Herricks board axes elementary field test

Richard Tedesco

The Herricks Board of Education gave an emphatic no at last Thursday’s meeting to a state Department of Education request to allow fifth grade graders at the Denton Avenue School to take a test intended to evaluate a state standardized test.

The Denton Avenue School was randomly selected by the state education department to participate in what would likely have been a day-long field test, Herricks assistant superintendent for business Helen Costigan told the board. 

But, Costigan said, “There’s no benefit to the kids.”

The board voted unanamously against the proposal.

In a sharply-worded resolution the board said, “We are disturbed that the state education department does not seem to have to have a coherent and comprehensive plan of test development and field testing.” 

The resolution concluded, “Herricks students have already been diverted from instruction more than we believe appropriate this fall. Asking any Herricks students to do field tests in October is unacceptable.”

The resolution also criticized the current testing protocols of the state education department, saying that state tests “overly tax instructional time” of faculty and staff and also tax the time of administrators in their instructional leadership roles. The board also slammed the state education department for taxing district students and the school district’s limited financial resources. 

Board Vice President Jim Gounaris said the Herricks board was acting in concert with other school boards in declining participation in the field tests.

“We’re joining other school districts that are doing the same. We’re not doing it, We’ve had enough,” Gounaris said.

Board President Christine Turner capped the board’s discussion of the resolution, saying, “Heaven knows we don’t need any more testing.”

Elementary school students in the Herricks district take annual standardized state tests and Northwest Evaluation Association tests two or three times annually. The NWEA tests are a new regimen intended to meet state requirements for common core standards in English language and mathematics.

In other business, the board conducted an initial reading of a new concussion management policy to address mild traumatic brain injuries sustained by students engaging in athletic activities. The new policy also requires parents or legal guardians to report concussions sustained in non-school activities to school nurses or coaches.

The concussion policy would prohibit any student who sustains a concussion from returning to school or resuming sports activities until a health-care professional authorizes the student to do so.

In returning to play a school sport following a concussion, the policy would require the affected student to be symptom-free for at least 24 hours prior to participating in a school sport and prescribes a five-day regimen starting with light aerobic activity before a student could return to full participation in a school sport.

Maria Bono, co-president of the Herricks Council of PTAs, asked if the introduction of the policy was related to a recent report about the quarterback of the Herricks football team sustaining a concussion or if it was a coincidence.

Turner said it was coincidental. Costigan said school districts statewide are obliged to adopt concussion policies during the current school year.

“This was mandated by New York State,” Costigan said.

In other developments:

• Turner said four Herricks High School students were arrested for “possession of illegal substances” on Hamilton Drive on Oct. 2. 

She read a statement drafted by Herricks High School principal Jane Modoono stating that any students found to be in possession of illegal substances on campus would be subject to arrest and possible suspension. Turner declined to say whether the students who were arrested had been suspended.

• Herricks High School juniors Samuel Oh and Dana Curtin were sworn in as student liaisons to the school board. Herricks High seniors Eric Lau and Jeff Kim are designated as alternate liaisons.

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