HILLTOWNS — Berne-Knox-Westerlo Superintendent Bonnie Kane has set the district’s course for the 2024-25 school year, her first at the district’s helm, having laid out her goals and an accompanying action plan for the district’s board of education at its September meeting.

Calling it the “culminating work of things that have been happening all summer within our school district and our buildings,” and a consolidation of domain-specific plans by teachers and other administrators, Kane’s framework is held up by three broad goals.

They are to:

 — Provide optimal support for improving student performance; 

— Foster an environment that encourages engagement from all stakeholders; and

— Continue to strategically integrate and expand on the use of technology throughout the building and district.

Within those goals, according to Kane, are 10 focus areas, namely programming, finance, structures and systems, facilities improvement, new graduation measures from the state, technology planning, communication, wellness, community, and student participation. 

Student performance

To improve student performance — an area in which the superintendent said the district has already made “pretty substantial strides” over the past decade — Kane said there needs to be a continued focus on coursework that rests on “self-directed and inquiry-based learning.” 

She said that the recently-introduced block scheduling has been a “tremendous step” since it allows students more time to engage in hands-on work, and that feedback from the students has been mostly positive so far.

Student performance also goes beyond traditional classroom learning, Kane said, since the goal is not to give students tools for a narrow kind of success, whether it be college or a vocation, but to make them “productive members of our global community.”

This means instilling in students the purpose behind simple things like saying “good morning” to their classmates every day, as well as broader skills like conflict resolution and other soft skills, she said.

On the teacher side, Kane said improving student performance means giving educators access to data that they can use to tailor their classrooms to their students and ensure individual growth. 

She noted that the New York State Education Department is working on changes to high school graduation requirements and that, while those changes are still to be determined, she believes the district is in a good position to meet them.

“We’re already changing the landscape of what it means to be career- and college-ready here at BKW, so I think we could do a lot to inform State Ed on what changes need to be made,” she said.

With regard to classroom technology, Kane said the district not only needs to figure ways to incorporate technology into learning, but make sure that there’s a sustainable plan for updating and replacing those tools. 

Sustainable budget

Kane went on to say that keeping a balanced and sustainable budget is critical to student success. 

The district is currently saddled with its first contingency budget in 10 years after district residents twice voted against a 5.1-percent tax increase for the proposed 2024-25 budget, surprising the board of education, which had been lobbying on the value those extra tax dollars would contribute to the district. 

In addition to and as part of making sure the district can create a reasonable budget for the 2025-26 school year, Kane said that the district should be seeking outside funding and other resources where it can.

Later in the meeting, Kane highlighted district teacher Erin Snyder for independently applying for a grant from an organization that will expand the district’s care closets, where students can get things they need for free, like mittens, toiletries, and other basics.

Community engagement

On community engagement, Kane said the district is trying to create a more centralized information system so that parents can easily find out what’s going on as needed.

Kane said the district will also evaluate its website and make improvements so that it is the “central hub” for district residents. Meanwhile, it’s also increasing its use of social media to reach people where they are, and encouraging parents to sign up for ParentSquare, a school-to-home communication software.

“We have been very active in the community lately, and we’re only seeing that continue,” she said.

To get information from residents, Kane said the district will be sending out surveys on different topics, such as block scheduling, “so keep an eye out for those.”

And when the new graduation requirements are revealed, Kane said the district will work with other district superintendents to make sure BKW students are being served as well as possible, and then communicate the changes and strategies to parents. 

Solution-oriented

On areas for general improvement, Kane said the district will be completing a five-year building condition survey as required by NYSED. 

The district will also be gathering information so that it can properly assess student growth and make sure they’re mastering important skills, as well as collaborating with other districts to provide new, cost-efficient curricular opportunities.

Kane said there is also a new Superintendent’s Advisory Committee, where students will have bimonthly opportunities to discuss their concerns with Kane directly. 

“Some of our very best thinkers are our students, and not only do they have an opinion, but it teaches them to be solution-oriented whenever they see a problem,” she said.