Ossining secondary leaders report gains on belonging and lay out teaching, scheduling and equity steps

Ossining — Administrators from the district’s secondary schools reported progress on the district’s long‑range plan at the Board of Education meeting May 7, describing stronger operational systems at the middle school, expanded teacher planning time, and a set of initiatives intended to improve instruction and student belonging.

The district said it is using four pillars in the long‑range plan — teaching and learning, relevant learning and student choice, culture of care, and family and community engagement — and that building‑level goals are tied to those pillars. Dr. Novart and other secondary presenters described two central instructional goals for this school year: sustaining operational systems so academic culture can grow, and increasing higher‑order thinking, academic discourse and feedback aligned to learning objectives.

What the schools reported: presenters described new scheduling moves (common planning time for sixth and seventh grade, an every‑other‑day model for eighth grade), a return to a dual‑language cohort model in sixth grade, and more protected planning for co‑teaching teams. The middle school team said it had worked with a scheduling consultant and will keep daily or near‑daily common planning time for core teachers; the presenters called that a “game changer” for collaborative instruction.

On belonging and…