Superintendent Blog Post - June 25, 2019 

Thank You!

During the last week of school you will probably not catch me at my most reflective but I wanted to take a moment to reflect and say a huge thank you to the Beacon community for the past two years.  I was randomly looking at some pictures a few nights ago of our move to Beacon and had those thoughts that a lot of us have when looking at old pictures: the last two years went by so fast, the last two years also went by so slow, and I have a lot more gray hairs on my head now than I did then.  That all said, I just wanted to say thanks for your support of our staff, our budget process, and most importantly your children and all of the young people in the community. Beacon is a very special place and I am proud to be here and I am incredibly excited for graduation later this week, a little bit of down time this summer, and even more exciting plans for the district for next year and beyond.  

Have a great summer!

Where are our amazing Seniors going next year?

Do you ever find yourself slowing down at the BCSD sign on Verplank this time of year to see where every senior is going next year?  I sure do.  

Here is the list of where every amazing Senior is going next year.  Roughly 85% of our Seniors go on to post-secondary education with that group split evenly between four year colleges and two year colleges.  Our Seniors also serve our community by joining the Armed Forces and by entering the workforce. Congratulations to an amazing group!

Adult Services/ACCES VR, Adult Services OPWDD, Albany State University, Baruch College of the CUNY, Belmont Abby, Binghampton, Capri Cosmetology, Carnegie Mellon University, Cedar Crest College, Central Piedmont Community College, Christopher Newport University, Culinary Institute of America, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Colorado College, Concordia College - NY, CUNY John Jay, Curry College, Dutchess Community College, Florida State University, Hofstra University, Howard University, Hunter College of the CUNY, Iona, Ithaca College, James Madison University, Johns Hopkins University, Keister University, Kent Preparatory, Lasell College, Le Moyne College, Liberty University, Marist College, Marymount Manhattan, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Mercy College, Michigan State, Mount Saint Mary College, New England College, Orange BOCES ALI, Orange County Community College, Pennsylvania State University, Sacred Heart University, Siena College, Springfield College, St. John’s University, St. Rose, Sullivan County Community College, SUNY Albany, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY College at Brockport, SUNY College at Cortland, SUNY Delhi, SUNY John Jay, SUNY College of Technology at Canton, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY College at Oneonta, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Sullivan, Susquehanna University, Temple University, The Sage Colleges, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, University of Chicago, University of Delaware, University of Hartford, University of Pennsylvania, Utica College, Wagner College, West Virginia University, Western Connecticut State University

 

Superintendent Blog Post - May 31, 2019

In this blog post there is some information about the capital project work, my welcome letter for the Calico Ball, and some information about a couple of free events worth checking out this weekend.

Capital Project Begins

Bulldozers were sighted behind Beacon High School today to begin the work for our new athletic field!  Most of the work of the capital project is taking place this summer.  In addition to the new turf field behind the high school, we are also working on a renovated science, home and careers, and special education classrooms at Rombout, and repairs and upgrades at all of our schools.  We will update the community on the progress of this work through social media and blog posts throughout the summer.  You can find out more information about the capital project here:   https://www.beaconk12.org/domain/437

30th Calico Ball next week!

A few quick things about the Calico Ball.  We are celebrating the 30th year of the performance, the district is now back to funding it in our regular budget, and most importantly, a huge thanks to the Beacon Arts and Education Foundation for keeping it going for so many years.  Below is my welcome letter in the Calico Ball program.

Welcome to the 30th Calico Ball!  This treasured tradition has a remarkable history in our district.  For three decades, BCSD students have taken the stage to demonstrate how they have expanded their understanding of cultures around the world through dance, music and storytelling .  It has become a rite of passage for our third graders and a powerful learning experience. No doubt there are many parents in the audience who participated in the Ball themselves! Special thanks to the Vanaver Caravan for bringing this opportunity into our classrooms for so many years and to all of our teachers and support staff for deepening students’ experiences with in depth studies of the countries that their class is focussed on.

In 2010, theThe district was faced with the difficult decision to pull the Calico Ball from the budget but luckily, the program did not end there.  Pete Seeger, a long-time supporter of the Ball, generously donated to the Beacon Arts & Education Foundation (BAEF) in order to keep the tradition alive and BAEF took up the torch from there.  I am grateful to the Beacon Arts & Education Foundation (BAEF) for keeping the Ball alive for the last nine years. This year I am very proud to announce that this great piece of out of the box programming is back in the district budget!!

Thanks again to co-presidents Lori Merhige and Anna Bergin for your support and advocacy during the past three Calico Ball seasons and for all of the programming you have made possible through fundraising for this district! Your leadership has made a huge difference!

A Couple of Free Events Worth Checking out this Weekend!

On Saturday, June 1 from 12:00-4:00 I AM Beacon is hosting the Rock Out 4 Mental Health Event at Pete & Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park.  The event is free and a chance to connect with community members, learn more about resources available to those in need in our community, and enjoy great music.

On Saturday, June 1 at 9:00 am the Beacon Greenway Trail Committee and the City of Beacon will be hosting a walk of the Fishkill Creek Greenway and Heritage Trail.

The event will begin at 9 am at the Scenic Hudson's River Center (aka Red Barn) at Long Dock Park and cover the entirety of the planned length of the Trail in Beacon, approximately 4 miles. The walk will end at the The Lofts at Beacon (Rte 52 and Mill Street). Shuttle service will be provided to get walkers back to Long Dock Park.

The event coincides with National Trails Day, a celebration of America’s magnificent Trail system. With this walk, the organizers hope to encourage Trail use in general, and to specifically spread awareness of Beacon’s Fishkill Creek Greenway and Heritage Trail.

The walk is expected to take roughly 2 hours. All are encouraged to join for the walk of the entire length or any portion of the Trail.

Please come out for the event to see parts of Beacon you may have never seen, and experience firsthand Beacon’s Fishkill Creek Greenway and Heritage Trail.

For additional information and updates, please refer to Beacon’s Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/beaconny/.

Dear Community Members:

I am honored to serve as the Superintendent of the Beacon City School District.

We work on the budget year-round by listening to constituents, analyzing current programs, and prioritizing programs and positions for upcoming years.  This year along with meeting with staff, community members, and PTOs, I also met with about 150 students from grades 5-12 in over 10 different focus groups to discuss their hopes and dreams for the school district and the school budget.  This listening process helps us refine and improve the budget process on a continual basis.

During this school year, the Beacon City School District embarked on a journey to begin a strategic planning process.  A strategic planning committee comprised of teachers, parents, community members, administrators, and board members worked throughout the school year to develop a mission statement, belief statements,  and a list of desired skills, abilities, and attributes that we want all of our students to leave our school district embodying. I feel that the 2019-2020 budget proposal is a strong initial reflection of this strategic work.  

The budget development process also took place at many board meetings over the last several months with each department head discussing their budget proposal with the Board of Education.  You can find all of the presentations to the board here:  https://www.beaconk12.org/domain/418 .

The result of this very involved process is a proposed 2019-2020 budget of $73,563,000 with a levy increase of 4.4 percent.  The proposed budget is an increase of 3.1 percent from last year.

The proposed 2019-2020 budget specifically supports several key initiatives in the district.  The budget further reduces elementary class sizes, continues the funding of the fourth-grade instrumental music program which was grant funded this year,  and adds a business teacher, social worker, and a half-time art teacher to Beacon High School. Additionally, the budget supports increased coursework at Beacon High School including expanded computer science offerings, introduction to Italian, an additional AP English class, and other electives.  Finally, our access to technology tools continues to expand with Beacon High School offering a 1:1 Chromebook program for its students and high school classrooms will gain interactive teaching screens.

I am very proud to put this budget in front of the community.  Please let me know if you have questions, suggestions, or feedback.

Please remember to vote on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.  The polls are open from 7:00 am until 9:00 pm.

Matt Landahl, Superintendent of Schools

A message from The Wellness Committee

Did you know that the Beacon City School District has a Wellness Policy? It’s all about promoting healthy students and staff. Last year, the Wellness Committee updated the policy to make sure students have the tools they need to learn and grow into healthy adults. Positive changes, like more outdoor recess and more access to fresh lunch options, support growing minds and bodies, and help create a lifetime of healthy habits. Over the next few months, we’ll share details about the policy, what it means, and more resources to help families boost those habits home.

You find the complete Wellness Policy here, or request a copy by calling your school’s main office at 845-838-6900.

More info about physical and emotional wellness for kids and parents can be found at infoaboutkids.org. At parenttoolkit.com/topics/health-and-wellness, get tips on everything from building good eating habits to helping teens learn how to make positive personal choices.

Beacon High School - Beacon Pride Mural

The Beacon High School students worked very hard alongside Joe Pimentel to complete the Beacon Pride Mural.  We are all very excited to see all of their hard work come to fruition.