Board outlines tiered summer reading, teacher‑leadership push and middle‑school schedule changes

District administrators at the June 9 board meeting described plans to sustain literacy gains over the summer and to expand internal teacher leadership capacity while making a targeted middle-school schedule change.

Mrs. Pete presented a tiered summer reading program: Tier 1 will include universal activities for all students, Tier 2 will provide small-group intervention for students below grade level, and Tier 3 will deliver intensive small‑group instruction for the most in‑need learners. Strategies mentioned included reading logs, library partnerships, “books-in-a-bag” swaps, and use of ParentSquare to communicate with families.

On professional development, the administration described a teacher-leadership initiative that dedicates two summer days to teacher leaders for training in data-driven decision-making, meeting protocols and collaboration. The district noted approximately $48,000 in teacher-leader stipends that are now aidable through BOCES, enabling expanded leadership support without solely relying on local dollars.

Middle school leaders outlined schedule changes aimed at creating intervention windows. Mrs. Marcelo said seventh-grade daily art will be removed from the regular schedule next year to create time for targeted supports; art club and extracurricular options will remain available. Mrs. Rogers described a proposed 15:1 classroom for grades 7–8 (no more than 15 students with IEPs) to provide focused ELA and math instruction, with consultant teacher services maintained for science and social studies. Certification and co-teaching needs for special-classroom staffing were discussed.

Administrators said the schedule and program changes will be monitored and adjusted if outcomes suggest different approaches are needed.