To enhance its commitment to keeping its constituents well-informed, the Niagara Falls City School District Board of Education will be providing summaries of its bi-weekly board meetings. Here are the notes from its Dec. 7 meeting.
Richard Carella, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and Teacher on Special Assignment Catherine Sullivan presented early literacy plan updates.
Primary literacy is broken down into three tiers:
• Tier 1 Core Instruction — 110 minutes per day: reading/writing/small group differentiated instruction and 30 minutes per day: phonics and word study
• Tier 2 Intervention — PEP (Primary Enhancement Program) 40 minutes per day, three days per week
• Tier 3 Intervention — PEP services for the neediest students, 40 minutes, five days per week, very small groups
Classroom teachers deliver the Core Reading Program. Lessons include phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
The district utilizes a universal screening tool called the Achievement Improvement Monitoring System or AIMSweb. The reading component administered to all students in grades K-8 in September, January, and May
Progress monitoring evaluations are administered weekly at the Tier 3 level or bi-weekly at the Tier 2 level. The district uses nine intervention programs that are assigned based on grade level and tier.
79th Street Elementary School Principal Gerald Orfano and Lynn Pasek, leader of the Primary Enhancement Program (PEP) at 79th Street School shared information on the PEP/Primary Skills Program for students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
PEP interventionists are with students for 35-minute blocks of time. They provide support to intermediate classroom English Language Arts (ELA) blocks.
Progress is closely monitored. Students set goals at the beginning of each year and review them with their actual results at the end of the school year. Orfano said that the students and teachers celebrate when they have visual proof of the students’ growth through charts and graphs.
Agenda Review
Superintendent Mark Laurrie and Principal on Special Assignment Cynthia Jones will present the new high school graduation guidelines and the implementation timeline at the Dec. 21 school board meeting.
At its next meeting, the board will vote on five short-term contracts, including a short-term contract with Landmark Educational Tours Travel for HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Campus Tours. A group of 20 Niagara Falls High School (NFHS) students will be taking a HBCU tour in March 2024.
Laurrie recommended that the board approve 17 items of New Business at its next meeting. These resolutions include the acceptance of grants totaling $5,175,868.00 for the Mentor-Teacher / Internship Program, Universal PreK (UPK), English as a New Language Program (Title III), and Student Mental Health Supports.
Information Sharing
Niagara Falls High School (NFHS) Chief Educational Administrator Cheryl Vilardo recommended that the Board of Education change the compulsory education age from 16 years old to 17 years old. The district can make this change under New York State education regulation. Vilardo said raising the mandatory age youths must stay in school to 17 will give educators more time to work with students to decrease the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate.
Vilardo also reported on the success of a school shadowing program between North Tonawanda and NFHA students.
Superintendent’s Report
Niagara Falls Teachers (NFT) helped bring in a large grant from New York state and Micron Microchip as a new pathway for our students. The NFCSD is one of only four other school districts statewide outside Syracuse to receive this model.
This year, the 20 students participating in the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) campus tours will travel to Atlanta, Georgia. They will visit Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College.
Congratulations to the Niagara Falls Fire Department and the Our Schools Channel (OSC) students who televised the Niagara Falls Firefighters Christmas Toy Fund Telethon on Dec. 2.
Congratulations to the girls’ basketball team for their toy drive at the Dec. 5 game. The toys collected will be given to Harry F. Abate Elementary School students.