Sullivan West building designs reviewed

By DAVID JACKMAN

NARROWSBURG — More eighth graders in the Sullivan West school district use alcohol than their contemporaries across the nation.

Assistant Principal David Rowley announced the results of a county-wide survey at the September 6 Sullivan West Board of Education meeting held at the Narrowsburg School. Rowley said the majority of 120 eighth graders admitted to having had at least one alcoholic drink. The survey also reported that 27.7 percent had used alcohol in the last month, and 14.4 percent said they had participated in binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row).within the past two weeks.

The survey, conducted by “The Committee that Cares” polled 443 sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grade student about substance use. Rowley said that the school is working with Debra-Fuchs Nadeau, BOCES Director of Prevention Services and a member of the New York Center of School Safety to develop an anti-alcohol education programs. “The focus has to be on the community, and not the school, and analyze the survey points.”

In other businesses the board discussed changes to the new high school, as designers displayed three flat roof plans for Sullivan West High School.

According to George Luaces, Managing Principal for Hillier, the district’s architectural firm, there are primarily three separate buildings, classrooms, theatre/tech labs/gym, and the cafeteria/media center. To save costs, the flat roof design has been chosen versus the sloping roofs, although board members indicated to Hillier that they wanted a rounded edge to part of the school—mainly above doorways.

Review of school policies, ranging from home schooling to diploma requirements, were discussed. As the merger progresses and more courses are added, the total number of credits for graduation will be increased from the current 22, Superintendent of Schools Michael Johndrow said.

Regina Wagner, head guidance counselor, said that “there is a need for standardization, because JY, DV, and NB are not the same.” The board agreed that the state mandated requirements are fair and will continue to follow that standard as the merger continues.

Also, increased participation in sports “will be an on going process for two to three years” to decide if additional sports participation are equivalent to a gym class, according to Assistant Superintendent Dave Rowley,.

He reported that he had contacted the National Association of Secondary School Principals, which includes the National Honor Society of America, about unifying the honor system as it applies to one school, one principal, and one honor society. The board discussed academic honors designation, and Wagner said the district would “provide the intermediate steps that are fair and equitable for everyone.”

Superintendent Michael Johndrow raised an issue involving student drivers that also participate in sports. Students attending sports practice are required to ride buses, however, since the schools share field usage, some students will travel more on the bus than if they drove themselves.

Johndrow suggested that for a trial period of one year, students be allowed to drive individually to practice—with no passengers—to save commuting time. The suggestion was adopted by the board.