 1 year seat in Heathcote, and Rob Tepper will serve a 2 year term in Quaker Ridge.
Though the administrative committee seeks to run a contested election, this year they struggled to find residents who were willing to serve and all the candidates ran unopposed.
Wendy Gendel, who chairs the Administrative Committee of the SBNC reported that a total of 240 votes were cast in the election, of which six were mail-in ballots.
Here is the breakdown of votes cast by neighborhood:
Edgewood: 25
Fox Meadow: 38
GreenAcres: 61
Heathcote: 73
Quaker Ridge: 43
Though the PT Council scheduled a meeting at the middle school on the evening of the vote to encourage participation, the vote count was markedly lower than in previous years. In 2018 460 votes were cast and in 2017, 355 residents voted.
The committee will have its first meeting on January 13, 2019 and by the end of March it will nominate 3 candidates for the Scarsdale Board of Education to fill the seats currently held by Nina Ledis Cannon, Leila Maude, and William (Bill) Natbony. All Scarsdale residents are welcome to propose Board of Education candidates to the SBNC. The SBNC Board of Education candidates, along with any other candidates who may choose to run, will stand for public election in May at the same time as the school budget vote.
Vote Today for School Board Nominating Committee
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The election of new School Board Nominating Committee members takes place today, Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 from 7 – 10 AM and 2 – 9 PM in the Scarsdale Middle School Auditorium Lobby at 134 Mamaroneck Road.
The candidates for the SBNC are:
Edgewood
Amy Schiff
David Benderson
Fox Meadow
Laura Gelblum
Seema Jaggi
Greenacres
Todd Cohen
Jennifer Fischer
Xue Su
Heathcote
Anirudh Bansal
Chris Marks
"Laura" Ying Liu
Quaker Ridge
Ekta Sahni
Robert Tepper
Candidates biographies are available on the SBNC website.
Brave New World: SMS Sixth Graders Pilot 1:1 iPad Program
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With the purchase of 399 iPads for the sixth grade class, Scarsdale Middle School is adapting to a new teaching style that incorporates technology into all parts of the learning process.
This year’s sixth grade class is the first where each student was given their own device that they use in school and out; in the classroom, for homework and even in art class. In prior years students had access to ipads, MacBooks and Chrome Books that were stored on carts in the classrooms. Kids could use them in class, but were not able to store their own work or use the devices at home. But according to the schools website, this year’s 1:1 iPad initiative “provides students with opportunities to develop as users of computers and related resources through work toward a variety of learning outcomes and assured digital experiences.”
Before making this change, the school’s technology team embarked on research to see which devices should be purchased and how they were being utilized in other districts. They went on five site visits to districts like White Plains and Briarcliff Manor who had already implemented similar programs.
After considering what they saw they decided to purchase iPads with detachable key boards that when closed, form a protective cover on the screen. Though students can write on the screen using a stylus, the school has not supplied these this year, but students can purchase an Apple pencil or a Logitech crayon. A major benefit for students is that now all students have 100% access to the same devices. Previously, teachers heard that kids might not have a computer at home or might be sharing one with other family members, posing challenges to doing homework. Now that each student has their own machine they have unlimited access to their work.
Both students and faculty needed a lot of preparation for the move. Teachers received weeks of training as they needed to learn how to upload assignments and resources to the iPads and how to use them as teaching tools. The school offered STI courses, summer training and used faculty meetings as opportunities to offer training on using the devices.
Though the devices were distributed to students on the first day of school, they were kept in school for the first few weeks and did not go home until the kids had been briefed on handling, responsible use, charging and proper internet access. They learned how to access their assignments online, access resources, complete their work and “hand it in” to the teacher online. It is hoped that this new program will teach students to be responsible digital citizens now and throughout their lives. The school has the ability to monitor internet usage on the devices which serves to deter students from going places they should not. Furthermore, students cannot download apps onto their iPads – that can only be done by the school. No messaging or games are available on the devices.
Parents who are used to seeing homework on handouts had many questions about the integration of the device into the curriculum. Some found that their kids were having difficulty doing math homework or writing on the screen. Others were concerned that if kids did not have internet access they could not do their homework. Others were having difficulty with scheduling and due dates.
To find out more, I met with the Jerry Crisci, the school’s technology team and SMS Principal Megan Troy and here is what I learned. Not everything needs to be done on the iPad, and Principal Megan Troy emphasized that paper can be used where preferred. For instance, if students are having trouble doing math problems on the screen, they can print out their assignments, do them on paper, take a photo of the completed assignment and submit the photo to the teacher.
Another parent expressed concern about kids’ ability to do homework online – without the benefit of a textbook or resources in hand. Technology teachers Doug Rose and Mike Pincus explained that the iPads do have split screen capabilities to allow students to refer to resource as they work on their assignments.
If kids know that they will be out of the range of internet service, they can download their assignments in advance and complete them on their machines.
What about taking notes? Is that a skill for the past? Apparently not. Though sixth graders are not usually developmentally up to taking notes, they can take notes using “Notability” and even mark up their virtual outlines. Teachers can access students’ notes and work and project them to the screen to share with the class. For example, for math problems, teachers can see how students are solving a particular problem and project the varying approaches with the class to compare.
The iPads are configured with a suite of apps and applications that kids will learn to use and will enhance student work. The machines include internet access via Chrome, presentation software Keynote, music composition software Garageband, spreadsheet, chart and graph software Numbers and much more. With applications like Google calendar, word processing software and video software, kids gain proficiencies that they will use for a lifetime. Check out what’s available here:
I asked if the kids are having trouble holding onto their iPads, keeping them charged and in good order. The school has the equivalent of a “Find My Phone” app and is able to locate any missing devices. Though there have been a few cracked screens, casualties have been lower than expected. Those who leave their iPad at home, can go to the help desk in the morning and get a loaner. In fact the iPad Tech Support Desk is available to students to help with both the physical machine and issues with usage.
The school is fortunate to have two full time computer teachers who provide tech support to faculty and kids. Without them, the iPads may not have been used to their full capacity. Parents with questions about the iPad can email computer teachers Doug Rose or Michael Pincus for help.
Though it’s too early to fully evaluate this new program, the school is gathering feedback and fine-tuning the program based on user experience.
What do your kids think of the new iPads? Enter your comments below.
