Category: Elementary News
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
School supplies to be provided for LES students
For the 2025-26 school year, Liberty Central School District will provide all essential school supplies for Liberty Elementary School students. Backpacks and lunch boxes will need to be purchased by the families.
Families of Liberty Middle and High School students will need to provide all supplies. Middle School supply lists are available at https://www.libertyk12.org/about-us/student-supply-lists/.
A message from the superintendent on the cellphone and internet-enabled device policy
Dear Liberty families,
As you may be aware, New York State passed a law prohibiting students from accessing cellphones and internet-enabled-devices during the school day on school property, with few exceptions.
The law was passed to help reduce distractions and increase student engagement, as well as support student mental health.
We have created a policy and have a plan in place to address this issue. The full policy and plan can be found on our website.
The policy states that, unless there is an approved exception, middle school and high schools students must silence their phones and store them and other prohibited devices in their lockers. We discourage our elementary students from bringing devices to school, but if they do, the devices must be stored in their cubbies.
Students will have access to their school-provided Chromebooks and other devices.
We understand parents and guardians need to be able to reach their students during the school day. Students and their parents and guardians can communicate via the district-provided email or via phone at their schools main office.
If a student is found with a prohibited device, the student will be asked to place the device in their locker or cubby. A second offense will result in the device being stored in the main office, with a parent or guardian notified and the student able to retrieve their device at the end of the school day. A third and subsequent offence will result in the phone being stored at the main office and a parent or guardian must retrieve the device. Further offenses will result in the devices being stored at the office daily for longer periods of time. Administrators will also discuss the goal of the policy with students and their parents or guardians, the benefits of a distraction-free environment, the reasons the student had difficulty following this policy, and how the district can help the student contribute to a distraction-free environment. Students will not be suspended based solely on violation of this policy. However, the district may use consequences under the district’s Code of Conduct, including detention, in-school suspension and exclusion from extracurricular activities. Assignments on the detrimental impact of social media on mental health, smartphones in school, or other relevant topics may also be issued.
The district will also monitor enforcement of the policy and publish an annual report beginning in September 2026.
We appreciate the feedback provided by families earlier this year. To address some of the questions and concerns raised, a FAQ sheet is available on the district website. The issue will also be addressed at our annual back-to-school community forum, which will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, outside the High School Library.
If you have questions, please look over the FAQs, attend the forum or email questions@libertyk12.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. Patrick Sullivan
Superintendent
Leadership Week offers chance for administrators to reflect, plan
School may be out for summer, but that doesn’t mean work has slowed down for Liberty Central School District administrators.
The administration team spent this week preparing for the 2025-26 school year.
The annual summer professional development and planning retreat was held Tuesday through Friday, using LCSD’s five-year Strategic Plan and the District Comprehensive Improvement Plan as a focus and guide for the sessions.
Administrators reflected on progress during the 2024-25 school year, heard from speakers, participated in activities, took part in professional development sessions and worked on plans for the upcoming school year.
Teacher facilitators joined sessions on Thursday to learn more about LinkIt, the new data warehouse system designed to help more efficiently analyze and support students’ academic, social and emotional growth. They also worked with administrators on the building and Student Services school comprehensive education and priority plans, which were finalized on Friday.
The week ended with a session for administrators on Leader in Me with Robin Sampson.
“It is important to reflect on our past work while planning for our future,” Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan said. “This week was very successful in doing that. I thank our speakers, administrators and teacher facilitators for their dedication to making Liberty a great place to learn.”
LES invites first responders to 9/11 ceremony
Liberty Elementary School’s annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony: Honoring the Past, Present and Future, will take place at 8:45 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.
All past and present firefighters, police officers and EMTs are invited to the ceremony. Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP to Samantha Davis at SDavis1@libertyk12.org by Wednesday, Sept. 3.
The ceremony will take place at LES at 201 N. Main St. in Liberty.
Community Health Needs Assessment survey underway
Sullivan County Public Health and Garnet Health are leading the Community Health Needs Assessment process. As part of this process, a survey is available seeking input from those 18 and older. The feedback will help guide local programs, services and policies to better meet the real health needs of the community. All answers are anonymous, and those who don’t feel comfortable answering a particular question may leave it blank. The survey is open through July 31 at https://www.gnyhasurveys.org/CHNA
Liberty superintendent visits D.C. to advocate for schools
Liberty Central School District Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan recently spent time in Washington, D.C., to advocate for funding and programs that would help provide a quality education for all students at Liberty and beyond.
He took part in the Legislative Advocacy Conference, sponsored by the AASA The School Superintendents Association and the Association of School Business Officials International, to learn more about and discuss key issues impacting school districts, as well as meet with federal elected officials
Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Dwight Bonk from the Wappingers Central School District advocated for the Hudson Valley schools to ensure that they receive Title funding, IDEA funding, and other federal funding sources to support their students.
High on the list of proprieties for the conference was communicating the impact the federal government delaying Title funding of more than $6 billion has had on finalizing district budgets for the 2025-26 school year.
The funding cuts and changes in the president’s 2026 budget proposal were also a concern.
The “K-12 Simplified Funding Program” would consolidate 18 formula and competitive grant programs (worth $6.5 billion at fiscal year 2024 levels) into one block grant of $2 billion. It would also eliminate other programs, most notably Title III (English Acquisition) and Title I, Part C (Migrant Education State Grants).
“While I appreciate the intent behind the proposal to provide more flexibility for local decision making, the overall cut in funding would ultimately take away much needed resources for our schools,” Dr. Sullivan said.
The group also advocated for fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is vital to ensuring students with disabilities are provided a quality, robust education. IDEA would also be consolidated under the president’s proposal, with an increase in grants to states, but numerous programs inside IDEA losing all funding.
When IDEA was founded 50 years ago, Congress committed to funding 40% of the additional cost of educating student needs, which it has never done. The federal funding is now around 10%.
“Fully funding IDEA would be a worthwhile investment in our students and their future,” Dr. Sullivan said.
Conference attendees also advocated for the passage of updated student data and privacy legislation as well as reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program
“It is important to let our elected officials know how their decisions will impact our schools, our staff and our students,” Dr. Sullivan said. “I am happy to be able to advocate for our students to meet our mission to empower each student to contribute and thrive in a diverse community by pursuing their potential.
Athletic director joins Liberty CSD
Thomas Zehner joined Liberty Central School District as its athletic director on July 1.
Mr. Zehner earned his bachelor’s degree from Sage College of Albany in K-12 physical education, a master’s degree in health, recreation and physical education from Emporia State University and a Certification of Advanced Study in School Leadership from SUNY New Paltz
Before coming to Liberty, Mr. Zehner was an elementary physical education teacher in Beacon City School District since September 2017. While at Beacon he was also the Adapted Physical Education Curriculum coordinator for four years and hosted 10 student teachers at the elementary level as a cooperating teacher for student teachers for six years. He also served as a coach for soccer, basketball, tennis, softball and lacrosse at Beacon.
He said he wants to build upon past successes at Liberty and hopes to increase participation in the Redhawks sports programs.
To do this he said he wants to help support existing youth sports programs in the community, as well as build programs to introduce younger students to sports in the schools, in accordance with the Redhawks Champion Plan introduced last year.
Expanding the Athletes Helping Athletes can be a big part of that, he said.
“Mentoring is great,” Mr. Zehner said, “but if we can get our older athletes to assist more in the elementary and middle schools, we can better build that sense of Redhawk community and Liberty pride.”
He said he could see students helping lead lessons in their sports, or volunteering with sports programs in the community.
“The district as a whole will benefit from promoting the culture of school spirit,” he said.
In his free time, Mr. Zehner, a resident of Wappingers Falls, enjoys golfing, hiking, playing sports and spending time with his family and dog.
LCSD District-wide Safety Plan available for review
The Liberty Central School District’s District-wide Safety Plan is available for review on our website and at the district office at 115 Buckley St. in Liberty. It will be available for public comment through Aug. 18, 2025.
Comments may be submitted to questions@libertyk12.org or to the Liberty Central School Office, 115 Buckley St, Liberty NY 12754.