Author Archive: Wynantskill

NYSED Parent Dashboard

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Dear Parents,

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has developed a Parent Dashboard to increase transparency and make information about school performance and other school-level data easier for parents and the public to access. The Parent Dashboard is part of New York’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan, which emphasizes equity in education for all students and expands measures of school accountability and student success. This new dashboard will provide parents with information about their child’s school. The Parent Dashboard is now available in addition to the New York State School Report Card on NYSED’s public data site. The Parent Dashboard offers information on all public schools including charter schools.

In 2019, NYSED gathered feedback from parents and stakeholders to guide the work of developing the Parent Dashboard. The data elements that parents ranked highest on the survey are available on the Parent Dashboard.

NYSED is now gathering additional feedback from parents and stakeholders to guide further enhancements to the Parent Dashboard. We invite parents and other stakeholders to explore the Parent Dashboard and then provide feedback via an online feedback survey available in 17 languages. NYSED will use this feedback to identify the data that is most useful to parents and the public and to make improvements to the website.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please visit the Parent Dashboard, which includes frequently asked questions and contact information.

Thank you for your feedback and for your continued commitment to your child’s education.

Halloween Celebration Alternative

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In lieu of our traditional Halloween celebrations at Gardner-Dickinson, we will be holding a virtual assembly on Friday, October 30 at 1 p.m. to kickoff our PBIS program. The assembly will discuss our Bee Safe, Bee Respectful, Bee Responsible and Bee Kind PBIS program. Monthly themes are as follows:

  • November –  Be Safe
  • December – Be Respectful
  • January – Be Responsible
  • February – Be Kind
  • March – Be Honest
  • April – Be Thoughtful
  • May – Be Trustworthy
  • June – Be Considerate

Treat bags including cider donuts will be distributed to students during the assembly. We ask that all students and staff dress in black and yellow on Friday, like a bee! We will announce our Spirit Day themes during the assembly, which will be the last day of school in each month.

High School Choice Questions

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Gardner-Dickinson will be holding live virtual discussions with representatives of each school students can choose from for High School Choice. Please email any questions you may have for administration or current students to Kayla Thorsey at kthorsey@wynantskillufsd.org with the subject line “High School Choice” by Friday, October 30.

USDA Extends Free Meals Waiver

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would extend flexibilities to allow free meals to continue to be available to all children throughout the entire 2020-2021 school year. Specifically, USDA’s move will enable school districts to continue to leverage the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) to provide no-cost meals to all children, through June 30, 2021. Additionally, the move will permit districts to serve meals outside of the typically required group settings and meal times; waive meal pattern requirements, as necessary; and allow parents and guardians to pick-up meals for their children through June 30, 2021. AASA has engaged in this advocacy effort since the beginning of the pandemic and was proud to secure this victory for Superintendents and other school nutrition leaders.

Read the USDA’s Press Release