AT vs. AP: What Best Serves Scarsdale Students?
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Despite the findings of a group of outside consultants who found that Scarsdale’s AT (Advanced Topics) curriculum was meeting its objectives, some parents are questioning whether the program best serves Scarsdale students.
As background, during the 2007-2008 school year, the district replaced the Advanced Placement (AP) courses with AT courses, that are designed by Scarsdale teachers. The decision freed SHS teachers from following a proscribed curriculum to prepare for Advance Placement tests at the end of the school year. An objective of the shift was to “promote critical and creative thinking, creativity, and deep learning.”
The implementation of the AT program was not originally intended to preclude students from sitting for AP exams. Reviewing the program in a report dated February 16-18, 2022, the Tri-State Consortium report says, “The teachers of AT courses would discuss with students’ ways to prepare for Advanced Placement examinations, should they wish to sit for them. Practice AP exams would be provided to students throughout the year. AT students would meet with their guidance counselors to discuss the ramifications of taking or declining to take the AP exams.”
However, the report also notes that since the implementation of the AT program there has been a decline in the number of Scarsdale students taking AP tests. It says, “It should be noted that over the past fifteen years, the district has experienced a diminishing level of participation in AP exams, with the exception of mathematics, where there has been an increase in performance."
After assessing the consultant's report and listening to the presentation to the BOE, Jennifer Zola, a parent of students now in middle school, wonders if the decline in AP exams participation is truly a reflection of the strength of AT over AP or if it showcases that SHS students are not as adequately prepared to take (and succeed) in these college placement exams as their counterparts around the country are, putting them at a disadvantage. She is concerned that "removing access to AP exams will undermine Scardale students in the future and questions if a return to AP courses would better serve the community. At the very least, maintaining access to AP exams in our district is critical and the Consultant's report recommendation to untether the AT program from the AP exams is detrimental."
The consultants acknowledge concerns about the AT program, saying, “We were told that some parents and students worry that the AT program prevents Scarsdale High School from inclusion on some lists of the top high schools in America (those lists that use AP participation as the main criterion), that it has negatively impacted college and university admissions, and that it denies Scarsdale High School students the benefit of obtaining college credit and attaining placement in upper level college courses as freshmen. Moreover, not everyone with whom we spoke understands that AT courses are intended to be equivalent to first-year college courses.”
Their recommendation? They suggest that the school address these “misperceptions.” The report says, “Thus, the visit team recommends that these concerns be addressed annually, and directly, as new cohorts of students and parents enter the high school. Perhaps a brief Q & A “branding” document would be a helpful way to address some of the questions and misperceptions of parents and students – sharing accurate college acceptance data; listing the colleges that continue to (and no longer) grant credit for AP courses; listing the purpose of AT courses (critical thinking, creativity, depth of study, greater student agency, and enhanced personal advocacy), and sharing student testimonials and samples of student work.”
The question is whether parents’ concerns are just “misperceptions” or if the program is indeed hampering Scarsdale students. Does the Advanced Topics programs best serve Scarsdale teachers or Scarsdale students?
In order to assess the success of the current AT program, the consultants surveyed recent Scarsdale graduates to ask them how well the AT courses prepared them for the AP exams, how well the AT courses prepared them for introductory college courses, and how well they were prepared for college compared to classmates who had taken AP courses.
Overall, the responses to the student surveys were positive, however some are saying that the consultants answered the wrong questions.
Kate DiLorenzo wrote, “The recent AT review by the Tri-State Consortium cannot serve as a demonstration of AT’s superiority to AP. In preparation for this review, the school wrote its own three “essential questions” for the review team to answer: Are there clear expectations for success in AT courses? Do AT courses promote critical thinking, creativity, and deep learning and do AT classes prepare students for postsecondary education? These questions are not only leading questions that could only get a “yes” answer (for any class at Scarsdale High School, I hope), but they obviously avoid any comparison to AP classes (or any alternative, in fact). The right question would have been: Are AT classes better than AP classes for our students? (There were other aspects of the review, like classroom visits, examination of teacher-chosen student projects, and discussions, none of which attempted to address the relative efficacy of AT courses to AP courses.) In short, the school paid a group of consultants so that it could appear to be engaged in critical self-examination when it was really only engaged in affirming its own status quo. The only purpose of reviewing AT should be to compare it to AP, its explicit counterpart, not to ask if AT classes are “good” in a vacuum.”
Other parents we spoke to felt that Scarsdale students were clearly at a disadvantage if they did not pursue the AP exams on their own or do well enough to earn college credit. This left them with fewer options than peers who did well on AP exams.
Specifically:
-The Scarsdale students had less flexibility in their coursework, as they had to take the maximum number of credits each semester to graduate.
-Compared to those with AP credits, Scarsdale students were unable to place out of introductory level classes.
-For those who desired to study abroad in college, they had fewer options as they had no extra credits in the case that the foreign study program did not fulfill graduation requirements at their schools.
-Entering college with AP credits permits some students to graduate early, yielding significant savings on tuition costs.
DiLorenzo also noted that the lack of an AP program might also be impacting college admissions. She wrote, “In a competitive college admissions environment, AP credits also help to show academic merit in a world in which grade inflation is rampant, making GPAs more difficult to interpret (see the school profile, which shows that 55% percent of grades given at Scarsdale High School are A- or above in all departments except social studies, where that figure is 72%).”
Another frustrated parent pointed out that Scarsdale High School offers 25 AT courses, but from the list, it is not clear which ones do and do not cover the AP curriculum. Though some of the math courses, such as Calculus, prepare the students for the Calculus AP, others on the list, such as a new course in linear algebra are “unique courses without analogs in the AP program.”
The data shows that most of the top colleges in the country do grant placement, credit or both to students who do well on AP exams. So though Scarsdale faculty cite the benefits of designing their own courses, colleges and universities are offering benefits to those who demonstrate success in the approved AP curriculum.
According to US News and World Report:
95% of top 20 liberal arts colleges give placement for having taken APs
90% top 20 universities give placement for having taken APs
85% of top 20 liberal arts colleges give credit for APs
75% of top 20 universities give credit for Aps
And the following top schools offer placement or credit or both:
Claire Paquin also feels that returning to AP model aligns with two of the school’s missions: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as Student Health and Wellness. She says, “The school profile shows that, in each of the last three school years, approximately 300 students have taken approximately 500 AP exams. In great numbers, students are choosing to take AP exams for which AT classes don’t prepare them. Having AP classes would eliminate the need for parents to pay for outside tutors or prep classes, which can be a significant financial burden to families. It would also make it unnecessary for students to use their valuable personal time to study untaught material (and remember: they still need to do all the AT work). This creates another stress on the students, negatively impacting their mental health and overall wellness. The data shows that students are taking AP exams in large numbers (no doubt because they see the many advantages). The question is whether they will do this with or without the school’s support and accountability.”
Despite concerns about college admissions and credit, the consultants lauded the educational benefits of the program to both teachers and students. The report noted the AT programs success at promoting critical thinking and deep learning. It says, “Another benefit of the AT program, shared with us by teachers and students, is the opportunity to think like a person engaged in a specific discipline. For example, we heard that the math courses are intended to help students think like mathematicians, the social studies courses help students think like historians, and the art courses engage students in thinking like artists. One staff member with whom we spoke said, “Advanced Placement courses are a promise to students– we will do all we can to help you excel on the AP exam ... AT courses also are a promise – we will teach you to think like a person in the discipline.” This is an important promise to fulfill, and an equally important goal to convey to students and parents, and it is linked to assessment: to what extent are AT course assessments designed to promote thinking like a writer, an historian, a musician, a scientist or a mathematician?
What is the correct balance between providing an enriched curriculum and putting Scarsdale students in their best position to succeed in college? As admission to top colleges becomes increasingly competitive, does Scarsdale need to change course to align with national norms? These are question that the Scarsdale School District is expected to continue to examine this fall.
Yusuf and Schulhof Elected to Lead 2022-23 Scarsdale School Board
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After a tumultuous school year marked by tax trouble with the IRS and the resignation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education closed the books on the 2021-2022 school calendar and greeted the next year by welcoming two new board members and electing new leadership at their reorganization meeting on Friday July 1, 2022.
Andrew Patrick swore in Amber Yusuf as President of the Board of EducationNewly elected Board members Colleen Brown and Suzie Hahn Pascutti and were sworn in, replacing departing Board President Karen Ceske and Board Member Carl Finger. Returning for a second three-year term is Ron Schulhof. Just minutes after the meeting opened at 9 am, former Board Vice President Amber Yusuf was nominated for and unanimously elected to serve as School Board President and Ron Schulhof was nominated and elected unanimously to serve as School Board Vice President.
Yusuf had worked in concert with last year’s Board President Karen Ceske and was poised to assume leadership. Her calm demeanor, respectful approach and willingness to listen served her colleagues and the community well through one of the most stressful periods in the history of the Scarsdale Schools. At the July 1 meeting she appeared confident, happy and willing to do the hard work of the Board.
Nominating Schulhof, fellow Board Member Jim Dougan noted Ron’s steady voice, sharp mind and abundance of time to 
Ron Schulhof took the oath to serve as Board Vice Presidentspend on Board business. Schulhof began his first three-year term asking questions and challenge protocols, procedures and decisions. He was often more open and willing to speak out than his board colleagues at a time when some in the community felt silenced and intimidated. He brings a legacy of transparency and honesty to the job.
Even when taking some very routine actions to begin the next term, the Board appeared acutely aware of the need to exercise oversight and improve transparency and accountability.
Interim Superintendent Andrew Patrick announced that Board policies would now be visible to the public via Board Docs.
In a discussion about the assignment of FOIL appeals officers, Patrick said that the district attorneys had a recommendation on the appointment of the FOIL appeals officer. Currently if a FOIL request is denied by the Assistant Superintendent for Business, the matter is considered by representatives of the Board of Education. However, the district’s attorneys had recommended that the superintendent serve as the FOIL appeals officer to streamline the appeal process.
Jim Dugan said, “I am not so sure I am comfortable with it. We are the elected representatives but we are parents and community members first. We have a view of what the community considers important to know – and employees may not have that insight.”
Jessica Resnick-Ault said, “I want to be sure we are fully exercising our oversight. I think it is important that we know about requests that are not being fulfilled.”
New board member Colleen Brown said, “If Drew takes this over how will we stay abreast of the requests?
Ron Schulhof said, “I think the discretion should lie with an elected body. Review by the board adds credibility to the response and may help to avoid an Article 78.”
Suzie Pascutti agreed, saying, “It could be important that these appeals are reviewed by the Board.
Bob Klein concurred saying, “I agree with the comments and would like to keep this with the Board.”
The Board then voted to leave the Board as the FOIL Appeal Officer.
A similar conversation took place about a resolution to appoint an audit committee. Presently the audit committee is the entire School Board. Jessica Resnick-Ault asked if the board had flexibility in appointing the Board for the entire year. Or, if at a later point in the year, a subcommittee of the board could be appointed instead, or a committee that includes residents. Ultimately the Board voted to name themselves as the audit committee, for a year, or “until a successor is appointed," whichever is earlier.
Some remained focused on the troubles of the prior term. During public comments, Robert Berg from 17 Birch Lane called in to discuss the investigator’s report which was posted on the district website that week.
He forwarded us his entire statetment to post:
"I read the ersatz 3-page investigative report of Anthony Brock on the District’s IRS scandal issued this week with disgust – but no surprise. This Board of Education is no January 6th Committee – that’s for sure. Rather, your lack of transparency reminds me far more of Congressional Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s public response to the January 6th Insurrection.
Mr. Brock failed to take any statements of the key witnesses under oath. That fundamental weakness is magnified when the key player, Dr. Hagerman, provides a timeline of when he purportedly learned of the IRS matter that is many months later than when Jeff Martin and Stuart Mattey state Dr. Hagerman was told. Mr. Brock apparently never bothered to try confront Dr. Hagerman with these inconsistencies, and had Dr. Hagerman been under oath, and subject to a meaningful cross-examination, perhaps a more credible time line would have emerged as to his knowledge.
Even more importantly, Mr. Brock seems never to have questioned the District’s attorneys at the law firm of Bond Schoeneck & King about that firm’s time line of knowledge of the IRS matter. I’ve said from the outset of this scandal, at the very first Board of Ed meeting after the public was told about the lien, “Where were the District’s lawyers and outside accountants? They had to have been involved when the District was negotiating with the IRS?”
Did that thought ever cross Mr. Brock’s mind? I’m sure it did, but he’s protecting Bond Schoeneck & King here. And that’s seriously wrong.
We know that in mid-September 2021 (around September 14), Mr. Martin and Mr. Mattey spoke with the District’s regular outside attorneys, Daniel Petigrow of the Thomas Drohem firm and Craig Olivo of the Bond Schoeneck firm, told them about the IRS problem, and asked them for a referral for an IRS lawyer. The lawyers recommended Bond Schoeneck’s own Frank Mayer.
At this point, competent outside counsel for a public school district have a duty to ensure that their client, the School District, including the Board of Education, is aware of the IRS problem. The NYS Rules of Professional Responsibility require attorneys representing an organization such as a public school board of education to ensure that the leaders of that organization – in this case, at the very least, the officers of the Board of Education – are fully aware of the important legal issues facing the District. In mid- September 2021, Bond Schoeneck and Thomas Drohem should have made sure the Board knew about the IRS problem.
But what’s worse, on November 8, 2021, the District, through Mr. Mattey, specially retained Frank Mayer of Bond Schoeneck to represent the District in the IRS matter and to file papers and an appeal of the IRS lien and penalties and interest with the IRS. And Bond Schoeneck actually filed that appeal on November 19, 2021. Bond Schoeneck started merrily billing away on that project. We are led to believe that no attorney at Bond Schoeneck bothered to speak with any Board member about this matter until after the end of March 2022. That’s INSANE. That’s plainly a violation of the attorneys’ professional responsibilities. That’s legal malpractice.
Meanwhile, presumably Bond Schoeneck is sending bills for its legal services promptly, and this Board, through its audit committee, is approving payment of these bills. The Audit Committee consists of all Board members. And the Bond Schoeneck bills presumably are itemized and describe the legal services as services regarding the IRS lien and appeal. So who’s approving these bills on behalf of the Board? And how can the Board say they’re in the dark?
Finally, while the Board is whitewashing its serious deficiencies as overseers of the District’s finances and operations by saying “It wasn’t me.” We weren’t told.” The Board is happy to throw poor Jeff Martin under the bus.
Jeff Martin is a hard working, tireless, loyal man who devoted 26 years to the Scarsdale School system. Here, there was a screw up under his watch. We now know it was a data entry error where a zero was dropped which led to a cascade of horribles, owing largely to the bureaucratic ineptitude of the IRS during the COVID crisis.
When Jeff figured out there was a problem, he did what someone in his position as Treasurer is supposed to do. He reported it to his boss, Stuart Mattey. He says he also reported it to Dr. Hagerman. Jeff did not have a reporting responsibility to the Board of Education. Stuart Mattey does. Dr. Hagerman did. Neither apparently reported the matter to the Board as they should have.
Mr. Mattey has been disciplined for this, as he should be. Dr. Hagerman skated off to an even more remunerative job in Chicago with a free ride and a waiver of any claims against him.
Jeff Martin is left with no job and an undeserved disciplinary stain on his record. This Board took advantage of the weakest man in the link to cover its own ineptitude and the failure of its attorneys to do their job. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You should remove the disciplinary stain from Jeff Martin’s file."
Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez wished, “Good luck to the new board and to the new members.” She said, “I am concerned about the impact of the debacle on Scarsdale taxpayers. An extra auditor, lawyers, investigation…. His report was barely a report Were former board members interviewed? This was not a report, it was a timeline. I repeat. Any auditor and lawyer who knew about this before should not be involved in the district anymore. Please give the district more details on the DEI consultant – what are they delivering? I highly recommend that an experienced auditor join the board’s audit committee. We have plenty of people in the community who work in this field. You should be receiving detailed reports on how our money is being spent on a monthly basis. I am concerned that the business office is in charge of receiving foils because some involve the busines office itself.”
Superintendent Search Firm
Deborah Raizes and Susan Guiney of HYAIn June, the Board announced that they had retained search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) to conduct the search for the next superintendent of the Scarsdale Schools for a fee of $23,500. Former Scarsdale Board of Education member Deborah Raizes and her colleague Dr. Susan Guiney of HYA attended the meeting to introduce their firm and provide an overview of their processes and plans.
Deborah Raizes said she joined HYA 25 years ago, and the “Vast majority of searches we do are for high performing suburban districts.” She said what distinguishes the firm is the breadth of their network of consultants. She said, “There are 100 consultants in our network who can call for reference checks.”
About herself, she said, “I am a former member of the Scarsdale School Board where I served from 1991-1997. “She added, “This room does look different, but not a lot!”
Her colleague Dr. Susan Guiney explained that she has been at HYA for two years. She was formerly the Superintendent of the Mt. Pleasant Schools where she served for ten years and has had a long career in education as a teacher, Director of Curriculum, and Director of Technology.” She said, “I decided to retire just prior to COVID and I have empathy for colleagues who are leading districts during challenging times.” She added, “I am very excited to lead this charge.”
Dr. Guiney has an impressive resume in the field of education.
About their process Raizes said, “We will begin our work this summer. We will meet with the board to set our calendar and get input from BOE members to get their take on what is going on in the district. We will set up meetings with members of the community in the summer and September including individuals and school groups. We will host an anonymous online survey in September and everyone will have an opportunity to make sure that their voice is heard. Inclusivity is a major component of the search. In October we will hold a meeting to summarize what we learned from the meetings and the survey.”
“We believe in community involvement and making sure that all voices are heard. We appreciate the opportunity to doing the search. We will be aggressive about the search and find people who do great jobs in their districts now. It is a privilege and an honor to do the search and we will work hard to get you a great slate of candidates.”
(Pictured at top: The 2022-23 Scarsdale School Board: Top row left to right: Colleen Brown, Bob Klein, Jessica Resnick-Ault, Jmi Dugan, Bottom row: Suzie Hahn Pascutti, Amber Yusuf, Ron Schulhof)
School Board Sanctions Treasurer and Assistant Superintendent for IRS Issue
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Amidst accolades for departing Board members and statements of gratitude for their service, the Board of Education failed to discuss two significant agreements concealed in the consent agenda of their last meeting of the year on Tuesday June 21, 2022.
The consent agenda had previously been a point of contention among board members. The consent agenda is intended for matters that are considered to be routine and can be voted on in a group. However in the past it was sometimes used by the Board to conceal information that they preferred to keep under wraps. For instance, at the Board’s final meeting of the 2020-21 school year, a three year contract extension and a raise for Dr. Hagerman were placed in the consent agenda and approved with little scrutiny from the public.
When this was revealed, many were surprised that the Board had extended the Superintendent's contract with no input from the community.
However, this year the Board appeared to be in concert in their attempt to keep these two stipulation letters out of the public eye to avoid scrutiny of sensitive personnel matters.
The two letters, titled “Stipulation of Agreement by and between the SUFSD and Stuart Mattey and “Stipulation of Agreement by and between the SUFSD and Jeff Martin,” essentially stated that Assistant Superintendent of Business Stuart Mattey and District Treasurer Jeff Martin accept blame for failing to “properly supervise the business office … in certain errors that occurred regarding the filing with and payment to the IRS of the District’s payroll taxes,” and failing “to provide timely notice to the Board of Education about such errors and the resulting impact on the District.”
Later in both letters they acknowledge that the matter was reported to Superintendent Thomas Hagerman saying that both Mattey and Martin, “failed to recognize that reporting the matter to the Superintendent of Schools was insufficient in meeting his (their) duty to the Board of Education.”
Mattey announced that he will retire in August 2023. The stipulation letter says that he is “hereby reprimanded” and “in lieu of a more serious penalty the District may assign him to complete training related in the implementation of best practices in the functions of the business office and the he shall cooperate with an complete such training in good faith.”
Martin, who will retire effective September 30, 2022, is also reprimanded for his conduct and acknowledges that “he failed to exercise the degree of diligence expected of him in the general supervision of the operations of the Business Office… and his failure to recognize that reporting the matter to the Ass’t Superintendent for Business and the Superintendent of School was insufficient in meeting his duty to the Board of Education.” In his stipulation he waves his right to a hearing and possible claims against the district in exchange for the district’s pledge that it shall not pursue disciplinary charges against him.”
Both letters state that Martin and Mattey have served without any performance issues or other disciplinary action, Martin for 25 years and Mattey for six years.
What were the conclusions of the report by investigator Anthony J. Brock who was commissioned to investigate the tax matter, beginning April 25, 2022? According to Board President Karen Ceske the report itself contains “Privileged Information,” but a “Fact Finding Report” will be posted on the district website under “Tax Matters,” next week.
Without that information, it is difficult to understand why the Board opted to sanction two district employees for their failure to inform the Board about the tax matter when the Board accepted Superintendent Thomas Hagerman’s resignation and granted him vacation pay, contributions to his retirement account and health and dental coverage without demanding an acknowledgement of his role in concealing the tax issue. Their agreement with the Superintendent limited any further comment on the matter.
We can only speculate as to why the Board sought to publicly blame these two for the matter, while giving Hagerman a free pass. As of now, he appears unscathed by the debacle and is scheduled to begin a new job as Head of School at the prestigious Chicago Latin School.
So why did they fail to make a similar agreement with Dr. Hagerman and place the blame where most thought it was due? Perhaps they feared litigation from the Superintendent who has proven to be a skilled negotiator on his own behalf? And why did they choose to sanction the Treasurer and Assistant Superintendent for Business? Could it be that investigator Anthony J. Brock advised the Board to blame these two to protect the Board from any legal responsibility? Or perhaps, as the district is now searching for a new superintendent, the Board did not want to scare away potential candidates for the job?
Who knows? The one thing that is for sure, is that the community squarely places the blame for concealing the issue on the departed Superintendent. Most feel that the cover-up was far worse than the clerical errors that occurred. The stipulation agreements with Mattey and Martin make clear that they informed their boss, the Superintendent of Schools, who hid the information about the penalties, interest and the tax lien from the Board and the community.
This attempt to fault those who faithfully served the Superintendent and the community rings false and hollow. Furthermore, it appears that there was an attempt to conceal the agreements from the public by Board members who pledged to be more transparent. Here we go again.
Tax Matters, Board Succession, Security and a Tree Falls at the Scarsdale Schools
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With just a few weeks left of the school year, and a transition of board membership in sight, Board President Karen Ceske presided over one of her final Board of Education meetings on Monday June 6. She congratulated incoming board members Colleen Brown and Suzie Hahn Pascutti and returning board member Ron Schulhof on their recent election and thanked the current board for their work and dedication during the past few months.
Both Ceske and Board Member Carl Finger will complete their service at the end of June. Ceske announced that the Board will hold a transition meeting on July 1, 2022 and that current Board VP Amber Yusuf is interested in serving as Board President, and Schulhof has indicated that he would like to be Board Vice President.
Later in the meeting, Interim Superintendent Drew Patrick notified the Board that Assistant Superintendent for Business Stuart Mattey would retire in August 2023. Patrick expressed his gratitude to Mattey for helping him come to the district, get up to speed and for all his work on behalf of the Scarsdale Schools.
Tax Issue
In their continuing work to resolve the district’s payroll tax issue, the Board sent out an RFP and interviewed firms to conduct testing and an audit of the payment process for withholding taxes. At the meeting they announced that they received six proposals, interviewed two firms and decided to retain Nawrocki Smith to do the work.
Ceske also provided an update on the ongoing appeals to the IRS to recoup penalties and fines for the payroll errors in 2020 and 2021.
She reported that the district received a letter on June 1, 2022 from the IRS concerning an adjustment for the penalties assessed for Q3 2020. The district requested a refund of $147,151.39 for the penalty for that period. The IRS communication said that $100,244 would be refunded and that $46,907 remains outstanding. The letter had some inconsistencies and the district reached out to the IRS for clarification. If the district is unable to recoup the $46,907 they can pursue the matter in court. Ceske indicated that there is no word yet on appeals from Q1 2020, Q4 2020, and Q2 2021.
Prom Scheduling
During public comments, several parents and students came to the mic to express their disappointment in the scheduling conflict between the prom and athletic events this year. They urged the district to look for a solution in subsequent years so that students would not have to make a choice between playoff games and prom attendance.
Vincent Franco of Edgewood Road said “I am here on behalf of students who had to choose between prom and sporting events. It was so unfair. We heard the complaints from a lot of the parents… We landed a man on the moon but we couldn’t coordinate sports and prom.
It seems that it just was not that important. I think it’s not fair and we have to be able to do a better job than that.
Debby Franco held up a petition and said, “We have over 400 signatures from parents asking you to change the prom for the seniors. That’s a lot of parents and kids asking for help here. We can do better. Don’t make the seniors make that choice again.”
Rose Hooey of Sprague Road said that he daughter is a senior and the captain on the lacrosse team. She said, “The kids have had a rough two years. I am a school psychologist. I know Ray wanted to move the game. The girls didn’t want to let down the team by not playing in the game. It was difficult decision to think about not going to the prom. The younger girls played and lost 11-10. Our season ended prematurely because of this. This is important -- well beyond physical education.”
Tara Greco of Tompkins Road said, “"I am here tonight to speak on behalf of my 3 spring athletes who will be Seniors in 2023, 24 and 27. I wrote to you earlier. My daughter’s team had 8 girls who 
had to choose between the quarterfinal and the prom. If circumstances were different, would they have advanced. My son’s team went to prom and had to play the next day. Softball also had to play a game on prom. Please do not create conflicts that the students cannot change. Don’t make seniors choose.
Four students also addressed the board. They said, “We had to make a very difficult choice.” (Without the seniors) we lost by only one goal. We could have continued but we did not have the opportunity.” Another senior said, “What if I had been there for the team – I was put in an awkward position to miss another big opportunity in my life. I do not want my sisters to go through the same thing.”
Calling in remotely, Moira Crouch said, “I would like to avoid any conflicts next year.”
Safety and Security
Interim Superintendent Drew Patrick introduced a discussion of school security in Scarsdale in light of the recent shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. He said, “ Uvalde was the third worst school shooting in our country and has caused us to reexamine what we do to keep our students safe and what else we can do.” He continued, “We have developed deep and sustained relationships with police, fire, SFCS, consultants and contractors… We understand our charge.
Preventing school shootings by implementing systems, procedures and protocols to save as many lives as possible and implements systems, procedures and protocols to foster recovery from an event like these.”
He continued, “What is the correct balance between safety and the student focused experience? On one end its fences, barricades and on the other there are those who think there is nothing we can do so let student life happen. …We have created programs to address mental health and belonging and addressed physical safety and security at all buildings.”
He then turned to Assistant Superintendent Eric Rauschenbach who presented a detailed report on what the district has done to address security issues over the past few years. He opened with the sad truth that school shootings “represent the worst nightmare for parents and for education professionals.” Prevention efforts are focused on:
- Community, climate and inclusion
- Monitoring and assessment
- Physical deterrence
The presentation outlines everything that has been done since 2016 and you can review it here
After reviewing all the systems that are in place, Rauschenbach discussed current initiatives. He said, in light of what happened at Uvalde, we are currently focused on:
-Increased clarity and encouragement around the report of threats and the development of an anonymous reporting option.
-Re-evaluation of entry procedures and door monitoring across buildings.
He said, we are “looking at the balance between safety and the open campus at the high school.”
In the question period that followed, Board member Jessica Resnick-Ault asked, “Is there any effort to do drills and lockdowns during unexpected times when students are not in class? Rauschenbach said, “Yes. We do throw some curveballs so teachers and kids can understand what can happen at any point in the day. Our police are fully equipped to address an incident of school violence.” She followed up by asking, “Do teachers have a one pager that they can grab in case of an emergency? Rauschenbach responded, “We have trained with the simple six – six different procedures and drills that can be easily understood by teachers and kids.”
Amber Yusuf asked, “How are you making decisions about the high school? He responded, “We involve students, teachers and administrators to balance the open campus and a safe environment. There are ways to reduce vulnerability during different times of the day. But drop off, dismissal, lunch need to happen. It is all a balancing act.”
Bob Klein said, “There was a nostalgia about parents flowing in and out of the schools with their children. I think there should be an examination of parent access to schools and the sense of loss. We don’t’ want our kids to be in prison. There is a risk reward. What is that balance?”
Drew Patrick said, “We shut everyone out of the schools for two years during COVID. We need to engage with our community to gage that. It has been joyous to have the parents back in the schools. One of our goals this year is the question of community. How do we engage the community?”
Karen Ceske said, “I think it is great that we can now text students who may not be in the building.” Jerry Crisci added, “We are researching cell phone service at the high school and in Fox Meadow. We have switched carriers for the district.”
Rachel Mosely said, “Within the buildings where we have Wifi. It is the same as having cellular service. We are working on Wifi expansion to remedy the dead spots in all the buildings.”
Facilities and Budget
Tree Falls on Heathcote School
In other news, Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey said that the top of a large white pine 100 foot tall tree fell on a breezeway at Heathcote School on May 22. The damage caused the school to relocate fourth grade students in Wing C, as these classrooms are now out of service. He said, “We are working with architects BBS to do the repairs.” Commenting on the damage, Heathcote Principal Maria Stile said, “The wing is closed for the remainder of the school year out of an abundance of caution. We were able to accommodate the classrooms in other locations immediately. Amazingly it all went extremely smoothly. The teachers, students, and custodians were amazing. They will repair the roof and ensure that the structure is completely sound over the summer. We will be fine for the start of the school year.”
High School Auditorium
Discussing the high school auditorium renovation, Mattey said, “We are coming up with a new scope for the work at the high school auditorium.”
Food Service
About food service he said, “We will have a new contract for Chartwells. We anticipate a double digit percent increase due to food prices and the cost of labor. We hire entry level servers --they work minimal hours. So we may have to increase their pay more than the CPI. (About price increases he said) Unfortunately we are all experiencing it – and it is real. We will have to phase in food service next year as we will have new employees and have not served for a few years.”
Bus Drivers Needed
Mattey reported that “Transportation needs have now slowed down. We had a great safe year. We are actively recruiting drivers. Please refer anyone you know – it is a great part time job.”
Healthcare Costs Rise
About the budget, Mattey reported, “We will have to transfer $1 million from the undesignated fund balance to cover health insurance claims for the 2021-22 school year. There is an uptick in higher cost claims including surgeries and Covid related illness expenses.”
Praise for Staff and Board Members
During Public Comments, Alissa Baum, President of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale offered praise for retiring staff members and members of the Board of Education. Here are her remarks:
The League Board wishes to thank outgoing Board of Education members, Karen Ceske and Carl Finger, as well as Cabinet members, Jerry Crisci and Rachel Mosley, for their dedicated service to the Scarsdale School District.
Karen,
Your grace and thoughtful demeanor helped our school community get through continued difficult times. You demonstrate true empathy and gratitude for all and are able to use those qualities to bring people together. When you speak at the Board table, your words come after careful thought and listening to others.
Your extensive experience as an educator and as a school volunteer was invaluable in considering everyday teaching and learning in our schools. We appreciate your dedication in ensuring a school environment that fosters academic engagement and lifelong learning.
Carl,
You are an open and honest Board member who did not shy away from difficult topics. You have a direct style which enables you to engage in discussion where others can hold differing views while still being able to reach agreement. You have a special ability to break down complicated issues to more easily make decisions. Your keen legal mind was essential in considering many of the issues before the district.
We appreciate your service, both in your prior position as Village Trustee and now as School Board trustee.
Jerry,
Your vision for instructional technology brought the Scarsdale school district to the forefront of the movement to build 21st century skills in our students. Thank you for ensuring that our students and teachers have all the tools necessary to keep up with these continually changing times, especially during the past two years which challenged us all to up our technology game.
Rachel,
Although you may be one of the less visible members of the cabinet, you are arguably the most essential. You have been on call 24/7 and respond immediately no matter what time of day, to keep the school system running. Thank you especially for your hard work the past two years to make the many technology adjustments needed to accommodate the challenges posed by the pandemic.
You all have demonstrated a commitment to maintain and enhance the quality of the Scarsdale school system. You all should be proud of the legacy you leave behind. We are so grateful to have benefitted from your expertise, insights and wisdom. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Prom 2022: They Did It Their Way
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Though it’s been an unusual two years for the Scarsdale High School Class of 2022, neither the pandemic nor Mother Nature interrupted their walk down the red carpet for their class prom on Thursday night May 19, 2022. Rain in the morning threatened the event, but by Thursday afternoon skies were clear and it was smooth sailing.
Some started the party early with pre-prom events at students homes. Most arrived promptly at SHS at 4 pm to sign in, pose for photos and walk the red carpet to the coach buses that swept them off to the festivities at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. Hundreds of community members, with and without children at the event, came out to view the class in prom attire.
Their prom attire was colorful, creative and whimsical, with some more costumed than cosseted. Girls wore gowns of emerald green, gold, deep red, orange, hot pink, bright yellow and royal, and their partners often had bow ties to match the hue of their dates dresses. Others wore sculpted gowns of blue or black sequins or iridescent beads, and we spotted a few in tulle fit for royalty.
Hair was creative as well, with some dying their hair to match their garb and others with intricate do’s laced with beads and jewels.
Sparkles and sneakers were in.
We couldn’t see too much of the girls feet under their gowns but noticed that some were already limping in their high heels, after years of wearing slippers and flip flops. Many of the guys discarded traditional black loafers for black or white sneakers – and they looked like they were ready to boogie.
We spotted lots of green in the crowd.The spirited group of teens appeared happy to experience this high school convention in their own unconventional way.
We were not at the prom itself, but reports were that it was a blast.
Take a look at our gallery of photos – and if you would like to add yours to mix, please email us at [email protected].
Bowties and vests matched gowns.
The community turned out to cheer on the Class of 2022.
Some attended preprom parties for more photo opps.
- News from The Schools: Carol Priore Appointed Interim Ass’t Superintedent for Human Resources and a Change in the COVID Policy
- Tri-State Consortium Finds SHS AT Program is an Overwhelming Success – Not Everyone Agrees
- Colonial Day Fairs Are Over Due to Concerns About Historical Accuracy and Cultural Sensitivity
- School Board Hires Attorney to Investigate Tax Lien on the District
