Westchester Reporter

The school year is flying by and already we are looking at just five more months before school is out for the summer. It seemed like the perfect time for Interim Superintendent Dr. Ronald Gonzalez to present his mid-year report, which he did at the January 11, 2023, Board of Education meeting. 

“Schools should be student-focused and maintain high expectations,” Dr. Gonzalez said.

There are four pillars he has identified as special areas of focus. They consist of: Safe and Secure Environments, Systems and Structures for Success, Family and Community Engagement and Equity and Social Emotional Learning.

The pillars, he said, help the district to know what they are looking at, what is being looked for, what considerations they need to be mindful of and what opportunities exist for the district to capitalize on.

Looking at Safe and Secure Environments, Dr. Gonzalez said they are the things that “make all our community members feel safe.”

“We need to take an introspective look at what we have and ensure intellectual safety for our students,” he continued. This includes; reviewing the safety of the technology students and staff use, expanding school security measures and a full review of security systems.

This year, Dr. Gonzalez said, a school monitor would be added at the Alice E. Grady Elementary School, along with a second one at Alexander Hamilton High School. The district has also completed all its fire safety inspections and conducted a study to upgrade the facilities air purifiers, which are now in every classroom throughout the district. He said he is interested in looking at communication protocols, like the walkie-talkies that are in use and updating phone chains to be more efficient.

Next year he is proposing a building condition survey, which would be done using an independent contractor. Additionally, the district would also upgrade its fiscal plan to have each building meet ADA compliance.

Regarding Systems and Structures, Dr. Gonzalez said this means changing any procedure to become more efficient. It also includes expanding professional learning opportunities for staff as well as looking at the impact the administrative team has on students.

Additionally, Dr. Gonzalez said the district should further embrace technology so that it is fully prepared for computer-based testing, which seems to be eminent across all schools.

Moving forward, he said, he wants the district to focus on “the top skills we want our students to know and be able to do.” 

One way of implementing this is to update the building schedules to maximize instructional time across the Pre-K through 12th grade continuum. To that end, while the math and social studies curriculum have been aligned, English is currently being rolled out and elective courses will be the next area of focus.

Communication will be the focus of Family and Community Engagement, the interim superintendent said.

Dr. Gonzalez said he took immediate interest in reviewing how the district manages the ways it communicates to parents and the community. There may be some means that are currently used that may not be in the future.

Families can now find more information about what their student is doing in their classes through the new monthly newsletters created by the school principals, which is posted on each school’s website.

In addition, on Jan. 3, the district launched a new look for its website.

“The website is now fully operational,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “We find it much, much easier to navigate.”

When it comes to Equity and Social, Emotional Learning, the interim superintendent said, “we are in a very good place.”

“There is a lot of work around equity and restorative practices,” that have been put in place, he said, including the addition of a counselor at Grady.

The interim superintendent also took time to review the progress of students this year.

Using iReady, which measures reading and math skills for students in K-8, Dr. Gonzalez said 23 percent of students were reading at grade level, 42 percent were at grade level or below and 35 percent were two grades or more below grade level.

“We’re finding that more students that experienced the interruption in learning due to COVID need time and support to catch up.” he said.

Looking at math skills in the district, Dr. Gonzalez said he feels he has a good snapshot of where students are, and there is room for improvement.

To that end, he said, a bilingual math teacher has been hired at Hamilton. He also increased a teaching position at Grady to serve as a full-time math AIS teacher. In addition, the district will add support for students as they transition from Dixson to Grady.

“Two-thirds of the building are passing courses in English with grades of 80 or higher,” he said of student progress at the high school. “That’s the same with math.”

He noted that there are 200 students at Hamilton who are enrolled in a foreign language. In addition, when it comes to athletics and electives, with an enrollment of about 400 students, many of them are taking more than one elective course, resulting in 724 participants. In terms of fall and winter sports, 105 students participated in modified sports, 75 in junior varsity and 135 in varsity.

That athletic program is growing, he said, noting how the football team hosted its first home game since 1985 and the recent success the indoor track team had at the league championships held on Jan. 8, not to mention the Section 1 Class D Championship Girls Volleyball team.

“We have a Rubik’s Cube Club,” he said, adding he witnessed an impressive completion of the colorful brick game by a club member recently.

In terms of the future, the 82 students in the Class of 2023 are preparing for their post high school activities. Many of them have engaged in early action or early decision when applying to college. Those who opted for early decision must enroll in the college or university that accepted them.

“It’s a sign a student has it together,” he said. “To make that commitment early.”

Seniors are not the only ones looking to the future.

Dr. Gonzalez has given much consideration to the district’s future too.

In his mind, he envisions a complete rebuild for Dixson, giving a timeline of 2024-2029. This could mean a grade reconfiguration, perhaps holding all pre-k sections in-district or transitioning it to a K-4 building. It could also mean a new building, playground and garden space.

For Grady, the interim superintendent said, changes could happen there as well, including the possibility of the building becoming a true middle school, which would require some building upgrades to accommodate older students.

“AHHS may become an exclusive 9-12 building,” he said, adding that upgrades would also include making the building completely ADA compliant.

“We appreciate your vision,” Paul Hood, Board of Education President told the interim superintendent. “We see where the holes are, and we have deep, thoughtful action plans.”

View the entire presentation here.

Original source can be found here.