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Written by: Rebecca Ludwig

Published: 22 January 2026

Created: 22 January 2026

Last Updated: 22 January 2026

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Emmie Kirwan at Maria Ferrari Children's HospitalDuring January, the Alternative School offers a unique program called the January internship, where A-school classes come to a pause, and students replace those class hours with an internship. This allows students to explore one of their interests! Here’s a look at what some of the A-schoolers have been up to this month:

Emmie Kirwan, a sophomore in the A-school, is working with a pediatric cardiologist at Maria Ferrari Children’s Hospital. She goes with her internship sponsor to see patients, talks with other doctors and nurses, reads and learns about echocardiograms, watches operations, and more. She loves showing up each day to learn about the patients and improve her education.

Sophomore Lily Block has been interning for Clean Design, an interior design business at a Scarsdale resident's home. She makes tear sheets for clients, files invoices, finds trendy pieces for clients, and helps organize. Lily has truly been enjoying her internship as she can take one step forward towards her dream of becoming an interior designer. 

Nathan Goldfarb, a sophomore in the A-school, is interning at G-III Apparel Group in New York City. He does sports licensing for the NBA, NFL, MLB, and some of Converse and Champion. His favorite part is going into meetings and listening in on “real-world decisions”. Nathan has been loving this exciting experience! 

Zara Lakhaney, a sophomore in the A-school, is interning at One River School, an Art studio in Larchmont, New York. She works as a teacher's assistant for second graders, helping set up for class and teaching the kids how to draw. She loves connecting with a younger generation and sharing her art skills! January internship has been the perfect experience for Zara to explore her artsy side.

Keaton Sapirstein is a sophomore in the A-school, fulfilling her interior design interests by interning at Casey Debois Design in Chelsea, New York City. She helps organize samples, do spreadsheets, source furniture, and shadows her sponsor when she has appointments with clients. With her many available internship hours, she loves that the A-school January internship allows her to be in a more professional setting where she can feel independent. 

Laura Chestnut, a senior in the A-school is interning with Dr. Neil D. Goldberg, a plastic surgeon with his own private office in Scarsdale. She has watched many different plastic surgeries, including a facelift, rhinoplasties, Botox injections, a chin implant, and more. She also shadows him during patient consultations. Laura has been having a lot of fun with her internship, enjoying the interesting experience it entails. 

Karsyn Lazarus is a sophomore in the A-school working at LUXE Luxury Labels, a consignment store in Armonk that sells clothing, accessories, and jewelry. She helps to organize the store, ship out orders, display items, and process returns. Karsyn loves this opportunity to explore her fashion interests. Karsyn has been having a splendid time and hopes to gain a bigger insight into the retail industry. 

Asher Sellinger, a sophomore in the A-school, is interning as a gym teacher at Fox Meadow Elementary School. He really enjoys working with the kids, especially because he can help them to get more comfortable with playing sports!

Keaton Sapirstein at Casey Debois DesignMolly Singer, a sophomore in the A-school, is interning at White Plains Veterinary Hospital, where she is exploring her veterinary and medical interests. She shadows doctors during surgery and appointments, helps with housekeeping, and cleans up after appointments. This experience has been very exciting for her, as it entails something new and different every day. She has loved seeing all the different animals come in, and even says she notices how animals often resemble their owners!

Scottie Halyard, a sophomore in the A-school, is interning at the Hitchcock church, where he teaches pre-schoolers, works at a thrift shop for the church, and helps the church with logistics. His favorite part about internship is teaching the younger generation, where he can observe how they learn. Scottie has really been enjoying his internship and sees it as an opportunity to explore his interests. 

Juliette Gross is a senior in the A-school who is interning at Compass Real Estate with the Heather Harrison team. Her favorite part about her internship is learning about the real estate market and meeting so many new, welcoming people. Fun fact- Juliette did her January internship with Scarsdale10583 her sophomore year!

Sophomore Finley Weston is interning at VEG 24-hour pet care hospital. She does a variety of tasks throughout the day, including helping with laundry, holding oxygen, sitting with animals, and watching surgery. She loves to be a part of the industry that saves pets, and says that the highlight of her internship has been watching surgeries and getting to spend time with the animals. 

Sophomore Jackson Brown is interning for a man who works at William Morris Endeavor in the sports department. Jackson does a lot of research, including NIL research and sports analytics research. He enjoys this experience because it is a time to connect with his athletic interests and have fun!

We are so proud of all the A-schoolers this month!

This article was written by Rebecca (Becca) Ludwig, a sophomore in the A-school. She is interning for Scarsdale 10583! She comes up with various ideas for articles, interviews people for upcoming articles, and writes and publishes articles. She coordinates with Joanne Wallenstein, often assisting her with the website. As someone who loves to write, Becca has truly loved this experience because she has been able to explore her interests. 

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Written by: Rebecca Ludwig

Published: 14 January 2026

Created: 14 January 2026

Last Updated: 14 January 2026

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The former home of SAS on Wayside LaneThough many in the community think the beloved schoolhouse on Wayside Lane is home to the Scarsdale Alternative School, you may be surprised to learn that the A-School has moved.

Since 1972 the A-School held their regular meetings in their own building, the former Boy Scout house that was leased to the A-school by the Village of Scarsdale. For many years, A-school students stayed in the building for the entire day, with no classes in the regular high school building. Although the building lacked air conditioning and was quite small for the 88 A-schoolers, the community loved to have their own, personalized space. That was the status quo until the pressure of college admissions increased, and students wanted more opportunities than could be offered in the A-school. Many changes began to take place.

What changed? We spoke to A-School Director, Fallon Plunkett who provided background on the A-School and the move from Wayside Lane to the high school.

Founded in 1972, the A-School “seeks to promote character development through academic challenges and civic engagement.” And that mission has not changed. Students have the same group of teachers and peers for three years, enabling them to form meaningful and trusting relationships with one another. Students are encouraged to be risk takers and demonstrate ownership over their learning. Every January, A-school classes come to a halt as students trade class hours for internships. This gives students the opportunity to take a deep dive into a topic or profession of interest.

Along the way, the A-school switched to a new policy of allowing students to take classes in both the A-school and the high school buildings. Students had to cross the field during the short passing time to get between buildings. This proved difficult, especially in the winter, so the A-school classes eventually shifted their academic classes into the “new wing” of the high school. They still used the A-school building for the weekly community meeting, core group, and A-school events (such as graduation). Although the building was used less frequently, the community still felt attached towards the beloved space that kept them close. That 30-year stretch of using both Scarsdale High School and the A-School building, lasted until Covid-19 hit. A senior class photo at the former building.

The pandemic caused a big shift for everyone including the A-school. When students returned back to school during Covid, the A-school building could no longer be used because there was not enough room for 88 people to maintain enough social distance. During this time they shifted their community meetings to the Little Theater at SHS. No longer in use, the original A-School building began to deteriorate and fall out of compliance with student safety regulations.

When the Covid crisis eased, the A-school faced the decision of whether or not to return to their former building. Since the building is owned by the Village, not the schools, it would have been a long process to do the necessary upgrades.

In June of 2023, the A-school had a meeting where they decided to make the full switch to SHS, which was implemented in the fall of 2023. The A-school had already been using the new wing of the high school for academic classes but now had to accommodate and expand the space to fit all members for the community meeting period. The facilities department assisted in making the new wing accessible for the needs of the A-school. They took down a wall between two classrooms to expand the room for community meetings and allowed them to select nice new flooring.

What about the former building on Wayside Lane? In 2023, a group of elementary school teachers were looking for a place to meet and work. The old building presented a good solution as the building code for adult usage is less strict than for student use. For now, a group of elementary curriculum coordinators utilizes the former A-School home. There are plans to relocate them to Greenacres Elementary School, and the old A-school building will eventually serve another new purpose. The Village wants to do something with the space, potentially allowing seniors to use the space, or place other facilities there. The interior will likely be changed to accommodate a different use, and the estimated cost for improving the space would be $2M. Many students rely on the A-school parking lot to park their cars among the large student parking dilemma. The Board of Education does not want to lose the parking at this lot. They are still interested in utilizing the space, and want to potentially work with the Village Board on deciding the future of the A-school building.

The A-school community still feels a connection to their old building, but they also love the new space. The transition was difficult for some who felt sad to leave their A-school community home. But two years later, most current students who never experienced the unique setting have come to like the cozy meeting room in the high school’s new wing. Decorated with student artwork it has become the community’s new home.

“The A-school gives me more freedom with education,” says A-school student, Finn.

“If the buildings were still separate, I don’t think I would’ve even joined the A-school” says another A-school student, Jack.

No matter where it meets, everyone loves the A-school!

Learn more about the history of the Scarsdale Alternative School in this film by the Scarsdale Historical Society.

This article was written by Rebecca Ludwig, who is currently in her sophomore year at Scarsdale High School. Rebecca is a part of the Alternative School program at SHS where she has the opportunity to explore one of her interests through doing an internship in January.

Student artwork decorates the new meeting room.

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Written by: Diane Greenwald

Published: 04 January 2026

Created: 04 January 2026

Last Updated: 04 January 2026

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There is a prevailing and pernicious notion in our nation that school funding doesn’t make a difference on educational outcomes. Of course, that’s crap. School funding is essential. It always has been. Scarsdale is the case that proves this point.

As an affluent and stable community, the burden of major ills of society fall less on the school here, like chronic joblessness, hunger, transience, violence, and drugs. Instead, a Scarsdale education can focus on achieving goals, like to:

● Attract quality, creative educators with top salaries;
● Insist on small classroom sizes to ensure individualized student/teacher relationships;
● Enhance collaborative and flexible spaces;
● Pilot unique and tested resources for many groups of learners;
● Welcome parents into the circle of friends as partners for education.

As we embark on school investment with a sizable capital bond, we must place at the center of our decision the trusted premise that consistent, generous, priority investment helps us reach our goals and makes our schools better. At the root of this investment is a well-documented fact that modernized spaces make a positive difference on learning. According to a 2019 study from the World Bank Group:

“High-quality, well-designed, and modernized school facilities can also improve student academic outcomes. Both in the classroom and on the school bus, healthier air quality has been linked to increased concentration, improved test scores, and improved academic performance. Furthermore, schools with abundant natural light, thermal comfort, and low sound levels better facilitate student learning, as physical learning environments contribute significantly to students’ ability to engage and comprehend academic material. In short, upgrading and modernizing schools is not simply a matter of aesthetics but an essential element of learning.”

This type of capital investment will improve specialized learning spaces; update and add classrooms; and provide safer and brighter environments with better air quality, to name a few improvements, all that enhance our educational goals. These “concrete intangibles” help students learn and grow, but investment impacts everyone who lives here. Our educational system also keeps our property values strong, our town popular, and our community connected.

That said, we have been slowly starving our schools for over a decade now and we need this bond infusion. Since former-Governor Cuomo first passed his arbitrary one-size fits-all tax levy limit in 2013 on annual budgets, we have been underinvesting, resting too heavily on our reserves, not on our values. And since this district has adhered to a “tax neutral” bonding scheme for the last several projects, we have been funding based on historic needs, not current or future ones. We knowingly let go of opportunities for low interest-rate borrowing. This has been fundamentally regressive. So, I am thrilled to see that the district proposes capital investment based on actual documented project goals, not using the irrelevant notion of tax neutrality as a false guidepost.

As a long time community volunteer with a background in design, I have served successful improvement projects in town, most notably the Scarsdale Public Library transformation, but also on other capital committees for school and town projects. Many people in Scarsdale who are financial experts are often skeptical of a municipal/school investment mindset (not a business one) that is not going to deliver direct returns. Critical thinking, lifelong learning, I mean, just kids are hard to quantify. So some investment efforts here have been difficult to pass, to build trust in as worthy. But when we invest, we win. We develop our future innovators, doctors, engineers, leaders, and global citizens right here in our bricks and mortar. I do not want to see this school investment fall under the weight of misinformation or false expectations, like those times when folks let the perfect get in the way of the good.

This last year, I served on the pool advisory committee and I am delighted by both the fulsome process that tapped our large community braintrust, and the outcome that will provide a well-considered and beloved community amenity. It was a model approach. But let’s be clear – for me, it’s schools, not pools, that matter most. If we can support such a vital, health recreational venture, and we can, then we must also support school investment, at the highest level possible.

I hope most stakeholders feel the same as I do. For young parents of the elementary schools – I will leave the specifics to you, but remember, it does not have to be equal to be fair. Love and advocate for your neighborhood school but love your whole district more. In my experience, this town does renovation pretty well by minimizing interruptions and maximizing learning opportunities in the renovation time. Of course, no one gets it perfectly. For example, my now grown kids entered an elementary school that had recent renovations – nice! But, also, they graduated before the long delayed HS auditorium even started, though they were both musicians. It happens. (Hey, they still got to play at Carnegie Hall!) Let your neighbors have their turn without it being contentious. We will always invest again. That is our social contract.

The Board of Education has a unique role to play to ensure parents and the larger community understand that these district bond plans are fair, practical, and future facing. It's a funny little dance for those of you in the know. They are our primary advocates for education but they do not take a position yet, committed to district accountability. It is thus the district professionals who set up decision structures and feedback loops, while the BoE gives input and insight on still-open priorities. But if we are being honest, the district is spread thin and the BoE should really be stepping up with communications work as our primary translators for this effort. They can ensure that school investment is well understood and that it best reflects our community values. They can be both ambassadors and temperature takers, because this is an exciting opportunity, and if we get mired in disenchantments rather than lifted by core values, it is not going to work out well for anyone.

Scarsdale needs champions and I, for one, even as an empty nester, am ready to love our learners with major investment, again and again.

Read some more articles about how modernized school spaces can positively impact learning outcomes!

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/federal-investments-in-k-12-infrastructure-would-benefit-students-across-the-country/

https://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/McGrawHill_ImpactOnHealth.pdf

https://e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=latrobe_final_report_final_120723&hideIssuuLogo=true&u =perkinseastmancommshttps://e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=latrobe_final_report_final_120723&hideIssuuLogo=true&u =perkinseastmancomms

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/now-is-the-time-to-invest-in-school-infrastructure/

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 16 December 2025

Created: 16 December 2025

Last Updated: 16 December 2025

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With the goal of a bond vote in May 2026, the Scarsdale Schools administration and Board of Education reviewed the latest cost estimates and further refined the plan at their meeting on Monday December 15, 2025.

In November, the Board asked the administration for a proposal under $100mm which they reviewed at the December meeting.

On 12/15, the administration recommended at $97.2 mm plan. They showed feedback from a survey of 828 respondents. 77% were residents with the balance from employees and students who cannot vote. 52% suppported this level of spending, 21% said it was too low and 27% said it was too high.  

The bond work proposal is divided into four categories. The largest, or about 61% of the work is Spatial and includes large additions and renovations to Edgewood and Fox Meadow Elementary Schools.

The initial plan did not include the Edgewood addition, but after pushback from the community, the Board opted to add a two-story addition including 6 classrooms and 5 small instruction spaces, some of which will be utilized by the 8:1:2 and 12:1:2 special education classes that are held at Edgewood. Also included at Edgewood are interior work to the gym and multi-purpose room and interior classroom renovations.

At Fox Meadow, a new two-story addition will be built with a library and multi-purpose room, classrooms will be renovated and an ADA ramp will be built for access to the playground from the Kindergarten wing.

Also included in the spatial budget is the renovation of the Heathcote Library, renovations at the high school of the 3D art room, Learning Center, Little Theater, library rooms and 2 single use bathrooms.

At the Middle School, the Library and Dining Rooms will be renovated.

The second category, called Building Conditions and Infrastructure, comprises $26.1mm in projects at all 7 district schools. At the meeting on 12/15, the Board agreed to add a $913,271 project to improve drainage on the front field of Quaker Ridge School. The field often floods and spills onto Weaver Street. They also decided to defer the replacement of oil tanks at all 7 buildings.

Another 11% of the bond, or about $10.7mm will be used to install Air Conditioning. This was initially budgeted at $15mm and included air conditioning all classrooms and large spaces such as auditoriums and gyms. However, in order to meet the numbers, about $5 mm in air conditioning costs were cut, including air conditioning in the middle school gyms and auditorium and the SHS cafeteria. At the meeting on Monday, the Board opted to add air conditioning at the Heathcote and Quaker Ridge auditoriums back in to the plan.

Under Field Work, there was $4.7mm allocated to build a girls softball field at Greenacres Elementary School and to do field work at Scarsdale Middle School. In order to reserve funds, the turf field at SMS has been deferred and the school hopes to work with the Village on a project to renovate the field and build a stormwater retention basin at SMS. The field work budget is now $1.5mm.

The presentation includes an estimate of the individual homeowner tax increase to fund the $97mm bond. According to the chart, for a homeowner whose house is assessed at $1,320mm, the $97mm bond would mean a tax increase of $570 a year. Those with homes at higher assessed values, can estimate their tax increase based on this figure – and the administration plans to provide a sliding tax calculator so that residents can get an accurate read on their tax increase.

The timeline now calls for the board to confirm the scope of the bond at their meeting on 1/12/26, to conduct a second survey, to adopt the referendum on 3/16/26 and to hold a district wide vote on the bond on May 19, 2026.

See the presentation here.