Month: August 2025
Liberty administration offers updates for school year at community forum
Liberty administration offers updates for school year at community forum
About two dozen community members and several more faculty and staff gathered outside the main entrance to Liberty High School on Tuesday, Aug. 26, to hear an overview of updates and changes for the 2025-26 school year at Liberty Central School District.
“It’s important for our community to be informed before the start of the school year,” LCSD Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan said. “We appreciate the families who attended and asked questions.”
District administration has held these forums annually as a way to better communicate and interact with the LCSD community, in accordance with the district’s five-year strategic plan.
The plan, now in its fourth year, is the district’s roadmap for improvement across the district.
Dr. Sullivan and Assistant Superintendent Derek Adams led the presentation, with translation by Ms. Vanessa Olivo.
The school year begins for students on Thursday, Sept. 4.
Besides the traditional updates on programming and reminders of procedures, district officials also reviewed the new state-mandated policy on student use of internet-enabled devices during the school day.
Plan updates
The forum began with a review of the strategic plan and each pillar — Coherence, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Curriculum and Culture — and an overview of what the district is doing to move forward this year. The plan, along with the District Comprehensive Improvement Plan and related building and program plans, informed changes for the 2025-26 school year.
Curricular changes and updates
Dr. Adams reviewed current curricular programs and highlighted changes, including the addition of the Siena College Computer Science course for high schoolers, agricultural courses at the middle school and a new Universal Pre-Kindergarten classroom at the elementary school. The district is also in the second year of Algebra for all eighth graders as well as Syracuse University Project Advance programming for high schoolers.
The district is also implementing Eduplanet, a curriculum management system to aid in curriculum mapping, and LinkIt, a data warehouse system designed to help more efficiently analyze and support students’ academic, social and emotional growth, which will also help inform MTSS procedures.
Communications
The forum also offered the opportunity to review items related to the culture pillar, which includes better communicating the mission and vision of the district. Dr. Sullivan highlighted ParentSquare, introduced last year, which helps streamline two-way communication between Liberty families and the district and schools. He also reminded attendees about the district’s chain of command calling guide.
DASA and safety
Safety is always of utmost importance. Dr. Sullivan reviewed the district’s safety measures and visitor procedures, hitting both the coherence and culture pillars. He also reminded attendees about Anonymous Alerts, where students and families can report concerns about safety or bullying, and Gaggle, a program that monitors student usage of the internet and will alert officials of concern searches or messages. Both programs assist the district in its commitment to the Dignity for All Students Act and safety.
Construction projects
Dr. Sullivan reported that work is nearing completion on culvert replacement at the elementary school, and the district expects traffic patterns to return to normal in time for the start of the school year. Work is progressing on the athletic field, part of the capital project approved by voters in January 2024, with the hope that the field will be completed in time to play at least one game on the field this fall. Full completion of the track, bleachers and press box is expected by the spring.
Cellphone policy
Liberty Central School District has implemented a policy in accordance with Education Law §2803, also known as the bell-to-bell cellphone free policy. Dr. Sullivan reviewed the district’s cellphone free policy. A policy FAQ is available here.
Only one question was asked publicly at the end of the forum—regarding student storage of cellphones during sports practices. However, administrators answered several questions one-on-one with families after the forum.
“We are always happy to answer questions and offer support to our families and students,” Dr. Sullivan said at the end of the forum. He also reminded those in attendance that any questions could be emailed to questions@libertyk12.org.
Because of technical difficulties, the planned livestream of the event was unable to take place. A slideshow of the presentation can be found here.
Liberty names high school assistant principal
Liberty High School will have a new assistant principal when school starts on Sept. 4.
On Aug. 19, the Liberty Central School District Board of Education appointed Ms. Destiny Matos to the role, which became vacant with the promotion of Mr. Stephen Matuszak to principal at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
“As a dedicated educator and leader, I am excited to bring my experience and values to Liberty and make a positive impact on the school community,” she said.
She has a master’s degree in school building leadership from Molloy University and a Master of Science degree in general and special education from Manhattan College. She had nine years of experience in the New York City Department of Education, including roles as a special education/early childhood teacher, science content teacher, and a United Federation of Teachers Paraprofessional, before coming to Liberty.
She said she hopes to provide “a supportive and inclusive learning environment that fosters academic excellence, creativity, and social growth.”
As a “proud New Yorker” and mother of two, she said her values are consistency, coherency and accountability, and she is committed to building strong partnerships between home and school.
“I chose Liberty because I too believe in the mission of helping graduate lifelong learners who have been empowered through the collaborative efforts of the school, parents and community,” she said. “This sense of belonging helps graduates feel safe and ready to take on new challenges.”
LCSD to offer free breakfast and lunch in 2025-26
Dear Parent or Guardian:
We are pleased to announce that all students enrolled at Liberty Central School District will be able to receive a FREE breakfast and lunch meal at school beginning on Sept. 4, 2025.
This implementation is a result of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expanding access to the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). CEP allows eligible schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to offer school meals at no charge to all students.
What does this mean for your child(ren) attending Liberty? Effective Sept. 4, 2025, all students enrolled at Liberty Central School District will receive meals at no cost to your household. No further action is required of you.
If you have any further questions, please contact us at 845-292-5400.
Sincerely,
Dawn Parsons, SNS
FS Director
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
email:
Program.Intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
A message from Student Services on special education services
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The Liberty Central School District (the “District”) is committed to ensuring that all students receive the supports and services they need to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. The District recognizes its obligation of providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”) to all eligible students and continues to align its practices with the requirements set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and New York State Education Law.
Recently, the New York State Education Department (“SED”) released guidance and a New York State appellate court issued a decision concerning New York State public schools’ obligation to provide special education and related services to resident students with disabilities up until the student’s 22nd birthday. Effective with the 2026–2027 school year, the District will provide special education and related services to students with disabilities only to the extent required by applicable federal and New York State law.
If you have any questions regarding your child’s special education services, or how this notice may affect your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Services.
We remain committed to collaborating with families to ensure the success of all students.
Sincerely,
Deborah DeGraw
Director of Student Services
Superintendent reminds families information on registered sex offenders available
Dear Parents and Guardians,
In accordance with New York State’s Sex Offender Registration Act, local law enforcement agencies will, at their discretion, notify school administrators of sex offenders living or working in this district. Such information may include the offender’s address or zip code, photograph, crime of conviction, modus of operation, type of victim targeted and the description of any special conditions imposed on the offender.
The information the district receives from local law enforcement will be posted in an appropriate location in all district buildings, and will be available to you upon request. This information can also be located on the Liberty Central School District website at www.libertyk12.org where the link to the NYS Sex Offender Registry is updated continually and the District policy 5450.1 Notification of Sex Offenders is located. In addition, any information received will be circulated to all staff that might come into contact with the offender in the course of doing their jobs, including Building Principals, staff who issue visitors’ passes, bus drivers, custodians, playground monitors and coaches. All other staff members will be informed of the availability of the information. Staff have been directed to notify their supervisor if they observe any suspicious person(s) in an area where children congregate, and law enforcement officials will be notified in cases where the circumstances warrant it.
We are dedicated to the safety of our children while they’re in school. All of our schools have strict sign-in/sign-out procedures for our students, and all visitors must first report to the school’s main office for a visitor’s pass. In addition, our school curriculum includes teaching personal safety and stranger awareness skills.
We encourage you to talk to your children about personal safety. Books and other resources are available from school counselors, if necessary.
Specific questions about this matter may be directed to Police Officer Christopher Orlando at Liberty Police Department, 159 North Main St., Liberty, NY 12754 – Phone: 845-292-4422 or to any School Resource Officer.
Please be assured that the school district will continue to take responsible and appropriate measures to protect our students.
Sincerely,
Patrick Sullivan
Dr. Patrick Sullivan