A Visit With NYS Regent Roger Tilles

John H. West Elementary School students in the Plainedge School District made New York State Regent Roger Tilles feel welcome with short, informational grade-level presentations during a Feb. 4 “We Believe” assembly.

Members of the senior choir impressed Regent Tilles with their vocal talents, and the fifth-grade student council presented their guest with a key to the school.

Regent Tilles told the students that he was not only impressed by the knowledge they have acquired and their beliefs to obtain great educational skills, but also that he does not often get away from his job to have fun.
“This is the first time a school has given a presentation like this for me,” Tilles said.

Tilles also took time to read poetry to fourth-graders in Brook Myers’ class. He read a number of personal favorites from Shel Silverstein’s “A Light in the Attic” and “Poetry Speaks to Children” and even taught the students a scary poem.

“Poems can take different forms and shapes,” he told the students. “One way to learn a poem is to put it to music, because in the end, songs are a form of poetry.”

A letter from Principal Carol Muscarella prompted Tilles’ visit to the elementary school. Ms. Muscarella’s letter outlined the discord regarding implementation and expansion of the Common Core Learning Standards and assessments. Instead, she outlined a Teaching, Learning, and Checking-in (TLC) approach to education. High standards are essential to students’ futures, she said in the letter, and assessing student learning is valuable when done correctly.