Category: High School News
Forum outlines updates, changes for the 2023-24 school year
The Liberty Central School District’s Community Forum on Wednesday, Aug. 30, offered the chance for the public to hear updates on the five-year strategic plan and related plans, learn more about new programs in the district and more.
Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan welcomed about two dozen community members, offering updates on the plans created to help facilitate Liberty’s improvement and commitment to its mission and vision.
Strategic Plan
Sullivan highlighted the videos created to promote the four pillars of the strategic plan, Coherence, Curriculum, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Culture, and explained what each pillar means and how they impact the Liberty school community.
Coherence helps ensure all three buildings are moving in the same direction on procedures and instruction. Curriculum alignment across grades and subject matters helps ensure students have a consistent and cohesive learning experience. A strong MTSS model allows each student to get the level of support they need, where they need it. Culture’s pillar is two-fold—it focuses on the culture of Liberty, found in its mission “to empower each student to contribute and thrive in a diverse community by pursuing their potential,” and the cultures of those who make up the Liberty community. More on the strategic plan can be found on the strategic plan page of the website.
DCIP
Sullivan then updated the audience on last year’s District Comprehensive Improvement Plan, which along with building level plans, support the initiatives in the strategic plan.
All three buildings saw progress toward their goals last year, with Liberty Elementary surpassing its goal of having 58.58% of the students being at watch, at level or above level as reported by STAR Reading and Early Literacy testing.
He also unveiled the three priorities for this year’s DCIP:
- Provide an accessible, culturally responsive, relevant, engaging, vertically and horizontally aligned PK-12 curriculum, that makes connections to our students and community.
- Provide a MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) for behavior and attendance that cultivates wellness and safety for students, staff and families.
- The district will create a positive, welcoming student centered environment that celebrates diversity and inclusivity to empower students, staff and families.
Curriculum
Curriculum was also a large portion of the presentation. Sullivan outlined several of the programs used, including IntoReading and IntoMath for kindergarten through eighth grades,, Math180 and Reading 180 intervention curriculum, Frogstreet for pre-kindergarten, STEM-focused Woz ED, and the Level Up Village program, which connects students with others across the globe.
The Business Incubator class, a high school elective which began last year, will be put on hold because of staffing changes, but the district’s goal is to bring the class back once a full time business teacher is hired.
Liberty has also been certified to offer the Seal of Civic Readiness at the high school to provide “civic education that empowers all students to make informed decisions for the public good as members of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.”
The district is also offering Mandarin as a world language class for eighth graders, and as an exploratory class for high school. This was done, in part, because of difficulty in finding Spanish language teachers, Sullivan said.
LEADS
The Liberty Police Department and Liberty High School’ Liberty Law Enforcement and Discovering Success Program, or LEADS, will also continue this year, giving students who have an interest in entering law enforcement fields after graduation a chance to get an inside look at the career.
ENL Newcomer Program
To help meet the needs of the growing English as a New Language learners, the district has also created an in-house ENL Newcomer Program, where high school students who have limited or no English language skills are given extra support to develop their language skills before moving to mainstream, English-language based classes.
DESSA
Social and emotional wellness is also a priority for the district. That is why the district will introduce the DESSA Screener by Aperture, a way to check the social and emotional wellness of students to ensure they get the support they need. Gaggle, a tool that monitors the district’s computer network and notifies the administration if and when a child is in emotional distress.
Safety
Safety procedures and systems were reviewed, and initiatives such as increased supplies to support the school resource officers and reviewing and changing traffic patterns to make pickup and drop off safer were outlined.
Projects in progress
Two projects in progress were also reviewed — an upcoming capital project proposal and a new logo for the recently renamed Liberty Redhawks. Progress on both have been made over the summer with the goal of each being revealed in the coming weeks and months. Both take time, Sullivan said. The district wants to make sure all financial, safety and curricular needs are met before finalizing the capital project plans, and the mascot committee is “working diligently to create a logo that we all can support and be proud of,” Sullivan said.
The forum was translated by high school TESOL teacher Susana Alvarado.
The first day of school for students is Sept. 7. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.libertyk12.org. Feedback and questions can be directed to questions@libertyk12.org.
The forum’s goal is to inform and update the public about what is happening at the district, inline with the culture and coherence pillars of the strategic plan.
Retreat helps school leaders plan, improve for the new year
Liberty Central School District administrators and teacher facilitators were hard at work this week preparing for the upcoming school year.
The annual summer professional development and planning retreat was held Monday through Thursday, using LCSD’s five-year Strategic Plan and the District Comprehensive Improvement Plan as a focus and guide for sessions.
Administrators 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 Wednesday to learn about best practices in curriculum and instruction. They also briefly reviewed student data to analyze how they can support students.
In the final day of the end of the retreat, the building teams met to create their yearly building plans to help achieve the yearly district goals, to ultimately accomplish the strategic plan’s strategic intents.
LHS junior to intern at NASA-funded SEES program
A junior at Liberty High School is looking to do big things in Texas this summer.
Jayla Edwards, who plans to be an aerospace engineer, was selected for the Student Enhancement in Earth and Space science summer internship.
Only 95 of the nearly 2,000 applicants from across the nation were selected for the competitive program, which will run July 8-22 at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research.
SEES is a collaborative effort of UT/CSR and NASA. The internships are organized around an aerospace or space science theme drawn from NASA’s diverse engineering and scientific research programs. The program combines the strengths of collaborators to enrich teaching and learning of STEM.
“The NASA SEES internship stood out to me because it allows high school students to work on issues prominent in actual NASA missions and gain valuable experience and knowledge that will be useful in college and in a career,” Edwards said.
The program pays for housing at the University of Texas for onsite teams, all meals, local transportation and has travel scholarships for those who can not afford the flight to Texas, Edwards said.
“We are all proud of Jayla’s accomplishment,” LHS Principal Derek Adams said. “We encourage our students to explore all options to further their knowledge, and this internship is a perfect example of that.”
Students will work with scientists and engineers to conduct authentic research from data received from NASA’s Earth-observing satellites as well as designing Mars habitats, lunar exploration and analysis of images from the International Space Station.
Students work remotely with their project scientist before the on-site internship, complete an Earth and Space Science course, and complete a Python coding course. During the two weeks the students will work at UT/CSR, they will conduct hands-on activities, field investigations, collaborate with NASA-funded scientists and engineers, and work on various NASA missions.
“I hope the program will provide me with the opportunity to gain the skills I will need in the future and give me a chance to see what kinds of things I will be doing in the future,” Edwards said. As part of the Mars Rover Resource Utilization Team, “I am very excited to be working on a project that is so similar to NASA missions that I desire to be a part of.”
It won’t be all work. The student will also listen to talks from scientists and engineers, visit the NASA Johnson Space Center, and go to an escape room, Edwards said.
“Our mission at Liberty is ‘to empower each student to contribute and thrive in a diverse community by pursuing their potential,’” LCSD Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan said. “With this internship, Jayla embodies our mission and our Liberty Pride.”
Consistent, innovative curriculum at the core of effective learning
We’re halfway through our stories highlighting each pillar in our strategic plan. In this article, we’ll be looking at the curriculum.
The first thing that comes to mind when “school” is mentioned, is what children are going to learn and why. Curriculum is what we teach. Ensuring our curriculum is aligned with state and federal standards as well as providing students with what is needed for success in today’s and tomorrow’s world is a priority in Liberty Central School District.
The first strategic intent under our curriculum pillar is: “By June 2027, 100% of PreK-12 curriculum will be vertically and horizontally aligned to meet all New York State standards for all content areas as evidenced by improved student outcomes (in all subgroups) on NYS and local assessments and an increased graduation rate.”
The second is: “By June 2027, 100% of the administrators and teachers will use identified data protocols to analyze content area assessment results, identify student gaps and strengths in order to grow students (in all subgroups) to a new level of performance.”
What do these intents mean?
These mean that our curriculum, across all subjects and grade levels, will be designed to meet state and federal learning standards with a goal of improving student achievement on assessments and overall graduation rates. We will also be able to analyze results and use that date to see where students’ gaps and strengths are and adjust lessons accordingly.
Why is this important?
What we teach is the center of what we do. Having consistent curriculum and grading systems across grade levels and as a student progresses throughout school gives our learners a chance to build upon each lesson without falling behind. Aligning these lessons with New York State Next Generation Standards ensures we are setting the playing field at the same level for our students.
How are we doing this?
- We are reviewing our curriculum and are working to design a guaranteed and viable curriculum at all grade levels. To provide a consistent curriculum, we have begun implementing the HMH ELA “Into Reading” and “Into Literature” program for grades K-8 as well as. HMH “Into Math” curriculum and Science 21 programs in kindergarten through sixth grades. We are also working to ensure our curriculum helps students learn what they need to know for future careers, including the innovative Business INCubator program and Level Up Village, which allows our students to build a sense of cross-cultural empathy while learning skills for the future. 21st Century technology skills, such as coding, programming and internet technology are also becoming a focus across curriculum disciplines.
- We are also creating entry and exit criteria for each grade level, identifying the master standards and determining what content must be taught and understood at each level.
- We are aligning our report cards with New York’s Next Generation Learning Standards, and identifying best grading practices
- As we implement the curriculum plan, we are focusing on consistent use of research-based instructional strategies for all. Teachers are engaged in professional development that provides effective methods for meeting the needs of all learning including English language learners and students with special needs..
- Our curriculum audit is in process. Curriculum maps provide the overarching standards and components of content at each grade level. From these maps, teachers have all the resources, links and strategies they need to create effective and powerful weekly and daily lessons.
By creating and delivering a consistent, aligned curriculum taught with researched-based methods, hand-on activities and active student engagement PreK-12, we are working to make Liberty a great place to learn for all.
Goals are more powerful than wishes
How Liberty schools use goal-setting for improvement
A wish is something we hope happens. A goal is something we make happen. The main difference between wishes and goals are: clear purpose, effort and priority.
Goal-setting is an integral part of the Leader in Me program, which Liberty has instituted in all of its buildings.
This year, elementary and middle school students have begun setting Wildly Important Goals, or WIGs. SMART goals have been a feature at the high school level for several years. In each case, these goals are those determined to be more important than all others. They are specific, measurable and realistic and can be personal or academic.
But setting the goal is only the first step.
Once a goal is identified, action steps are planned to help reach that goal.
For example, an elementary student’s WIG may be to read a chapter book each month. The student decides that goal can be achieved by reading 20 minutes each night. That task, known as a lead measure, can be used to track progress each day. This is habit building.
At the elementary school, goals can be academic, behavioral or social, and generally focus on the individual student. Although the goal may be personalized, the progress is shared with a partner, group, class or building. At LES, there are school-wide, classroom and individual student goals.
Sharing your progress toward a goal is important, according to LES Principal Robert England. “Letting your accountability partners know how you are doing is key. When students know that other people are invested in their daily progress, students are more likely to change their behaviors to achieve their goals. Eventually, these healthy behaviors turn into self-sustaining habits for long term wellness.”
At the middle school, the WIG starts at the building level: ”By May 2023, 80% of grade 5-8 students’ current Student Growth Percentile will be at or above proficiency level (25+) as evidenced by the Spring 2023 STAR Assessment in Reading.”
Each student’s goal is set using the STAR assessment given at the beginning of the year. The assessment breaks down each student’s progress and offers areas on which a student can improve. The students set their WIGs and list at least two things (lead measures) that can be used to help them reach that goal, such as taking notes during daily reading or effectively logging their reading time. Students will be reviewing their new STAR Assessment data from this winter to update their WIGs and Lead Measures.
A
t LMS, time is set aside during classes to focus on the individual WIGs, and the teachers track the time spent. The time spent is compiled by grade on a google form. The tracking also makes it more fun for students, there is a schoolwide scoreboard displayed in the lobby and grade levels are celebrated at the monthly LIM DEAL (Leader in Me Drop Everything and Lead) Assemblies, said LMS Principal Heather Cheh.
At the high school level, goal-setting is done slightly differently, using Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound goals, which encompass the same dynamics of WIGs.
The high school has been using SMART goals since the Professional Learning Community model was introduced a few years ago. Each Content Teacher Team, those who teach the same course, has a SMART goal. Tracking progress is specific to each goal, but is accomplished through common assessments and data analysis.
Each level of goal-setting builds on the others.
When students do better, classrooms do better, then grade-levels do better, and the building does better, and eventually the district, as a whole, will see improvement.
These improvements could be academic, behavioral or social. Improvement in all three helps make for a better community schoolwide.
Student photographers earn 17 keys, 20 honorable mentions at awards
The Mid Hudson Region of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards were held at SUNY New Paltz on Feb. 3, with all Liberty student photographers participating earning honors.
Gold keys are award to the top 5% of all works adjudicated in the category in the Mid Hudson Region; Silver Keys are the top 6% to 10%.
Every Liberty student photographer earned at least one key, with six Gold Keys and 11 Silver Keys awarded. The students also earned 20 honorable mentions. The ceremony awarding the keys was followed by the opening of the exhibition of more 600 works selected as Gold and Silver Key recipients.
Zandy Valencia Bamac earned three Gold Keys, one Silver Key and three honorable mentions. Oliva Dworetsky earned two Gold Keys. Grace Wormuth earned one Gold Key, three Silver Keys and one honorable mentions. Ximena Garcia Gomez earned two Silver Keys and three honorable mentions. Haylee Gomez earned two Silver Keys and one honorable mention. Summer Schmidt earned one Silver Key and seven honorable mentions. Brian Gonzalez earned one Silver Key and four honorable mentions and Wyatt Green earned one Silver Key.
See the winning pieces below
Strategic Plan: What coherence means to Liberty
When we introduced our strategic plan at the beginning of the school year, we just scratched the surface of what the plan means for the district and how we will implement it.
As we mentioned in introducing the plan, the purpose of the plan is to help Liberty set its long-term priorities and establish overarching goals to ensure our students get a well-rounded and quality education.
As with any plan, we need a solid foundation on which to build. Our plan has four pillars, and every month or so, we’ll look closer at one pillar of the plan.
Here, we will focus on the first pillar: Coherence. Our first strategic intent in the strategic plan reads: “By June 2027, create and align 100% of applicable district procedures involving the fluid movement of information and expectations throughout all buildings evidenced by annual perception data.”
What does this mean?
It means that we are working to improve our communication across the buildings and the district to get everyone on the same page on how procedures inside and outside the classroom work and to keep everyone informed.
Why is this important?
We are one district. It is important that students, faculty and staff have consistent measures on which to gauge their progress and success. A move from elementary to middle school or middle to high school shouldn’t mean a whole new set of expectations for a student, and staff members who work in multiple buildings should be able to use the same rules, methods and procedures, no matter which building they are in.
It is also important to have open and transparent exchanges of thoughts and ideas between all members of the school community, whether it be at the grade or subject matter level, building level or district wide. These collaborative actions help build a sense of belonging among our Liberty school family.
How are we doing this?
- We are aligning our goals and setting procedures to be used across the entire district.
- Our strategic plan, District Comprehensive Improvement Plan and building-level plans ensure we are measuring success with a consistent gauge.
- Using Multi-Tier Systems of Supports and Professional Learning Communities, we are regularly assessing our data to gauge where we are succeeding and where we need improvement. This allows us to actively adapt our teaching methods and strategies.
- We also use our PLCs to collectively problem solve and exchange ideas to improve our teaching methods.
- Building- and district-level meetings are also held regularly. We will continue to seek input through community forums, focus groups and surveys for all sectors of our school community.
- We are improving our staff training and are working on making our internal meetings more productive to better share ideas.
- Professional development for all staff is important. Our Professional Development Plan serves as a guide to ensure our staff is getting the tools they need to succeed. We are also developing methods to annually review our procedure and policies with all staff.
- New personnel procedures have been implemented and we are looking at ways to help improve the onboarding of new staff and substitutes to ensure every new employee understands our policies.
- New teachers have extra support. They have mentors who they meet with at least once per week to address issues the new employees face. They also work together to set and achieve at least one SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound) goal. Professional development begins with new teacher orientation and continues with mentor/mentee specific sessions available throughout the year. We do this to provide opportunities for teacher growth, support best practices, maintain the best classroom instruction, cultivate a positive school culture and promote teacher retention.
By ensuring coherence, Liberty Central School District will be able to better lead Liberty into the future with one voice.
LCSD hosts All Things Liberty
Liberty Central School District’s fourth annual All Things Liberty drew scores of people to the school Thursday to connect families with local organizations in an effort to promote their overall well-being.
“There are great things happening in the Liberty school and community to help improve student success,” said Liberty High School Assistant Principal Devin Lamar, who organized the event.
As attendees entered, they were greeted by the Liberty Strings Quintet who serenaded guests as they arrived. From there, families had an opportunity to connect with local agencies, as well as see representatives from school based clubs and organizations who shared all of the wonderful events happening within the Liberty Central School District.
Outside agencies that were present provided families with important information on health, safety and education. Student volunteers also offered fun activities such as arts and crafts, face painting and a photo booth for all to enjoy. Many of the students walked away from All Things Liberty with a stack of free books to help support their journey toward becoming lifelong readers.
Community vendors that were present included Sullivan County Public Health, Cornerstone Healthcare, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Independent Living, Sullivan BOCES, Liberty Partnership Program and Brighter Futures, SUNY Sullivan, the Town of Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo, the Liberty Police Department, Liberty Moo Duk Kwan Academy, Migrant Education, The Child Care Council, The Children’s Home, Boys & Girls Club, Sullivan County 4-H, SALT, Wayne Bank and Bethel Woods.
“Liberty Central School is thrilled to have such supportive partners, and looks forward to working together in the future,” Lamar said.
School programs, clubs and organizations that were present included the High School and Middle Student Councils, Elementary, Middle and High School administrators, Snack Pack Collection, Maker Space, the Wellness Committee, Business Incubator, Future Business Leaders of America, Middle School Ski Club, Middle School Garden Club, Science Olympiad, Liberty PTA, Leader in Me and Allusions Club.
The event was capped off with “A Taste of Liberty,” a sampling of a food from local restaurants: Yiasou, Red Diamond, Paesano’s, Sweet Basil, Liberty Diner, New Munson Diner, Panchos, Garden Zheng, Chick E Ribs, Don Gabriel’s and Star Bar.
“I appreciate everyone who took time out of the evening to help showcase all Liberty has to offer,” Lamar said, “and I thank all of the parents, guardians and community members who attended so we could highlight ‘All Things Liberty.’”
See more photos on our Facebook and Instagram pages.