The unofficial beginning of the new school year for the Newark Central School District the annual Superintendent’s Conference Day August 29th began on a really high note with three terrific musical numbers performed by the NCSD music faculty and lots of positive information being shared with new and returning staff at an early morning assembly in the Newark High School auditorium.
To view the designed articles with photos from the day, visit: https://5il.co/2vm1q
“Good Morning and welcome to the 2024-25 school year,” Superintendent Susan Hasenauer said in upbeat tone. “Today we have a very special surprise for you that we believe will start your day with nothing but pure joy – so, without further ado, I would like to introduce to you, our very own magnificent, plus 2, extremely talented Music Department!”
NCSD staff clearly got into the swing of things, especially during the last number, “Seven Nation Army” during which they enthusiastically clapped along.
“What a way to start a year – by celebrating with our own talented musicians,” Hasenauer said after returning to the podium. “Honestly, each one of you is an inspiration to our team. Like so many sitting here today, you chased your passion, which is so evident, and you turned your love of music into your life's work. So again, thank you for sharing what you love with us. And more importantly, for sharing your exceptional skills and expertise each day with our students. It is a perfect way to start the 2024-25 school year.”
Exciting news followed in a PowerPoint presentation that opened with photos of new district faculty that attended four days of orientation Aug. 22-23 and 26-27.
“And yes, while summer does provide time to reflect, and we welcome a different pace, it is also a key time to prepare and reset for the upcoming year,” Hasenauer continued. “So, whether you are a counselor solidifying schedules, providing TIG support at a moment’s notice; a psychologist testing and supporting students, a TOSA running CSE meetings; a teacher or TA working summer school or writing curriculum; an intern learning and growing; or someone behind the scenes beautifying our grounds or preparing food for our students, your work did not go unnoticed. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity and share some photos of this summer to celebrate and thank our employees who made this summer happen. Your flexibility and adaptability to staffing issues, construction projects, lack of power … was greatly appreciated.
“First, I would like to recognize our support staff. By definition, support staff is a group that provides assistance and support to an organization or business. But to us, you’re so much more…you are the first face a student sees when they get on your bus, the hand that provides a warm meal, the administrative assistant that holds our schedule together, the tech support that fixed our device or the person who cleaned our buildings that our students will be received in, in just a few short days. You are often the real MVP and we are grateful to you.”
Then Hasenauer commended the Reds Academy staff, who under the capable leadership of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Krista Lewis during the second week of August, provided “20 plus learning opportunities for our teaching staff.”
“Furthermore, you serve as mentors and role models to our new teachers as seen in our New Teacher Orientation where over 15 more learning opportunities were available to our newest staff. Therefore, I would like to say a special thank you to Will Bean, Alisa Elder, Amanda Quku, Lisa Eakins, Laura Schunk, our newest addition, and Aaron Sweet, our Technology Integration Coach.
“The saying it takes a village, rings home as it wasn’t solely the IC who supported each of these opportunities, it took a true community of Newark staff to provide the professional learning offered in all of the needed areas. In addition, support staff came to the rescue again in the form of tech support, food delivery, set up and the welcoming of the new staff including:
Lisa Zalacca, Danielle Watt, Meaghan Trevett, Jamie Yonker, Jessica Herendeen, Stephanie Martin, Jennifer Turner and Brooke Bladinger from G & R Inclusive Group, , Sara Finch, Kyle Bliek and Jessica Orchard.”
Hasenauer also noted the many district staff and Board of Education members that helped in so many different ways with the recent New Teacher Orientation including: Jose Otero, Jack
Freer, Mike Newman, Mike Ishler, Hunter Victorious, Michael Nolan, Kelly Jorgensen, BOE President Julie Nevelizer and BOE Vice President Mary Thoms and BOE members Russ Harris and Katie Pullen, NTA Leadership, Matt Klemann, Billie Jo Ross, Jennifer Pearson, Jennifer Damick, Brenda Pittman, Christine Cravatta and school administrators.
[WE HEARD YOU]
Each year, teachers and staff in our district participate in a fall, winter and spring survey (Panorama) that allows an opportunity for staff to express what makes them feel valued as well as share their concerns, Hasenauer explained.
“When we receive the results, we look for patterns in the feedback to determine next steps. Those next steps then become action items in our DCIP or our SCEP plans that we roll out at the beginning of each year. During our writing period of the plans, we received feedback indicating that connection was not explicit enough. Therefore, we wanted to highlight this year that the information provided in the survey was acted upon so you know your voices are heard.
“During the 2023-2024 school year, survey results showed these top three concerns from staff, they included:
1. Compensation and Incentives (70% of responses mentioned this)
2. Accountability and support for student behaviors (60%)
3. Time for planning and preparation (45%)
“As our district vision, mission and core beliefs state, we believe in strong connections where all stakeholders feel valued, heard and share a collective responsibility for student success. Therefore,
1. Each bargaining units’ contract will conclude June 30th. In late spring of last year, we agreed with NTA to open negotiations this October, which is early in the hope that an agreement would be made in a timely manner. We will follow suit with additional units as well, with our goal being that when one contract ends a new one is ready to begin.
2. Accountability and support for student behaviors have always been a consistent focus of ours, and a great deal of improvements have been made. Collectively, referrals are down, physical altercations have decreased, and our security staff both armed and unarmed have done an amazing job adding to the climate of the buildings. However, we know there is still more work to do.
“This cannot be done in isolation and can only become achievable through an integrated approach where everyone sitting in this auditorium works together to create a positive school environment. One way to do this is to combine traditional discipline with a restorative mindset. Our administrative leadership retreat focused on this over the summer and the team was instrumental in creating an aligned chart that provides examples of behavioral supports and interventions for each infraction of the Code of Conduct that correlates with a traditional discipline method to both build and repair relationships through a restorative approach and mindset.
“As we know and understand, building relationships, personal accountability and responsibility begin at the Tier 1 level, therefore, a district restorative practice team, with representatives who consistently participate in building level tier 1 team meetings will be established.
3. And lastly, Professional Collaboration Time on Wednesdays.
“We prioritize the development of a rigorous, relevant, coherent curricula and assessments that are implemented in a differentiated, engaging manner. In order to do this at the highest level – you need time to collaborate and create. The purpose of releasing students approximately one hour early on Wednesdays for the 2024-2025 school year is to provide greater opportunities for professional collaboration and for co-planning. This time will allow teachers to learn from each other and to further develop their instructional skills as they engage in professional learning communities and common planning.
“With the changing landscape of education and NYSED’s new Portrait of Graduate, we want to meet the needs of our educators and our students by providing the necessary time to meet
these expectations for teaching and learning. We are extremely excited to see what this additional time means for building community amongst colleagues as well as increased student engagement and achievement for our students. Both a focus on the Restorative Mindset and Planning and Collaboration have been built into the DCIP and Building Plans. I would like to say a special thank you to Krista Lewis and our entire administration team for making this happen.”
“Not only are we excited for the additional time, we are excited about our day. In past surveys, safety and security was a number one concern. Over the past three years, we have improved our practices greatly in that area. Last year, GH put into law that all schools had to have a VPP in place and that it was mandatory for all staff to be trained, although the timing was horrible, we used this mandate to further improve our practices. And, today, is an opportunity not only for us to provide the necessary trainings identified by the advisory committee, but to also add sessions that enhance school safety and security and allow us to share where we are in the implementation of our infrastructure and what we have accomplished, plus offer additional life saving techniques that can save lives.
• 12 Differentiated Sessions
• 2 mandatory sessions
• Focused on Safety and Security
“A special thank you to Newark staff and Agencies. We would like to say thank you to those who are running the sessions today – we couldn’t accomplish this without your help and support.”
Training sessions included:
• Stop the Bleed-Wayne County Sheriff Deputy Thomas Munzert
• Situational Awareness-NYS Trooper Jason Klewicki
• Behavior Threat Assessment Management- Julia Solan
• De-escalation Techniques-Stefan Uveges
• Workplace Violence Prevention-Sue Hasenauer and Christine Cravatta
• Emergency Management Systems Protocols and Procedures-Jose Otero
• fourDScape-Hunter Victorious
• Restorative Practices-Dr. Jennifer Sinsebox and John Ginter
• Behind the Scenes of Newark CSD's Security Technology Upgrades-Mike Newman
• CPR/AED Training-Clarke Brown
• Creating and Sustaining a Supportive Classroom Environment-Marcy Peters and Will Bean
• Vector Solutions School Safety Training- was also included, but is an online training, so scheduled time was offered for this as well.
Another highlight of the Superintendent’s Conference Day was the presentation by Hasenauer of the Friend of Education Award to Katie Pullen, owner oy Katie Pullen: Allstate Insurance in Newark.
The “Friend of Education” award is given annually to an individual, organization or business that goes the extra mile to support Newark education.
Pullen, who was elected to her first three-year term on the Newark Board of Education in May, certainly has.
Last year, she approached Superintendent Susan Hasenauer and Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor with an idea of how to bring the community together to support Newark Central School District students at one of the most traditional and public events showcasing the district _ Homecoming weekend.
She suggested that she could fundraise in the community and give the monetary donations to the NHS Student Council to help defray costs of Homecoming weekend activities. With Hasenauer and Taylor’s approval, Pullen spearheaded the campaign that resulted in about $1,800 bring raised.
The fundraiser featured a four-tiered donation system: White, Gray, Maroon, and Reds Club. The top donor earned the privilege of participating in the official Homecoming Coin flip, similar to a Super Bowl coin toss. Last year, Ruffalo Appliance was the top donor with a $275 contribution. As a result, Mitch Ruffalo and his mascot, Drip, had the honor of flipping the coin for the kickoff, with photos taken alongside the Reds Mascot. “This initiative added friendly competition among businesses and recognized everyone's contributions,” Pullen said.
“Beyond fundraising, the goal was to encourage everyone to consciously get out and support Newark. We saw amazing community participation, from people showing up at the parade and Homecoming game to businesses like Grind-On Coffee creating a special “N” cookie to celebrate Maroon & Gray Day.
Jonathan Taylor and the Village Board even made a proclamation officially declaring the day of Homecoming as “Maroon & Gray Day.”
“Katie’s commitment to our students and community is truly remarkable. Her efforts not only provided financial support for Homecoming but fostered a sense of unity and pride throughout Newark. It’s a reminder that when we come together, we can create unforgettable experiences for our students and strengthen our community,” said Jonathan Mastin, Director of Director of Physical Education, Health, and Athletics who spoke about Pullen’s efforts on behalf of students after she received the award.
“My aim wasn’t just to support our schools, but also to emphasize that our students are future leaders and ambassadors of our community. Unity, collaboration, and support are the cornerstones of our village’s strength and vitality,” Pullen said later. “This is something I deeply believe in, as I’ve been fortunate to experience this firsthand—from my time as a student in Newark to now as a business owner in the same community.
“When I purchased my insurance agency, Katie Pullen: Allstate Insurance, I knew I had a unique opportunity to define how I wanted to be known in the community. I didn’t want to just be recognized as the lady who sells insurance, but as someone who has succeeded in this great community because of the support I received from those who lifted me up along the way. I’ve always had a passion for giving back, but I didn’t always feel like I had a voice that carried weight in the conversation. As I shared at the Student and Community Collaboration Conference in November, I’ve come to realize how important it is to use my voice to make a difference. That experience reinforced my belief in the power of community and the importance of supporting each other. Ensuring that our students, families, and community know that we support one another empowers people and makes a real difference.
“I also believe that the little things often have the biggest impact, and being present for each other is at the top of that list. It shows that we value our relationships, what we do, and who we are. It transcends economic and social barriers because showing up for each other doesn’t require spending money—it’s about interacting with people you might not already know. I challenge everyone to make time to be present for one another this year. Go out and support our community—you won’t regret it.”
Besides running her insurance business, Pullen is married to Christopher Baldoni, who works in the Planning & Continuous Improvement Department at FLCC, and mom to two children: Elizabeth, who will be a junior at NHS in September and son, Andrew, who is U.S. Postal Service worker in Wayne County.