The Kingston City School District is proposing a restructuring that merges some administrative positions and expands support. Specifically: - Two assistant superintendent positions will be merged into one new "Deputy Superintendent" position each for curriculum and business functions. - Three director positions will be replaced with new assistant superintendent positions for humanities, STEM, and special education. Each will have additional director/assistant director support. - This restructuring aims to better support teachers, principals, and students by streamlining some roles and increasing specialized academic support.

1. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
curriculum highlights

2. Response to Intervention (RtI)is a multi-tier
approach to the early identification and support of
students with learning and behavior needs.
CHALLENGE: Professional development needs to be
imbedded and ongoing for teachers on the RtI process, as
well as for recommended strategies and interventions
SUCCESS: The RtI plan for math and ELA in grades K-8 is
complete. SED requires all school districts to establish RtI
policy and procedures for students K-4 in literacy and
math, the KCSD ALSO includes our middle school
students. Progress is being made. Principals are reporting
that their percentage of students at tiers 2 and 3 has
decreased. One elementary principal cited that she had
16 students in grade two at tier 3; she now has 5.

3. Project Based Learning is the extended process of inquiry in response
to a real life question, problem or challenge. Students in Gr. 6-8 take
PBL courses.
CHALLENGE: More resources/materials need to be available for the
projects. Technology is available, but we want to be sure that
teachers are using it purposefully. Future PBL courses should include
more community involvement in terms of the school as well as the
Kingston community at large.
SUCCESS: In addition to engaged students who have achieved a high
quality of work, PBL has yielded unprecedented collaboration and
sharing of best-practices between teachers and buildings. The
curriculum for this course was authored by KCSD teachers, and there
has been continual sharing throughout the year about the programs
challenges and opportunities.

5. The Foreign Language Exploratory Program (FLEX) is designed to
introduce students to different languages and cultures, foster an
appreciation for world cultures, as well as reinforce language
development and social studies curriculum. All fifth and sixth
grade students at Bailey and Miller Middle School are enrolled in
the FLEX program.
CHALLENGE: During the pilot phase of the program, there was
one curriculum for both fifth and sixth grade students. Next
year, the sixth grade curriculum will be modified to include a
greater focus on the development of oral and written foreign
language skills.
SUCCESS: Students are engaged and enthusiastic about the
program. Students have also expressed a desire to move beyond
the written curriculum, and teachers have modified (where
appropriate) further exploration of other cultures not originally
included in the curriculum.

7. The Peaceful School Bus Program works to change the social
dynamics on the school bus by building strong, positive
relationships among students and by teaching students to take
responsibility for their “bus route group” and what happens on
the bus.
CHALLENGES: Full implementation of the Peaceful School Bus
program, or a modified curriculum, has been delayed until the
2014-2015 school year. Peaceful School bus liaison and school
social worker Nancy Herbert reports that there will be a need
to modify and adapt the original Peaceful Bus curriculum in
order to fit it into an already rigorous academic schedule.
Another challenge is the legal and practical issues that
surround hosting bus meetings which include contract drivers.

8. The Kingston City School District is currently awaiting approval
of an Extended Learning Time (ELT) grant from the New York
State Education Department in order to provide enhanced
academic opportunities, enrichment, and a longer school day
to students and families in dire need of these services. As
currently envisioned, all students attending both middle
schools—Bailey and Miller—will see their school days
increased by 100 minutes (a 29% increase).Kingston City
School District Students attending KCSD’s elementary
schools—JFK, Chambers, Edson, and George Washington—will
experience 125 minutes of extended learning time daily,
Monday through Thursday (a 25% increase).
.

9. Elementary school literacy coaches work in the classroom,
directly supporting teachers and students.
CHALLENGE: Although we have made major inroads for building
consistency in instruction, there is still work left to be done and
our teachers will continue to rely on the support of the literacy
coaches. It is a major instructional shift for some. We are no
longer teaching skills in isolation, but rather embedding them in
a holistic approach.
SUCCESS: Development of a comprehensive curriculum K-4 (by
literacy coaches) that focuses on literacy and integrates the
Social Studies Framework for K-8 and the Next Generation
Science Standards. Curriculum is customized to the needs of the
KCSD population

10. The Advisory program teaches students social and
emotional skills. Topics like resisting peer-pressure, social
media strategies, and goal-setting are all covered. The
curriculum includes music and physical activities and the
major learning styles—visual, auditory, and bodykinesthetic—are all addressed.
CHALLENGE: The advisory curriculum adds to an already
challenging schedule for school support staff. In the
2014-2015 school year, the KCSD will put in place greater
administrative supports at the building level to help with
the increased workload.
SUCCESS: The routine exposure to school support staff
has fostered positive relationships between students and
guidance counselors/psychologists, and is especially
helpful as it facilities a positive mentor/mentee
relationship between these groups.

12. The Scholars’ Academy separates the 468 freshman at Kingston
High School from the general school population through a dedicated
building (Myron J. Michael) that houses students, teachers, and a
dedicated support team in-house of counselors, social workers,
psychologists, and community partners working collaboratively
under the leadership of Dr. Adrian Manuel and assistant principal
Deborah Fitzgerald.
CHALLENGE: While most of the Scholars’ Academy classes take
place within MJM, students must leave the building for art, physical
education, and music. In addition, accelerated courses take place
outside of MJM. This can lead to difficulty and confusion in
scheduling when students in Grades 10-12 are called to the
auditorium for special programs or assemblies.
SUCCESS: In addition to the positive school climate, the Scholars’
Academy is yielding positive academic results. At the end of the
second quarter in 2013, 74 students were failing at least one
course. This year, that population has been reduced to 64 students.

13. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Other Goals

14. Facilities Goal: develop a meaningful and
comprehensive public relations campaign to
promote the 2nd Century Project

15. Facilities Goals
• We have continued the structured
maintenance and renewal plan currently in
effect for all district facilities
• We are in progress of developing a plan for
the warehouse facility
• We have continued to pursue sale of
unused facilities
• Zena, Tillson, and Sophie Finn are all
under contract
• The BOE chose not to sell Meagher

16. Budget: Develop a Fiscally Sound Budget
• We have been actively working on developing a
sound budget
• We have begun the budget forum process and
community outreach. Upcoming forums will be held
on March 10th and April 7th.

17. Student Achievement: 2010 cohort grad
rate will increase by 5% for all students
Cohort Advancement Towards Graduation Benchmarks
Data Points
1st Semester
2010 Cohort
Current Enrollment
12th grade
440
11th grade
22
10th grade
4
9th grade
0
Ungraded
8
Dropped
37
GED
8
Totals
519
% of potential 4 year graduates
86%
# of students needing to re-take a Regents Exam
85
# of students w/below 90% attendance
65
# of students failing 2 or more courses
81
# of students below benchmark credits
26

18. Questions?

19. KCSD Restructuring

20. KCSD Restructuring
What has changed in our schools?
Laws, mandates, and regulations
The number of students in poverty
The Internet and the way students learn
Number of special education students
Family life
Demographics
The world has changed…and we must change the way we do business by
increasing support for our teachers and our principals.

21. Continuing Challenges in the Kingston City School District
• Overall graduation rate of 77% in the 2012-2013 school year
• 58% graduation rate for black students
• 56% graduation rate for students’ with disabilities
• 55% graduation rate for Hispanic students

22. Continuing Challenges in the Kingston City School District
• Data easily identifies early emergence of these challenges
• Chambers Elementary School Grades 3 – 5
• African American/multiracial students make up roughly 26 percent of the
school and Hispanic students comprise about 22 percent of the student
population
• Approximately 84 percent of all students are not rated as ELA proficient
• 89 percent of Chambers students were not proficient in Math

23. Continuing Challenges in the Kingston City School District
• Data easily identifies early emergence of these challenges
• John F. Kennedy Elementary School Grades 3 – 5
• African American or multiracial students comprise roughly 31 percent of the school
• Approximately 85 percent of all students are not rated as ELA proficient
• 95 percent of JFK students were not proficient in Math

24. Continuing Challenges in the Kingston City School District
Special Education
• Classification Rate - 23 % of our students are classified as students
with disabilities and must have Individualized Education Plans
• This rate of classification is 11 % higher than the New York State average

25. New Challenge – Annual Professional Performance Review
• Principals must adhere to a NYS education mandate to evaluate
school faculty through the APPR process.
School
Number of APPRs
Non-3012c
Chambers
27
6
Crosby
27
4
JFK
25
6
GW
32
4
Edson
29
6
Myer
25 (Edson)
6
Graves
28
5
JWB
84
6
MCM
72
16

26. Current Structure in the Kingston City School District

27. Proposed Structure in the Kingston City School District

28. Four administrative positions
merged into two positions.
•
AS for CIA and AS for SS will be merged
into one position: Deputy Superintendent
for Curriculum, Instruction, and
Assessment & Student Services.
•
AS for B and AS for PA will form a single job
title: Deputy Superintendent for Business,
Personnel, and Administration
Expansion of Support
•
•
•
Current Director of Humanities
will be replaced with an
Assistant Superintendent of
Humanities
Director of Math, Science, and
Technology will be replaced by
an Assistant Superintendent of
Math, Science, and Technology.
Each of these Assistant
Superintendents will have two
assistant directors. A new
position of Assistant
Superintendent for Special
Education will be created and
will be supported by one
director and two assistant
directors.