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Can't make it to Board Meetings, watch online at www.HenHudSchools.org.

Schools Share Successes and Data with the Board of Education

In November, all five of our Hendrick Hudson schools presented progress reports to the Board of Education.  Among the information offered were bulleted lists indicating "What We're Proud of"-three key achievements so far this academic year; and "Areas of Focus" - two current initiatives. Here are some of the key points from each school's report:

• Furnace Woods Elementary School - Points of pride include positive feedback from a parent survey, progress in math, and a high level of parental involvement. Furnace Woods is focused on guided and independent reading, as well as Response to Intervention (RTI)*.
• Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School - The school is proud of its student leadership opportunities, increases in student reading levels, and the B-V educational community's understanding of RTI. Buchanan-Verplanck is focused on literacy and continues its emphasis on RTI.
• Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School - Frank G. Lindsey takes pride in its math progress across grades K-5, its RTI team and process, and its Principal's Cabinet. Areas of focus include literacy and transforming regular faculty meetings into Professional Learning Communities.
• Blue Mountain Middle School - The school takes pride in its Common Core State Assessment results being consistent with pre-Common Core performance, addressing the emotional, social and academic needs of students, and  its realistic and appropriate incorporation of Common Core Standards.  Areas of focus are aligning the school's Student Intervention Services, and providing College and Career Readiness for all.
• Hendrick Hudson High School - Hen Hud High School is immensely proud of having been recognized as one of the Top 500 High Schools in the U.S. by Newsweek, and of its students' successes in the arts, athletics and academics. Areas of focus at the high school are student services and enhancing classroom instruction. "We need to continue celebrating our students and staff and the environment for the success that they create at Hendrick Hudson," said  High School Principal James Mackin.

"What I enjoy most about these presentations is they provide an opportunity for the community to hear about all of the great programs, staff and initiatives happening in the schools," said Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter. "Oftentimes we are so focused on testing data that we may forget about all of the other positive initiatives which current data systems are not measuring. It's wonderful for the schools to share their excitement and give a window into their day-to-day activities impacting learning."

*RTI is a method of academic intervention used in schools to provide early, systematic assistance to children who are having difficulty learning. RTI seeks to prevent academic failure through early intervention, frequent progress measurement, and increasingly intensive research-based instructional interventions.

Middle School Offers Thought-Provoking Programs

Brain expert  Michael Nerney.

Thinking About the Brain and Behavior

On November 3, Blue Mountain Middle School students and faculty spent part of their day thinking about their brains. Noted brain expert Michael Nerney, who is a former teacher, visited to speak to them about the adolescent brain, which covers an age range that he defines as lasting from about age 13 to 23.

Nerney spoke with sixth, seventh, and eight grade groups as well as to the faculty in a longer, after-school session. And although each group's presentation was tailored to the audience, the general picture that emerged was that much of what adults deem to be annoying, self-centered, sometimes reckless, and even vain behavior is really completely normal and part of the developmental process.

For the entire story, click HERE.

Diversity consultant  James Childs.

Understanding Diversity

"Yes, you can judge a book by its cover; you just can't do it well." So says James Childs, a widely recognized diversity consultant who has been working recently with students at Blue Mountain Middle School to address the topic of diversity.

Childs likes to emphasize what he calls STAR behavior, with STAR representing Sensitivity - Trust - Appreciation - Respect. "We're going to talk about and simplify our attitudes toward difference and figure out how we get to that STAR behavior," he said before the program began.

Asked what diversity means to him, Childs replied, "All the similarities and differences that we carry around with us. It's either characteristics you were born with, an experience that you've had, or a choice that you've made. It's possible to have diversity and not have inclusion. [The question is] how do we make people feel valuable, not in spite of their differences, but because of their differences."

For the entire story, click HERE.