Superintendent Update - Friday, September 24, 2021

I wanted to update the community on some virtual events coming up in the near future.  I hope to see you at some of these.  Just one quick update, the health screening tool will be ready next week and I will do a robocall and email when it is ready so everyone will look for it.

Highlands Current Community Conversation with me Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00.  Register here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/cc_beacon/register   You will be able to submit questions.  The theme is centered on schooling during the COVID era.

Beacon City School District Zoom Town Hall on the Social/Emotional Inventory Thursday, September 30 at 7:00.   At the end of the last school year, we surveyed students, staff, and families and also did some one on one interviews with folks.  We will share the data at this Zoom town hall and share some next steps and answer questions that come up.  The session will be recorded and put up on Youtube.  The link will be sent out and posted next week.

Beacon City School District Capital Project 2021 Zoom Town Hall Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00.  At this Zoom town hall, we will discuss the proposed Capital Project in detail and answer questions that people have. We will share the slides in advance and put the Town Hall up on Youtube.  This is in preparation of the October 26, 2021 Capital Project vote.  The 2021 Capital Project is a $26 million project that is both tax neutral and also will positively impact learning spaces across all six schools and improve district infrastructure as well.

Beacon City School District Capital Project 2021 Zoom Town Hall Tuesday, October 12 at 5:30.  At this Zoom town hall, we will discuss the proposed Capital Project in detail and answer questions that people have. We will share the slides in advance and put the Town Hall up on Youtube.  We can answer questions at this event from folks not able to attend the prior one.

I will be working on setting up schedules for our Wellness and Diversity/Equity Committee next week.  

Community Updates and Things to Do:

Home athletic events today:  Girls Varsity Soccer at 4:15 and Varsity Volleyball at 5:00.

Beacon Hebrew Alliance will once again be holding a Blood Drive on Sunday, October 3, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Lewis Tompkins Hose located at 13 South Avenue, Beacon, NY.  For more information, please contact: ostrovskyrebecca@gmail.com

Guardian Self Storage is holding its annual coat drive.  They will be collecting coats at their Beacon location 629 Rt 52, Beacon or any Guardian Location October 1, 2021-October 31, 2021.  There will be no local pick up this year; however, you can stop by and drop off coats that you are no longer using that someone in need will appreciate.  For more information about the coat drive, please contact Vicki McDonald at beacon@guardianselfstorage.com

Have a great weekend. 

Matt

Superintendent Update September 17, 2021

I hope everyone is doing well. This is more of a quick update on just some things we are working on.  

Update on the Health Screener Implementation

We are hoping to start using the health screener by Wednesday or Thursday of next week.  It will be emailed and texted to all families every day.  It will have similar quick questions like last year about the student’s health.  We are using a new tool this year to accomplish this and we had some technical issues to work out before using it with you all.

Update on COVID-19 Testing

We are working closely with Dutchess County on this.  They have federal funds for each district in Dutchess to implement rapid testing this year.  Our goal is to begin a testing program the week of October 4th.  Dutchess County is identifying vendors that we will work with to accomplish this.  Our own staff is stretched a little too thin this year to test in any meaningful way.  The rapid tests will be available for staff and students.  Students would need parent permission to participate in the program.  We will share more information about it as soon as we get it.

Update on the Capital Project 

Last week we shared that the upcoming capital project vote will be on October 26.  You can learn more about the project here: https://www.beaconk12.org/domain/577

We will have our Capital Project town hall schedule ready to share with the public by the end of next week.

Looking for Something to Do:

Here are some upcoming home athletic events.  Remember for indoor events, masks are required for all spectators.

Friday, 9/17 4:00 Girls Tennis vs. Valley Central

Monday, 9/20 4:15 Girls Soccer vs Washingtonville 

4:30 Volleyball vs. Marlboro

Tuesday, 9/21 4:15 Boys Soccer vs. Valley Central

Have a great weekend!

Matt Landahl

Superintendent Update - September 10, 2021

It was great to see everyone back this week!  I wanted to provide some quick updates on the district.

Capital Project Vote October 26, 2021

The BCSD Board of Education voted on September 8 to move forward with the Capital Project vote on October 26, 2021.  We will do a few zoom town halls (which we will record on youtube) and some in-person meetings to explain the project in much greater detail and answer questions. It is a $26 million project that will be tax-neutral.  The project addresses exciting learning features at each of our school buildings and also addresses infrastructure improvements.  Last spring, we met with stakeholder groups at each school for initial brainstorming.

Some key highlights are:

Beacon High School - Science labs upgrades/renovations, TV/Multi-media studio upgrades/renovations, track renovations, pool refinishing, roof repairs.

Rombout Middle School - Two science classroom upgrades/renovations, two art classroom upgrades/renovations, parent drop off loop/bus loop, roof repairs, ventilation.

JV Forrestal Elementary - Playground upgrades, corridor windows in the lower floor, ventilation upgrades, new boiler.

Glenham Elementary - New front entrance, parking lot/front loop paving and redesign, ventilation upgrades, new boiler.

Sargent Elementary - Library media center in the main hallway, new boiler, lighting in corridors.

South Avenue Elementary - Upgrade/redesign playground and playing fields behind the school, paving in front of the school, ventilation upgrades.

I look forward to sharing more information about the project with the community in the coming weeks.  You can check out our progress on our website as well: https://www.beaconk12.org/domain/577

Please check out this message from the Foundation for Beacon Schools

Introducing the Foundation for Beacon Schools

Each school year marks a new beginning for students, families, teachers, and our school communities, and this year, there's another exciting addition to the landscape. Introducing the Foundation for Beacon Schools. Incorporated during the height of the pandemic by school parents and community members with the guidance of BCSD faculty and administration, FBS is Beacon's new education foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to support innovation, enrichment, equity, and expansion of educational opportunities in the Beacon City School District through fundraising, grantmaking, and strengthening community ties to our public schools.  Education foundations can have a big impact on the districts they serve by building bridges with a broad array of individuals, organizations, businesses, and corporations. Over the course of this school year, the Foundation will be introducing itself to the local and regional community through special events, fundraisers, and discussion forums. To stay in the loop with the new Foundation’s activities and learn about ways to get involved, follow them online at facebook.com/ForBeaconSchools.

If you are looking for something to do tonight

Check out our Volleyball team at 4:30 at home, Boys Soccer at 4:15 at home, and Football at 7:00.  Masks are required for all if you are inside our buildings but they are not required outside.

Have a great weekend!

Matt Landahl