The Pine Plains Central School District has shared new plans aimed at invigorating academic and social support for students and reconnecting with the community in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
Speaking on March 28 to a group of parents, teachers and school personnel, Supervisor Brian Timm presented a detailed roadmap that will help shape district priorities over the next year and into the future.
The so-called Blueprint for Excellence, soon to be published online, is the first district-wide strategy in years and will invite students to weigh in on potential new courses and call on local residents to play an active role in school support.
The plan is the result of a three-month survey, launched in late 2022, that invited members of the community to anonymously share concerns and suggestions about how to improve school life for the district’s nearly 900 students.
Some 300 residents participated in the online survey. That feedback, Timm said, helped shape a strategy that focuses not only on academic excellence but also on providing a caring, safe and engaging experience that helps build “lifelong learners and productive members of the global community.”
“It was an excellent time to launch something new and involve the community,” said Timm, a former chemistry teacher and curriculum specialist who is one year into a five-year term as supervisor.
With new principals at Cold Spring Early Learning Center and Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School, and other fresh additions including a director of curriculum and instruction, Timm told the Herald in an interview, “it was a great opportunity to reach out.”
The outreach is expected to continue for the remainder of the school year and well into the next, as counselors and administrators poll students on what additional elective classes are most needed. (At the suggestion of the Board of Education, a student has already been selected to attend board meetings and provide real-time feedback on student concerns.)
The district also plans to invest in teacher training and to expand social and emotional support for students still readjusting to school life after nearly two years of remote and hybrid learning.
“The pandemic affected all of the age groups differently, but it affected them equally,” said Timm. “Covid caused a major interruption that impacted students both academically and in terms of their social and emotional life.”
The school district is also seeking to rebuild ties with the community that were frayed during the pandemic, which saw many residents divided over what they saw as invasive mask and social-distancing requirements by New York state.
To that end, Timm is looking to form a committee that brings together residents across the nine towns in the district to help improve lines of communication and build engagement at the community level by providing greater opportunities for adult education, parent workshops and cultural celebrations. The first callout for interested volunteers is due later this spring.
Parents attending the March 28 presentation praised the new blueprint, saying they appreciated the renewed emphasis on communication.
“It was really hard to get steady information in the past,” said Karen Chirinosdo, the mother of a ninth grader. “Parents want to be involved, but we were missing out on a lot of emails and communication from the schools. It was frustrating.”
Timm acknowledges that communication has been a weak link and has moved to address concerns with regular emails to parents on club and athletic activities as well as a monthly “Bombers Bulletin” newsletter. “We could do a better job of making sure our message is getting out,” he said.