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Superintendent presents progress on eight district goals, strategic plan and capital projects
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Tracy Norman and assistant superintendents reported progress across eight district goals — from curriculum alignment and MTSS revisions to cybersecurity, recruitment, capital projects and a near‑complete zero‑emission‑bus feasibility study — and said a five‑year strategic plan informed by input from more than 4,000 stakeholders is now in draft goal‑setting stages.
Superintendent Dr. Tracy Norman and senior staff used the board meeting on March 18 to summarize progress on the district’s eight strategic goals, outline next steps for a five‑year strategic plan and update the board on capital projects and safety initiatives.
Dr. Eric Hasler reported on Goal 1 work to increase student understanding and application of academic content, saying the district is about 75% through this year’s planned curriculum and assessment tasks (benchmarks and common assessments) and has begun targeted small‑group instruction and learning walks. Dr. Karen Morales described MTSS revisions, district team formations, pilot data tools for kindergarten and first grade and progress on revising the district special‑education plan for board review this spring.
On recruitment and retention (Goal 2), Chris Berger detailed college partnerships (Mount Saint Mary, SUNY New Paltz, Manhattanville, LIU), job‑fair outreach and an updated digital hiring manual designed to streamline hiring, interviews and onboarding; Berger also outlined mentoring and adjusted substitute rates intended to strengthen retention.
Goal 3 and Goal 4 coverage from Dr. Vias addressed cybersecurity (control sets, an external draft audit with no significant findings reported to date, tabletop exercises) and instructional technology (audit of devices, a draft plan to be submitted to the state through BOCES, and professional development considerations about AI integration with emphasis on pedagogy and teacher judgment rather than single detection tools).
The strategic‑plan update (Goal 5) highlighted substantial community engagement: the district and consultant Generation Ready collected feedback from more than 4,000 stakeholders through forums and small groups and are now translating that input into draft goals for a five‑year plan. Dr. Norman said the district plans a separate presentation with Generation Ready to further unpack results for the board and public.
Capital projects (Goal 6) updates by Patrick Cahill covered phase‑1 punch‑list work (security vestibules, boiler replacements, education center renovations) and progress toward filings with the State Education Department to enable state aid; phase‑2 work such as Pine Tree renovations and tennis courts is under construction and bids have been awarded. Cahill also said the district has a near‑final feasibility study for zero‑emission buses (about 90% complete pending architect clarifications).
Goal 7 and Goal 8 updates described expanded internal auditing, budget‑development progress (budget about 85% complete) and safety work on vestibule protocols, testing of a Syntegic remote panic alarm system (estimated 75% complete) and a pilot of classroom lockdown kits that may be rolled out districtwide.
What’s next: Dr. Norman said district leaders will continue refining strategic‑plan goals and bring a finalized plan to the board for approval once community and committee review is complete; capital project filings and the bus‑feasibility clarifications will be addressed in upcoming administrative filings and meetings.
