At their Nov. 6 public meeting, the Herricks Board of Education voted to appoint Christine Finn as their new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction to replace the retiring Dr. Deirdre Hayes on Dec. 31.
Finn holds the same position in the Carle Place School District. Before that, she served in a number of teaching and administrative positions, attaining the position of assistant superintendent for instruction in the Patchogue-Medford District.
School Board President James Gounaris noted that Finn possesses an excellent set of credentials, and that she will be present at the board’s next meeting on Nov. 20.
“Members of the board were particularly struck not only by all her credentials, programs and services she has helped to facilitate so far in her professional career, but more importantly, by the sincerity in which she approaches students and colleagues,” he said. “Her personality and good nature along with her credentials is what helped the Board select Ms. Finn.”
The search for a replacement for the Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Bierwirth, who is set to retire at the end of the 2014-15 school year, is still ongoing, Gounaris said.
SWD Presentation
Members of the Herricks Special Education Department held a presentation entitled Exit Pathways for SWD (Students With Disabilities), headed up by Director of Pupil Services Roberta Hopkins. The presentation highlighted a new series of alternate pathways created by New York State for graduation options for children with disabilities. However, not all of the pathways established by the state, she said, would lead children to a realistic path to success in the real world.
“We will do whatever it takes to make sure our kids graduate with a high school diploma,” Hopkins said. “But that being said, the state has created two new credential options—one of them is called the Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential (SACC). The other is called the New York State Career Development and Occupational Studies Commencement Credential (CDOS).”
The problem with these programs, Hopkins said, is that while both SACC and CDOS signify that a student has completed a successful course of study (with CDOS offering the addition of real-world job training), neither of these credentials are actual diplomas. These programs are intended to supplement a Regents or local high school diploma and for students with more excessive disabilities who are unable to earn a diploma, they will instead function as stand-alone exiting credentials.
Any prospective employer looking for at least a high school diploma is not likely to accept these credentials as an adequate substitute, Hopkins said, denying students who possess them the jobs they so desperately need to get a foothold on independence; this prospect was decried by Gounaris.
“This is disgusting that these students work so hard, and they get a credential that can’t even get them a job,” he said. “It’s absolutely criminal. The state hasn’t even told businesses what this CDOS will look like.”
The SACC program, set to CDOS learning standards of job training, was implemented last year and can only apply to students who have attended 12 years of schooling. Bierwirth said the time and opportunity exists to establish the credentials—which are currently relatively unknown—as a recognizable boon to any employer by the time eligible students begin to
earn them.
“We need to make sure that the CDOS is a reputable piece of paper, even if it isn’t a diploma,” he said. “If the quality of that varies greatly from one district to the next, how will
Herricks kids, going to apply for a job, not be tarnished by the weakness of the program somewhere else?”
The next meeting of the Herricks Board of Education is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
