Newly elected Herricks School Board President Nancy Feinstein said the 2015-2016 board is in the process of developing goals for the upcoming academic year.
Feinstein, who previously served as vice president of the board, plans to monitor and maintain reduced class sizes in the school district for the upcoming academic year.
She said that after the district cut teachers three years ago for financial reasons, the board and the district worked to reduce costs to restore class sizes.
“[Reducing class sizes] was a board goal of last year,” Feinstein said. “Any extra funds that we had, we would put the money aside to restore the classrooms to their previous guidelines.”
Feinstein was elected president of the board at the July 1 reorganization meeting.
Christine Turner, who has served the board for 25 years, will serve as the vice president for the 2015-2016 year.
Past president Jim Gounaris and Trustee Juleigh Chen will be continuing their terms on the board as trustees, along with Trustee Brian Hassan who was sworn in at the reorganization meeting following his re-election.
Feinstein said outgoing Superintendent John Bierwirth provided the district with a four-year plan as to what he believed the district would be able to maintain in terms of class-size restoration.
“We want to add back programs that were cut and reduce class sizes, and be able to maintain it,” she said. “There’s a fiscal balance between what you want and what you can maintain.”
Feinstein said the district is also establishing new goals as it sees changes in administration with Superintendent Fino Celano, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Christine Finn, and Herricks High School Principal Samuel Thompson taking on their first years in the district.
Celano, who worked as the assistant superintendent for Garden City for the past 10 years, said he has been spending time meeting with administrators, teachers, parents, staff members, and the Board of Education members as he moves into his new position. He said he is also evaluating data regarding student achievement, systems and operations, and facilities to learn more about the district.
He said that with this data, he can begin formulating goals for the district in the areas of communication, curriculum and instruction, business and finance, human resources, and technology.
“Herricks is a wonderful fit for me,” Celano said. “It is a place known for its innovative curriculum, and its very motivated and high achieving students. It has a supportive community and dedicated Board of Education, and for me that’s important because I believe in research-based decision making and continuous improvement. Herricks, over the years, has demonstrated that there is a belief in those values, as well.”
Celano, along with Feinstein, said he is looking forward to the introduction of a new STEM program, called Project Lead the Way, which will focus around topics such as life science, earth science, computer science, physical science, engineering and robotics, and math. He said Herricks is the first school district on Long Island to integrate this program at the elementary level.
“The program focuses on the development of critical thinking and problem solving,” he said.
If the program is successful, Celano said, the district plans on looking at the possibility of growing the program to the middle school and high school.
By the time the Board of Education holds its September meeting, Celano said, he plans on having his goals ready to present to the board.
“Everything with the board is a very long process,” Feinstein said. “We start with the planning and see how much things cost, but you really have to watch out for future plans.”
