In the first month of the school year, The Board of Education has already met twice so far. At the first meeting on September 4, the board provided updates on faculty preparation over the summer, new positions, improvements in curriculum, and other school-wide changes. In the high school, Bronxville hired a new Assistant Principal Mrs. Palacio, and Mr. Vaglica took on the role of Athletic Director. Other faculty hires include Ms. Hynes (English), and Ms. Dai (Science).
Several improvements were highlighted in the meeting. One comes from Mr. Ashley, who recently revised the school website, and the athletic schedule has been updated as well. Over the break, 29 middle and high school teachers participated in an AI discovery and experimentation course, to gauge a better understanding of what AI is capable of and how it can be appropriately integrated into class.
Additionally, within the special education department, a poll indicated that approximately 23–24% of Bronxville students receive academic accommodations. This includes students with a range of learning differences, such as those with testing accommodations like extra time.
One of the main focuses of this meeting was on civil discourse, which has been funded by the Bronxville School Foundation (BSF). These discourses are an extension to the curriculum, something that teachers have been working on implementing in English and History classrooms. According to Ms. Meyer, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, the purpose of these conversations is “for students to be able to discuss a controversial topic, present various perspectives, and not necessarily change their mind about how they feel, but deepen their understanding on the topic”.
In the most recent meeting on September 16, the board further discussed this and how these conversations will help engage students’ critical thinking skills, also preparing them for life after graduation. Ms. Meyer also mentioned that Bronxville wants to encourage students how to think, and not what to think, stating that these discourses will support that.
The emphasis of this meeting was on the new process for the English department to select literature for class discussions. This year, the 10th grade teachers felt that one book wasn’t fitting into the curriculum as well as it used to, so they worked together to find a novel to replace it, while developing a procedure for situations like these. The goal of this is that the whole department has a say and that students can build on prior knowledge by recognizing the themes that are addressed in grades 9-12.
Ms. Meyer also went over AP exam participation and performance, and data from last year showed that 91.93% of students had a 3 or higher on their exams. More data was reviewed on the schools Bronxville students attend after graduation in recent years, and the numbers show that the majority of students go to the most selective schools.
The next board meeting will be held on October 16 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium lobby. For both meetings there were no public comments.
