Technology and elementary class sizes were front and center at the Sept. 8 Port Washington Board of Education (BOE) meeting, the first since the opening of schools districtwide. Prior to turning the meeting over to Ryan Meloni, director of technology, Board President Karen Sloan introduced Dr. Kathleen A. Mooney, superintendent of schools, to report on issues concerning the district. Dr. Mooney welcomed everyone back for the 2015-16 school year, noting that despite the unusually hot weather, the district had a wonderfully smooth opening. Total enrollment districtwide is currently 5,461 students; an increase of 108 students from last year’s opening numbers. Dr. Mooney extended special thanks to the various departments, notably facilities, technology and administration, for their work over the summer to assure that the district was ready for the return of staff and students.
Other items addressed by Dr. Mooney were Governor Cuomo’s statement concerning changes to the Annual Professional Performance Review (the board later approved a letter to the State Education Department in opposition of the codification of the current proposals), a recent petition circulated by high school students for gender neutral bathrooms, and the oversubscription of certain grade-level classes. Dr. Mooney cited budgetary restraints as the primary driver for larger class sizes and identified the issue as one the district is carefully monitoring. Dr. Mooney also confirmed that additional support has been allocated to assist in elementary classrooms where class sizes are larger this year and that this issue would be discussed further once the budgetary process begins in late October or early November.
During open time, parents from the Manorhaven Elementary School spoke out, advocating for the reinstatement of an additional section at the third-grade level. Currently, the third grade classes at the Manorhaven School have an average of 28 students per class, as compared to Sousa and Salem which have approximately 22 students per class in the third grade. Parents noted that there are no space constraints at the Manorhaven School precluding the opening of another section and pointed to the economically and socially diverse student body at Manorhaven as one of the more compelling reasons to keep class sizes lower. One parent questioned whether adding additional support staff in each class, rather than hiring an additional teacher, was fiscally prudent. Two former teachers from the Manorhaven School also addressed the board, stressing the importance of smaller class sizes and urging the board to take action to rectify the situation this school year.
Sloan then introduced Meloni, who gave a comprehensive powerpoint presentation on district technology initiatives. Approximately three years ago, the district developed a seven-year plan to bring its technology into the 21st century. The implementation of the plan was quick and broad-based, giving the district the ability to expand educational opportunities for both students and educators. Meloni noted that Port Washington schools have one of the fastest networks on Long Island with wireless access in all buildings. The system is so sophisticated that the district can shut down a section or the entire system when needed for maintenance or when the facilities are not in use, which will result in costs savings to the district. These upgrades have also allowed for innovations in the delivery of instruction to students through increased use of hardware, such as iPads, Chromebooks, laptops and educational software. The district is also able to provide online professional development to its staff, which can be used in conjunction with or without a traditional instructional format. Additionally, special projects, such as 3D printers, digital signage, video security at the high school, a state-of-the-art writing center and a fully functional TV studio further enhance the educational experience for students.
Citing concerns about the security of student and district information, board member Larry Greenstein asked Meloni to address the steps being taken by the district to secure such information. Meloni acknowledged the importance of security of data and expressed a high degree of confidence that the district data is protected due to the fact that the district hosts everything in-house. Further, the district uses 250-bit encryption, which is well above the industry standard of 128. The district recently participated in the Fordham Law School initiative to set the standard for Internet security. In the protection of Internet and data, Meloni stated that the bar has been set “very high.”
All meetings of the Port Washington Board of Education are streamed live. Information concerning live streaming of meetings, presentations, minutes and agendas, as well as a copy of the Board of Education’s letter to the State Education Department opposing the proposed changes to the Annual Professional Performance Review requirements can be found on the district website www.portnet.k12.ny.us, under the Board of Education heading. The next meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6.
