Liberty School Scene 2015

SCHOOLA S p e c i a l S u p p l e m e n t t o t h e S u l l i v a n C o u n t y D e m o c r a t

SCENE

S E C T I O N L • N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 • C A L L I C O O N , N Y

A look a t ac t i v i t i e s

i n the L ibe r ty Cent ra l

Schoo l D i s t r i c t

2L LIBERTY SCHOOL SCENE SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT NOVEMBER, 2015

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School Scene: A Look at Activities in

Liberty Central SchoolPublished by

Catskill-Delaware Publications, Inc.Publishers of the

(845) 887-5200 Callicoon, NY 12723

November 3, 2015 • Vol. CXXV, No. 40

Publisher: Fred W. Stabbert III Senior Editor: Dan Hust Sports Editor: Ken Cohen Editorial Assistants: Willow Baum, Kaitlin Carney, Kathy Daley, Alex Rau, Richard Ross, Allison Ruef, Jeanne Sager Advertising Director: Liz Tucker Advertising Coordinator: Sandy Schrader Advertising Representatives: Cecilia Lamy, Barbara Matos Special Sections Coordinator: Susan Panella Business Manager: Susan Owens Business Department: Patricia Biedinger, Joanna Blanchard Telemarketing Coordinator: Michelle Reynolds Classified Manager: Janet Will Production Associates: Nyssa Calkin, Petra Duffy, Elizabeth Finnegan, Ruth Huggler, Rosalie Mycka, Tracy Swendsen Distribution: Bill Holmes

oise in the classroom once sig-naled a class out of control.

Not anymore.“A lot of noise can be a great thing,”

said Dr. William Silver, Liberty CentralSchool District Superintendent ofSchools. “When you have groups offive or six kids all working together,you’re going to have collegial noise.”

The sounds of active learning light-en the classroom atmosphere acrossthe District, where students team upwith technology to think smarter andwork cooperatively.

YOUTUBE, PADS & MOREOn LES Live!, a YouTube video series

that captures what’s going on in theschool, Liberty Elementary Schoolfourth-graders excitedly line up toshow what they know.

In lively reporting, they tell viewersthat District kindergartners are nowlearning to put sounds together tomake words, and that third-gradersare focusing on the life cycle of plants.

Another technology-related innova-tion this year introduced elementarystudents to the wonders of iPadsthrough a skills-building programnamed eSpark.

“eSpark identifies each student’scurrent weaknesses and strengthsand takes them forward,” said DistrictTechnology Director Sandy Wagner.“It does that through games, whichare a lot of fun for the kids.”

The iPad use at Liberty Elementary

is not restricted to the eSpark pro-gram, though. This year, third gradeco-teachers Alicia Houghtaling andChristy Green are piloting the use ofiPads to connect with other studentsglobally via Skype and other softwareprograms. The third grade curriculumplaces a special focus on communi-ties around the world, noted officials.

At the high school, the District hasdoled out some 350 iPads, most ofthem going into the classrooms of itsEnglish teachers.

“We wanted a way to reach each stu-dent [with an iPad], and all studentstake English,” explained AssistantSuperintendent Carol Napolitano.

Students use the touch-screentablets to create presentations onclassic literature and films, to ask andanswer questions, and to edit theirwork in real time along with theirteachers.

DIVERSITY & DISCIPLINEThe need to understand the varied

home lives and cultures of its studentsdrives the District’s participation in anew diversity training program.

Linked with New York University,Liberty will train its middle schooland high school staff on conferencedays in November, February andMarch.

“It’s about an awareness of how ourbiases, which we are not even awareof, can have an effect on studentlearning,” said Dr. Silver.

The impact of misunderstandingand misreading cultural differences isparticularly pertinent as Liberty’spopulation changes. Currently, saidofficials, 60 percent of the children inkindergarten and first grade are ofLatino descent.

Setting the tone for a classroomthat’s organized and purposeful alsoinvolves discipline.

In the last few years, the District hasstudied data and worked with BOCES’trainer Tom Ellison, who specializesin systems of good behavior and anti-bullying programs like PositiveBehavior Intervention Systems and

Olweus. Ellison has worked with staff on

classroom management and on waysto encourage good behavior ratherthan resorting to sending kids to theprincipal. Suspension, adds MiddleSchool/High School Principal JackStrassman, isn’t the most effectivestrategy for classrooms and kids.

“We’re trying to be more proactivewith interventions earlier,” Strassmansaid.

For instance, teachers are usingconversation and conflict resolution –

NOVEMBER, 2015 SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT LIBERTY SCHOOL SCENE 3L

Where the halls are alive with thesound of learningN

In Liberty, the leadership of Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Silver and Assistant Super-intendent Carol Napolitano focuses consistently on a few strong priorities, including the useof technology to increase student enrichment and acceleration.

Continued on 4L


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Credits:All photographs and stories for this special School Scene are by

Sul livan County Demo crat Photo grapher/Reporter Kathy Daley.

The Democrat would also like to thank the Liberty Central

School District for all its cooperation in this project.

with teacher and student workingtogether to solve a problem – ratherthan rely on punishments. Outreachto parents has been heightened, too.

For students with the most severebehavior problems, help is availablethrough BOCES and other outsideagencies.

The District is also looking at theacademic struggles that might spurbad behavior.

“We are constantly looking at creditrecovery for kids who fall behind inthe credits they need to graduate,”said Strassman.

Online classes help those students,he said.

The result? Across the board, saidStrassman, “We’re seeing less disci-plinary issues with kids – fewer refer-rals and school suspensions.”

FUEL FOR LEARNINGLiberty’s entry into a national free

breakfast and lunch program for allstudents has kids patting their fullstomachs.

The Community EligibilityProvision of the federal Healthy,Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 allowsschools with high poverty rates tooffer free meals to everyone, regard-less of income, thus opening up foodto students who had declined mealsbecause they did not want to be stig-matized as poor.

“We’ve seen a 30 percent increase inbreakfast and lunch users, “ said Dr.Silver.

In middle school, the jump washuge: from 20 percent to 80 percent.

“Attendance is up, tardiness isdown and students’ overall behaviorhas improved,” added District FoodService Director Dara Smith.

Some administrators are hearingfirsthand how parents feel abouttheir kids getting the nourishmentthey need to last the school day.

“At one of our football games,” saidSuperintendent Silver, “I was leaningon the fence and watching the gamewhen a parent came up to talk aboutthe free meals program.”

The parent, a father, told Silver:“Thanks, man, You’re my hero.”

A happy day for a superintendent ofschools.

Continued from 3L

Fourth graderAden Serranouses headphonesand an iPad to“study” math in anew programcalled eSpark –and, here, learnsthat he scored100.

“Attendance is up, tardiness isdown and students’ overallbehavior has improved [on thenew program ‘Healthy,Hunger-Free Kids Act.’]”

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‘U nsung heroes” is how DaraSmith describes cafeteriastaff in school districts

everywhere and Liberty in particular.“The cooks who manage the day-to-

day activities in each kitchen havetheir hands full,” says Smith, “and wecould never get the job done withoutthem.”

Smith, a Liberty resident and a grad-uate of the school district, shouldknow.

As Sullivan BOCES Cook Manager,Smith manages the food service in thethree Liberty schools, as well as at St.Peter’s Regional School in Liberty,where children in universal Pre-Kindergarten attend class.

All in all, Smith’s Liberty staff num-bers 19. (She also manages food serv-ice at the Fallsburg school district.)

The Liberty kitchens are headed byAssistant Cook Angie Gonzalez at theelementary school, Assistant CookChristine Klein at the middle school,and professional chef Pedro Hernan-dez at the high school.

Hernandez, who cooked for theGrossinger’s and Concord, does muchof the heavy cooking that is “satellit-

ed” out to the other Liberty schoolkitchens.

This year, Hernandez’s high schoolkitchen benefits from a National

School Lunch Program EquipmentAssistance Grant.

“We were able to purchase a newconvection steamer oven that

replaced a very antiquated steamerestimated to be about 50 years old,”said Smith.

The grant also funded an automaticdishwasher at the elementary school,where staff were washing dishes byhand.

“Cleaning and sanitizing cookingequipment after preparing for 700students every day is a big job,” Smithsaid. “Plus [the purchase] helped us to‘go green’ by being able to usereusable trays rather than disposablefoam trays.”

At the Middle School, a new walk-infreezer was a much-needed new pur-chase. Prior to that, the school had torely on the High School to store fooditems that needed freezing.

This year also ushered in the Free

Food Service Director Dara Smith, left, saysthere’s never a dull moment in the kitchenwhere kids and food are concerned. No prob-lem, says professional chef Pedro Hernandez,right, who heads up the kitchen at LibertyHigh School and has 37 years in the restau-rant business.

Something new is cooking in food service


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This year also ushered in the FreeMeals Program, whereby free break-fast and lunch are offered to all stu-dents, regardless of income.

Making ends meet in school nutri-tion programs is a difficult task,Smith noted, particularly since theonset of new federal healthy foodrequirements.

“[The Free Meals program] isdesigned to take a lot of the adminis-trative paperwork out of the mix,” shesaid, “so that schools can concentrate

on providing students the healthymeals they need to be successful inschool.”

New on the horizon is a campaignto help fund a salad bar grant from“Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools,” anationwide initiative to increase thehealthy fruits and vegetables thatchildren have access to in school.

“The program does its own fund-raising, and we move up on the list asother school districts’ salad bars arefunded,” explained Smith.

To speed the process along, howev-er, anyone can donate to the cause.

Liberty’s page can be found athttp://www.saladbars2schools.org/grant/liberty-central-school-district/

Serving meals to many is not new toSmith, who served as cook and foodservice manager at FrontierInsurance Company in Rock Hillbefore signing on with school dis-

tricts through BOCES. And serve she has – this past sum-

mer alone, Liberty staff prepared andserved close to 14,000 meals for localkids. The Power Up for Summer Funfood program was held at LibertyMiddle School, Liberty ElementarySchool and Hanofee Park Day Camp.

Of course, Smith is a softie when itcomes to seeing children well-fed.

“The favorite part of my job is actu-ally seeing the students come in toenjoy a good meal – especially the lit-tle ones. They’re so cute and endear-ing. It just warms my heart!”

Continued from page 5L This past summer, Liberty staffprepared and served close to14,000 meals for local kids.

L iberty High School mathteacher Laurene McKennabegan using iPads in her class-

room last year and continues to inte-grate them into new and existingcourses.

Here, the veteran instructor speaksto our School Scene reporter on theeducational benefits of the light-weight touch tablets.

How are you and your studentsusing iPads?

The iPads serve as an enrichmenttool, a remediation tool, an explo-ration tool and a reinforcement tool.

For example, in my Pre-Calculusclass we completed a lesson on “par-ent functions” (basic graphs that allother equations work off of ) andtransformations, so now the studentsare working with an app calledDesmos where they are given a func-tion and have to transform it intoanother one. They are able to visuallysee all the changes and make adjust-ments as necessary. This activityallows them to work at their ownpace.

What I find most interesting is that Icould have given them the sameactivity on paper, where they had todraw their changes each time, andthey would have given up very quick-ly or only completed a few duringclass time. But now they are seeing itmove before their eyes, and they wantto make it perfect and are more will-ing to try different things.

So now instead of completingmaybe four questions before stop-ping, they are finishing 10 in a classperiod and coming back on their owntime to try and tweak their answers.They feel challenged instead of frus-trated.

How do you use an iPad to rein-force lessons?

I create videos for each of my les-sons, and students are able to viewthe lessons and take notes or replay alesson when they are struggling. Thisis also a great benefit for when a stu-dent is absent.

My goal is to turn several of thechapters we do into “flipped” lessonswhere they watch the videos ahead oftime and we work on explorations onclass. It is an important experience forour students, since many will experi-ence an online course in their future.

Are students working more dili-gently with the new technologies?

During the lab portion of my Algebra2 course, activities are often posted toan app called Showbie, and once Istarted doing this I was amazed at theimproved work ethic in the classroom.

Students worked more diligently andwere less distracted and completedassignments quicker and more thor-oughly. I was able to provide writtenand voice feedback, and studentscould make changes and seemedmore willing to in the electronic ver-sion than on a traditional worksheet.

What are students saying about theuse of iPads?

Students say, “Wow, I can't believe Iwas learning for a whole period... itwent so fast.” Or a student will say“that app really helped and I wenthome and downloaded it on myphone or tablet.” Or a student willcome in and say, “You need to checkthis app out.”

Students start to take on responsibil-ity, and that allows them to be moresuccessful. I encourage the students toshare with me. We are all learners inthis environment.

Will iPads and other technologiesreplace classroom teachers?

As wonderful as the technology is, itis a not a replacement, and the stu-dents still look for the individualizedone-on-one attention from theteacher.

Still, the use of iPads gives me more

of an opportunity to have [one-on-one] with my students because theykeep working until I can come andwork with them.

Exploration and independence aretwo huge bonuses to technology in theclassroom. It also levels the playingfield for the students.

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Math teacher Laurene McKenna, working with Pre-Calculus student Arthur Torrens, says technol-ogy helps students explore deeply and confront challenges that stretch them academically.

Using iPads adds up to big bonuses


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Liberty Elementary School Principal Jacqueline Harris works with student MelanyManzanares in the new eSpark learning lab. (See story on page 10L).


In teacher Bill Fleck’s Eng-lish class, high school stu-dents take on iPad learning.From left, Joseph Greco,Alex Jefferson, John Dotten,Kyle Rolland, Fleck, and RobKelly.

he electronic-savvy students in teacher Bill Fleck’sEnglish class are eager to talk

about using touch tablet iPads for class-room learning.

“It gives us more freedom than a hand-written paper,” said Alex Jefferson. “It’seasier for access to the Internet whilewriting.”

“You don’t have to flip through bookpages to find something,” added RobKelly.

Student Joseph Greco pointed out thatusing iPads allows students to createamazing presentations through the appKeynote.

Fleck has his students working on “evi-dence-based claims” – that is, on findingdata within fiction or non-fiction thatsupports an argument the student is try-ing to make.

Joseph Greco, for example, decided togo contemporary – he illustrated througha presentation an evidence-based argu-ment that baseball’s Chase Utley, aDodger, should have been suspended forhis illegal slide into second base during agame with the New York Mets.

Students studying novels like “The Cru-cible” used their iPads to create presenta-tions complete with music via the appGarageband, which can create mood andtone through virtual guitar, voice and

drumming.“Using iPads makes life overall easier,”

said Joseph.“I love coming to English to work on

iPads,” adds Alex.Last year, English teachers Pia Caro and

Colleen Mills piloted touch tablets intheir classrooms. This year, all Englishteachers are using iPads in their classes.

For her part, Caro says that the wholepoint of iPad use is to connect reading,writing and critical thinking in powerfulways for today’s kids.

For example, in a novel they are readingon the iPads, “I embed questionsthroughout the text to check for compre-hension, misunderstanding and criticalthinking,” she said. “I can even embedquizzes and short answer responses – allwithin the text app.

“I have also required students torespond to another classmate’s com-ments or questions,” the teacher contin-ued, “which gives students an opportuni-ty to collaborate with other classmateswho are not in their group or not just theirfriends. It’s a great way to get studentstalking about books and uncoveringdeeper meaning together.”

Caro also uses iPads to share studentwork on, for instance, their ideas andopinions on Shakespeare’s famoustragedy “Romeo and Juliet.”

“I have the students share their answersto questions, or their written responses –quick writes, essays, etc. – in real-time,”she said. “We then look at the work as aclass and give feedback and suggestionsand identify problem areas. There’s nomore waiting for them to turn in a paperand then look it over. They get instantfeedback.”

The iPads also allow students who don’thave the best handwriting to share theirwork.

“Many students are self-conscious

about that, and the iPads remove thatbarrier,” Caro said. “I also sometimeshave them submit anonymously so thatthe student whose work is being exam-ined doesn’t feel put on the spot and ismore willing to share.”

Teacher Bill Fleck says he uses iPadtechnology in various ways.

“The iPads can be connected to thegiant iTouch screen at the front of myclassroom, and the students present totheir peers from there,” said Fleck.

In his Cinema class elective, “I’ve set upprivate chat-rooms so we can discuss thefilm as we go along. Students ask andanswer questions, plus we can analyzethe elements of the film, to help naildown the central idea, in real time.”

In Composition classes, he’s able to editpapers in real time with his studentsthrough the Google Docs app, even onnights and weekends.

“This is their home base,” the teacheradded. “A lot of the time they’re teachingme. The work they do is really quality.”

Students like Angel Giarrantano-Rogersagree.

“With all the iPads connected, you canlook and see what’s happening and getfeedback,” said the ninth grader, who isone of Caro’s students. “You write with itand put in notes. Kids are enthusiastic.They like technology more than paper.”

Tmeets the 21st centuryShakespeare

High School English teacher Pia Caro andPrincipal Jack Strassman note that technolo-gy is a powerful tool which allows studentsto take ownership of their learning and pushthemselves to grow.

Kayla Samuel hap-pily admits shegets excited about

learning on eSpark days.The fourth grader at

Liberty ElementarySchool tapped on heriPad screen, opening upto learning videos andeducational cartoonsand games.

“This teaches youmath facts and divi-sion,” Kayla said. “It’sfun!”

Kayla sat with manyother students in a spe-cial eSpark learning“lab” at her school,where all are benefitingfrom a powerful new ini-tiative that boosts chil-dren’s skills by tailoring learning tothe individual needs and the uniquelearning level of each child.

“Students walked into class on thefirst day of school and the [eSpark]

apps were already tai-lored to their individualNWEA test results,”noted Superintendent ofSchools Dr. WilliamSilver.

NWEA (NorthwestEvaluation Association)offers a widely-usedseries of assessments,called MAP tests, that aregiven three times a year.The tests provide indi-vidualized measure-ments of a student’s per-formance in reading,math and science, help-ing educators to improvelearning for all.

Using data from thosetests, said LibertyElementary Principal

Jacqueline Harris and AssistantPrincipal Victoria Curry, eSpark diag-noses a student’s learning needs andcreates personalized learning plansusing interactive and academically

rigorous apps and videos.eSpark is a separate company that

teams with NWEA, explained Harris.In the learning lab, students log

onto their own eSpark account on

four days out of the six-day cycle inwhich their school operates. Theythen spend from 20 to 30 minutes on


The‘spark’

thatbuilds alove of

learning Fourth-grader Kayla Samuel polishes her math skills using a program personalized to heracademic needs and learning style.

n high schools everywhere, a significantnumber of students believe that they cannotafford to attend four-year colleges or that

they are incapable of success in college. Formany, no one in their family has ever attendedcollege.

Liberty Central School District GuidanceDirector Molly Messina says that one solution increating a culture of college and career-pre-paredness for all students – regardless of theirbackground – is access to accurate information.

Enter Naviance, a one-stop online resource forexploring colleges and careers that will allowstudents, beginning in eighth grade, to startpreparing now for their futures.

Messina points out that Naviance, a nationallyrecognized web-based program, also serves asan academic planning resource to help studentsconnect their coursework now with their collegeand career plans.

“It’s a new tool for all of our students,” saidMessina.

Naviance manages individual studentsthrough the entire college planning, applicationand decision-making process.

Students research scholarships, explorecareers, take interest inventories and review

academic and admission data for collegesacross the U.S. They build resumés and createpersonalized plans that support their collegeand career goals.

The program also measures student academicachievement against a variety of college-readi-ness milestones, letting students know if theyare on track or falling off and therefore in needof intervention.

There is a family component as well, saidMessina, who noted that District guidancecounselors are speaking about the program tostudents in the upper grades now.

Naviance’s Family Connection portal housesapplication tools, scholarship databases andapplications, and information regarding finan-cial aid.

Using Naviance helps increase communica-tion with parents around the importance offamily support in the future success of theirchildren. It allows parents and students toreview student course plans to make sure highschool graduation is a certainty. And it guidesparents through important decisions like courseplanning and college admissions, as well asabout setting goals as the recipes for success.

Schools that employ Naviance also report see-ing reduced parental costs and anxiety aroundmeeting college entrance deadlines and sendingin the correct supporting documents.

There are high hopes for escorting studentsinto the world of higher learning and careers,said Messina.

For the next four years, “our eighth graders willhave the best of it,” she said.

A one-stop shop for the next step

District Guidance Director Molly Messina started atLiberty in August and is now rolling out a new online toolfor exploring college and job readiness for students andtheir families.

Continued on next page

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the iPads, guided through a series of“quests,” or lessons aligned to Com-mon Core standards.

Kindergartners through fourth-graders work on eSpark math les-sons, and third- and fourth-gradersalso work on English Language Artslessons through eSpark.

After learning the new concepts,students “play” games and interactwith videos that help reinforce whatthey are learning.

Each quest includes a pre-quizand post-quiz to measure the stu-dent’s growth and understanding ofthe material. At the end of the quest,students are asked to create a videoof themselves answering a specificquestion about the quest.

Students can share with theirteachers electronically how they’refeeling about a particular activity,how they’re feeling that day as itrelates to learning, and they can givea thumbs-up or thumbs-downbased on whether or not they like a

particular app or if it was challeng-ing to them.

For their part, teachers use eSparkeducational apps as a way to sup-plement their lesson plans. Theyalso monitor their students’progress and identify areas ofstrength and development as well asareas that need work.

Staff themselves interact closelywith the Chicago-based eSparkteam assigned to them. Meetingsare held via phones each week withthe eSpark team, and an eSpark helpdesk is open 24/7.

It’s too new to see specific growthin standardized test scores, but inother school districts using eSpark,a leap in learning is routine.

Still, the excitement about eSparkis palpable at Liberty Elementary.Harris said she was in a classroomobserving the other day, when theteacher said, “Today we haveeSpark.”

The kids responded in unison:“YAY!”

“We must be on to something,”Harris said with a grin.

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Liberty School Scene 2015