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Education Policy

Schools
Yonkers To Put $5.8M Toward Air Conditioning In 39 Schools Yonkers To Put $5.8M Toward Air Conditioning In 39 Schools
Yonkers To Put $5.8M Toward Air Conditioning In 39 Schools A city in Westchester is committing millions of dollars toward putting air conditioning in all of its school buildings to help students deal with rising temperatures.  In an announcement on Wednesday, Aug. 28, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and Superintendent Aníbal Soler, Jr. revealed that $5.8 million in capital funding would be spent on air-conditioning in the city's 39 public school buildings over the next three years.  The initiative is part of an effort to improve all aspects of the school experience for the city's students, Spano and Soler said.  "Investing in the…

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by Ben Crnic
Politics
Too Traumatic? School Lockdown Drills Would Be Reduced Under NY Bill Too Traumatic? School Lockdown Drills Would Be Reduced Under NY Bill
Too Traumatic? School Lockdown Drills Would Be Reduced Under NY Bill Some New York state lawmakers want to reduce the number of school lockdown drills that are held each year over concerns they could be harmful to students’ mental health. A bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon would cut back the number of required lockdown drills from four per year to two. Schools would still have the option of conducting more drills if they chose to. The legislation would also mandate that school drills be conducted in a “trauma-informed, developmentally age-appropriate manner,” and would permit parents to opt their children ou…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
New Principal Named At School In Westchester New Principal Named At School In Westchester
New Principal Named At School In Westchester An elementary school in Northern Westchester will soon have a new principal who says he is dedicated to making sure families are involved in their children's education.  Rob Schliessman has been named the new principal of the Kensico School located in Valhalla, according to Valhalla Union Free School District officials.  Schliessman will be officially appointed by the district's school board during their meeting on Tuesday, June 6, and will start on Saturday, July 1. He will be taking over the position from the longtime principal Matt Curran, who will be retiring at the end o…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
SUNY To Officially Recognize Students' Chosen Names, Pronouns SUNY To Officially Recognize Students' Chosen Names, Pronouns
SUNY To Officially Recognize Students' Chosen Names, Pronouns The State University of New York (SUNY) will begin officially recognizing students’ chosen names and pronouns. It comes after the university’s Board of Trustees directed all 64 SUNY campuses to update their policies “to ensure that transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary students’ identities are fully reflected and represented in campus systems.” By the time classes begin in the Fall 2023 semester, campuses will have to ensure that all operational systems reflect a student’s chosen name and pronouns as long as it’s consistent with federal law, according to a SUNY statement. Tha…

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by Michael Mashburn
Politics
New Poll Reveals What NYers Think Of Hochul's Job Performance So Far New Poll Reveals What NYers Think Of Hochul's Job Performance So Far
New Poll Reveals What NYers Think Of Hochul's Job Performance So Far Despite just weeks in office, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who succeeded former Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he resigned in scandal, has a positive favorability rating among New Yorkers, according to a brand-new poll. The Siena College poll, released Tuesday, Sept. 14, found Hochul was viewed favorably by 42 percent of voters and unfavorably by 17 percent; with 41 percent still undecided. By 52-18 percent, voters say Hochul has a more collaborative approach to government leadership than her predecessor, and they say it’s exciting to have New York’s first woman governor by a 74-16 margin.  I…

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by Kathy Reakes
Schools
High School Under Fire For Altering Yearbook Photos Of 80 Female Students High School Under Fire For Altering Yearbook Photos Of 80 Female Students
High School Under Fire For Altering Yearbook Photos Of 80 Female Students Officials at a high school in Florida are in hot water after being caught altering the yearbook photos of dozens of female students to make them appear to be showing less skin. At least 80 female students at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville, had their photos altered, according to a report by NBC affiliate WTLV in Jacksonville, which reviewed the yearbook photos. The photos showed the students' clothing was digitally cut and pasted over what would have been exposed skin. The alterations have led to backlash from parents and rights groups who are…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
COVID-19: New CDC Director Gives Guidance On Schools Reopening COVID-19: New CDC Director Gives Guidance On Schools Reopening
Covid-19: New CDC Director Gives Guidance On Schools Reopening With President Joe Biden seeking to open all elementary and middle schools for in-person learning within his first 100 days in office, the CDC has provided new guidance on getting students back into the classroom. The CDC is now saying that it is possible to return to the classroom without fully vaccinating all educators beforehand. “There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated in order to reopen safely," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday, Feb. 3. "Vaccination of teachers is not…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
New York Abandons Use Of Student Tests In Teacher Evaluations New York Abandons Use Of Student Tests In Teacher Evaluations
New York Abandons Use Of Student Tests In Teacher Evaluations Teacher evaluations will no longer be tied to student’s standardized test scores under a bill that was approved by state legislators. Four years ago, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a highly contested bill into law that linked student’s test scores to teacher evaluations. The legislation quickly came under fire and was contested by both parents and educators. The 2015 bill led to approximately 18 percent of students statewide opting out of standardized testing in grades 3 through 8. Now, Cuomo is poised to sign a new bill backpedaling those measures. New York joins a growing coalition of…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Report: Westchester School District May Be Spending Millions On Improperly Registered Students Report: Westchester School District May Be Spending Millions On Improperly Registered Students
Report: Westchester School District May Be Spending Millions On Improperly Registered Students A school district in Westchester may be spending millions of dollars to educate students that are improperly enrolled in the school by using false addresses, according to a report by CBS New York. Toward the end of the last school year, New Rochelle School District officials announced that they would be re-registering each of the district’s 10,700 students, though they were forced to amend their initial plan to give themselves “a more realistic timetable to complete the (task).” According to the CBS report, a consultant involved in the residency verification who has verified enrollment…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Hit The Brakes: New Rochelle Schools Evaluating Student Re-Registration Hit The Brakes: New Rochelle Schools Evaluating Student Re-Registration
Hit The Brakes: New Rochelle Schools Evaluating Student Re-Registration The New Rochelle School District is hitting the brakes on its scheduled re-registration process for students following letters from the New York State Education Department. Toward the end of the school year, officials announced that they would be re-registering each of the district’s 10,700 students, though they were forced to amend their initial plan to give themselves “a more realistic timetable to complete the (task). In a letter to New Rochelle Schools Superintendent Brian Osborne, New York State Education Department Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said that the district’s re-registration p…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Mount Vernon Schools Expands Uniform Policy Mount Vernon Schools Expands Uniform Policy
Mount Vernon Schools Expands Uniform Policy Mount Vernon students will be sporting a new look districtwide come September following a parent’s push to adopt a new policy on school uniforms. Following a districtwide survey that was disseminated to district families and the PTA last year, the Board of Education unanimously approved a new policy, which will “allow schools in the district to mandate students wear uniforms if they present certification to the Board.” During the next academic year, the uniform policy will be expanded and implemented in the District’s reconfigured Pre K-7 and Pre K-8 buildings, as well as the new AB Davis S…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Sex And The State House? Cynthia Nixon Announces Cuomo Primary Challenge Sex And The State House? Cynthia Nixon Announces Cuomo Primary Challenge
Sex And The State House? Cynthia Nixon Announces Cuomo Primary Challenge Is Nixon the one? That remains to be seen, but actress Cynthia Nixon, who starred in the HBO hit show “Sex and the City,” officially announced on Monday that she is launching a Democratic primary challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 gubernatorial race in New York. "Together, we can win this fight," Nixon said on her newly launched website, CynthiaforNewYork.com. Nixon announced her candidacy on Twitter, in a post that included a link to a two-minute video which ends with her aboard the train, with the last words spoken being, "Next Stop: Albany." "I’m runnin…

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by Joe Lombardi