Rombout Middle principal outlines testing, programming and possible 9‑period day at Jan. 13 Beacon City School District board meeting

Brian Soltis, principal of Rombout Middle School, told the Beacon City School District Board of Education on Jan. 13 that the school is working to raise student participation in state testing, expand elective and extracurricular offerings, and strengthen academic interventions while school leaders study schedule changes that could affect next year’s budget.

Soltis, speaking during the board’s workshop, gave enrollment and program details for grades 6–8, said the school offers three sections each of Regents Algebra and Living Environment for eighth graders, and described participation in diagnostic assessments. "Troy is an amazing kid and I will tell you it means the world to him that he got that in the newsletter," Soltis said, referring to a district newsletter honor that recognized a student. He used the example to underline the impact of small recognition efforts on student morale.

Why it matters: the presentation tied classroom programming, assessment participation and a possible schedule change together as items that could affect instruction and the district’s budget. The superintendent told the board the district is exploring a nine‑period day for Rombout that could expand elective options and give teams built‑in collaboration time — but that it would carry additional staffing costs and depends on state and local funding.

Most immediately, Soltis emphasized participation rates for annual state assessments as a barrier to accurate district evaluation. He reported that for ELA the school’s participation rate increased from 61.1% in 2022–23 (376 of 615 students) to 65.5% in 2023–24 (382 of 583). Math participation showed a similar rise, and Soltis noted that some eighth‑grade students taking Algebra Regents are exempt from the middle‑school state test, which affects comparisons on state report cards. On district diagnostic I‑Ready results, Soltis said tier‑3 (at‑risk) ELA students decreased from 41% to 39% year‑to‑year; in math, tier‑3 decreased by 6% and tier‑1 (on grade level or above) increased by 9% from fall 2023 to spring 2024.

Soltis described how Rombout uses I‑Ready and other measures to target instruction but cautioned that some students do not take diagnostics with full effort. "Some of the students at the higher end tend to also stay there as they get a little bit older in I Ready because it becomes more and more challenging," he said, adding that the school has adjusted homework expectations so benchmark exercises are not assigned as graded nightly homework in order to encourage honest effort on diagnostic administrations.

Board members and staff discussed strategies to boost participation and data quality, including district‑level communications emphasizing that state tests no longer determine teacher evaluations, and piloting other screeners such as DIBELS at middle grades.

Soltis also reviewed extracurriculars, field trips and fundraising for scholarships. He said the school runs band and chorus through grades 6–8, offers Italian and Spanish in grades 7–8, and provides numerous clubs and modified athletics. He described overnight trips—Boston for seventh grade and Washington, D.C., for eighth grade—and said more than 100 students were enrolled in both overnight trips, with typical trip rosters between about 115 and 130 students; the school reported last year’s DC trip scholarships totaled roughly $15,000. Soltis credited local fundraising and a scholarship fund that the district and community continue to grow.

On capital improvements, Soltis thanked the board for recent project work at Rombout, showing updated science and art classrooms, new hallway ceilings and lighting, wiring and roof work. He said the improvements have made a visible difference in learning spaces.

Looking ahead, the superintendent told the board he had asked Rombout’s leadership to explore a nine‑period day for next year to expand elective choices and create team planning time. "If we could pull it off, it would really help things," the superintendent said, but he warned the change would have a price tag and will depend on the governor’s budget and the district’s tax‑levy planning.

Other items Soltis mentioned included: a new sixth‑grade counselor who pushes into classrooms quarterly on transition, goal‑setting, bullying and stress management; the Positivity Project site visit to other middle schools; use of therapy dogs during testing windows; and new elective‑scheduling work aimed at ensuring students in AIS (Academic Intervention Services) still have access to state‑mandated electives.

Board members asked about test‑taking strategy instruction, how many students miss trips for cost or overnight concerns, and whether developmental sports must turn students away; Soltis and other staff said scholarship funds and fundraising have been used to reduce financial barriers, and that only some sports had capacity issues this year. The board also discussed ways to use multiple measures (benchmarks, classroom work, state tests) to get a fuller picture of student progress.

The board will continue to monitor the superintendent’s budget proposals and return to the Rombout schedule discussion as the state budget and local planning proceed.