Community Update

Our Syosset High School Rock Band class opened our first 2024 Board of Education meeting with entertaining medleys of several modern pop songs that had heads bobbing in the auditorium. A newer addition to the course catalog, it has become an instant – um, hit – as students discover the charms of classics both old and more recent. They even welcomed me to sit in on a Creedence revival last year, prioritizing my enthusiasm over my musicianship.

The Board continued the meeting with a thoughtful discussion about how artificial intelligence will likely change our childrens’ future and workplaces on a scale comparable to that of the industrial revolution a century ago. Preparing students for that changing future is embedded in the Board’s Mission Statement: “...to prepare students to thrive in both the future we imagine and one which may evolve in ways yet to be envisioned.”

Our strategies to keep students ahead of the curve include multidisciplinary lessons we refer to as “cross-cutting,” which engage students to not just remember material they’re taught, but apply it in creative, unique, and fun(!) ways. We also reviewed recommendations from a State task force considering updated graduation requirements that will create pathways to allow students to explore interests more deeply.

Syosset was recently approved to offer the “Seal of Civic Readiness,” as well as the “Individual Arts Assessment Pathway” (IAAP), additional diploma endorsements students can earn. We also just launched three career and technical education (CTE) pathways: Pre-Engineering, Business Management, and Accounting and Finance. We call these CTE options “SYO+” because students gain the opportunity to graduate with both an additional diploma endorsement and an industry-recognized “micro-credential” – like Microsoft Excel certification – that will distinguish them for college applications, internships and future jobs. Maybe we should call it “++”!

The Board’s next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 23rd, where they will review community survey feedback on the facilities project.

Also this week, the Board’s Anti-Bias Task Force held its first organizational meeting. The list of members can be found here. The Task Force has a focused charge: to develop specific recommendations for the Board to consider, and it anticipates creating opportunities for members of the public to offer their ideas at an upcoming Town Hall, online, and by email (antibias@syoschools.org). The Task Force also plans to meet with organizations and experts working to reduce bias to learn what has worked well elsewhere.

We’re proud to share that four of our seniors were named Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars: Alex Chen, Griffin Hon, Vincent Huang, and Aryan Shah! They are in the top 300 out of 2,162 projects submitted. Each scholar will receive a $2,000 award with an additional $2,000 per scholar going to the high school to support future STEM education.

Altogether, our Syosset High School Research Program submitted 27 projects to the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition, up from 18 last year. That number is a reflection on the strength of our Research program – which encompasses not just science research, but math and social science research as well. The goal of our research teachers is to develop our students to the point where they are capable of submitting competition-worthy projects. Not every project can be a winner, but every student trained to work at this level sure is! The investments our District has made in its research facility and staff continues to support our students’ remarkable achievements as more students are now able to do their research “in-house,” expanding opportunity for even more participation.

Congratulations to Alex, Griffin, Vincent, and Aryan (and all our research program students)! We are so proud of you!

Hot off the presses! The Adelettes just got back from New York City with a shiny new trophy.

For the first time in the group’s 50 year history, our ladies’ acapella group competed in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Next Generation Barbershop Competition. The group of 27 Syosset High School students sang a three song set: “On the Road Again,” “The Band Played On” (a traditional barbershop song), and “Orange Colored Sky.” According to director Kristen Howell, the ladies brought the house down – and the judges agreed. Out of nine groups, they won first place! Not bad for their first time ever at this prestigious competition…

And, there’s more – what makes this a #SoSyo full-circle moment is that the founder of the Adelettes five decades ago, Lindi Bortney, joined the group at the competition and gave them a coaching session the night before the performance. That must have been an inspiring pep talk! The Adelettes director, Ms. Howell, is also a part of the group’s storied history, having been a member when she studied at Syosset High School.