Superintendent provided an abbreviated start-of-year update at the Hendrick Hudson Central School District Board of Education meeting on Aug. 27, outlining building tours, staff convocation activities, implementation plans for a new student-device restriction tied to state law, and the high school’s move to the National School Lunch Program, which will provide universal free meals to all students for the coming year.

The superintendent said the board would conduct required visual inspections and safety-monitoring tours of all occupied school buildings immediately after the public session. The tour schedule announced for the evening is: 6:45 p.m. — Hendrick Hudson High School; 7:30 p.m. — Blue Mountain Middle School; 8:15 p.m. — Furnace Woods Elementary School; 9:00 p.m. — Buchanan-Verplank Elementary School; and 9:45 p.m. — Frank G. Lindsey School. Members of the public were invited to join the tours and to call the superintendent’s cell phone for status updates on where the tour group was during the evening.

The superintendent reported that district staff returned earlier that day for the 2025–26 convocation, with administrators, principals and cabinet members attending; staff then held union meetings, completed mandated training and prepared classrooms. Teacher-led professional learning and department meetings were scheduled for the days immediately before students return to school.

The first day of classes for students is Sept. 2; it will be a half day for kindergarten through grade 5 and a full day for grades 6–12, the superintendent said. The superintendent also addressed a recent violent incident reported in Minneapolis and urged students and families to contact school counselors or mental-health staff if they are affected.

Noting a recent state law and a recently adopted board policy, the superintendent said the district will prohibit students from using personal internet-connected devices, including cell phones, during the school day beginning Sept. 2. The guidance provided in the meeting: elementary students are asked not to bring personal internet-connected devices to school; secondary students who bring such devices should keep them securely stored in lockers throughout the school day. District administrators reviewed the adopted policy with building teams to clarify components of the regulation, including possible sanctions for violations. The superintendent and two administrators (Scollins and Martino Alves) met with student government representatives to discuss implementation and hear students’ concerns, the superintendent said.

The superintendent announced that Hendrick Hudson High School will join the National School Lunch Program this fall, providing universal free breakfast and lunch for all high school students for the coming year. He said no application is required this year to receive meals; however, the district may later distribute an application to collect household data that can help secure additional funding tied to free/reduced eligibility.

Ending: The superintendent closed by reiterating implementation steps (administrators to refine building-level procedures) and reminding the public of the evening’s building-tour schedule and contact information for anyone wishing to join a tour in progress.