OSWEGO – The Oswego City School District was recognized by the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) with a “Champions for Change” award for their efforts in bringing about positive advancement within their student population during last night’s Board of Education meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 18.
As school districts around the state celebrate School Board Recognition Week, NYSSBA Area 5 Director William L. Miller had the honor of presenting board members with a “Champions of Change” banner showcasing their effort in encouraging student enhancement through OCSD’s partnership with SUNY Oswego’s Focus Forward Program.
A school-based mentoring program, trained SUNY Oswego undergrad students are partnered together with OCSD middle and high school students, providing educational, social and emotional support.
Miller highlighted some of the OCSD’s achievements, speaking unequivocally about the district’s motivation in seizing the opportunity to help further students’ overall welfare, academically and beyond.
“One of them is – you’re involved in a college and you make that college feel like they’re part of your community, and you make the kids see what college life is like or what a college student does. I think this type of program that you guys are putting out there has certainly had an impact on students both academically and socially,” Miller said.
“I’ve got to commend you as a board for allowing this type of program to be put on. My take on this is – it’s a program I haven’t seen anywhere else. But this type of program could be put anywhere, and probably should be a role model to other districts of how it’s done and what you’ve accomplished [by] doing this – and how you feel it’s helped your students emotionally and academically,” Miller said.
Another item of deep discussion by the board was the future operation of Frederick Leighton Elementary School with a possible restructuring plan considered.
An efficiency study was conducted this summer outlining possible ways the district could utilize their buildings and grounds for enhanced performance while avoiding unnecessary expenditures.
Last night the board discussed enrollment data, redistricting plans, special permissions, class size information and possible repurposing ideas.
Toward the end of the discussion, Superintendent Dr. Matthis Calvin III pointed out the reaction he keeps receiving regarding classroom size, emphasizing the important factors that also come with diverging school populations.
“I think it’s important to make sure that we include in the conversation that there’s more than just class size that we need to keep in mind,” Calvin said. “It’s also the quality of instruction. I think the point I’m trying to make is class size – is it something we definitely need to keep in mind? It is. But there are other quality indicators that are very important too. And I think at the end of the day what we’re trying to do is add to the quality – see what we can do to add more for our students wherever we possibly can.”
Slated for the November 1 meeting, the board will discuss information on Frederick Leighton’s building condition survey findings, along with the Community Focus Group outcomes report.
Other items in the Superintendent’s Report included the following:
- Recognize student/staff efforts during Homecoming Week last week
- International Walk to School Day – Oct. 12.
- The collaborated event included the following participants: the Oswego County Traffic and Safety Board, Oswego Police Department, Oswego Fire Department, New York State Police, SUNY Oswego Police, Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, Oswego County Ambulance Service and the Oswego County Health Department.
All items on the agenda were unanimously passed by the board. To view the full agenda, please click here. To view the superintendent’s report from the meeting, please click here.
All BOE meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of every month, the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, November 1 at 5:00 p.m. at the Oswego High School. All meetings are live-streamed through OCSD’s Youtube channel at WBUC.
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