Eastchester Trustee Christine Civitano-Lombardi, left, discusses  a hypothetical scenario with fellow Board Members Matthew Fanelli and Jackie DiMarco during a training session at the Eastchester Board of Education Retreat on July 27. 

New Trustees Benefit from Board of Education Retreat

Members of the Eastchester School Board gathered in the District Central Office to begin to map out a plan for the 2022-2023 school year.

But the July 27 Board of Education retreat was less about crafting a specific strategic vision for the future of the school district—that will come later—and more about helping board members clearly define their roles, goals and responsibilities for the upcoming year.

The retreat, led by Interim Superintendent Dr. Ronald Valenti, served as both a team-building exercise and a crash course of sorts for a School Board comprised of many first-time Trustees. 

Three new Trustees—Matthew Fanelli, Christine Civitano-Lombardi and Laurie Giacobbe—were sworn in at the Board of Education Re-organizational Meeting on July 7, while another, Michele Lawlor, officially stepped into her role just before the end of the 2021-22 school year. Seven of the nine members on the Eastchester Board have either one year of experience or are just beginning their first full term. Valenti acknowledged that the composition of the Eastchester School Board makes it a remarkable entity in many ways and said that he was eager to begin working with this group.

“It’s unique in the best of ways from my perspective,” explained Valenti. “Also, eight of the nine board members have children in the schools, so they are literally consumers of the educational delivery of services; from one point of view, you could make the argument that it is the best kind of Board.”

Valenti provided Board Members with a detailed breakdown of their functions and responsibilities within the educational system of New York and highlighted best practices that should serve them well throughout their terms. Christine Civitano-Lombardi admitted that the information was particularly helpful, especially for the newer board members.

“There were a lot of items that you wouldn’t really know about just being a parent in the district; it was something of an introductory course in education law,” she said. “It was very well-run by Dr. Valenti, who certainly is a cerebral wealth of knowledge when it comes to the educational system.”

The Trustees broke into smaller groups to discuss hypothetical scenarios that challenged them to confront how they would respond to certain ethical quandaries that might arise during their terms. The activity—which dealt with topics including breaches of confidentiality and potential conflicts of interest— was particularly effective, according to Michele Lawlor. 

“Once we were doing the training, there were things that really jumped off the page,” she said. “It solidified what our roles and responsibilities and how necessary it is to operate within the chain of command.”

Laurie Giacobbe highlighted an exercise in which the Trustees were asked write down their top two priorities for the school year as especially impactful, as it reinforced that—in many instances—Board Members shared a common vision for the School District. 

“In getting to see the priorities of the other Board Members, I think we realized that we all had a lot in common,” said Giacobbe. 

Thursday’s retreat was the first of two summer retreats for the Board. On Tuesday, Aug. 2, Board Members will participate in another training session alongside administrators from the each of the District’s school buildings. The retreat will largely be focused on fostering strong lines of communication between the Board and school administrators, something Matthew Fanelli believes will be of the upmost importance. 

“The Board, the Superintendent and the administrators are on one team,” said Fanelli. “This is an opportunity to lock arms together, look at the goals of the community, communicate those cohesively, and make sure we’re all singing from the same sheet music.”

Clockwise from top left: Judah Holstein, Christie McCloskey and Laurie Giacobbe participate in a group exercise on July 27. Michele Lawlor speaks at the BOE retreat. Board of Education President Chrissy Geagan responds to a question. Vito Catania discusses a hypothetical situation at the BOE Retreat.

Science Teachers Explore Phenomena in NYSSLS-aligned Units

At first glance, the arm-strength of legendary multi-sport athlete Bo Jackson might not seem to have much in common with a family of blue-skinned people from the hills of Kentucky.

But both Jackson and the curious case of the Fugate clan will be featured prominently in Eastchester High School’s science classrooms this year, as district teachers plan units around how the study of naturally- occurring phenomena can help shed a light on certain scientific principles. 

Over the first month of their summer vacations, district teachers have been hard at work developing New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS)-aligned unit plans that incorporate such phenomena as the foundation of academic units. 

According to NYSSLS guidelines, phenomena-based lesson plans can help students appreciate the social relevance of science while also improving understanding in real world contexts. 

In the biology department, teachers Sasha Bloshenko and Erica Lockwood are using the unusual case of the Fugates—a Kentucky family whose unique, blue-tinted skin became the focus of several scientific studies in the mid-20th century—to highlight concepts in genetics. Bloshenko said she has been using the Fugates as examples during lessons about recessive genes for years, but that the new NYSSLS-aligned unit will ask students to think about the biological concepts that led to this particular phenomenon rather than offering up a simple answer. 

“I had found a four-page story about the Fugate family and it went into each generation and explained why they were blue; It was an interesting read and the kids liked it,” said Bloshenko. “But when we started our NYSSLS planning process, the question was for them to discover how this could happen.”

Lockwood added that the new lesson plans represent a shift in academic theory.

“The key idea with using phenomena in general is getting students invested in learning how to solve problems,” she said. “I think so many kids are worried about getting from point A to point B without considering the process. The underlying goal [with these units] is to get students to become more comfortable analytical thinkers.”

Rob Ross and his colleagues in the physics department were inspired to craft a unit on projectiles after watching a 1989 highlight of Kansas City Royals star Bo Jackson throwing out a runner at home plate from the outfield wall. The lesson, explained Ross, would challenge students to use their knowledge of physics theories to determine whether “phenomenal” throws like Jackson’s disproved the conventional baseball wisdom of hitting a “cutoff man” when throwing to a base.

“It’s almost like an optimization problem,” said Ross. “You have to figure out how fast is the ball thrown, what is the time of release on the cutoff, what angle do you throw it at, from what distance. It’s pretty complicated.”

That his classes may not be able reach a definitive conclusion on the matter of cutoff throws isn’t an issue, explained Ross, so long as the lesson offers his students the chance to apply theories of physics in pursuit of an answer. 

“This is not an easy simple problem, and, in all likelihood, we may not even get an ‘answer,’ he said. “It’s really just about getting the kids thinking about what they would need to solve this problem. And then of course, our individual lessons will break it into smaller chunks where they can get little pieces of the puzzle.”

Phenomena-based units are also currently being developed by the Eastchester Middle School teachers, noted District k-12 STEM Supervisor Minnie Iannuzzi. In fact, the District has been proactive in its approach to shifting its educational approach at every grade level in an effort to prepare students for new NYSSLS guidelines that will be rolled out over the next few years.

“By having teachers come in and plan over the summer, we are thinking ahead by starting the curriculum revision process early— before NYS tests and Regents tests reflect the new standards,” explained Iannuzzi. “Ultimately, we are not teaching every student to become scientists but to become better thinkers. Engaging students in this way fosters deeper thinking in a more student-centered environment and gives students the tools they will need in the future.”

Ultimately, added Ross, the majority of science teachers are excited about the new guidelines, believing that the implementation of these units can create a richer, more rewarding experience for students.

“This is really how science should be taught,” he said. “Science is taught by experimentation, by learning, by scientific method, by seeing what variables we can hold constant.”

Classroom Libraries Coming to High School

On a humid July morning, with the halls of Eastchester High School largely empty of staff and students alike, English teacher Anna Rainaldi was hard at work in her classroom, unpacking a large cardboard box full of books, and arranging its contents on the shelves in anticipation of students who will fill the desks this fall. 

Rainaldi stocked her shelves with graphic novels, dystopian science fiction tales and reimagined mythological classics in the hopes that they will inspire her students to explore the wonders of literature outside of the tomes included in the school-year curriculum. Those books are part of Eastchester’s classroom library initiative, which promotes independent reading by allowing teachers to fill their classrooms with materials that will be available for students to take home and tackle at their own speed. 

“It’s super-exciting of course, and I love the idea of introducing kids to books that are outside of the curriculum; I think it can really foster a love of reading,” she said. “And if they do enjoy the books we read as part of the curriculum, they now have supplementary books that will be related to the topics we cover in class.”

Classroom libraries, long a staple of the District’s elementary schools, were introduced at Eastchester Middle School in 2019 and will be utilized at the high school level for the first time during the 2022-2023 school year. District k-12 Humanities Supervisor Susan Chester believes that offering students access to different titles can be a useful tool in sparking their passion for literature.

“Typically, if you were in a high school classroom, the books you would find would be sets of the core novels that everyone reads,” explained Chester. ”But our goal has been to put books where the readers are, supporting reading and hopefully getting them interested.” 

According to Chester, classroom libraries are designed to work in partnership with each school library, hopefully serving as a jumping-off point for students and guiding them to seek out other titles the District has to offer. 

“Classroom libraries are, by definition, small,” said Chester. “One hope is that by bringing books to the classrooms, students get ‘hooked’ and seek out other reading material in the building library.” 

Rainaldi used her 9th grade class’s unit on “The Odyssey”, to demonstrate how some of the reading materials she ordered can be related to books included in the curriculum.

 “I’ve got graphic novels about ‘The Odyssey’, some books about Greek Mythology like ‘The Song of Achilles’ and ‘Circe’ and I’m hoping that the kids who love 'The Odyssey' in class can pick these up and read them independently,” she said. ”We study the themes and the universal ideas of the book, and I think this could be an exciting way to make the book a little more accessible.”

With a majority of high school English teachers participating in the initiative, each classroom library is unique, with books handpicked by each educator based on a number of factors. Rainaldi said there has been robust discussion between faculty members about the construction of these collections. One ninth grade teacher, Jessica Haag, even created independent reading materials for teachers to use with students. 

And while it will be up to each individual teacher to promote their libraries, Rainaldi said she is already coming up with ways to encourage her students to take advantage of the classroom collection.

“I’ve read all of the books I chose before and I know that they’re high-interest books that are good for high schoolers,” said Rainaldi. “But I also asked colleagues, looked at book lists and did outside research like that.”

“I’m thinking that, as we work on a unit, doing ‘The Odyssey’ or ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ towards the end of that lesson, I’ll tell the class ‘that if they liked this book, we have this classroom library and we have other books related to this same topic,” she added. “And if we’re doing a unit where we are primarily reading something in class, like Shakespeare, I might tell them that this is a good time to pick up a book for independent reading and take it home.”

If you have news or announcements to share, please contact the District's Communications Specialist Michael Smith at publicrelations@eufsdk12.org.

Eastchester UFSD | 580 White Plains Road, Eastchester, NY 10709 | 914.793.6130

www.eufsdk12.org