According to school officials, the Saugerties High School graduation rate for the Class of 2022 cohort unofficially jumped to 90.9 percent last month.
“I just want to thank everybody for their support,” said Superintendent Kirk Reinhardt during a meeting of the Board of Education on Tuesday, July 12. “So now our next goal is 95 (percent.)”
That number could rise even further next month when summer school ends. The graduation rate was a significant jump over the classes of 2021 and 2020 cohorts, which were at 84 percent in August of each of those years.
Reinhardt didn’t break down the graduation rates for different subgroups across the district, figures compiled by the New York State Education Department in August of each year. Performances in subgroups are frequently used by school districts to not only mark their successes, but also where students might be falling behind.
In Saugerties, Reinhardt credited some of the changes to the district for the 2021-22 school year for the improved graduation rate, and expressed hope the trend would continue. Some have been aided through federal pandemic aid. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Act (CRRSA) signed in December 2020 saw the district eligible for $2,299,905, and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) signed in March 2021 will include a direct allocation of $3,506,481, plus an additional $700,000 earmarked for learning loss. CSRRA funding must be spent by September 30, 2023, and ARP funding must be spent by September 30, 2024.
“We took part of our federal funding and brought in literacy and math coaches,” Reinhardt said, adding that graduation is a journey that starts early in a student’s academic career.
“Our focus and one of our goals as a district is all of our students within a few years being on or above grade level when they reach grade three,” Reinhardt said. “We’re looking at differentiation, we’re looking at small group learning, as well as whole group learning. And we’re looking at research-based interventions and writing as a process, not as an assignment…We believe reading and writing is a human right, and we know that if we can get our students early on to be reading on grade level, their success is going to be much better as they move forward.”
Also geared toward student achievement are 15 new courses at Saugerties High School this fall, full-time librarians in each of the district’s three elementary schools; reading specialists for elementary students; and maintaining all K-6 response to intervention teachers.
“We will also have a full-time social worker in each of our elementary schools,” Reinhardt said. “And once again, we have our instructional coaches for literacy and math. We’re really putting a lot of support in our K-6, because we want to make sure our students are prepared when they come up to the intermediate level.”
The School Board session opened with the district’s annual reorganizational meeting, during which Bill Ball, Christine Bellarosa and Scott Polston were sworn in as trustees. Robert Thomann and James Mooney were unanimously reelected as Board president and vice-president respectively.
It was also announced that the SCSD will have a new website by the start of the 2022-23 school year in September.
“One of the goals of the district leadership team was transparency on data and information for parents,” Reinhardt said. “So we will be kicking off our new website and we’re hoping this will be more user friendly to our families. We’re also working to integrate a data dashboard so more of our data in the district is more easily accessible to parents and staff in the community.”
During the meeting, Reinhardt provided updates on summer school enrollment, with approximately 100 students participating in the traditional program in grades 7-12 and 82 in the K-6 summer academy. There are also 189 students in a federally funded K-12 summer enrichment pilot program.
Reinhardt also provided facilities updates, including announcing the transition of the former Mt. Marion Elementary School was well underway, with district staff moved into their new schools, and BOCES preparing to move in. The universal pre-K program has 75 students currently enrolled, the largest number in the district to date.
Reinhardt added that the district is issuing a bond anticipation note for $2.5 million on August 4 as part of their ongoing capital projects.
• Roof shingle replacement is set to be underway at Cahill Elementary School between August and October of this year, with S&L Roofing and Sheetmetal out of Voorheesville performing the work.
• FieldTurf USA, Inc., a Georgia-based company with offices around the globe, will be resurfacing the Saugerties High School track during September and October of this year.
• The district is submitting Phase II plans for the stage addition at Grant D. Morse Elementary School to the New York State Education Department this month.
• Albany-based BBL Construction Services is working on an updated scope of pricing this summer in response to various factors impacting construction projects, including the War in Ukraine, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, material shortages, labor shortages, production and shipping delays, pricing volatility and contractors who are just too busy with other projects.
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