LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The Sullivan West Central School District Board of Education heard a pitch for a new required course for ninth graders titled “Digital Citizenship,” and approved the establishment of a Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) Club at its April 20 meeting.

As proposed by students, SAGA is intended to be a safe, affirming space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their allies.

Their written proposal stated, “Schools can be hostile environments for a disturbing number of LGBT students. A vast majority (74.1%) report being verbally harassed at school. Transgender students experience higher levels of bullying and harassment than their lesbian, gay, and bisexual peers [according to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network].”

At SAGA Club meetings, the goals are to provide a safe space in which students can discuss how to encourage open conversations about social issues and counter discrimination, harassment, lack of acceptance and lack of knowledge.

Board member Lucas Arzilli was all for it, noting, “The more opportunities there are for children to find a place in the school… to build a community and sense of trust, the better.”

Fellow member Rachel Brey said she appreciated that the district offers an open process for students to create clubs that are of direct interest to them.

The board voted unanimously in favor of authorizing the SAGA Club. The next step will be to solicit members and elect officers. A faculty advisor will be named.

Sullivan West High School English teacher Charlotte Peters approached the board with her proposal for a digital citizenship course.

“Students will become digitally literate through studying digital footprints, gaining awareness of online citizenship, learning proper research practices, and understanding web-based applications and programs,” she said in describing the class. 

Peters pointed out that the curriculum will meet numerous benchmarks set by the International Society for Technology Education, National Educational Technology Standards and New York State Common Core Standards.

She said that the idea has been four years in the making. The curriculum offers both social and academic applications.

The social component would address creating a positive digital presence, respecting the privacy of others on-line, how to participate in on-line communities and avoiding “over sharing” personal data on social media.

Academic components would address structuring information literacy for the appropriate format, determining the validity of information sources, creative credit and copyright issues, and creating professional presentations.

Board vice president Rose Joyce-Turner said she feels the digital citizenship course will be constructive for students preparing to go out in the big world of technology, while Trevor Peachey pointed out that many employers these days rule out hiring job-seekers after finding troubling aspects of candidates’ social media profiles.

Ken Cohen said his only concern was whether all students would have on-line access at home for their coursework. Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hackett replied that the district would work with students individually if they didn’t to assure their success.

In other business, the board of education approved May 16 from 12 noon to 9 p.m. as the date for the annual election and vote on the 2017-18 budget. Three board seats are in the running for three-year terms. The current incumbents are Kathleen Meckle, Trevor Peachey and Mary Scheutzow. A public hearing to share details on the $36,924,793 budget will be held on May 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Sullivan West High School Library.

Also announced was a fundraising basketball game in which Sullivan West faculty members will take on a team of law enforcement professionals on May 25 at the high school gym starting at 6 p.m. The suggested donation is $5 for adults and $3 for students. All proceeds will go the class of 2018.