Survey Results: Your Thoughts on State Testing and Teacher Evaluations
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In January Scarsdale10583 ran a short survey to gauge reader's opinions on state testing, teacher evaluations and the mandated purchase of computers for the administration of state tests in local schools. Though we only had 45 respondents, our open-ended question on the survey did yield many interesting comments. Here are the overall survey results as well as a sampling of some of our reader comments on these controversial issues:
Question #1: I think that New York State mandates too many tests for student in my district:
Yes: 77.7%
No: 20.0%
Comments:
Not in this school district. We should have "tested" out of this after 100 years of stellar graduation rates and top notch students ..... Can we see the balance sheets for the company who distributes and grades all of these tests? They must be laughing all the way to the bank!
There is a need for oversight. While Scarsdale may be doing it right not every district is. We should not fear the testing because if our philosophy works we should have good outcomes.
For the amount of state aide Scarsdale receives- tell the state to keep their directives
I think our schools are so great that we should be able to opt out. I think it's obvious that Scarsdale, and to some degree Edgemont are the pinnacle of education. We should be left alone.
Other countries are way ahead of US on testing. We disadvantage our workers and the brightest students by not testing enough, unless tests in the US are poor (vis a vis China, UK, Finland), which is possible. Bad tests should give way to mor
Question #2: I believe that teachers should be evaluated based on their students' results on standardized tests:
Yes: 6.6%
No: 22.3%
To a degree: 60.0%
Comments:
Students are shaped by parents, other adults, peers, programs, games, their own aptitudes and much more. To load all of that on a teacher, especially in a class of diverse kids (language, nationality, disability), makes little sense, but timed, sequential testing for each student's growth by teacher should be looked at as an important tool for critical review of teacher competence.
I do think we need to evaluate teachers but tests should only be a small factor.
Question #3: Since the state has mandated the purchase of laptops for each student, I would be willing to pay for the laptop(s) for my child(ren).
Yes: 42.2%
No: 53.3%
Comments:
Most children in Westchester have access to a laptop, note-pad or smartphone equivalent. I hope the state is cognizant of how to use minimal technology to accomplish its goals.
I don't want my children to have portable computers that can leave common areas of the house.
Seriously, either way we end up paying - either buying a laptop ourselves for our children or funding it through a hike in the school tax. Maybe it is more straightforward to buy it ourselves - we can probably get a better deal and have less added overhead cost than putting it on the school budget
General Comments:
The state is not thinking of districts like Scarsdale when they come up with these ideas. I'm sure there are many areas in NY State where unless a laptop is purchased for each child, there may be no good computer access for that child at home. Likewise concerns about evaluating teachers are greater elsewhere. Our concerns are those of the 1%.
I think the use of technology is important, but not at the expense of hiring and keeping good teachers and also providing for their continuing education (the teachers'). It seems counterproductive for schools that are struggling to spend money on a device that has a limited "life expectancy" before it becomes obsolete (as most computers do.)
If the state wants each school to have a computer per child, they better let us have a bigger tax cap or give us money or loan the equipment for the testing!
The current testing craze from the state and federal government is so misguided. There is no research to support that student tests results are a valid measure of teacher quality. It is mostly the opinion of politicians who know little about education.
Testing is ok when it is not too much. I don't want my kids' learning experience become test prep experience (like in China). Now kids are too busy with their eyes. We should ask kids to close their eyes to feel the world with their heart and think about it. There are a lot of things that can not be learned from book and in school.
Too many tests, too much technology. The best way to evaluate a teacher or student is observation and overall results.
Many students freeze during tests. Many students have other issues and need to be tested differently. Many students have some type of learning disability and computer based testing may not be appropriate or show their true ability.
Co-Work Space Now Available in White Plains
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The Digital Arts Experience, a creative learning hub focused on promoting digital literacy, is now offering its state of the art facility as a modern day workplace solution through two simple and affordable plans. Membership costs are less than $10 per day. Located at 170 Hamilton Suite 100 in White Plains, the space is convenient and offers parking.
Rob Kissner, President, and his team at The DAE recognize that individuals who work out of the home often complain that they miss the social aspect of working in an office around other professionals. Kissner says, "Home Base provides a productive, collaborative, and creative workspace in which professionals can work by side with other professionals without the high overhead costs of a renting an office."
Home Base offers important office amenities such as print/scan/fax and conference rooms, as well as unique features including an on site professional recording studio, photo/video studio, and computer labs equipped with state of the art Apple computers loaded with Adobe CS6 & other pro software. In addition, Home Base has an in house creative team, offering production services in all forms of media, including graphic & web design, video production, audio production and photography.
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Con Ed Representatives Meet with Scarsdale's Leaders
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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I don't know about you, but after eleven days without power during Hurricane Sandy, I thought someone would answer for Con Edison's failure – or at least force them to provide a disaster plan for the next storm. That's why I was pleased when I learned that the Scarsdale Board of Trustees had sent a strongly worded letter to the utility requesting a meeting to address the Village's concerns -- and marked my calendar to attend the powwow on January 23rd.
To their credit, Con Edison did respond to the letter and sent five representatives to a meeting at Scarsdale Village Hall on 1-23 to answer questions about their performance during the storm and discuss the future. Coincidentally, the meeting was held just one day after the Scarsdale Board of Trustees passed new code to ease the way for the installation of permanent standby generators. And after attending the meeting with Con Edison, I am convinced that we all need to install one.
Tony Suozzo, Con Ed's General Manager of Electric Operations explained that the magnitude of Hurricane Sandy was unprecedented, with 334,0000 Westchester customers out of a total of 347,0000 out of service. Hurricane Irene, the second worst storm to date, put 105,000 customers out, so Sandy affected triple the number of users. Since the storm spanned a 1,000-mile radius, other utility companies who usually share resources, were not willing to release their teams, leaving Con Ed to manage the restoration with limited crews. Customarily Con Edison of Westchester shares crews with New York City and the boroughs, but due to the damage there, Con Edison crews in the city were in demand.
To get an idea about what it takes to service Westchester, Con Edison said that they have 48 overhead construction crews in Westchester to serve 39 municipalities. They also have a few private crews. However, they are heavily reliant on other utilities during crises. For instance, during Hurricane Irene they used 600 crews to repair the lines.
Turning to the specific questions posed in the letter from the Scarsdale Board of Trustees, Jon Mark asked Con Edison if they would be willing to share the map of the Scarsdale power grid to allow the Village Department of Public Works to make an assessment even before Con Edison arrives. Con Edison said that they are working on creating maps of feeders and branch lines that they can distribute to municipalities and promised to provide the map to the Village within a month.
Next was staffing. During Sandy, Scarsdale was assigned only one crew to de-energize power lines so 
that restoration work could be done. Trustee Mark asked if local electricians could be trained to de-energize lines and Con Edison said that they "needed to follow through on this." They offered no timeline on the process.
On timing, Mayor Flisser asked if it was standard for Con Edison not to send help after the first four days of the storm, as has been her experience since she began serving on the board. In response, the Con Edison team looked surprised, and said, "it is not our goal." They told the group that they assess where they can bring back the largest numbers of customers first and also respond to hospitals and nursing homes before working in areas with single-family homes.
Trustees also complained that there was no coordination between the Con Edison liaison and the Village staff to prioritize road clearing and restoration work. In fact, according to Deputy Village Manager Steve Pappalardo, during Hurricane Sandy the liaison did not know what was going on or what the work schedule was for the day. The Con Ed team told Village Managers that they should be able to dictate where the crews go in Scarsdale and promised to introduce a new team of muni managers who could work with the Village.
The conversation turned to communications, and Trustees discussed the inadequacies of the Con Edison customer service website which was often inaccurate and provided everyone with the same restoration date. This left the Mayor and the staff at Village Hall to answer for Con Edison and they manned thousands of calls from cold customers.
The Con Edison team admitted that their customer service system and website was inadequate and needs to be revamped. They said, "they are focused on improving it."
What can be done:
According to Con Edison, the only way to fix the problem is to put the wires underground or cut the trees so that they don't bring down the wires. They are now studying burying the lines but claim that the cost would be $7 to $9 million a mile, a great deal more than the $1 million a mile figure that was originally quoted.
Since the storm, Con Edison has kept some of the extra crews in Westchester to fix low wires, repair poles and trim or take down trees. They say that this work is now 80% complete. Though they used to cut back trees six feet away from the wires, they are now using 10-15 foot clearances.
The meeting ended with promises of:
- A visit from the new muni liaison team
- A long-range plan on burying wires underground
- Work on Con Edison's communications system
- A future meeting to discuss action plans
It was starting point, but there was no assurance that Con Ed is any better prepared how then they were in November.
My recommendation? If you have the funds and can get Con Edison to come to your house to install a gas line, buy your own generator. It will surely be put to good use!
Friends of Animals Advocates a Humane Solution to Geese Control
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Edita Birnkrant of Friends of Animals: Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization founded in NY State in 1957 has received many calls and emails from upset and concerned Scarsdale residents over the town officials' plans to roundup and slaughter the geese at the pond behind the library. In recent days we've put out action alerts to our members and supporters, sent out a press release and contacted local officials in response to the wrong-headed, intolerant scheme.
Last Friday I had a private meeting with Village Manager Gatta and also spoke to Jason Marra, Asst. Superintendent of Recreation, urging them to adopt the non-violent, proven strategies such as habitat and landscape modification at the pond and surrounding area, in addition to adopting policies and strategies to simply clean up goose droppings and foster tolerant attitudes towards geese and wildlife.
I presented both Gatta and Marra with several copies of Friends of Animals' informative Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual, written by renowned ornithologist Don Heintzelman. The manual contains examples of successful scenarios in suburban and urban areas in which habitat modification, public education and fecal cleanup plans resulted in an end to the perceived conflicts between humans and Canada geese. The manual details this process. None of these strategies had even been considered by Scarsdale officials, but now they have been made to understand that killing geese and/or continually harassing them out of the pond area will not work, as more geese will merely replace the killed or chased geese, thus being counter-productive financially and as a practical matter.
Goose roundups are monstrous. USDA agents typically enter the pond area during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. It was stressed to Gatta that removing the geese from the pond area will create a vacuum that will be filled as more geese are drawn back to the landscape, unless changes are made. Geese are attracted to areas with short, mowed grass with open sight lines as safe nesting areas. Growing grass longer in areas, planting native shrubs and trees to block sight lines (geese like to watch for predators), will deter geese from ponds, shores and parkland -- reducing the time they spend in any one spot.
Village Manager Gatta informed me during our meeting that he will not be signing a kill contract with the USDA, and that he is in the process of writing a memo that will include new, respectful ways of dealing with the geese in Scarsdale, as a result of our advocacy and the outcry from local residents and from others around the country. Within two weeks Gatta will be conferring with the Superintendent of Parks (and presenting the memo) with a plan of action regarding the geese, but it seems that killing is off the table now—a big victory for advocates and local residents, and the geese. Friends of Animals intends to keep the pressure on Scarsdale officials until we are fully assured that Canada geese will be spared a senseless and mean-spirited slaughter and harassment campaign.
The message was made very clear to Gatta: Habitat and landscape modification are the only environmentally sound and long-term ways to deter geese from areas where they are seen as problematic, and that's clearly what's needed in Scarsdale. Co-existence with geese and other wildlife is required as a part of civilized suburban living,
Edita Birnkrant
NY Director
Friends of Animals
1841 Broadway, Suite 350
New York, N.Y. 10023
www.friendsofanimals.org
We asked Village Manager Al Gatta to comment on the letter, and here is what he shared: "Edita has carried our conversation a little too far, but we did meet and discussed habitat change and the manual she dropped off looked to be very helpful. We are now looking at some of the alternatives, but no final decision has yet been made. The contract with the USDA Wild Life has not been signed and we are again looking at that method along with a few others. No final decision has been made, but it may be worth one more try with alternative measures."
At Home in Scarsdale: A Dynamic Program for Scarsdale's Seniors
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Attention older adults ... At Home in Scarsdale Village, sponsored by Scarsdale § Edgemont Family Counseling, is an aging in place, membership-based organization for adults over the age of 60 which promotes friendship, connection, socialization, and independence. With their own transportation van and driver, At Home in Scarsdale Village offers members support, cultural and educational programming, referral service, and transportation to and from essential errands. At Home members are afforded the comfort of a spacious van and an experienced driver in which to ride on weekly group outings which may include NYC museums, plays, as well as local Westchester events. The best part about the trips is the friendships that form while on the van. Members are able to talk to each other about their families, their hobbies, and travels. People recognize each other from trip to trip, but even better, warmly welcome new members.
During Hurricane Sandy, the Youth Outreach Team at SFCS called on many At Home members and used the van to visit members who could not be reached and help those who were stranded by the storm. One of the members recently remarked on how important that phone call was to her in the aftermath of the storm. She said she felt good about At Home and the people who are a vital part of the organization.
As most veteran members know, trips are just a small part of what At Home in Scarsdale Village does in the community. The monthly discussion group, Life, held the second Tuesday of each month, is an important opportunity for members to support each other, offer advice about anything and everything from home improvement to moving companies, and provide a safe expression of life's many challenges. The discussion is often headed by a guest speaker from the area. These talks are about everything and anything from finances, estate planning, and current events to sculpture and more. The next discussion group is scheduled for February 12 from 1-2 pm and the topic will be home safety.
"Healthy Aging in Place Book Discussion" will begin Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 3-4 PM This will be a bi-monthly talk about a book, fiction or non-fiction, on topics of living and aging. The first book will be Scarsdalian Alex Witchel's book, All Gone. Other books discussions will include Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon and Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo. Book discussions will take place approximately every 8 weeks in Room 303 of The Harwood Building.
For membership information and a full calendar of events, contact Susan Gilbert at (914) 723-4529 or sgilbert@sfcsinc.org.
At Home in Scarsdale Village Winter 2013 Calendar
January 30: Jacob Burns Film Center, Senior Movie Matinees, 1:00 p.m.
January 3: Metropolitan Museum of Art
February 12: Life Changes
February 14: Westchester Broadway Theater, In The Heights
February 20: Guided Tour of United Nations
February 27: Museum of Arts and Design
March 20: Healthy Aging in Place Book Discussion
April 10 or 17: Jacob Burns Film Center, Senior Movie Matinees, Jewish Film Festival
