AUBURN -The Auburn Enlarged City School District has a new superintendent.
In an unanimous vote, Joseph D. “J.D.” Pabis was appointed by the Board of Education on Tuesday as the district's new superintendent effective Aug. 1.
“It's a great feeling to have the support from the board to lead this district into the future,” Pabis said. “There are many challenges, but we have an excellent staff to take us to the new level,” citing capital projects and academic achievement among others as aspects he will address in the future.
Pabis, the current assistant superintendent of personnel, finance and operations for the district, will succeed current superintendent John Plume, who is retiring July 27.
“We had a good amount of deliberation amongst all of the board members,” said board member Frederick Cornelius. “After our deliberation I think we have come to the right decision.”
The board spent an intensive one week reviewing the 12 applications submitted for the position of superintendent, board President David Lansford said.
During the week the board came to the conclusion that Pabis was the right man for the job. “We just feel really good about it,” said Lansford.
Pabis' contract is still being discussed by the board, Lansford said, and will be voted on during the next board meeting on July 31.
Also on Tuesday, assistant superintendent for instruction Carolyn Hirst-Loucks presented the board with a tentative plan to address achievement issues as defined by the 2005-2006 New York State District Report Card, a state assessment tool required under the No Child Left Behind Act.
New York state has listed the Auburn Enlarged City School District as a “District in Need of Improvement, Year 1,” and “Requiring Academic Progress.” The district did not meet adequate yearly progress in English language arts for students with disabilities at both the kindergarten through eighth-grade and high school levels. Adequate yearly progress was made in math for students with disabilities, but only using the “Safe Harbor Target,” a safety net.
And there is a significant gap in the graduation rate between students with disabilities and mainstream education, 30 percent compared with 72 percent, according to Hirst-Loucks.
Additionally, the economically disadvantaged as determined by free and reduced lunch rates, also fell short of the state's marks, she said. Casey Park Elementary School and Genesee Street Elementary School, which have the highest free and reduced lunch levels, also have the lowest percentage of students meeting the state's standards.
Auburn High School did not make adequate yearly progress with economically disadvantaged students because only 79 percent sat for the math and English Language Arts assessments. The state requirement is 95 percent.
“We are at a crossroads here with our achievement issues,” Hirst-Loucks said.
“The No Child Left Behind piece is extremely controversial,” Lansford said.
“It is setting us up to be measured as not achieving when the measure is a very tiny component of our school district.”
The district qualified for Governor Spitzer's education reform, Contract for Excellence, which would add over $2 million of state aid to address academic achievement issues.
Qualification for Contract for Excellence is based upon the number of economically disadvantaged students.
The money would be put toward reducing class sizes, adding teachers and counselors to assist at-risk children, establishing after school programs that could pre-teach concepts to foster better interaction in classroom settings, and opening up school libraries after school hours four days a week for community members, among others.
Programs funded by Contract for Excellence are still in the planning stages.
Detailed program outlines have been submitted to the state; the district is waiting for approval before going forward in generating specifics and discussing implementation.
“We got the big picture,” Hirst-Louck said, “but we don't have specifics.”
“The state gives us money which has to be spent in explicit ways,” Lansford said. “And our plans still haven't been approved, and school opens in six weeks. It's a blessing, but we have to leverage it by showing details.”
In other news:
€ The board accepted a $14,200 donation from the Merry-Go-Rund Playhouse Musical and Youth Theater in Auburn to expand arts education and cultural development; a $100 donation to the Casey Park Library from Daniel Hill and Vicki Trojnor for new books; and a $1,500 donation from Option for Independence for the purchase of books for elementary-age children with disabilities.
€ The board approved an agreement made with Project Lead The Way Inc.
The program, which endeavors to generate a larger and more diverse group of students successful in science, engineering and engineering technology, was implemented at Auburn High School in 2006.
The board is investigating ways to make the program applicable for the two middle schools.
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
“It's a great feeling to have the support from the board to lead this district into the future,” Pabis said. “There are many challenges, but we have an excellent staff to take us to the new level,” citing capital projects and academic achievement among others as aspects he will address in the future.
Pabis, the current assistant superintendent of personnel, finance and operations for the district, will succeed current superintendent John Plume, who is retiring July 27.
“We had a good amount of deliberation amongst all of the board members,” said board member Frederick Cornelius. “After our deliberation I think we have come to the right decision.”
The board spent an intensive one week reviewing the 12 applications submitted for the position of superintendent, board President David Lansford said.
During the week the board came to the conclusion that Pabis was the right man for the job. “We just feel really good about it,” said Lansford.
Pabis' contract is still being discussed by the board, Lansford said, and will be voted on during the next board meeting on July 31.
Also on Tuesday, assistant superintendent for instruction Carolyn Hirst-Loucks presented the board with a tentative plan to address achievement issues as defined by the 2005-2006 New York State District Report Card, a state assessment tool required under the No Child Left Behind Act.
New York state has listed the Auburn Enlarged City School District as a “District in Need of Improvement, Year 1,” and “Requiring Academic Progress.” The district did not meet adequate yearly progress in English language arts for students with disabilities at both the kindergarten through eighth-grade and high school levels. Adequate yearly progress was made in math for students with disabilities, but only using the “Safe Harbor Target,” a safety net.
And there is a significant gap in the graduation rate between students with disabilities and mainstream education, 30 percent compared with 72 percent, according to Hirst-Loucks.
Additionally, the economically disadvantaged as determined by free and reduced lunch rates, also fell short of the state's marks, she said. Casey Park Elementary School and Genesee Street Elementary School, which have the highest free and reduced lunch levels, also have the lowest percentage of students meeting the state's standards.
Auburn High School did not make adequate yearly progress with economically disadvantaged students because only 79 percent sat for the math and English Language Arts assessments. The state requirement is 95 percent.
“We are at a crossroads here with our achievement issues,” Hirst-Loucks said.
“The No Child Left Behind piece is extremely controversial,” Lansford said.
“It is setting us up to be measured as not achieving when the measure is a very tiny component of our school district.”
The district qualified for Governor Spitzer's education reform, Contract for Excellence, which would add over $2 million of state aid to address academic achievement issues.
Qualification for Contract for Excellence is based upon the number of economically disadvantaged students.
The money would be put toward reducing class sizes, adding teachers and counselors to assist at-risk children, establishing after school programs that could pre-teach concepts to foster better interaction in classroom settings, and opening up school libraries after school hours four days a week for community members, among others.
Programs funded by Contract for Excellence are still in the planning stages.
Detailed program outlines have been submitted to the state; the district is waiting for approval before going forward in generating specifics and discussing implementation.
“We got the big picture,” Hirst-Louck said, “but we don't have specifics.”
“The state gives us money which has to be spent in explicit ways,” Lansford said. “And our plans still haven't been approved, and school opens in six weeks. It's a blessing, but we have to leverage it by showing details.”
In other news:
€ The board accepted a $14,200 donation from the Merry-Go-Rund Playhouse Musical and Youth Theater in Auburn to expand arts education and cultural development; a $100 donation to the Casey Park Library from Daniel Hill and Vicki Trojnor for new books; and a $1,500 donation from Option for Independence for the purchase of books for elementary-age children with disabilities.
€ The board approved an agreement made with Project Lead The Way Inc.
The program, which endeavors to generate a larger and more diverse group of students successful in science, engineering and engineering technology, was implemented at Auburn High School in 2006.
The board is investigating ways to make the program applicable for the two middle schools.
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
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