• Community Update - July 27, 2023



    Hello Friends of the New Paltz Central School District,

    I hope you are enjoying your summer.  It may seem like it is too soon to start thinking about the fall, but preparations for the start of school are well underway.  For example, the other day I saw this message pop up on the sign in front of the high school:

     

     

    Once fall sports start practicing, the rest of the summer goes quickly.

    I wanted to give you an idea of some of the things we are working on, but I thought I would start out with some congratulations:

     

    State Recognition for  Transportation Director Maureen Ryan

    On July 11, Maureen Ryan received state recognition from the New York Association for Pupil Transportation. The 40th Annual "Art Shock" award was presented to Maureen in recognition of her outstanding devotion to school bus transportation and her efforts in promoting a better understanding of the goal and objectives of safe student transportation.

     

    Maureen started working in the District as a bus aide in July 1992. In the fall of 1992 she began driving buses for the district In April of 1995 she took the position of bus dispatcher. In April of 1996 she got her 19A examination certificate and began testing and qualifying drivers and sub drivers for the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles.

    In April of 2007, Maureen became the Director of Transportation. She has been a huge asset to the school district for many years and we are lucky to have her.

     

    “I Voted” Sticker Contest

    TWO NPCSD students, Melissa and Tahlia,  have been selected as finalists in the Ulster County Board of Elections' 2023 I Voted Sticker Contest. Their designs are now part of  an online voting contest, which features designs by three other Ulster County residents, ranging in age from 9-16. The sticker that receives the most votes from members of the public will be printed and distributed at polling places throughout Ulster County during this year's general election on November 7. The contest ends on September 1 so be sure to cast your vote today at 

    https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/i-voted-sticker-contest/

     

    Congratulations Meliss and Tahlia!

     

    Sports Physicals

     

    New Paltz School Physician Dr. Balutowski will be performing physicals on Monday, August 7, between 8:10 AM - 12 PM at Lenape Elementary School. These physical appointments are open only to students who will be participating in Interscholastic sports. If you have a child entering Grade 7 or higher and they are interested in participating in a Modified/JV or Varsity level sport, this exam will fulfill the physical requirement.  If the physicals are done now, it will carry your child through every sports season in the 2023-2024 school year.  Please email Nurse Joy VanVlack at jvanvlack@newpaltz.k12.ny.us  if you would like to reserve a spot for your child.

     

    Surveying the Public

     

    The New Paltz Central School District Board of Education is looking for your opinion.  Please follow this link:

     

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScP3oEqdW0W-o2zqCpdmNbayr5m0lmA5w9tMR6GydjqWQ8dfQ/viewform

     

    and take a brief survey about all things related to the quality of education at our school.  The Board will analyze the information they receive from the survey and generate district goals based on what they learn.  This survey closes on July 31st.

     

    The District and Building Level Safety Plans

     

    Safety is a top priority at NPCSD. You may not be aware, but our district is actually required to have 5 safety plans.  The district wide plan contains overview information relevant to all four school buildings.  Each of the buildings is required to have a confidential building level safety plan specific to that building.

     

    It will likely not surprise you that these plans are closely regulated by New York State.  Here are the basic requirements of a school district:

     

     

     

    A draft version of our district-wide safety plan can be found at:

     

    Proposed District Wide Safety Plan

     

    The 30-day long public comment period has begun.  If you would like to suggest a change or make a comment on this plan, you can do so by going to this link:

     

    Public Comment Response Form

     

    All comments will be considered.  The district-wide plan will be brought to the school board for final approval at the school board meeting on August 16th.  Thank you in advance for your participation in the process.

     

    District Code of Conduct

     

    New York State Education Law 2801 requires that each school district have a board approved Code of Conduct.  This document includes many items related to student conduct including but not limited to appropriate and inappropriate conduct, dress, and language, disciplinary procedures for common infractions, standards and procedures to assure security and safety of students and school personnel, procedures for notifying parents and administrators when a student violates the code of conduct, and procedures for referral to appropriate human service agencies.

     

    Each year, the district must review the code of conduct and bring the updated version to the school board for consideration.   The New Paltz Health Advisory Committee met throughout the past school year to recommend updates to the plan.  NPCSD administrators have recently reviewed the plan along with the recommendations of the Health Advisory Committee and a final draft of the code of conduct has been placed on the school webpage for your review.  

     

    You can review the proposed code of conduct by following this link:

     

    Draft Code of Conduct

     

    Please email any comments you may have directly to me at sgratto@newpaltz.k12.ny.us by August 1st.  We anticipate that the school board will review and adopt an updated version of the district code of conduct on August 2nd.

     

    Pre Kindergarten Update

     

    Things are looking good for our expanded pre-K program to be held in Duzine this fall.  At this point we have enough students registered to fill three classrooms of eighteen students each.  We have created a waiting list for a fourth classroom and it is our hope that we will soon have enough students to fill this classroom.

     

    To learn more about our pre-K program, please go to Pre-K info.

     

    Would you like to be a substitute teacher, aide, or cafeteria worker

     

    We need subs!  If you are a responsible person who likes working with children in a school setting, you might be the perfect person to help us out in our time of need.

     

    For more information, you can follow this link:

     

    Employment Opportunities

     

    Or just drop me an e-mail.

     

    Thank you for reading this update and for participating in our survey and in our review of the code of conduct and the district safety plan.  Enjoy the rest of July and I will be in touch again in August.

     

    Best wishes, 

     

    Stephen Gratto - Superintendent