News stories tagged with "schools"

(02/16/12) North Country Public Radio has been checking in with schools around our region that are struggling with major budget shortfalls. Many districts have seen sharp declines in state aid over the last two years.

They also face rising costs for pensions and healthcare. And now they're also trying to live within the new two percent cap on property tax increases.

Around 200 people from various St. Lawrence County school districts gathered in Canton Central's high school auditorium last night to talk about how to bring about change in the way New York distributes state aid. The Watertown Daily Times reports some suggested filing a class-action lawsuit against the current formula.

Two busloads of students and adults are planning a bus trip to Albany to lobby lawmakers later this month.

Brian Mann was in Ticonderoga for a public meeting last night, where locals rolled up their sleeves and tried to sketch out a future for their public schools. more

(12/16/11) A study by the New York State School Boards Association finds three quarters of the state's school districts would have exceeded the new 2% property tax cap, had it been in effect for the current school year budget. The group predicts that the new tax cap and schools are "on a collision course." In Albany, Karen DeWitt has more.

(12/15/11) Watertown police continue to work with the Watertown City School District to find out who threatened to bring a gun to school earlier this week. more

(12/05/11) New York State's Education Commissioner says school district consolidations and mergers are a necessary fact of the on going economic downturn. John King is encouraging schools upstate and on Long Island to consider the controversial mergers. In Albany, Karen DeWitt reports. more

(09/29/11) The end of the growing season hasn't dampened excitement about a school garden project in Canton. Students and teachers at Canton Central School will celebrate the produce from their school garden and local farms with a series of meals and programs this season. Five schools in St. Lawrence County will take part in the state's "Farm to You Fest", an event highlighting local food in schools.

Ingredients for today's lunch will be taken from a garden plot behind the high school and donated by local growers. Next week, the school will celebrate its first "Harvest Festival". Elementary classes will take part in food-themed relay races and taste tests, while high school students will help younger students learn about the health benefits of eating locally grown food.

Todd Moe stopped by this week and found second and third graders enjoying the harvest as much as they did planting seeds last spring.

(08/31/11) Roughly 20-percent of Vermont schools are delaying the start of classes because of damage from Irene. Most of the delays are because of washed out roads and damaged bridges that make it impossible for students to get school safely.

But few - if any - schools in New York are opening late.

Julie Grant reports on how New Yorkers are working to get schools, businesses, and homes back to normal after the storm. more

(08/25/11) Schools are getting ready to open for the year. And this fall most have some new obligations. New York was awarded nearly $700 million from the federal government as part of President Obama's Race to the Top education program. Now districts are gearing up to put the new mandates into practice.

Stephen Todd is assistant superintendent of the St. Lawrence and Lewis BOCES, which serves 18 school districts in Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. He says there are three major pieces to Race to the Top.

First, changing the core curriculum in math and English classes. "Instead of trying to teach a mile wide and an inch deep, let's teach what's essential and teach it really, really well. Instead of trying to read everything under the sun, let's make sure what we are reading, we are reading carefully and closely and deeply."

Second, says Todd: data analysis. In the past, he says, schools kept statistics about students and classrooms, but the analysis came only after the school year was over.

Todd says that's about to change: "Instead of doing an autopsy, let's do a physical. Part way through the year, we'll look at the patient. The individual student, the collective group, whether it be classroom or building. Let's see what's working, what's not working. Let's make mid course corrections, that allow us if there are problems to fix those and save the patient. So we're not doing an autopsy later, we're treating the patient as it goes along."

The third major piece of race to the top has to do with keeping closer track of teacher performance. Julie Grant visited the Canton Central Schools to find out what's changing with evaluations, and she found that both teachers and administrators are concerned about the cost in time and money. more

(08/12/11) State University officials from Albany apologized to representatives from SUNY Canton today for removing the college's popular president without first informing school leaders. Still, SUNY officials said the plan is for one president to lead the SUNY colleges in Canton and Potsdam. Julie Grant was there, and files this report. more

(06/06/11) The prospect of a property tax cap could heighten tensions between workers and management at public schools in the state, as both sides gear up to fight over shrinking revenues and resources.

Karen Dewitt reports from Albany. more

(05/26/11) The public got its first glimpse last night of a study to deal with St. Lawrence County's declining school enrollment. The county's 18 districts lost 2,000 students in less than a decade.

The study commissioned by BOCES considers little fixes like shared services and big, controversial moves like merging districts. It also focuses on a middle, largely untested option - the creation of regional high schools. David Sommerstein reports. more