GUILDERLAND — Teachers here get on-the-job training using "a reflective approach."
The term, which is explained in the professional development plan for 2007-08 currently being reviewed by the school board, is defined as "admitting problems, asking questions, exploring new perspectives, seeing alternatives and developing new understanding."
The inch-thick manual quotes Michael Fullan of the University of Toronto who wrote 15 years ago, "It is folly to act as if we know how to solve complex problems in short order. We must have an approach to reform that acknowledges that we don’t necessarily know all the answers, that is conducive to developing solutions as we go along."

Fullan’s tenets, as outlined in the Guilderland manual, include:
— "Change is learning — it is loaded with uncertainty;
— "A climate that encourages risk-taking is critical (if people don’t venture into uncertainty, changes will not occur);
— "Change is a journey, not a blueprint;
— "Problems are our friends; and
— "All large-scale change is implemented locally."
The Guilderland guide says, "As a district, we would like to go beyond a smorgasbord-like approach to professional development...We propose the use of cooperative learning as a lever to move professional development forward."
It calls cooperative learning "a powerful teaching model" and says it "promotes social development and teamwork as well as higher student achievement."

The plan includes charts, listing strategies and activities to meet different goals. Strategies for new teachers include summer training, a mentor program, training in violence prevention and awareness of sexual harassment; support on new curriculum, standards, and assessment; and brain-compatible teaching.

Other charts outline strategies for enabling teachers to use cooperative learning; to use technology as a tool for curriculum development; to meet the needs of diverse students in the classroom; to integrate state standards into the curriculum; to train staff and students at the high school on issues of sex discrimination; and to train administrators, faculty, and staff to recognize sexual harassment as well as all forms of bullying and hazing.
In presenting the updated plan to the school board last Tuesday, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Nancy Andress said, "Basically, it has not changed a whole lot."

The plan, which is required by the state, was initially approved by the board in 2000. It was first updated in June of 2002 and has been updated each June since. The board is slated to approve the plan at an upcoming meeting.

Project SAVE

Andress also presented the board with another updated plan for its review. The plan is required by the state’s Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act, known as Project SAVE, which became law in 2000.
The first page of Guilderland’s plan quotes Mahatma Gandhi: "If we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."
The Guilderland plan says it "provides for the safety and security of all students and staff," stating, "It is an ongoing process that addresses long- and short-term safety measures to eliminate aggression and intolerant behaviors in school. Our basic goal is to create a positive and welcoming climate in which all member take pride.
"The climate is free of violence, drugs, intimidation, bullying, prejudice, fear and shaming. A healthy, positive school climate promotes the emotional well being and growth of every student and staff member. At the same time, our school provides fair and consistent rules, guidelines, and models for behavior."

The manual contains sections on a district-wide safety plan; building-level emergency response plans; a code of conduct; prevention and risk reduction; and staff training on violence-prevention education and on character education.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Heard from President Richard Weisz about the search for a new superintendent of schools; Gregory Aidala is retiring in the fall.

The board met in closed session for nearly two hours on May 29 to discuss the preliminary interviews conducted by the consultants from BOCES it has hired to help with the search and selection.
The field of more than 20 candidates has been winnowed to seven, Weisz said, and the board intends to meet with them to see if, in person, "They match their very qualified résumés."
He said, "We were very pleasantly surprised with the breadth of applications we received."

The board decided to eliminate candidates who did not have district-wide supervisory experience, such as school principals, but will consider candidates without doctorate degrees, said Weisz.

A committee, including community members, will be part of the interview process and the board plans to make an offer by August;

— Passed a bond resolution, authorizing the purchase of 11 new school buses and a maintenance truck. Voters had approved spending up to $835,000 for the vehicles;

— Passed a tax-anticipation note resolution, authorizing notes not to exceed $5 million in anticipation of the taxes to be levied.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders explained that the school’s fiscal year begins July 1 but tax revenue doesn’t come in until the fall so the money is needed to run the schools in the interim.
"Is $5 million going to be enough"" asked Weisz.

Sanders answered in the affirmative, explaining that the figure cannot be chosen arbitrarily;

— Accepted a monetary donation from Raymond and Laura McQuade;

— Approved bid awards for rubbish removal and rock salt as well as for baked goods and cafeteria supplies.

Linda Mossop, food service director, said the bid-on items meet the guidelines in the district’s new wellness policy;
— Heard from Aidala that he had received a letter from the State Education Department that Guilderland is being recognized as a "high-performing, gap-closing" school district.
He said that the district, Guilderland Elementary School, Guilderland High School, and Farnsworth Middle School, in "a fairly complicated" process, based on test scores, are being recognized for meeting performance indicators and adequate yearly progress.
He credited Andress, the staff, and students for "performing at a high level";

— Heard from Barbara Fraterrigo, who chairs the board’s policy committee, a request to re-approve the district’s policy on display of the American flag.

A high school student had written a letter to the Enterprise editor to object to the school’s flag being flown at half-staff to mourn the death of a student; he said it was not proper protocol.
The district’s policy states, "With the Superintendent’s approval, the flag may also be flown at half-staff to commemorate the death of an important local official, public servant, or contributor to the school community."
While the policy was based on the federal flag code, Fraterrigo said, "We found out in our research, New York State law allows the flag to be flown at half-staff."
"We had a policy in place and followed it and didn’t know it," said board member Colleen O’Connell.

The board voted to re-approve the policy.

Fraterrigo also said that the committee was discussing whether school-board candidates should be allowed to hand out campaign literature on school grounds. Fraterrigo was among the candidates who wanted to do so during the spring election but, on the advice of the school’s attorney, the superintendent forbade the long-standing practice.
"All agree it’s a board function; we can set the parameters," said Fraterrigo. The committee, however, has not yet agreed on what the parameters should be;
— Heard from Aidala that "non-intrusive" breath sensors were used at the school prom this year to check for alcohol consumption.
"It seemed to work very well," he said. "We had no complaints";

— Heard congratulations from Andress to the high-school teams that won Scholar-Athlete Awards for maintaining a team average of 90 percent or higher — boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, softball, boys’ tennis, and boys’ and girls’ track and field;

— Learned that Lynnwood and Altamont’s Math Olympiad team, coached by enrichment teacher Robin Michaels, won a National High Achievement Award, meaning it was in the 80th to 89th percentile nationally.

The team was also named to the Grade Five National Meritorious Achievement List, representing the top 20 percent nationally.

Fifth-grader Matthew Gu received the George Lenchner Medallion for a perfect score and also got a gold pin, indicating he was in the top 2 percent nationally.

Fifth-graders Matthew Cerutti and Justina Liu received silver pins, indicating their scores were in the 90th to 97th percentile nationally;

— Heard that Jill Dugan, a Spanish teacher at Farnsworth Middle School, received a fellowship from the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers to travel to the Cemanahuac Institute in Mexico, where she will study this summer;

— Learned that Lynnwood Elementary School received a $2,600 grant from Lowe’s to create a learning nature trail behind the school. Mike Schafer, physical education teacher, applied for the grant;

— Heard that Westmere Elementary School received a $1,000 grant from the Center for Arts in Education after a Westmere study group team — Micki Nevett, library media specialist; Liz Gingrich, second-grade teacher; and Beth Clement, first-grade teacher — attended an Arts in Education workshop at Hudson Valley Community College; and
— Learned that Guilderland High School juniors Denis Zunon, Valera Zacharenko, and Ethank Young won "Best Short Fiction" at the Reel Teens Film Festival for their short film, The Package, which they created in Guilderland’s Studio in Film Class. They won a trophy and $100 at the three-day festival in Hunter, N.Y. The festival received 485 entries, 42 from foreign countries; 73 finalists were screened.