Read Aloud to a Child Week

Every year during the last week in October, families take part in a national event to showcase the importance of reading aloud to children and to encourage families to read together. To participate, all you need to do is pick up a book and read it aloud as a family!

The theme for this year’s event is “Purposeful Acts of Kindness.”  We’ve all heard of random acts of kindness, but it is so much more powerful to intentionally lead with compassion, empathy, and an open heart.

Here’s a small sampling of books that include the theme of kindness.  If you need help finding the right book for your family, ask any bookstore or librarian for assistance.

Picture Books
K is for Kindness by Rina Horiuchi
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfield
The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyhen

Chapter Books
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Anybody Here Seen Frenchie by Leslie Connor
Merci Seuarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Legends of Lotus Island: The Guardian Test by Christina Soontornvat

For reading aloud tips and fun printables, visit www.readtothem.org/family-resources.

2025 RACW Handout

Wynantskill Community:

The 2025-26 Cardiac Arrest – AED Response Plan is now available to view and has a 30-day comment period prior to board approval. Please see the plan below, along with the district-wide safety plan, and direct any comments to Safety Specialist Tim LeVan at tlevan@wynantskillufsd.org

Thank you!

Cardiac Arrest- AED Response Plan

Wynantskill UFSD District-Wide Safety Plan 2025-2026

GD Families,

Reminder: there is no school tomorrow, Friday, October 3rd, for a staff professional development day. See you Monday!

To the Wynantskill Community,

Thank you to the many community members who joined us last week to review the results of the Optimization Study, which led the district to enter into a Feasibility Study with the Troy City School District.

Many of the questions raised about the Optimization Study have already been addressed in the posted Q&A. However, we have added updates and clarifications to reflect common questions and to address some misconceptions. You can view them here: https://www.questar.org/feasibility/

Schmitt Leadership Group, LLC to lead Feasibility Study

The Troy City School District and the Wynantskill Union Free School District are pleased to announce the selection of a search consultant who will lead both districts through a Feasibility Study as they explore a potential reorganization.

Following a Request for Proposal process led by Questar III BOCES, the Schmitt Leadership Group, LLC of Mendon, New York, was selected to conduct the study. The study will explore the following data points:

• Background descriptions of the districts; 
• History and projections of pupil enrollments; 
• Instructional Programs for students; 
• Extra-curricular offerings; 
• Facilities; 
• Transportation; 
• Personnel and  employee contracts; 
• Timelines and processes associated with reorganizations, and
• Finances, including tax implications

Troy Superintendent John Carmello noted that, “The Schmitt Leadership team provided a comprehensive proposal that met the needs of both districts.” Wynantskill Superintendent Mary Yodis added, “We were impressed with the availability of the Schmitt team, including their engagement with our community, during the Optimization Study performed last year.”

The Feasibility Study will be led by Robert Breidenstein and is anticipated to take approximately seven months to complete. For more information about this process, please visit https://www.questar.org/feasibility/ 

Attention Wynantskill Community:

Please note that next week’s Board of Education meeting, scheduled for Thursday, September 18, will begin at 7:30 p.m. instead of the regular 7:00 p.m. start time.

Thank you for your understanding!

Wynantskill UFSD is pleased to announce that we will immediately begin using the Raptor Visitor Management
System to strengthen school safety. With this system, all new visitors entering the school must show a valid form of identification, which will be scanned into the Raptor System. The system will check the ID against the New York State Sex Offender Registry and our internal databases.

Once cleared by the system, it will print a visitor badge to wear for the duration of the visit. The badge includes name and ID photo, as well as the time entered and destination. Once a person’s ID has been scanned into the system, the visitor’s name and photo will remain in our system for future visits. The picture ID is only needed for the first visit. The whole process takes less than 60 seconds, and it’s time well spent to ensure the safety and security of those in our building.

The Raptor Visitor Management system allows us to quickly identify those who may present a danger to our students by checking the visitor’s name and date of birth against a national database of registered sex offenders. The sex offender registry is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded, and the information is not shared with any outside agency.

The safety of our students is our highest priority, and the Raptor visitor management system is a valuable asset to support a higher level of school security. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support in enhancing our school safety protocols.

Check out the Raptor website for more information. https://raptortech.com/

A reminder to all parents and visitors to GD:

We are a nut-free facility; please take note when packing lunches and snacks. We appreciate your attention to the safety of our students with allergies!