The Lynbrook High School cafeteria was filled with administrators, staff, community members and students during Lynbrook Public Schools Board of Education meeting on June 13. The board recognized exceptional administrators and staff members who have gone above and beyond for students and acknowledged those who received tenure.
At the start of the meeting, the board announced the sudden passing of beloved Waverly Park evening custodian Steve Reilly and had a moment of silence in his honor. Reilly’s family was present, along with his Waverly Park family as the board shared his positive impact that he made to the school community.
Staff members that received tenure during the evening included school media specialist Maureen Bertolini, social studies teacher Danielle Reinert, physical education teacher Lindsay Trugman, school psychologist Deborah Mann, school social worker Samantha Lancaster and elementary teacher Chelsea Jaret. In addition, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Melissa Burak honored seven faculty members with the “You Go the Distance” recognition.
These included Waverly Park Principal Lucille McAssey, Waverly Park teacher Shari Bowes, Lynbrook High School teacher Mary Kirby, Marion Street special education teacher Rachel Tiran, district technology staff developer Katie Kelly, Lynbrook High School science teacher Bardhyl Fejzo and Lynbrook High School chorus teacher Barry Wyner. Each of them commended by Dr. Burak for their hard work and dedication and were awarded with a yellow gift bag. Following the recognitions, Dr. Burak introduced new South Middle School Principal Joseph Wiener to the community. Wiener was appointed during the May 15 budget meeting and will replace current South Middle School Principal Caryn Blum at the end of the school year.
In addition, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Operations, and Information Systems Dr. Paul Lynch reported on the annual safety plan review. Building level committees have been meeting and reviewing their building level plans and reviews of the district level plans are underway. The board will adopt those plans officially at the August board meeting and district level plan is now open for public comment and can be found on the district website at lynbrookschools.org under district, health and safety.
“We ask for your input if you have any suggestions that you think we should include in that,” said Dr. Lynch.
During the Superintendent’s Report, Dr. Burak reported on the early dismissal day and reunification plan that will take place on Oct. 5. The district will test the reunification plan, when students are reunited with their families in the case of an emergency. Although the actual reuniting will not take place during the drill, the staff will test their internal protocol in preparation of an emergency. Dr. Burak also stressed the importance of having families update their emergency contact list to include the most reliable people.
As a positive update on security, the district’s SMART Bond was officially approved by New York State thanks to the efforts of the community and legislators. The district is working on the final planning and anticipates everything to be completed in less than a year.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Dr. Gerard Beleckas provided a curriculum update which included the district’s new summer reading initiative “Get Lost in a Book.” Families should expect to receive literature in their homes within the next week detailing the initiative which will give students the opportunity to read and immediately discuss their book with others using the video discussion platform Flipgrid.
During the capital projects update, Dr. Lynch shared the projects for this summer which include the replacement of the boiler and an electrical upgrade to service at Waverly Park, as well as brick pointing at West End School. The installation of a district-wide emergency walkie-talkie system will be put in place and there will be a continuation of the ceiling and lighting project at Lynbrook High School. Additionally, there will be an installation of new doors at South Middle School, a computer lab replacement and tile and floor replacements at Marion Street School. In all buildings there will be work on the gym floors and painting. Projects that were just approved are headed to New York State and are anticipated to be completed next summer. These include five bathrooms at Marion Street, a bathroom at West End and the Waverly Park elevator.