VoyagesValhalla UFSD: Dedicated to every child...stimulating learning, developing values and cultivating understanding

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A Message from the Board PresidentDear Valhalla Community Members,

The Valhalla School District is still facing tough times, but we continue to ensure that ourchildren have the best educational opportunities possible. We also are diligently working tokeep the facilities in our school district safe, well-maintained and conducive to learning.The Energy Performance Contract the School Board approved will allow us to, among otherthings, install new energy-efficient lighting throughout the district and new boilers at theMiddle/High School.

Our administrators, teachers, support staff and custodians work hard to maintain theeducational environment and we continue to benefit from their dedication. Our children alsobenefit from the dedication of parents and community members who volunteer their time tohelp and support them.

Every item in the Valhalla school budget has been analyzed and evaluated to find costsavings. Wherever savings could be realized, they were incorporated into the budget.Unfortunately, circumstances beyond the control of the school district are driving our budget.Unfunded mandates continue to negatively impact the school district. Contributions to theNYS pension system and healthcare are significantly increasing. The Valhalla School Boardsupports the 2013-2014 school budget and has worked diligently to review every aspectof it. These are trying financial times, but we are committed to doing what is best forour children without unduly overburdening our taxpayers.

Regards,

LaVerne ClarkPresident, Valhalla Board of Education

www.valhallaschools.org

Voting Information:The annual budget votefor the fiscal year 2013-2014 by the qualifiedvoters of the ValhallaUnion Free SchoolDistrict will be held onTuesday, May 21, at thefollowing locations:

District 1:Town of MountPleasantKensico School320 Columbus Ave.Valhalla, NY 10595

District 2:Town of North CastleNorth CastleCommunity Center10 Clove RoadNorth White Plains, NY 10603

District 3:Town of GreenburghVirginia RoadElementary School86 Virginia RoadNorth White Plains, NY 10603

Voting hours will be6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information…Learn more about the districtand the proposed budget for2013-2014 by logging onto

our website atwww.valhallaschools.org

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their laptops open and working, and Isee students working on laptopsbecause of the mobile computing cartswe put in place last year. We haveInternet access and have added dis-play tools in every classroom, includ-ing projectors and document cameras,which are an updated, live version ofthe old overhead projector.

Q. What further technology enhance-ments do you think the district willsee in the next three to five years?

JT: We’ve been developing a three- tofive-year technology plan for the dis-trict. Some enhancements have to dowith infrastructure and some have todo with students, but they are not nec-essarily educational in nature. We’recurrently looking at our school safetyfunctions and technology is going tobe a part of that. We’re looking atimplementing a voiceover internetprotocol, or VoIP, phone system. Thistechnology allows telephone calls tobe made over the Internet instead ofover an ordinary landline. We can dothat now that we’re in a fully wirelessenvironment. We’ll have unlimitedphone lines, which will give us moreflexibility within the phone system.

Q. And in the classroom?

JT: We’re looking at how we canenhance our interactive white boardprograms. The white boards --- thebrand name is Smart Board --- cameinto fashion 12 to 15 years ago. Theboards no longer fit in with the suc-cessful learning environment that wewould like to see today. Because theboards are a 1:1 tool, they don’tallow for group interactivity, so even ifstudents are using it, in a classroom of20 kids, only one can use it at a time.We’re looking at multiple ways tomake the board environment moreinteractive so that more students canuse it at the same time.

Q. Does technology tie in with the newCommon Core Learning Standards?

JT: Technology has a very direct link to theCommon Core. There’s specific lan-guage within the Common Core thattalks about technology that students aregoing to be required to use.

Q. The superintendent and the Boardhave set an agenda to provide astrong, integrated technologylearning environment for students.Why is that?

JT: The Board recognizes, as does thesuperintendent and community, that weneed to have a 21st century learningenvironment in order to prepare ourstudents for college and the workforce.The Board has been a strong supporterof providing the technology we needwithout going overboard.

This year’s kindergarten students willbe looking at jobs that don’t existright now. We have to start preparing

students for a world that we don’t evenknow yet. That’s part of what makesthings difficult for us right now, but theBoard is committed to making sure thattechnology doesn’t stagnate and thatwe continue to push forward to ensurethat students are prepared for life afterValhalla.

Q. We hear the term 21st century learn-ing environment a lot. What exactlydoes that mean?

JT: Simply put, it means having access—access to technology and to web-based learning, whether for researchor learning support purposes. It meansgiving students and teachers access toonline learning information. Mobility iskey in a 21st century learning environ-ment. It’s not about a product or apiece of hardware. It’s about thebigger, overarching picture of accessand mobility.

Q. You head up the district’s nowtwo-year-old Technology Committee.Who sits on the TC and what is itspurpose?

JT: The 10-member committee is made upof multiple faculty members from eachschool and the district’s technologyspecialist. Our overarching goal is tolook at technology across the districtand evaluate software programs, learn-ing tools, hardware, and behind-the-scenes infrastructure. We also create atesting environment so that teacherscan try out new applications and tools.Some committee members are moretech savvy than others, which is inten-tional. I wanted to hear the voice ofthe teacher who is not confident withtechnology. The questions they ask arethe same as those other teachers willlikely ask.

Q. The jewel in the crown at Valhalla isits wireless capability in each schoolbuilding, a project the TC undertooklast year. What other technologicalimprovements have the TC been ableto make?

JT: Every teacher now has a laptop and isable to work in a wireless environ-ment, meaning that wherever they are,they have access whenever they needit, creating an opportunity to learn any-where, anytime. I can walk around thebuilding now and see teachers with CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Q&AEye on Technology

Technologyand its usein theclassroomis the wayof theworld.Studentsneedaccess tocomputers,web-basedlearning and a wireless world atschool, not only to accomplishacademic goals, but to be preparedfor college and career according tothe Common Core LearningStandards. In this interview, VHSPrincipal Jon Thomas, who headsup the district’s TechnologyCommittee, discusses the board’sagenda to provide technology forevery student, the committee’sprogress to date and its plans forthe future.

VHS Principal Jon Thomas heads upthe district’s Technology Committee.

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Q. Are teachers getting any specialtraining in using the laptopsand applying technology in theclassroom?

JT: We have offered professional develop-ment programs for the staff, particularlywith the Mac Books, to help themunderstand how they can infuse tech-nology in their classrooms. We alsoran summer and after-school trainingsessions, and are doing surveys to seewhat their needs are. We have somefaculty members who are very techsavvy, so their needs are more specificthan those who are less comfortablewith technology. We want to be ableto accommodate everyone.

Q. Southern Westchester BOCES hasbeen very involved as a partner inhelping steer the district’s technologydirection. What are the benefits tothis relationship?

JT: The Lower Hudson RegionalInformation Center (LHRIC) at BOCEShas been a big support to us. The RIChas provided everything from financialand technical support to contractorrecommendations, and has been apartner with our wireless and LAN pro-jects. We also have on-site technicalsupport from the RIC two days a weekto provide support for the district’sin-house technology specialist.

Financially, it’s also been a successfulrelationship for us. Our projects withBOCES are aide-able, so we’re ableto do work at-cost, which means we’regetting back 48 or 49 cents on everydollar we spend. That helps to replen-ish the district’s technology budget sowe can move forward. Even the costof the wireless and infrastructure pro-jects was BOCES aide-able. BOCESalso vets out all vendors and ensuresthat they’re under state contract, so wedon’t have to go out and bid multipletimes, which delays work.

Also, this year we decided to changeour student information database andBOCES gave us three different optionsthat they support. We chose one andhave been able to start implementing it.

Basically, we call, BOCES helps. It’sbeen a great partnership.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 After Newtown:Valhalla EnhancesSchool Safety MeasuresIn the wake of the Newtown tragedy,Valhalla, like school districts acrossthe country, have been aggressivelyre-evaluating and enhancing securitymeasures to ensure that students and staff stay safe in school.

At the March Learning Café, Superintendent Dr. Brenda Myers reviewed the district’s updated safetyand security procedures and protocols for parents in attendance and invited them to voice concerns.

Also in attendance were school administrators, board of education members, and Lauren Valentinoand Marty Greenberg, two detectives with the Mt. Pleasant Police Department, who spoke about theirrole in monitoring Valhalla’s school buildings and the safety metrics that are in place.

“I have worked with children as an administrator and deputy superintendent for almost 30 years, andthis has been the hardest year I’ve ever had,” Dr. Myers said. “It has been heart-wrenching and therewere days when you just didn’t want to get up. Luckily, our community has fared well compared withwhat other communities have been living through and that’s a blessing for all of us, but it’s taxing. It’staxing on your soul because you worry a lot.”

This fall, both the New York State Police and the district’s insurance company completed safety auditsfor each building. The district hired Altaris, a security consulting firm specializing in K-12 safety assess-ment and management, to guide administrators through drill exercises, collaboration with emergencyresponders and public communications.

Here’s a rundown of the district’s most recent security enhancements and plans:• Designation of a single point of entry at the front door of each building.• Installation of wide-view security cameras so that front office staff can see visitors and

what they’re carrying.• Visitors must be buzzed in and, upon entry, show identification, wear a visitor’s pass, and

be escorted to their destination within the building.• Proximity card readers will be installed and district employees will be issued a micro-chipped

ID card that they will have to scan to gain entrance to buildings, including the district office.• The district will conduct a capital improvement study at KS and VRES and get estimates for

a second set of security doors at each building’s entrance.• Three of the 27 cameras located throughout the district were upgraded to high resolution

cameras.• A 17,000-watt generator will be installed at the middle/high school to back up the building’s

server, air conditioning system and internet cable connection.• A two-way portable radio system will be used in all district buildings, with two repeaters

installed at KS and VRES.• The district will install a new voiceover internet protocol, or VoIP, phone system. This

technology allows telephone calls to be made over the Internet instead of over a landline.

The district also has well-established relationships with local police agencies, which have helped withdrill training in every building. “This is critical for us because the police know us; they know all of thecubby holes and hiding places,” Dr. Myers said. “They’re a good partner with us because we knowwho they are and they know who we are.”

Det. Lauren Valentino, the district’s youth officer and D.A.R.E. coordinator, said that since HurricaneSandy and Newtown, many changes to safety and security measures have been made at Valhalla,“but most of them were well in place before the school year started. Your children have beensafe for so long and will continue to be safe here because we’re always talking about how wecan make things better.”

Officers, she said, routinely patrol school grounds and have added an increased presence in build-ings, and both police and school administrators regularly attend safety instruction training seminars.

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First grade teachers Megan Haughey andGeraldine DiGuglielmo, members of theschool’s site-based committee, decided toturn Valentine’s Day into an opportunity foryoungsters in every grade to not onlyexchange cards and sweets with theirclassmates, but to share the love by prac-ticing the Golden Rule: treating others theway they’d like to be treated.Teachers throughout VRES spent time duringthe day reading books to the childrenabout respect and kindness, like “TheGiving Tree,” and “Now One Foot, Nowthe Other,” a story about a little boy whorepays his grandfather for helping him takehis first baby steps by lending his ownhand to his grandfather, now struggling towalk in old age.

Links of KindnessWhile every class had a party --- with cup-cakes, cookies and Valentine’s cards foreveryone --- the highlight of the day was aspecial project called Links of Kindnessthat the entire school worked on together.Each student chose a heart- or hand-shaped cutout on which to write the acts ofkindness they had bestowed upon theirfriends. “I helped my friend tie hisshoelace,” one student wrote. “I took myfriend to the nurse when she didn’t feelwell,” said another.

Love, Love, LoveAs the Beatles’ classic tune says, “love is all you need,” and there’s plentyof it to go around at Virginia Road Elementary School.

Students Cian Byrd, Alexandrina Toth, Skylar Strnad andAmari Powell share the links of kindness their classmade on Valentine’s Day.

Students in every class read their acts ofkindness to each other, and then connect-ed their colorful hands and hearts togetherin chains to hang outside in the hallways.“It’s great,” Ms. Haughey said, “becausewhen we walk through the halls, the chainsare a reminder to us all to show respectevery day.”Learning to be kind and respectful of othersstarts at an early age, a value that teachersat VRES reinforce in school through role-modeling, character education and litera-ture that addresses the negative outcomes

of being a tattletale or a copycat, and thepositive results of having patience, beingkind and showing compassion to others.“They take their knowledge of respect withthem when they leave VRES and rememberthe good times they had with their friendswhen they were younger,” Ms.DiGuglielmo said.“When you have a good upbringing, andgood values are reinforced at school, itfollows through from school to school andinto adult life.”

Parents: Sign Up for E-mail and Text Message AlertsValhalla schools now offer an e-mail alert service to complement the District’s existing phonealert/text message system.

Administered by Blackboard Connect, the e-mail serviceprovides parents with news about Valhalla events,messages from the Superintendent of Schools, non-emergency announcements and other items of interest.

Parents also can choose to “opt out” of the e-mail service, but will continue toreceive emergency phone calls from the District, when those occur. Parents who donot receive the District’s e-mail alerts can contact their school to be included.

Non-parents who would like to receive e-mails from the District can signup on the Valhalla schools website: www.valhallaschools.orgGo to the “About Us” tab, click on the “E-notification Service” link andon “Sign Me Up” to create an account.

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(see letterbelow).

Along with theletter, Ms.Cowley sent thechildren asigned copy ofher latest book,“Manukura, TheWhite Kiwi” toread.

“We were soexcited when Joy’s package came,” Ms.Kuhlers said. “And you could tell that shehad read every child’s letter because sheanswered their questions.”

The author study was a perfect tie-in with theCommon Core’s focus on non-fiction andtechnology. The students researched factsabout Ms. Cowley online and practicedtheir letter-writing skills and understanding ofhow the post office works by writing to her.

About Joy CowleyIn addition to her fiction for children, includ-

Children’s Author Joy Cowley Writes to VRES FansIt’s not every day you get a personal letter from your favorite author, especial-ly when she lives on the other side of the world.

The author, with her new book“Manukura, the White Kiwi.”

Dear Friends:

What beautiful pictures! Thank you for writing to me and

sending those delicious drawings. I also liked your bulletinboard.

Am I happy? Oh, yes! Who wouldn’t be happy to have friends like

you? On this card is another friend who helped when I was

signing books. I wish you could be here, too. Do I still write?

Yes, and I will send you a non-fiction book, for your library.

I wrote it early this year. Do I still like animals? Of course I do.

A lot of my stories about animals have been inspired by my pets.

Why do I still write stories? Well, I keep getting ideas for stories,

and if I didn’t write them, I’d get so full of stories that I might

suddenly go POP! But I’m sure there will come a time when

all the ideas run out. By then you will all be writing wonderful

stories and I will be very happy to read them.

With love from your friend,

Joy Cowley

But New Zealand native and long-time chil-dren’s writer Joy Cowley took a little time outfrom her busy writing schedule, big familyand favorite activities—cooking, spinningwool, knitting, painting and playing thepiano—to send a letter to some special fansat Virginia Road Elementary School.

In October, the students in teacher LauraKuler’s English as a Second Languageclass had completed an author study onMs. Crowley and loved her stories so muchthat they decided to write her a letter tolet her know.

Special Delivery from NewZealandAll eight students wrote their own letter,accompanied by a unique drawing, whichMs. Kulers mailed, along with a letter of herown, to Ms. Cowley in New Zealand. Twomonths later, a big brown envelope, deco-rated with drawings Ms. Cowley had madeof her cat, arrived.

Ms. Kulers and the students eagerly openedthe envelope and read Ms. Cowley’s reply

ing 41 picture books, and novels and shortstories for adults, Ms. Cowley is renownedfor her work as the developer of early read-er strategies and writer of 500 basal read-ers (also called reading books) for strugglingreaders.

Among her numerous awards are a 1990Commemoration Medal for service to NewZealand. In 1992 she received an Order ofthe British Empire (OBE) for services to chil-dren's literature. The following year she wasgranted an honorary doctorate (D.Litt.) fromMassey University and was awarded theNew Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.

When she's not writing, Ms. Cowley likes tospend time with her husband Terry, her fourchildren, 13 grandchildren and great-grand-sons Mateo and Ethan.

Above: Letter writers StephenBenhumea, Juan Rendon,Alexandria Toth, Ms. Kulers,Karina Han, Ian Reyes andKaren Monge were rewardedwith a reply from celebratedNew Zealand author JoyCowley.

Left: Ms. Cowley decorated herenvelope with pictures shedrew of her cat.

A student's letter and drawing for Ms. Cowley.

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And they already have a pretty stronghunch about their future career direction –for Steven, it’s either engineering or archi-tecture. Carl is leaning toward geology orengineering.

They’re also the first VHS students to pilot anew online learning program that hasallowed them to take some innovativecourses as electives.

Online Courses for the 21st Century, orOC 21, was offered to high school stu-dents in Westchester and Putnam countiesfor the first time this fall through a jointpartnership between Putnam/NorthernWestchester BOCES and the LowerHudson Regional Information Center ofSouthern Westchester BOCES.

The courses are taught by consortium teach-ers in a blended learning environment, withonly two or three face-to-face meetings withinstructors, one of which many include afield trip. All lessons and assignments arecompleted online and via e-mail.

A sampler of courses offered during the2012-13 school year included“Environmental Physics: A Citizen’s Guideto the Planet,” “Sustainability: Action forChange,” “The History of Media andPresidential Elections” and “21st CenturyLiteracy: My Digital Life.”

From Architecture to GeologySteven took “Architecture Across theCenturies,” which focused on structuraldesign from ancient Egypt to modern-dayNew York City. During the course, helearned to use SketchUp, a computer-mod-eling software that allows users to buildstructures in 3D.

The class met in November for a field tripto the World Trade Center to talk witharchitects and engineers working onsite. Atone point, the instructor hosted a webinarfrom Paris, demonstrating the beauty ofonline instruction. “You can work anywhereyou want,” Steven said.

Carl chose “Historical Geology andPaleontology: Life and Time in the Pre-Historic Age.” The course provided an in-depth study of the geological history of theearth, with an emphasis on fossils, evolu-tion and the environment. A field trip to

geologic outcrops to gather samples hadto be canceled because of HurricaneSandy.

“Even while I was taking the course, itcame back to me how much I was enjoy-ing it and how I was able to take the infor-mation in and absorb it,” he said. “I’minterested in engineering as well, but I real-ly do enjoy learning about the earth, espe-cially the non-living aspects of the earth.”

OC 21: Ahead of the CurveA departure from traditional classroom-based learning, online education is a trendthat shows no sign of slowing. In a 2011study conducted by Babson Survey Groupand sponsored by Pearson LearningSolutions, more than 60 percent of aca-demic leaders at private-sector collegesand universities said that online learning iscritical to their long-term strategies. Thereport, “Online Learning Trends in Private-Sector Colleges and Universities,” revealsthat the continued growth of onlineeducation is critical to handling anticipatedhigher student enrollment due to thegovernment’s goal of increasing the num-ber of college graduates.

It is particularly advantageous for college

students who may not be able to fit day-time classes into their schedule. Having theflexibility to go online 24/7, review thelesson for the week, take notes, completeassignments and post them for their instruc-tors to review and grade has worked outwell for Steven and Carl. It also hasallowed them to step briefly into the shoesof a college student.

“You’ve got to be very disciplined to dothis,” said David Mintzes, their socialstudies teacher. “They’re both self-motivatedand driven. They’re not your averagestudent. They know they have to sit downand do the work. It’s the same for theteachers. You have to grade assignmentsand return them because the students wantfeedback.”

Groovy Sixties CourseOpens SeatsMr. Mintzes would know. He has taughtonline courses at Mercy College for sever-al years, including history, political geogra-phy and a graduate course in labor law.He will be teaching an OC 21 class in thefall about the 1960s, a course he tried

Online Learning Giving Students a Competitive EdgeSteven Carpenter and Carl Bespolka are leading the way at VHS in more ways than one.

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From left: Sophomores Steven Carpenter and Carl Bespolka are the first VHS students to take online learning coursesthrough Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES and the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center of Southern West-chester BOCES. Their social studies teacher, David Mintzes, will be teaching an online course about the 1960s in the fall.

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several years ago to teach at VHS. “Wenever could get more than half a dozenstudents to sign up for it, and in a schoolthis size, you can’t run a class that small,”he said.

Because of his experience at Mercy, VHSPrincipal Jon Thomas proposed that Mr.Mintzes teach the Sixties course throughOC 21. “It was probably the last reallytransitional decade we had because it laidthe foundation for the rest of the 20th cen-tury and for the 21st century,” Mr. Mintzessaid. “I think it’s a pivotal period that peo-ple should know about.”

When a district contributes a teacher toOC 21, it is gifted with an allotment ofseats. Because of the Sixties course (the offi-cial title is “What My Parents Didn’t Tell meAbout the 60s”), Valhalla will have 26seats to offer students who want to take anOC 21 course next year. “This gives ourstudents an opportunity to take courses wecouldn’t offer them here,” Mr. Mintzes said.

Among the other courses in the 2013-14line-up: “European Cultural History: FromMonet to Mendelssohn,” “Introduction to

Anthropology,” “Real Global Solutions for21st Century Problems,” and “SportsManagement, Media and Marketing.”

In addition to Valhalla, participating schooldistricts include Ardsley, Bedford,Chappaqua, Croton-Harmon, Dobbs Ferry,Katonah-Lewisboro, Lakeland,Mamaroneck, Ossining, Peekskill,Tarrytown and Yorktown.

Besides flexibility, online learning offers asafe environment for expression to studentswho may not feel comfortable speaking upin a classroom, Steven pointed out. Thedownside is a lack of face-to-face commu-nication with instructors and peers.

“Obviously, it’s good to have a teacherright there to talk with --- you can’t get asmuch across in an e-mail as you’d like to,or as quickly,” he said. “I still got to knowmy teacher even though we didn’t seeeach other every day. This was a uniqueand good experience because it looks likeonline learning is what colleges are push-ing towards, so it’s good that we’re startingnow.”

For more information on OC 21, visit:www.pnwboces.org/oc

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OC 21: Preparing Students for SuccessWith more colleges and universities offering an online learning componentto their degree programs, students taking an OC 21 class already aretaking a big step forward in preparing for college and career and ingaining the technical and communication skills needed to compete ina higher education setting.

The courses engage students in critical thinking, collaboration in an onlineenvironment, clear and concise communication, creativity, and research, media andtechnology skills.The program features:

• Small class size and ongoing virtual interaction with peers• Weekly meetings with a site coordinator to review work in progress• Instruction from and interaction with a highly regarded teacher from a

consortium school• Full-day orientation with all participating students and teachers• Full-day symposium and peer review with all participating students and teachers• Regular reporting of grades, including progress reports, report card grades

and transcript information• Official letter that can be included in a college application packet congratulat-

ing students for successful completion of Online Courses for the 21st CenturyFor more information on OC 21, visit: www.pnwboces.org/oc

Adelphi UniversityBabson CollegeBaruch CollegeBellarmine UniversityBentley UniversityBinghamton UniversityBryant UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityCastleton State CollegeCazenovia CollegeCity College of New YorkCoastal Carolina UniversityCollege of Mt. Saint VincentCollege of New RochelleConcordia CollegeCornell UniversityDean CollegeDominican CollegeDrexel UniversityDuquesne UniversityEastern Connecticut State UniversityElms CollegeEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityEndicott CollegeFairfield UniversityFordham UniversityHartwick CollegeHawaii Pacific UniversityHigh Point UniversityHofstra UniversityHoward UniversityIndiana UniversityIona CollegeIthaca CollegeJames Madison UniversityJohn Jay College of Criminal JusticeJohnson & Wales UniversityKeene State CollegeKing’s CollegeLafayette CollegeLa Salle UniversityLasell CollegeLehigh UniversityLe Moyne CollegeLoyola UniversityManhattan CollegeManhattanville CollegeMarist CollegeMiami UniversityMitchell CollegeMonmouth UniversityMt. Saint Mary CollegeMt. Saint Mary's UniversityNebraska UniversityNew York Institute of TechnologyNortheastern UniversityOhio State UniversityPace UniversityPennsylvania State UniversityPhiladelphia UniversityProvidence College

Quinnipiac UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRice UniversityRoger Williams UniversitySacred Heart UniversitySaint Anselm CollegeSaint Joseph's UniversitySalisbury UniversitySalve Regina UniversitySeton Hall UniversitySiena CollegeSouthern Connecticut StateUniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversitySpringfield CollegeSt. John's UniversitySt. Thomas Aquinas CollegeStony Brook UniversitySUNY -AlbanySUNY – BrockportSUNY - BuffaloSUNY – OneontaSUNY - OswegoSUNY - PotsdamTemple UniversityThe College of Saint RoseThe College of WestchesterTowson UniversityTufts UniversityTulane UniversityUCLAUnion CollegeUniversity of ConnecticutUniversity of DelawareUniversity of HartfordUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MassachusettsUniversity of MiamiUniversity of MichiganUniversity of NebraskaUniversity of New HavenUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of PittsburghUniversity of Rhode IslandUniversity of RichmondUniversity of ScrantonUniversity of VirginiaUS Naval AcademyUtah State UniversityVillanova UniversityVirginia Polytechnic Institute andState UniversityWest Chester University ofPennsylvaniaWest Virginia UniversityWestchester Community CollegeWestern New England UniversityWorcester Polytechnic InstituteXavier UniversityYork College of Pennsylvania

Class of 2013 College AcceptancesThe colleges where our students were acceptedwere so great in range and type that they weretoo numerous to list here. Following is a short listof just a few of the colleges that have acceptedValhalla students.

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es both daily living and employment skillsthat will include both the hard and softskills of employment, such as how to makechange, organize tasks, communicateeffectively, interview for a job, and workas a team member.

Pairing Up with PartnersThe SACC rollout in Valhalla will be apartnership that includes students, parents,teachers, guidance counselors andbusinesses in the community who canpotentially provide internships, job trainingand employment to eligible students,Mr. Salatte said.“We will be looking to partner withbusinesses in the community to develop

work experiences in the future so that ourstudents can practice the skills they’relearning in the real work environment andtranslate them into employment,” he said.Parents of special education studentslearned about the SACC in a recentSpecial Education PTA meeting, Mr.Salatte said.This school year, the district adopted aninclusive education model that provides stu-dents with disabilities services, to the fullestextent, in general education classrooms.The model ultimately brings supportservices to the student rather than movingthe student to the services, ensuring thatchildren learn and collaborate togetherand that teaching strategies are adaptedto provide high-quality learning outcomesfor all students in the general educationenvironment.

Perfect TimingWith the new state Common CoreLearning Standards now in effect for allstudents, the timing was right to fullyintegrate the district and to merge specialeducation with general education, he said.“All students will be expected to learn thematerial covered in the Common Core.”Learning requirements for students who areeligible for the SACC also will beCommon Core-based, he said. “There’s auniform set of standards, so it’s great timingto have our identified students seamlesslymerge into general education becausethey’re all headed for the same objective.“I think there’s a new definition of normal,”he said about the changes. “But from whatI’ve seen from the staff, parents and thecommunity, there’s no doubt in my mindthat our kids will be able to achievewhat they need to achieve to lead anindependent, happy and healthy life.”

New Certification for Special Ed StudentsStarting next school year, the individualized education program (IEP) for spe-cial education students with severe disabilities will be replaced with the Skillsand Career Education Credential (SACC).

The SACC is a new state mandated com-mencement certificate similar to the diplo-ma issued by school districts for studentswho are eligible to take the New YorkState Alternate Assessment. The SACCgoes into effect on July 1 and will berolled out in two phases beginning in the2013-14 school year.The credential is designed to support stu-dents with severe disabilities in becomingindependent to the fullest extent possibleonce they exit school, said John Salatte,the district’s Special Education Director.“All kids need to be prepared to enter theworld of post-secondary education andwork and the state decided that the IEPdiploma was not really effective in support-ing students in obtaining employment.”To earn the Skills and Career EducationCredential, eligible students must partici-pate in career inventories (an assessmentof students’ vocational abilities and theirinterests), vocational training, includinginternships at potential job sites, andresume preparation.Additionally, special education teachers inthe district will begin teaching a newadaptive daily living course at VMS. Thiswill be a pre-vocational course that teach-

Fan Us on Facebook, Follow Dr. Myers on TwitterCheck out the district’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages for the latest news, photos and tweetsfrom Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Myers. These three social media tools, along with the Districtwebsite, will help you keep current with district happenings. Valhalla can be found at:http://www.facebook.com/valhallaschoolshttps://twitter.com/BmyersBrendahttp://twitter.com/valhallaschoolshttp://www.youtube.com/valhallaschools

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In fact, the group is all about building, nur-turing and supporting students through ath-letics, having raised more than $70,000in less than three years to benefit the dis-trict’s K-12 athletic programs, fund scholar-ships and captain’s lunches, and rebuildthe Kensico School snack stand.The icing on the cake, at least as far asJamie Block, the district’s Athletics Directoris concerned, is the VMHS weight room.The Boosters have injected more than$20,000 since 2010 into its refurbish-ment, outfitting it piece-by-piece with mod-ern exercise equipment so that student ath-letes, and kids and teachers who just wantto work out, have a place to go that’sclean and safe.For years, the school’s weight room wasmade up of a mish-mash of rusting, donat-ed equipment, some pieces so old thatthey had become dangerous to use. Theconcrete floor also was a hazard. “I gavethe Boosters a tour of the weight room andthey were shocked,” Mr. Block said.Sandy Riguzzi and Theresa Colantuno, co-presidents of the SBC, made a commitmentto refurbish the weight room, and in 2010,rubber flooring was purchased and laiddown. Old equipment was removed andreplaced with state-of-the-art Life Fitnessmachines, the same you would find in anymember-paid gym in the county.

Cardio Upgrade“We had no cardio machines,” Mr. Blocksaid, pointing out the two new energy-effi-cient, self-charging elliptical machines theBoosters were able to buy at a discount forabout $3,100 each.A student favorite is the new Life Fitnesscrossover cable machine, which allowsusers to do a variety of weightlifting exer-cises that replicate different motions used insuch sports as tennis, golf and baseball.“It’s great for students who are rehabilitat-

ing from an injury,”Mr. Block said.The school pur-chased one recum-bent bike and oneupright bike, givingstudents more car-dio workoutoptions. In the com-ing months, mirrorswill be installed anda final piece ofcardio equipmentpurchased by theBoosters will beadded.

To complete the refurbishment this summer,the gym will be repainted and the ventila-tion system improved under the district’senergy performance improvement contractwith Johnson Controls Inc., a global com-pany that creates products, services andsolutions to optimize the energy and opera-tional efficiencies of buildings.The contract covers all of Valhalla’s schoolbuildings and will include the installation ofenergy efficient lighting, windows, air con-ditioners, boilers and burners, motors andtransformers, and the weatherization ofeach building, among other proposedmeasures.

“We’re extremely grateful to the Boosters foreverything they’ve done,” Mr. Block said.

A Quarter Century of SupportThe Boosters have been supportingValhalla athletics for more than 25 years,primarily raising money for scholarships.The SBC raises funds as hosts of the annu-al homecoming pasta dinner, throughsnack stand sales and sales of Vikinglogoed clothing, admission charges to spe-cial events, and 50/50 raffles.

“We’ve stepped it up,” Ms. Riguzzi said.“Because of districtwide budget cuts, we’retrying to raise more money to fill the gaps.”

Scholarships in past years have generallyranged from $250 to $500, but havebeen raised to $1,000, a more realisticsum that helps a college-bound student pur-chase a quality laptop.

All schools recently completed a wish list ofphysical education items for Mr. Block thatMs. Riguzzi said the Boosters will fill. Oneof the bigger items is a press box for thefootball field. Equipment and supplies forphysical education classes, an indoorpitching mound, better outside storagefacilities, spirit items for outdoors, signage,and additional equipment for the fitnesscenter also made the list.

And over the next five years, the SBC hascommitted to paying the stipend for ateacher to coach intramural sports formiddle school students for six-week stints,two to three days a week. The programwould include two weeks each of threedifferent sports.

“I’m a big proponent of keeping kids busywith sports so that they stay out of trouble,”Ms. Riguzzi said. “Fitness and healthycompetition is good for students.”

Sports Booster Club:Raising the Bar for Valhalla AthleticsThey may dress up for fun like fearsome Vikings from time to time, but theleaders of Valhalla’s Sports Booster Club have anything but plunder and pil-lage on their minds.

Coach Kevin Martins gives student Nasir Rashad a handusing the new crossover cable machine.

Sports Boosters board members gave it their all in January for Jolablot, a Viking traditioncelebrating the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The fundraiser helps support K-12athletics programs. Back row, from left: Terry Sullivan, Anthony Santamorena and MikeSullivan. Front row, from left: Sandy Riguzzi, Theresa Colantuno and Patty Feeney.

VoyagesA Message from the SuperintendentDear Valhalla Parents and Community Members,

Over the past six months, the Board of Education, Leadership Team and I have completed acomprehensive budget development process. Our efforts focused on the key priorities of the district and onone critical question: How do we preserve basic services and give our students the learning opportunitiesthey need to thrive in a global community?

The 2013 -14 budget development was a complex challenge. Just like many of our families, we faceincreasing costs and needs—and decreasing revenues.

I believe, however, that we have managed to balance the needs of our students with the fiscal realities ofour community. We have drafted a strong 2013 -14 budget that is a response to three key priorities:

• Supporting the needs of our students based on the needs of a 21st century learner;

• Building long-term financial stability and sustainability for the district; and

• Providing our taxpayers with a budget that is below the maximum allowable levy limit.

The Valhalla Union Free School District is dedicated to providing every student with a comprehensive public education.Our enrichment and intervention models are balanced with a strong academic program and our students have a full rangeof learning opportunities, including college preparation, visual and performing arts, and athletics. Our programs will continueto thrive under this budget.

Our district is highly efficient and cost-effective. We have worked to manage our resources in these difficult financial times.We are very aware that our community is struggling with the cost of high taxes and we appreciate your continued supportof our programs. We have used a portion of our limited resources to fund reserve accounts and have refinanced our capitaldebt. These savings will help us mediate increases to the retirement contributions and futuretax certiorari expenses. Our Energy Performance Contract will improve the quality offacilities without raising taxes.

Please take time to visit our website (valhallaschools.org) and review the budgetpresentations and information posted there. Join us for a public review of the budget onMay 14 at 7 p.m. in the VMHS cafeteria. If you have any questions, please do nothesitate to contact me. Working together, we will continue to fulfill our mission. The ValhallaUFSD is dedicated to every child…stimulating learning, developing values andcultivating understanding.

Sincerely,Dr. Brenda MyersSuperintendent of Schools

Financial ChallengeOur District is facing two large financial hardships:

Increasing Costs

Decreasing Revenue

$

Our Guiding Principles in Preparing the 2013-14 BudgetOn behalf of the Valhalla Union Free School District Board of Education, Superintendent and Administrative Team,these are our guiding principles for budget development and financial processes:

1. We are completely and unwaveringly committed to serving the interests of students.

2. We are committed to exercising care and good judgment in managing resources with which we are entrusted.

3. We are committed to conducting our business in an open, objective and professional manner.

4. We are committed to future-focused planning and constant improvement.

10

VoyagesWhere the Money Comes From

$45,541,353R e v e n u e

$45,541,353E x p e n d i t u r e s

Where the Money Goes

RevenuesState Aid 8.2% $3,713,627

Property Tax Levy 85.9% $39,100,915

Appropriated Fund Balance 1.4% $650,000

Other Receipts 4.6% $2,076,811

Other Payments in Lieu of Taxes $550,000

Non-property Taxes - County $242,333

Day School Tuition $178,000

Use of Money & Property $299,667

Refund of Prior Year’s Expenses $100,000

Unclassified $55,000

Interfund Transfer Capital Fund $375,811

Interfund Transfer $276,000

Total $45,541,353

ExpendituresSalaries 48.8% $22,235,376

Contract Services 5.4% $2,464,773

Transportation 5.8% $2,632,446

Tuitions 1.9% $855,453

Supplies 1.9% $874,266

BOCES 7.1% $3,232,550

Debt Service 3.4% $1,570,570

Transfers 1% $473,811

Benefits 24.6% $11,202,108

Total $45,541,353

Salaries48.8%

$22,235,376

Contract Services5.4%

$2,464,773Transportation

5.8%$2,632,446

Tuitions1.9%

$855,453

Supplies 1.9%$874,266

BOCES7.1%

$3,232,550

DebtService3.4%

$1,570,570

Transfers1%

$473,811

Benefits24.6%

$11,202,108

Property Tax Levy85.9%

$39,100,915

AppropriatedFund Balance

1.4%$650,000

Other Receipts4.6% $2,076,811 State Aid

8.2%$3,713,627

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History of Aid Lost to GapElimination Adjustments

2010 -11: - $369,107

2011-12: - $830,709

2012 -13: - $806,154

2013 -14: - $705,154

Total to Date $2,711,522

Q. What is the impact on the school districtfrom state aid and state mandates?

This year, our district was facing a massive loss instate aid. We were fortunate that our area legislatorssupported our need for state aid and restored all ofour High Tax Aid and a portion of the Gap EliminationAdjustment (GEA). Even with these restorations, thedistrict lost $706,154 to GEA and $2,711,522 overfour years. This loss, coupled with the new tax levylimit, continues to impact our revenues while expensesare increasing.

Additionally, pension contributions and healthcarepremiums have been surging at an uncontrollable rate.In planning for the 2013 -14 budget, our teacher’sretirement contribution alone has increased by morethan $800,000. Over three years, our retirementcontributions and health insurance increases have costthe district more than $3 million.

Districts have been forced to implement a wide rangeof unfunded state mandates. This year alone, thedistrict spent more than $300,000 to implement thenewly required Common Core Standards and teacherand principal evaluation systems. This includes datamaintenance, training and testing costs. NYS schoolshave more mandates than any other state (i.e., Wick’sLaw, Triborough, Special Education, etc.).

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VoyagesBudget Questions & Answers

Q. What are the budget developmentpriorities?

• Strategic planning

• Improving student performance

• Maintaining facilities and capital assets

• Communication/public information, technologyintegration, fiscal stability and efficiency

Q. What is the district doing to be morecost-effective and efficient?

We are currently using three core strategies to bringdown costs while maintaining quality programs:cost elimination, program restructuring and buildingpartnerships.

• We have focused on our facility needs becausemoving forward, this can be an expensive driverfor our school.

• We have developed an Energy PerformanceContract to help improve the energy costs of ourbuildings and to facilitate necessary repairs.

• We have renegotiated and rebid all contracts.

• We have cost savings from employee retirements,staffing changes and restructuring positions.

• We have reduced special education tuition costsfrom out-of-district placements while providingimproved learning opportunities for all of ourstudents.

• We have refinanced our capital debt, saving thedistrict more than $4 million over the next 20 years.

• We have moved core services, like technology,professional development, copying and studentmanagement software to BOCES in order tomaximize aide reimbursements.

12

Q. What is the overall impact to services orprograms included in this budget?

We reallocated one elementary teaching position toprovide Academic Intervention Services (AIS) for studentsin grades 4-6 who are struggling to meet the newCommon Core Standards.

This budget also continues our focus on 21st centurylearning with the implementation of a wireless learningenvironment, Common Core Standards aligned with

curriculum and instructional practices, performance-based assessments, and a new partnership withTri-States Consortium and the Value Added ResearchCenter to assist us with our focus on continuousimprovement.

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13

And chances are good that none of your school district’s three taxlevy numbers will be exactly 2 percent.

That’s because the 2 percent that you hear about is just one part ofa complex formula that school districts must use to calculate twoof their tax levy numbers: the tax levy limit and the maximumallowable tax levy.

1. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE TAX LEVY $39,200,915

The maximum allowable tax levy is the tax levy limits PLUS certainexclusions. Taxes levied to fund the following expenses areexcluded from the tax levy limit:

• Voter-approved local capital expenditures

• Increases in the state-mandated employer contribution ratesfor teacher and employee pension systems that exceed twopercentage points

• Court orders/judgments resulting from tort actions of anyamount that exceeds 5 percent of a district’s current levy

A school district adds these exclusions to its tax levy limit withouttriggering the need for 60 percent voter approval.

2. TAX LEVY LIMIT $37,531,987

Essentially, the tax levy limit tells a school district how muchcommunity support it will need to pass a budget with its proposedtax levy. For school districts, the tax levy limit is the highestallowable tax levy (before exclusions) that a school district canpropose as part of its annual budget and needs the approval ofonly a simple majority of voters (50 percent plus 1) to pass thebudget. If a district proposes a budget with a tax levy amount(before exclusions) above this limit, it will need the approval of asupermajority of voters (60 percent) to pass the budget. Schooldistricts are required to report their calculated tax levy limit to thestate comptroller by March 1.

3. PROPOSED TAX LEVY $39,100,915

The third tax levy number is arguably the most important. It’s thetax levy called for by a school district’s proposed budget. Bydefinition, the tax levy is the total amount of money to be raisedlocally by a municipality (i.e., school district) after factoring inall other available revenues.

If a school district’s proposed tax levy minus exclusions is lessthan or equal to the district’s calculated tax levy limit, thedistrict will need the approval of a simple majority of votersto pass its budget.

TOTAL BUDGET $45,541,353

Q. What is the proposed tax levy limit forValhalla UFSD for the 2013-14 budget?

Based on the state required eight-step formula, theproposed tax levy limit is 3.89 percent. We receivedan exclusion for the increasing costs for our TeacherRetirement System (TRS) payments. Our proposedlevy limit is $100,000 below the maximum allowablelevy limit.

Q. What happens if the budget is not passedby a majority of voters?

If the budget does not pass after two public votes, thedistrict will be held to a zero levy increase. The districtwould need to cut an additional $1,464,421 inexpenses from the budget.

The Three Tax Levy Numbers UnderNew York State’s Tax Levy CapWith all the talk of New York’s new 2 percent taxcap, it may come as a surprise to learn that each schooldistrict in the state will present three separate tax levynumbers this spring, as part of their compliance withthe new legislation.

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Enrollment Trends

2000

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

� Enrollment

2008

2009

2010

2011

1900180017001600150014001300120011001000

�� �

� � � � � � � �

1321

15281523151514811438

1511 1519 1557 1543 1536

2012

Q. What is the projected enrollment trendfor our district?

Our enrollment peaked last year. The larger classes aremoving into the middle and high school. Our

elementary enrollment is decreasing and we expect thatclass sizes should stabilize between 100 and 110.With the nearby Holy Name of Jesus school closing, weanticipate about 20 students entering the district.

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14

Q. What are the equalization rates and how do theyaffect our taxes?The equalization rate is the state’s measure of a municipality’s levelof property assessment. The New York State Office of RealProperty Tax Services (ORPTS) is responsible for determining theequalization rate per town. Equalization is intended to adjust local-ly assessed property values to an ever-changing real estate market.It is common for school districts to be comprised of more thanone town or municipality. Our district is comprised of parts ofGreenburgh, Mount Pleasant and North Castle. Each town mayhave different levels of property assessment. School districts arerequired to distribute their taxes among the municipalities withintheir boundaries.In order for a school district to fairly distribute its property tax levy(the total amount of school taxes to be collected), the levy needs tobe divided in proportion to the total market value for each town.This allows for an equitable distribution of taxes based upon themarket value of each community.

Property Value and Tax LevyApportionment $39,100,915

Mount Pleasant48%

21%Greenburgh

North Castle31%

Estimated Tax RatePer $1,000

2012-13 2013-14Final Estimate Change

Greenburgh $546.37 $569.65 4.26%

Mount Pleasant $1,217.72 $1,251.00 2.73%

North Castle $810.05 $854.46 5.48%

Estimated Tax Rates based on Estimated Taxable

Assessed Property Values as of 02/26/13

District Transportation PolicyThe 2013-14 budgetwill continue theDistrict’s policy ofproviding transportationfor children whoreside at least one-halfmile and no morethan 15 miles of theschool of attendance.

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15

Q. How has the district's total budget changed over the last six years?

Percen

tIncrease

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

2008-2009

2009-2010

2010-2011

4.95%

2.66%

0.0%

2.23%2.15%

2011-2012

3.89%

2013-2014

2012-2013

School Year

% Budget to Budget Increases 2008-2014

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

This means that the district will now beable to keep an Academic Interventionteacher on staff to assist students with thenew Common Core assessments while low-ering the tax levy and decreasing the useof reserves, which will lighten taxpayers’burden.Valentina Belvedere, a member of boththe district’s Board of Education and theSpecial Education PTA, organized theValhalla Advocacy Committee, handpick-ing a team of nine dedicated parents whogot out 1,000 letters in just three weeks inMarch. “The moms on this committee arepowerful advocates and passionate aboutour kids’ education in the same way thatI am,” she said.The team used a PTA sports kickoff in Marchas a platform for jump-starting the letter-writ-ing campaign, and parents stepped up tothe plate, signing 300 copies of the advo-cacy letter in two hours. Mrs. Belvederedivided the hard copies among area legisla-tors and the governor’s office, inserting theminto red, white and blue envelopes to catchtheir attention when the packages arrived intheir Albany offices.

Parents and community members respond-ed to a districtwide e-mail blast invitingthem to e-mail or snail mail the advocacyletters, which are available for downloadon the school district’s website.The letters impacted the state budget adop-tion because they made representativesaware of the Valhalla story and thefinancial struggle the district was facing,Mrs. Belvedere said, noting that legislatorspersonally confirmed that the letter-writingcampaign made a difference.“Our advocacy committee is a force to bereckoned with,” she said. “Our Committeemembers and parents are well-organizedand professional. I’mvery proud to be part ofthis committee. We won,our kids gained a victoryout of it, and we’reready for the next step.”Valhalla also is a mem-ber of the LowerWestchester Consortium,an advocacy group com-prised of school districtsin lower Westchester

County. Superintendents, includingValhalla’s Dr. Brenda Myers, as well asschool Board members, sit on the consor-tium to discuss critical issues for schooldistricts and how to address them.The consortium will focus on one or twoissues for the next letter-writing campaign,Mrs. Belvedere said. Over the next fewweeks, more advocacy materials that willhelp inform educational policy decisionson the Congressional level will beavailable for signature. Valhalla willcontinue to keep up the pressure regardingunfunded mandates and increased testingrequirements.“Dr. Myers walked every advocacy avenuepossible for our district,” she said. “Shehas been a strong voice for Valhalla fromhere, all the way up to Albany, and atevery meeting in between. The Superinten-dents and Consortium members throughoutWestchester pulled it together andaccomplished what they set out to do.That’s why there was a victory.”

Valhalla, Your Letters Made All the Difference!Thanks to a dedicated team of parents, the community, and more than 1,000advocacy letters that were signed and sent to New York State legislators andthe governor in March, the Valhalla school district received a 4.7 percentincrease in state aid, a complete restoration of high tax aid, and a partialincrease to the Gap Elimination Adjustment for school year 2013-14.

Voyages2013-2014 Proposed Budget Summary by Category

Budget Proposed Budget

Description 2012-2013 2013-2014 Difference

Board of Education 37,103 37,415 312

District Clerk 56,779 57,342 563

District Meeting 9,100 9,100 -

Chief School Administration 319,290 324,411 5,121

Business Administration 457,261 460,451 3,190

Auditing Services 63,500 63,500 -

Treasurer 7,550 7,550 -

Legal Services 79,000 79,000 -

Personnel Services 29,484 30,369 885

Public Information 73,299 74,418 1,119

Operations & Maintenance 2,714,879 2,674,879 (40,000)

Central Data Processing 43,809 43,809 -

Insurance 174,000 174,000 -

School Association Dues 11,000 11,000 -

Judgements and Claims 75,000 75,000 -

BOCES Administration Charge 147,660 152,385 4,725

Sewer District Charges 75,000 75,000 -

Curriculum Development - - -

School Supervision 1,084,579 1,104,244 19,665

Regular Day School 12,611,710 13,140,513 528,803

Special Education 6,658,707 6,458,841 (199,866)

Remedial Reading 389,483 413,820 24,337

Occupational Education 206,675 212,875 6,200

School Library & AV 467,297 480,777 13,480

Computer Assisted Technology 834,644 1,005,950 171,306

Guidance Services 686,330 705,330 19,000

Health Services 342,561 342,561 -

Diagnotic Screening 20,000 20,000 -

Psychological Services 495,656 507,244 11,588

Co-curricular Activities 150,472 150,472 -

Interscholastic Athletics 531,122 532,970 1,848

District Transportation 81,064 77,373 (3,691)

Contract Transportation 1,947,958 1,947,958 -

BOCES Transportation 817,948 834,307 16,359

Transportation Repair 10,000 10,000 -

Employees' Retirement 732,744 788,842 56,098

Teachers' Retirement 2,119,472 2,999,914 880,442

Social Security 1,646,621 1,701,028 54,407

Workers Compensation 163,935 167,214 3,279

Employees' Benefit Fund 423,570 423,570 -

Unemployment Insurance 40,000 40,000 -

Health Insurance 4,954,724 5,081,540 126,816

Bond Principal/Interest 1,834,085 1,555,570 (278,515)

Tax Anticipation Note Interest 15,000 15,000 -

Interfund Transfer 98,000 473,811 375,811

TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS 43,738,071 45,541,353 1,803,282

PROGRAM CAPITAL ADMINISTRATIVE$36,456,339 $5,540,869 $3,544,145

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MANDATED CATEGORICAL BREAKDOWN OF 2013 - 2014 BUDGET

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17

Community Members:Sign Up for E-mail AlertsValhalla community members whodon’t have children attending schoolcan still get important messages andupdates by signing up for the district’sConnect Ed e-mail alert service.

Hosted by Blackboard Connect, the serv-ice provides parents and the communitywith news about Valhalla events, messagesfrom the Superintendent of Schools, non-emergency announcements and other itemsof interest. The e-mail service complementsthe District’s existing phone alert system.To register, visit the district website atwww.valhallaschools.orgLook for the “About Us” tab at the top ofthe page and click on the “E-NotificationService” link.Next, click on the “Sign Me Up” link tocreate an account.Once you’ve completed sign-up, you’ll beable to log in and add e-mail addresses,cell phone numbers and other deviceswhere you’d like to be reached.Under “Subscriptions,” you can select theschool building(s) and type of notifications(Emergency, Outreach or both) you’d liketo receive.Having trouble? Contact the DistrictOffice at 914-683-5040.

Bullying Incident Report Now Available OnlineEveryone is in agreement that all students have a right to a safe and nurturingschool environment. Thanks to the Dignity for All Students Act, which becamestate law on July 1, Valhalla students and parents can take comfort in know-ing that administrators are tackling the problem of bullying, harassment andcyber-bullying with policies that will stop it in its tracks.

A proactive bullying prevention system hasalways been in place in Valhalla, but thelaw sets things in concrete with regard tostudent expectations and behavior. Thestate also now legally requires schools tocollect data regarding incidents of bully-ing, harassment and discrimination and tosubmit Violent and Disruptive IncidentReports (VADIR) on an annual basis.Anyone, in fact – a bullied student, awitness, parents, teachers, even a schoolbus driver – can file a bullying incidentreport, and a Dignity Act Coordinator

(the administrative team at each school)will respond within 48 hours.The online incident form can be foundon the district website:www.valhallaschools.org. Click on theDignity for All tab on the top right handcorner and scroll down to find the BullyingIncident Reporting Form.Or, simply type in this URL in your browser:http://www.valhallaschools.org/forms/incident/

For more information…Learn more about the district and the proposed budget

for 2013-2014 by logging onto our

website atwww.valhallaschools.org

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18

The support of critical reading and writingin content areas is the new normal underthe Common Core Learning Standards(CCLS), an innovative set of benchmarksintended to improve academic standards inthe 46 states that have adopted them.“It’s a shift for everyone,” VMS principal Dr.Steven Garcia said. “Content teachershave become responsible for reading andwriting just like English teachers, but theymay not have the confidence or knowl-edge base to do it, so we’re trying to pro-vide them with strategies they can use.”

Two Days with Dr. DoveDr. Jennifer Dove, director of Literacy andthe Humanities for Binghamton City SchoolDistrict, held a two-day workshop over thesummer for seven non-English middleschool teachers at the request ofSuperintendent Dr. Brenda Myers, whosaw an opportunity to give teachers a legup on the Common Core. “Dr. Dove bringsto us the best research and instructionalstrategies available,” she said. “Even if theCommon Core went away, it’s still aboutinstruction and 21st century learning.”The teachers included John Hayes andSteve D’Ascoli (eighth grade socialstudies), Nori Lustig (seventh grade socialstudies), JenniferGranich (seventhgrade science),Lorna McKenzie(middle school read-ing specialist),Michelle Della Sala(six grade socialstudies) and MargoDoran (special edu-cation).“I think the superintendent has done agreat job in bringing Dr. Dove here so thatwe can push the envelope,” Dr. Garciasaid. “We know we have to work onassessment in reading and writing and shehad the foresight to choose this opportunityfor teachers to develop their reading and

writing practices with students. I think thishas really helped these teachers to usesome of those skills.”

Adaptable StrategiesDr. Dove taught the teachers simple andfun strategies they can adapt for eachgrade level to infuse literacy instruction intheir subject areas and enhance students’learning experience.Sixth grade social studies teacher MichelleDella Sala, for example, likes to use avocabulary-building strategy Dr. Dove calls“Can of Words.”Each social studies unit includes a new setof vocabulary words, which Ms. DellaSala posts on a word wall and writes onindividual index cards. She has studentsread a selection in their textbook andcome up with their own definition for newwords based on their reading. Over thecourse of each unit, she’ll periodically pullout index cards and have students give thedefinition or use it in a sentence. “Thishelps them to build on their knowledgeand not learn the words in isolation,” shesaid. “All of the words build upon eachother throughout the different units.”During the workshop, Ms. Della Sala andher colleagues had their ah-ha moment,she said, when Dr. Dove handed them apiece of writing and asked them to high-light the important information in it. Afterspending a few minutes reading the textand trying to figure out which facts to high-light, the group, puzzled, gave up.

In a Student’s ShoesDr. Dove told them to imagine how theirstudents feel when they’re asked to read atextbook selection or article and do thesame. Then she asked the teachers to re-read the text as if they were homebuyersand pull out key facts through that lens.Words in the text like ‘tall hedges,’ ‘land-scaped yard,’ ‘new stone siding’ and‘newly painted,’ immediately jumped outas the key information.

Ms. Della Sala did the same exercise withher students and the results were phenome-nal. Students were able to easily pinpointthe key information she asked for whenthey had a filter. “They need to have a lensto focus through to pull out importantdetails when they read,” she said.“Because I did this exercise with them, mystudents now know how to pay attention toheadings and subheadings and to pull outideas from within the text to make note-tak-ing easier.”Vocabulary-buildingalso is at the coreof teacher NoriLustig’s seventhgrade AmericanHistory class. Toengage students inreading, Ms. Lustiguses what she callsa Vocabulary, Visionand Question Chart,or V.V.Q. Chart for short, that helps them toattack a section in their textbook.

Learning by DoingStudents search out new vocabularywords—Dr. Dove describes them as mag-net words—in a reading and documentthem on the chart. Ms. Lustig has studentswrite their own definitions for each newword, she said, because the glossary waswritten by an adult and the definitions havelittle meaning for them. “I encourage stu-dents to read the paragraph and figure outwhat a new word means with the help ofcontext clues,” she said.Ms. Lustig also includes visualization andwriting exercises in her classes, having stu-dents scribe diary entries for a historicalfigure they’re learning about in a particularunit, for example. And rather than essays,she has them focus on paragraph writing.“If they can write a good paragraph,they’ll be able put well-written paragraphstogether in an essay,” she said.“The workshop validated some of thethings I was already doing,” Ms. Lustigsaid. “Dr. Dove gave them a name, butwhat was important for everyone was tofind strategies to use to help students getmore engaged in reading a non-fiction textbecause, unlike in language arts, we’re notreading stories.”

Literacy Love: Learning Theorist Prepares VMSTeachers for Language Arts InstructionMethods for incorporating literacy instruction into subjects like social studiesand science aren’t necessarily evident, especially for teachers who are nottrained to teach English language arts. But some key strategies learned from aliteracy expert are helping VMS content teachers make the shift.

Michelle Della Sala

Nori Lustig

Voyages

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Birdwatchers Danny Tammaro, Kaitie Essing and Julia Serena have been looking forward to spotting some featheredfriends this spring.

Birds of a FeatherThe birds, in all colors, sizes and singing their own special song, come everyday to their favorite dining spot – an enormous feeder filled with seed –staked in the grassy area outside of KS teacher Patrick Ward’s fourth gradeclassroom. Inside, secret observers gaze in wonder out the big window attheir feathered friends, recognizing each bird by their unique plumage.

The students know the birds by heart andhave become the Kensico School’s residentexperts on everything from sparrows tohummingbirds. After the birds flew south inthe fall, the students saw a limited numberof birds who spend their winter in thenorth, so they’re eagerly awaiting spring,when birds migrate and return, like magic,to their native habitat.“I’ll probably see one in the spring, whenthe flowers grow again,” Julia Serena saidabout the hummingbird who, she learned,weighs less than a penny and uses itslong, needle-like beak to drink the sweetnectar from flowers.The young bird-watchers have beenobserving their feathered pals sinceSeptember, when Mr. Ward, an avid bird-watcher and naturalist, set the feeder up.The nearby woodlands behind the schoolattract many birds because of the safetyand cover of the tree canopy.

“It took a few weeks for the birds to findthe feeder,” he said. “The kids got excitedwhen one or two birds started comingand then more, but it’s really going toget exciting in the spring. The birds areonly 12 feet from our window and it’s

been great seeing them up close.”Mr. Ward decided to turn the students’delight in learning about birds into a lessonthat incorporates technology and non-fic-tion writing, both key components of thenew Common Core Learning Strategies.The students went online to research thebird of their choice, took notes and wrotea five-paragraph essay about their bird.They also drew and colored their ownimage of the bird to accompany theirproject.Kaitie Essing said she chose the cardinalbecause she liked the bright red plumageof the male so much. What surprised herthe most is that the cardinal, whichappears small from a distance, is actuallyabout eight inches long. “I knew a little bitabout the cardinal before, but found out alot more when I started seeing them at thefeeder and did the research for my report,”she said.Classmate Danny Tammaro chose the bluejay because it’s often seen in the winter, hisfavorite season. “When it sings, it says‘jay,’ so that’s why they call it the blue jay,”he said. “Blue jays also make me feelhappy because blue is my favorite color.”

A hawk paid a visit to the class feeder in December.

The pileated woodpecker sports a bright red mohawk.

This district does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, religion, maritalstatus, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability in its educational programs and employment practices.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDWhite Plains, NYPermit No.9501

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Board of EducationLaVerne Clark, PresidentJoseph Garbus, Vice PresidentJames AdamsValentina BelvedereRonald CavalloAlan HiggsRobert Ierace

Superintendent of SchoolsDr. Brenda Myers

School Business OfficialChristina Howe

Newsletter Writer and EditorSuzanne Davis

Contributing PhotographerSusan Rossi

What’s on the Ballot:1. A proposition appropriating $45,541,353 to meet the estimated expenditures for school purposes for

the fiscal year 2013-14, said sum to be raised by tax upon the taxable property of the district.

2. Election of Board of Education members to two open seats:

LaVerne Clark, running unopposed for a three-year term to fill the vacancy created by the expiration of the term of LaVerne Clark.

Joseph Garbus, running unopposed for a three-year term to fill the vacancy created by the expiration of the term of Joseph Garbus.

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SupplementalBudget Information The following supplemental budget information is availableupon request:

• School Academic Report Cards

• Property Tax Report Card

• Salary Disclosure Notice

Please contact a building principal or Christina Howe,School Business Official, at 914-683-5040.

Remember to Vote!

Tuesday, May21

Voting hours

will be

6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

and

2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

See Page 1

for voting locations

Will You be Away on May21?• Applications must be completed to receive an

absentee ballot.

• Completed applications must be received by the School

District Clerk by, or prior to, 4 p.m. on May 14, 2013, if

the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or on, or prior to,

4 p.m. on May 20, 2013, if the ballot is to be picked

up personally by the voter.

• Absentee ballots must be received by the School

District Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on May 21, 2013.