Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year
On behalf of our faculty and staff, I welcome you to the 2017-2018 school year. We are looking forward to a busy and productive year as we launch several new and exciting initiatives. Pocantico Hills School District has a rich history, natural beauty and charm that makes it a uniquely wonderful place for families to thrive and children to grow socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Our goal is to personalize the learning experience for all children, building upon their interests and abilities to prepare them to be life-long learners, skilled communicators, able problem solvers and strong citizens. We are proud of all we do well and are committed to a culture of continuous improvement. I look forward to working with all residents to provide an exceptional educational experience for our children as they move through our system from their first day of pre-kindergarten to high school graduation. We want our school to remain the hub of the community for everyone who lives here, with residents and families enjoying our beautiful grounds and pool throughout the years.
With direction from our Board of Education, we have established priorities for the coming year that support the District’s vision for the future:
- Implementing an organizational structure that provides clarity in roles and responsibilities, distributes leadership, and promotes collaboration through a team structure.
- Developing a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum aligned with standards of excellence, providing expert consultants to develop curricula and build the capacity of our professional staff in reading, writing, mathematics, science, world languages, technology, physical education and social/emotional learning.
- Reinventing our world language program in grades K-8 to connect with grade level content immersion in French and Spanish to make language learning a tangible, problem-solving experience that prepares our students to be global citizens.
- Personalizing learning for every child, shifting from a deficit model of support to one of universal support for all students.
- Strengthening communication with all District constituents.
- Maintaining a safe, consistent, and developmentally appropriate learning environment.
This calendar is filled with important information and highlights of all that lies ahead for the children of this community; we invite you to join us in making 2017-18 a great year and count on you to share your feedback and suggestions. If you have questions or concerns at any time, please give us a call or send us an email.
Sincerely yours,
Carol L. Conklin-Spillane
Superintendent of Schools
