West Islip UFSD to expand foundations, IB and career courses, add supports and tech investments

At the district's second budget workshop, the administration outlined instructional and program priorities it plans to support in the coming year even as it manages fiscal constraints.

Mrs. Morrison (S3) said the district will extend its foundations (science-of-reading) program into fourth and fifth grades in September to support language acquisition and will add a research-based language intervention called "story chance." She said another middle-school reading teacher will be hired to preserve intervention fidelity as students progress.

The district also plans curricular expansions at the secondary level: IB Design Technology 2 will be added so students can complete the two-year IB design sequence, Culinary Arts 2 will be introduced because Culinary Arts 1 is at capacity, and the district is planning financial-literacy coursework to meet a New York State graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2027.

Technology and extracurricular growth featured prominently: one-to-one devices will be replenished for certain grades, classroom PCs at both middle schools will be replaced, districtwide coding clubs and an inaugural hackathon for elementary students will continue, and investments in cybersecurity (testing and external audits) were cited to protect student and staff data.

Mrs. Morrison highlighted partnerships that support student mental-health needs and career pathways, including continued work with Effective School Solutions (ESS), PM Pediatrics and a maritime industrial partnership with the U.S. Navy's maritime industrial base program for career and technical education exposure.

The presentation closed with calendar items for future budget workshops and the district's election timeline.