WILLIAMSON CENTRAL SCHOOL
    PO BOX 900
    WILLIAMSON NY 14589­0900
    The December 4
    th
    Board of Education meeting opened with Board members reviewing their latest activities. Gretchen Craft
    announced that submission for the next issue of the “What’s Happening” would be due by December 19
    th
    . Gretchen, along
    with Trustees Laurie
    Verbridge and William Herbert, all had attended the recent
    BOCES Open House and reported on what
    they had observed. President Richard Jordan mentioned his attendance at his last Town Park Committee meeting as the formal
    representative of the Board.
    At the beginning of the meeting,
    BOCES representatives were present to report and answer questions on the upcoming
    BOCES­wide vote on December 17
    th
    . They explained that the addition of rooms at the Williamson
    VOPRO Center
    will be to
    house special education students in grades 7 – 12. These students, who are presently housed at Wayne Central, will be without
    a facility in 2004. This addition will provide a permanent solution for housing for this group. The vote, which will take place
    in the Middle School Multi­purpose Room from 12 – 9 p.m., will add an additional $.04 to the present per thousand tax rate. A
    flyer on the project was mailed to District residents recently with additional details.
    The first report to the Board was the Elementary Achievement Report. This report contained similar information to last
    meeting’s report on the Middle and High School student achievement. It detailed high achievers, passing percentages for
    reading, math and writing, failure rates and Academic Intervention Services (
    AIS) information. Approximately, seventy­two
    percent of grade three students are high achievers, while seventy­one percent of grade four students are in the same category.
    Across grade levels, ninety­five percent to one hundred percent of students are receiving passing grades in math, reading and
    writing. The eighty­three students receiving Academic Intervention Services represent twenty­one percent of the population in
    grades one through four. These services range from one­to­one reading
    remediation in grade one
    to the addition of a teacher in
    the classroom for part of the school day.
    The second report to the Board was an update on the District Technology Program. The recently completed technology
    renovation project has added two labs per building and at least one networked computer in every classroom. Each library also
    houses a bank of computers. Training of staff has begun. The focus of this training has been on introducing network and e­
    mail basics to all, while working with a small group of teachers across the District on technology integration. This group of
    fourteen teachers, referred to as the Core Team, spans all three buildings and will serve as models of integration to their peers.
    They are presently part of Intel’s “Teach to the Future” Program. Students have also been trained on network basics and have
    begun working on projects, as well as on reinforcement of basic skills. All of this has been accomplished within the last fifty­
    seven days of school. The Superintendent recognized two of the individuals, Della Ludwig and Kevin
    O’Dell, who have been
    integral to this accomplishment.
    In other business,
    CSE cases were approved, a maternity/child rearing leave was granted to Middle School teacher, Karen
    Hoody, and a non­resident student was approved to remain in the District for the remainder of the school year.
    Discussion of the lighting situation at the High School was initiated by the Superintendent. The recommendation was to use
    some money from the Repair Reserve Fund to remedy this emergency situation. The money will be used to replace lighting in
    front of the High School. At present, only one light is working, and this presents a danger to those entering the building after
    dark. The Board agreed that this situation needed immediate attention. A public hearing will be held at 6:00 p.m. on
    December 18, 2002 to address the appropriation of money for this use. In the meantime, portable lighting will be installed to
    ensure safety in the interim period.
    The next Board of Education meeting on December 18
    th
    will begin with the public hearing at 6:00 p.m., adjourn at 7:00 p.m.,
    and reconvene at 8:00 p.m. so that the Board and public can attend the Middle School concert also scheduled for that evening.
    WCS

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