Community Update - Sept. 22, 2023

Sadly, this week’s message strikes a more sobering tone. We ended the week in grief with our neighbors and friends in Farmingdale, and began the week with scary disruptions.

On the latter point, I want to express my admiration for the North Shore Synagogue staff who on Monday relocated a large number of our very youngest children to safety. When we initially partnered with each of our Pre-K providers, we reviewed their safety protocols. But this was the first real-life test and the North Shore team performed with consummate skill and professionalism. I’d also like to acknowledge our Nassau Police, who secured both the evacuation and later the building itself. Their heroism and courage does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Our number one priority will always be the safety and security of every person in our care, especially our students, and I’m so grateful to have these partners in that effort.

Also on Monday, we were cooperating with the Nassau Police as they conducted other activities in the vicinity of our school buildings. Whenever there is police activity in the area, we routinely institute a “lock-out” – this procedure enables us to recall students who are outside for recess or gym and postpones deliveries so that the Police can work unimpeded near our campuses. But the school day proceeds normally within the building.

We’ve been fortunate that such activity has been infrequent, so I’ll take advantage of this opportunity to explain our security and crisis communications protocols to any new members of our community.

In general, the District avoids acting as a spokesperson for our first responders (the police and fire departments) and vice versa. Although we enjoy strong communication, their focus appropriately is on their activity. It is not our role to disclose or characterize their activities or investigations. In addition, the privacy rules that govern schools are more stringent than those for other entities. Accordingly, we share the news that directly affects our schools – i.e. we instituted a precautionary lockout – and the police will communicate directly with the public if they feel more detail about their activity is warranted.

When communicating “our” news, the school district has two levels of notifications. As parents and guardians, you will hear from us via e-mail when any emergency protocol is activated. We will also notify each building community whenever there is first responder activity on a campus – to reassure families that the situation is under control. However, we wait to send those community notifications until after we have reached the families whose loved ones are directly involved, so they don’t inadvertently learn of the situation via a mass email. Sometimes, this necessitates a delay in community notification.

By contrast, you will hear from us via “robo-call” and “robo-text” message when the emergency causes a disruption that impacts the course of your day or requires immediate attention – for example if you are required to:

• pick your child up from school (or from a different building in the event of an evacuation),

• go to the afternoon bus stop early (in the event of an early dismissal), or

• keep your child home (in the event of a closure, like a snow day).

As a District, we constantly test and drill our equipment and procedures. Typically those drills are routine and unremarkable. But occasionally – as intended – they identify a needed refinement. While we always hope the drills validate our planning, they are designed to probe our weaknesses. This week, a test of our direct communications link to the NCPD worked a little too well, and alerted some staff beyond the drill team. Administrators in other buildings briefly locked their buildings down – just as we would want them to do. I’m glad the drill demonstrated our systems worked, but regretted it was much more dramatic than what we had intended.

For more information about the types of building procedures the District employs in various emergencies, please review our District Safety guide which can be found on our website.

Please know that our administrators, faculty, and staff make safety and security our highest priority. We conduct drills, hold safety meetings, attend trainings, and debrief events all year long. And we work closely with our partners in the first responder community – so don’t be surprised to see their vehicles on campus for ordinary visits and meetings.

But we can’t do it alone. Time and again, I’m appreciative of parents, staff, and especially students who let us know when something doesn’t seem quite right. Most of the time, our investigations rule out concerns and we all sleep easier; but occasionally those tips allow us to help someone in need. Thank you, parents, guardians, and community members, for being our partners in keeping our schools safe for our students and staff.

Speaking of community… second graders at A.P. Willits Elementary have been brainstorming what it means to be a buddy. The discussion began with a reading of the story The Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo, a book about children who become agents of change after seeing what it’s like to be left out on the playground. Students talked about different ways to be good buddies to each other, and designed their own buddy benches. What a beautiful way to kick off the school year!

Meanwhile, our littlest learners at Berry Hill Elementary are beginning their educational journey with numbers. Kindergarten classes have started the year building their number sense through the use of Rekenreks, a mathematical tool developed in the Netherlands that encourages children to develop numeracy skills at their own pace. The tool helps students learn to recognize and identify numbers automatically through learning, repetition, and practice. Along with the support of our Enrichment Specialist, students created visual representations of numbers in preparation for building their own Rekenreks.

Also at Berry Hill, our third graders are building their creative confidence with the Circle Challenge. Students are using their productive thinking skills to transform circles into many, different items – a solar system, a dinner plate, and my personal favorite: a chocolate chip cookie!

Our Varsity Football team is playing their first home game on our turf tonight. To stand with our neighbors, we began the night with a moment of silence – and our band performed its rendition of “Hey Baby,” Farmingdale’s traditional touchdown celebration anthem.

A reminder that our District is closed this coming Monday. See you all Tuesday.

To the Syosset residents who work in Farmingdale and the Farmingdale residents who work in Syosset, stay #DalerStrong and #SyoStrong.

Tom Rogers