Helping kids return to school in New Paltz
Administrators in the New Paltz School District understand as well as anyone how hard remote schooling during this pandemic has been on children. Many students have struggled with education through a screen, and that stress was often layered atop other trauma and stress either brought about or exacerbated by the various shutdowns and restrictions put in place to control coronavirus spread. Michelle Martoni and Fredericka Butler briefed School Board trustees last week about what’s being planned to address these now systemic problems.
All four of this year’s superintendent conference days for the 2021-22 school year will be held by the beginning of November, to ensure that all staff members can receive training in the systems and programs being rolled out as quickly as possible. As of next school year, students at the secondary level will be given an “advisory” class period of 20 minutes, intended to help them connect with others in the mixed-grade sections as well as the teachers. The design of these advisory courses will be designed during one of the upcoming superintendent’s conference days.
Thanks to support from the Maya Gold Foundation, sessions will be held with students around the idea of “mental health CPR,” meaning the skills to identify when a peer is in crisis and recognize next steps that can be taken to intervene. Meanwhile, a team of BOCES specialists will begin working in the schools to identify the various educational, social and emotional needs of the students. Support systems that have been expanded include additional social workers, outside counseling services and a new director of emotional learning.
Restorative justice rollout plan explained at New Paltz board meeting
Restorative justice practices are coming to schools in New Paltz, but it’s not going to happen quickly. School Board trustees were given a sketch plan of the rollout at their September 15 meeting. Restorative justice involves using tools to resolve conflicts that include building relationships with students and adults alike, and turning to peer groups to help find solutions. The idea is to create a “culture of care,” which is a departure from the typical model of top-down discipline. It’s different enough that it will take many years to fully shift to a culture of care. Administrators and social workers will be trained during the next school year, with building teams developed and trained the year after that, and finally it will be introduced to students at all levels during the 2023-24 school year. Students who spend their full school career under such a scheme will presumably be very familiar with the model and practices when they begin graduating, in 2036. Monitoring that progression will be the primary focus of administrators from 2025 onward.
School nurses thanked for their service in New Paltz
School nurses have been on the front lines of this pandemic, and at the September 15 New Paltz School Board meeting, the nurses in the New Paltz schools were publicly thanked for that service. Superintendent Angela Urbina-Medina expressed being “grateful to you and for you,” with that gratitude being expressed with bouquets and commemorative certificates.
94% of New Paltz students return to school on September 8
The superintendent reported at the September 15 school Board meeting that 94% of New Paltz students showed up for opening day. Angela Urbina-Medina said it was nice to see a “smile on everyone’s masked faces.” Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the rules of engagement are still being written even after the students are back in classrooms five days a week. The superintendent said that information about coronavirus screening protocols is still being received.
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