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District 25 superintendent highlights testing gains, civics and a push to increase SaferCollege sign-ups
Summary
A district presentation covered diagnostic-testing progress, youth leadership events, student competitions and a goal to boost family participation in the SaferCollege program by at least 10% by June 2026; the council discussed civics and wellness initiatives and scheduling of family engagement events.
Dr. Mike Vex, presenting on behalf of the district at the Community Education Council District 25 meeting, gave an update on student assessments, extracurricular competitions, civics programming and a new outreach goal for the SaferCollege program.
"My report is relatively short today, but there are a couple of things that I do want to mention," Dr. Vex said at the meeting. He reported that the district continues diagnostic testing and is "trending more positive than last year in reading and mathematics," though he said about 3,000 students still needed to complete the testing window; the diagnostic testing period is expected to finish on June 13 according to his remarks.
On extracurricular and enrichment activities, Dr. Vex described several recent events: a civics fair on May 22 that showcased student "Soapbox" speeches and participatory-budget projects; a youth leadership trip that brought about 100 middle-school students to Adelphi University for team-building and college-preparation programming; and multiple math and gaming competitions in which local schools earned recognition (he cited PS 209 and PS 499 for First in Math recognition, PS 194 students who competed at MathCon in Chicago and PS 24 and JHS 185 for a borough Minecraft competition). He also singled out Lillian from JHS 194 as a performer selected for the Queensborough Arts Festival.
Dr. Vex proposed a district goal for the SaferCollege program (a college- and career-readiness account for younger students): by June 2026 he wants district schools to "raise awareness of the Safer College program through informational events and parent chats to improve participation rate resulting in a minimum of 10%" increase in activated accounts. He said current activation is "below 40%, in the low thirties," and that outreach would help families make an informed choice.
On civics education he described a district aspiration that every student achieve a "Seal for Civic Readiness" by the end of eighth grade. The components Dr. Vex cited include a minimum of 10 civics-based lessons during a student's time in the district, every student writing and presenting a soapbox speech, participation in a take-action project at each grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8), and student voting in school participatory budgeting exercises.
The superintendent also raised a district-wide wellness/kindness/community initiative and solicited council feedback on adopting a single focus word and running small, sustainable activities in schools and parent engagement events (one parent suggested monthly family yoga nights as an example of a wellness event that drew parents in).
Members asked questions about grade-level timing for Soapbox speeches and whether programs would scale. Dr. Vex said the civics work is aspirational and already happening in many schools, including activities down to kindergarten in some buildings. He promised to follow up with more data as testing completes and to continue building the civics and wellness programs.
Ending: Dr. Vex closed by thanking staff and volunteers; council members praised the district'run events and encouraged continued outreach to increase SaferCollege participation and family engagement.
