Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Instructional Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Assistant Superintendent outlines 2026–27 instructional priorities, highlights pre-K and special education funding
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Jim Singer presented the district’s instructional planning for 2026–27, highlighting capstone and STEM expansions, career and technical education pathways, special education caseloads and pre‑K funding supported by grant and district dollars.
Assistant Superintendent Jim Singer presented the Middle Country Central School District’s instructional planning framework for the 2026–27 school year, emphasizing continuity of core programs and new opportunities for students across grade levels. "What started as an Inquiry learning experiment at the elementary level has become part of the fabric" of district instruction, Singer said, describing expanded capstone experiences, STEM and humanities celebrations and new credential pathways.
Singer said the district’s core elementary program serves more than 3,700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and that secondary programming serves nearly 4,900 students in grades six through 12. He described steps to expand career and technical education (CTE) options, maintain literacy supports and increase dual‑enrollment and Advanced Placement opportunities.
Special education services, Singer said, support more than 1,600 students with individualized education programs in district programs and additional students in out‑of‑district placements. He said pre-K programs serve 473 children across district‑staffed classes and community‑based providers and that grant funding "exceeding $4.5 million" is supplemented by about $1.8 million in district funding to support the pre‑K program.
Singer also noted plans to begin a transitional bilingual kindergarten program for Spanish‑speaking kindergartners and to implement the New York State Seal of Biliteracy for the class of 2029. He said textbooks and supplies showed zero allocations on slides only because several resources will continue to be provided through grant programs.
The presentation covered teaching assistant roles, the Alternative Learning Center (which Singer said serves about 65 secondary students through extended‑day programming), athletic and co‑curricular supports, and the district’s approach to preparing students for changing graduation requirements.
Board members asked for follow‑up detail on CTE and BOCES participation; Singer said he believed roughly 100 students attend BOCES vocational programs and that he would provide an exact headcount and per‑student cost in a subsequent report. The district did not vote on budget allocations at the meeting; Singer framed the session as an instructional overview ahead of formal budget steps.
