Manhasset school district administrators last Thursday presented a series of potential course offerings to the board of education that they said could bolster its curriculum and help compete with neighboring districts.
District officials identified several courses that they said could benefit Manhasset’s mathematics, English, foreign language and arts, theater and music programs, but found the district’s social studies and science programs already offer well-rounded, competitive courses.
“The lens we look through this in is curriculum and instruction, not budget,” said Charles Leone, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “If you keep that in mind, you’ll have a pure analysis to make it happen for students.”
To bridge what administrators called the “course gap” in Manhasset, the district’s subject coordinators analyzed the courses offered, the levels of difficulty offered and the annual enrollment of each course.
They also looked at course offerings at neighboring districts in the North Shore area to identify learning trends that Manhasset could look to exploit, officials said.
“There’s all this talk about us having these robust offerings, and it’s not that what we have is necessarily robust, but what we do have, we really do well,” Superintendent of Schools Charles Cardillo said.
Ray Scacalossi, the district coordinator for math, recommended Manhasset implement multivariable calculus – typically taught in the third semester of a calculus program – and advanced placement-level computer science courses for the 2015-16 school year.
He also suggested the district offer an accounting course, as well as a “Wall Street” course to introduce students to the various investment markets.
“I thought [a Wall Street course] would be fitting because a lot of kids within this area do go into it, they have parents who work in that field, so there may be interest there,” Scacalossi said.
In English, district coordinator Patrick O’Reilly suggested Manhasset offer advanced creative writing and introductory journalism courses in 2015-16 while exploring various literary genre courses similar to those offered at the collegiate level.
“The possibilities are endless,” he said.
O’Reilly said an advanced creative writing class would enable students to compose pieces of poetry and fiction to varying lengths, while a journalism program would be offered in conjunction with the Indian Ink student newspaper to teach reporting for traditional print and modern digital formats.
Laurie Lauria, Manhasset’s foreign language coordinator, suggested the district reinstitute its Mandarin Chinese program, which had been eliminated as part of the 2013-14 budget, and consider offering a Latin and advanced placement-level Italian course that she said could be funded by Italian cultural organizations.
She also said she is exploring the potentiality for an elementary-level foreign language program, and plans to present her findings to the board of education next fall.
Cardillo, presenting the arts, music and theater courses in place of district coordinator Anthony Ambrogio, suggested Manhasset offer courses in art gallery curation, digital photography, advanced placement-level musical theory, theater directing and the works of William Shakespeare.
“Whether it be in art, music or theater, there is so much that can be done to give our students opportunities beyond what we are offering,” he said.
