The Knight Times - January 2016

The

KNIGHT TIMESKNIGHT TIMESMount Vernon City School District Newsletter Volume VIII: Winter 2016

DISTRICT FAMILIES TO VOTE ON BOND MARCH 15

The Mount Vernon City School Board voted unanimously Jan. 21 to seek a bond totaling $108 million to facilitate the district leadership’s vision to improve the quality of instruction, enhance programs and services and close achievement gaps. This initiative will ensure that all students receive a rigorous education and develop the necessary skills, preparing them to be model citizens capable of competing in a global society. The bond will also fund targeted urgent infrastructure needs to ready the district for significant technology upgrades. Residents of Mount Vernon will vote on the measure on March 15.

There would be no increase in taxes for the bond until the 2017-18 school year. “The edict to improve our facilities and educational programs while minimizing the tax burden is no easy feat,” Superintendent Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton said. “With projected increases in state aid and the highest state reimbursement rate possible, the stars have aligned to make this bond possible with the least impact on the taxpayers of Mount Vernon.”

The annual tax increase for residents having an average home value of $315,000 (for tax purposes, a home with an assessed value of $10,000) would average $7.34 a month over the next 20 years. Please visit www.mtvernoncsd.org or see page 4 for a monthly breakdown each year as the amount will fluctuate.

PLANNING TODAY FOR TOMORROW

With stable, long-term administrative leadership in place, Dr. Hamilton has embarked on a master plan, his “20/20 Vision” for the district, which includes improvements for all of Mount Vernon’s schools.

Recognizing the importance of early literacy for student success, the 20/20 Vision will implement a district-wide full-day universal pre-kindergarten program. This program will be housed in both neighborhood schools and an early childhood education-learning center at Parker Elementary School. This restructuring will create the space necessary to implement a K-8 configuration districtwide (Pennington, Holmes, Traphagen, Lincoln and Columbus will become pre-K-8 buildings. Williams, Grimes, Graham, Turner and Hamilton schools will become K-8, with the new Parker Early Learning Center housing the pre-K programs for those schools. The Turner schools will provide a K-5, then a 6-8). The implementation of universal full-day pre-kindergarten will introduce students to a rigorous curriculum that will allow them to jump-start their formal education. The program will also eliminate the need for parents to assume the exorbitant costs of childcare during the workday.

Increased revenue will support 20/20 Vision, necessary capital improvements

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Mount Vernon, NY

Mount Vernon City School District Newsletter

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Dear Friends,

In August of 2014, I arrived in Mount Vernon to find a school system rich with potential but long neglected. Most importantly, I found a community longing for a renaissance and a cadre of motivated, talented students

looking for a way to succeed.

Today, we have a school system filled with opportunity for our students. We have made great strides building trust in this community and developing long-term partnerships with community and civic leaders and organizations.

We have raised rigor in our education programs. We have held our teachers and staff more accountable than ever before.

Now we find ourselves at a crossroads. For too long our district has approached education in a piecemeal fashion. Innovative programs and curricula have been introduced with no long-term, sustainability strategy. Programs had often been cut before they ever had a chance to succeed.

Today, we are preparing to implement a long-term, sustainable educational vision for our district that will help break the cycle of poverty in our community and raise the standards of excellence in our schools. It will provide our students with the education and supports necessary to be successful in a 21st century job market.

Over the last three years, we have experimented with a kindergarten through 8th grade program in four of our schools. Today, we are prepared to bring the K-8 configuration to the balance of our elementary schools. The research and data consistently demonstrate the continuity of care afforded to students in these programs raises success levels and ensures they have the necessary skills to be competitive in high school and post-secondary pursuits.

My long-term vision includes a universal, pre-K program throughout our school district. This program will ensure that our youngest, most impressionable, learners have the care and educational foundation necessary to hit the ground running in kindergarten. In a community like ours, a universal pre-K program will play an integral role in helping our working parents while at the same time starting our students on the road to success.

Additionally, we have articulated a vision to create schools of excellence at our high schools. Our community has a long tradition of producing some of the greatest artists the world has known. Our students have been deprived of a robust arts program that can continue this legacy to promote and encourage the artistic abilities of our students. Our vision calls for Thornton High School to become a performing arts school that will serve students from 6th to 12th grade.

As part of the vision, Mount Vernon High School will again be revered in Westchester County for its offerings, including an expansion of career and technology centered courses. With course offerings from nursing to heating and ventilation to television production, our students will be provided with opportunities to join the workforce with skills in high demand.

In order to accomplish this vision, we will require your support of a bond referendum to make the necessary upgrades and modifications to our schools and facilities. These upgrades will forever transform our schools and community.

They will provide our students with the appropriate facilities to carry out the vision.

Yours for the sake of all children,

Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton Superintendent of Schools

SUPERINTENDENT’S LETTER

Volume VIII: Winter 2016

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“Mount Vernon is a community with many exceptional children who deserve an excellent school system, equipped to offer many different pathways to a successful life,” Dr. Hamilton said. “The 20/20 Vision provides a blueprint for Mount Vernon to become an outstanding, contemporary and progressive city school district – rich in opportunity and innovation. In addition to the 20/20 Vision, this bond will provide the district with the financial resources needed to address long-standing infrastructure issues, creating a more comfortable, safer and technologically advanced learning environment for our students.”

Dr. Hamilton has already made a number of educational and facilities improvements since becoming Superintendent of Schools in August 2014, and his 20/20 Vision is an extension of the work that has already begun. Under Dr. Hamilton’s leadership, the district has:

• Had a zero percent tax rate increase for the 2015-2016 school year

• Increased professional development and accountability for teachers and administrators

• Established a pilot full-day pre-K program• Restored the Career and Technical Education

programs• Brought back modified track and field and

basketball programs at the middle schools• Expanded Behavioral Intervention Services to ALL elementary schools

• Begun restoration of the Mount Vernon High School swimming pool

Great strides have been made creating a more open and transparent school system so residents have a clear understanding of the district’s management, direction and financials. “This school district administration understands the need for stringent financial oversight, and we will provide the same diligence as we do for our day-to-day financial operations,” Dr. Hamilton said.

“The district will provide residents with a timeline of completion and ongoing public updates of our progress.”

SUPPORTING THE VISION

Changes to the district’s buildings are needed to support the 20/20 Vision. Some examples are:

• A.B. Davis and Mount Vernon High School will each receive upgraded science labs to support their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and technology curriculums.

• Thornton High School’s turn-of-the-century auditorium will be restored and equipped to become a state-of-the-art facility to support its performing arts curriculum and provide a performance venue for the community.

• A.B. Davis and Mount Vernon High School will each receive artificial turf fields to improve safety and the competitiveness of its athletic programs.

• Thornton High School will be outfitted with educational space that focuses on performing arts, including a dance studio to support the performing arts curriculum.

• Parker Elementary School will have bathrooms installed in each pre-K classroom to provide added safety and convenience for students, as well as a site plan reconfigured for safer, more efficient traffic patterns that will provide for safe pickup and drop-off of children.

• Districtwide state-of-the-art science classrooms for 7th and 8th grade students.

Continued from page 1 DISTRICT FAMILIES TO VOTE ON BOND

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CONVERSIONS OF HIGH SCHOOLS

At the high school level, students will have a choice of entering one of three “schools of excellence.” These schools will offer students a choice of specialized areas of study in addition to general studies. They will raise rigor, restore excellence, and provide multiple pathways to graduation.

• A.B. Davis will become a 9-12 high school, offering a concentration in STEAM programs as well as general studies.

• Thornton High School will become the district’s performing arts school and house performing arts students in 6th through 12th grade (auditions will be required).

• Mount Vernon High School is maintained as a 9-12 high school. It will become the center of the district’s reinvigorated Career and Technical Education program, as well as a general studies and technology school with an International Baccalaureate Program.

URGENT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS

Many of the district’s buildings have been neglected and are in disrepair. Classrooms and school buildings equipped with state-of-the-art technology will restore a sense of pride and motivation for students and teachers to perform at a higher level. Basic repairs and replacements need to be made, such as:

• Expanding classroom spaces to eliminate modular classrooms

• Retrofitting wiring for high speed Internet and wireless communication

• Abatement of asbestos associated with projects

• Replacing or repairing ventilation systems

• Creating safe age-appropriate play areas

• Replacing or repairing roofs and windows

• Replacing or repairing parking lots and walkways

The 20/20 vision is part of an ongoing, sustainable strategy to improve education in the Mount Vernon City School District. “By introducing and implementing a long-term sustainable vision for our schools, we are working to help break the cycle of poverty and provide an opportunity for our students to achieve the American dream,” Dr. Hamilton said.

AVERAGE COST BREAKDOWN

Monthly bond cost impact for a Mount Vernon resident with a home assessed at $10,000*

School Year Monthly Increase2016-2017 $0.002017-2018 $5.862018-2019 $8.18 2019-2020 $8.752020-2021 $12.982021-2022 $12.922022-2023 $12.412023-2024 $10.772024-2025 $11.372025-2026 $11.382026-2027 $11.922027-2028 $10.332028-2029 $11.442029-2030 $12.562030-2031 $12.522031-2032 $11.122032-2033 $0.452033-2034 -$5.682034-2035 -$6.942035-2036 -$5.51

*Homes in Mount Vernon assessed at $10,000 have an approximate market value of $315,000.

Continued from page 3 DISTRICT FAMILIES TO VOTE ON BOND


CTE PROGRAM GROWS BY 83 PERCENT

The Mount Vernon City School District has expanded its Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. The expansion is meant to support students in becoming college and career ready by providing them with competitive programming and opportunities in experiential learning. In fact, in the past year, the district has increased the number of career pathways/courses that are now available in the high schools by more than 83 percent.

Before developing a plan to reconstruct the program, Sherry D. Ward, Administrator for Career and Technical Education and Work Study, analyzed CTE globally. She found some interesting developments. “Research indicates that successful initiatives in both developed and developing countries confirm that practical, work-related skill-building and on-the-job experience through internships or apprenticeships help create critical bridges from school to work for youth,” said Ward. The initiatives help youth overcome the lack of experience to obtain the first job and they ensure that education and the labor market work together.

Ward’s blueprint for re-creating a CTE program included aligning programming with industry needs and demands; collaborating between secondary, post-secondary, community and industry organizations; and creating accountability for quality programs.

Enrollment has grown to 895 students, a result of the new programs, Ward said.

In the Cisco Academy, students break down computers and learn how they network together in addition to other IT essentials. Students now have the possibility of achieving a Cisco networking certificate and could qualify to become a Cisco networking technician after graduation. “A course you can take for free here will cost about $1,400 at a local community college,” Ward said.

Also, the culinary arts program was brought back and now offers students curriculum that is aligned with universities. Students interested in becoming a certified nursing assistant can take courses leading to a certification in this field. And, there is a barbering course for those students looking for an alternative to cosmetology.

2014-15

Automotive Technology CosmetologyGraphic ArtsInformation Technology PhotographyTelevision Production

2015-16

Automotive Technology CosmetologyGraphic ArtsInformation Technology (Second teacher)PhotographyTelevision Production BarberingCisco AcademyCulinary ArtsNursing Assisting (CNA)

DISTRICT PERFORMS WELL IN LATEST AUDIT

The Mount Vernon City School District is pleased to report that it performed well in its annual audit. The clean audit was a fitting conclusion to a financial year that brought increased programs to Mount Vernon students with no increase in taxes for Mount Vernon residents.

“We’re very proud of this clean audit of the school district’s finances,” said Ken Silver, Assistant Superintendent for Business. “We take the accounting of taxpayer dollars very seriously, as we are entrusted to do what is right for the district’s residents.”

The accounting firm O’Connor Davies LLP of Harrison performed the audit of the last school year.

The firm offered very minor recommendations regarding authorization signatures and deposit receipts in addition to reducing a school lunch fund balance by replacing outdated kitchen equipment. It also offered suggestions on the appropriate usage of increased state aid that flowed into the district’s general fund.

CTE COURSES


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Students in Mrs. Serna’s English class were recently asked to write an essay identifying a global problem and a possible solution. That assignment grew into a mission for students at Nelson R. Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School. Students Joshua Cotton and Randdy Chavez identified homeless people going hungry as a problem. They then proposed a solution involving many hands and the influence of social media.

“I know people do care and want to help, but they may not know how,” said Cotton. “After watching our video on social media, hopefully they will know where to start.”

The students proposed a “Feed the Homeless” challenge that began Nov. 13. Students brought 100 bagged lunches to feed the masses of homeless people at Penn Station. They recorded the food distribution and posted it to social media, challenging others to feed the homeless, as well. The students chose Friday the 13th because it’s a day many consider bad luck. They hope moving forward that Friday the 13th will instead be a day connected to generosity and paying it forward.

The students made the lunches themselves using money raised from a bake sale and 50/50 raffle. Clothing and personal hygiene items were also collected and distributed to those in need. Several seniors from Harrison High School, including Mrs. Serna’s son, Paris Evans, also took part by contributing bottles of water. The students were featured on the local news, and their social media posts received countless “likes.”

MOUNT VERNON STUDENTS FEED THE HOMELESS AS PART OF SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGELunches, clothing and personal hygiene items were distributed to the needy at Penn Station

Matthew Moore was only 29 when his heart stopped beating on May 23, 2012. At the time, Matthew had had a seizure. It was identified that he had cardiomyopathy. But, from this tragedy has grown an opportunity for Mount Vernon students to achieve.

Matthew’s father, Kevin Moore, currently a sixth grade science teacher at Lincoln Elementary School and previously a teacher at Graham Elementary, with the help of his wife, Cindy, and daughter, Marissa, set up a scholarship fund – the Matthew Kevin Moore Leadership, Role Model and Community Service Foundation, which is now in its fourth year.

To help raise money for those scholarships, Moore coordinates Lincoln’s participation in the annual Merrell Down & Dirty Obstacle Race at Orchard Beach in the Bronx each October. The race is an obstacle-climbing, trail-blasting race that includes two courses and 20-plus obstacles. Moore has fielded a team for four years. Last October, 25 of Moore’s family members, relatives, friends as well as district teachers participated. In addition to the $65 race entry fee, which goes to the race and gets distributed to the armed forces as a donation, participants separately donate $20 each to the Moore foundation for a team T-shirt.

SCHOLARSHIP HELPS STUDENTS ADVANCE

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SPOTLIGHT ON: MOUNT VERNON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE LAMONT ‘LIQUID’ BURRELL

RANGERS REWARD A.B. DAVIS STUDENTS

Mount Vernon High School graduate Lamont “Liquid” Burrell is making a name for himself in the television and music industries. A director of music videos, cinematographer and editor, Burrell counts Grammy winning artist Alicia Keys as one of his most famous clients. He has also worked with Rihanna and P. Diddy.

Burrell credits the video production studio at Mount Vernon High School with providing him a first glimpse into his future career. “This dream began in Mount Vernon High School when I worked with computer animation in the TV studio,” remembered Burrell. “I knew then that I wanted to be in this business. It was a pivotal moment, the start of everything.”

After graduating from Mount Vernon High School, Burrell went on to study production in college. He found his early work experience equally important and encourages young people to take advantage of every opportunity presented to learn something new.

“Listen and learn and be open to new ways to get things done in an innovative fashion,” Burrell recommended.

“What was unheard of in television years ago, for example reality TV, is now viewed as a good thing.”

New York Ranger’s Center Derek Stepan stopped by A.B. Davis Middle School on January 6 as part of the Partnership for Advancing Scholastic Success Program (PASS). This partnership brought the school an online STEM program, entitled,

“Future Goals-Hockey Scholar.”

The pop-up rally was designed to celebrate the school’s exceptional participation in the Future Goals program.

Each module in Hockey Scholar is designed to build students’ scientific thinking and problem-solving skills. As students progress through a module, they parallel the steps of a science investigation. There are 12 modules (20-30 minutes each) for a total time of 3 to 5 hours to complete. The STEM concepts in Hockey Scholar are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core Learning Standards. Hockey Scholar brings science, technology, engineering and math concepts to life using the exciting, fast-paced game of hockey.

The Rangers brought several in-arena elements to the school, transforming the auditorium and bringing RangersTown to Mount Vernon. The Rangers have partnered with KIA on PASS to bring the Future Goals program to life by visiting schools.

Burrell says his dream began in the MVHS video production studio

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Mount Vernon City School District165 N. Columbus AvenueMount Vernon, NY 10552

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit # 5140

White Plains, NY

***ECRWSS***Postal Patron

Mount Vernon, NY

Board of EducationAdriane G. Saunders, President Serigne M.Gningue, Vice PresidentCharmaine Fearon Rosemarie Jarosz Omar McDowellMicah J.B. McOwenDarcy Miller Wanda WhiteLesly Zamor

Superintendent Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton presented

“The Most Wonderful Time” holiday concert on Dec. 5 as a great way to build community spirit and help the less fortunate in the community with donations of food and toys.

The free concert featured gospel artists The Jenkins Brothers and actress and singer Phylicia Rashad. Not only did the concert entertain hundreds of local residents, it also generated countless donations for the needy. Bags of non-perishable food items and turkeys were distributed to families over the holidays, and additional bags have been stored for distribution throughout the rest of the school year.

Dozens of needy children were also able to open gifts over the holidays because of the generosity of donations from concert goers. The fellowship of friends and neighbors at this festive event was heartwarming!

Holidays reflected in ‘The Most Wonderful Time’

Other fundraising is done through “The Big Show Benefit,” an annual gathering in June to celebrate Matthew’s life at McKiernan’s Lawton Street Tavern.

All funds go to student scholarships.

The foundation delivers scholarships to Mount Vernon students entering middle school ($250), high school ($350) and college ($500). For students graduating from college who commit to doing public service, there’s a $1,000 scholarship opportunity available. The foundation also donated $500 last year to City Year, dedicated to helping students and schools in high-poverty communities succeed.

“The foundation is actually modeled after City Year,” Moore said. He was introduced to the program by Graham Principal Natasha Hunter-McGregor. “City Year is one of the most rewarding programs I have ever had the opportunity to be involved in.”

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SCHOLARSHIP HELPS STUDENTS

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The Knight Times - January 2016