Friday, November 22, 2013

Flood Mitigation Project and Field Expansion

The Board of Education heard more detail about the joint District-Village flood mitigation project that has received a FEMA grant. The District's engineering consultant, David Lombardi of John Meyer Consulting, made the presentation, recommending that the District approve the project and giving an overview of the construction schedule. The proposed project has been approved as a FEMA project costing $6.9 million. The grant covers 75% of the project costs ($5.2 million; the local share of $1.7 million is split between the Village and the School District. The plan calls for installing underground storage tanks under Hayes Field. A pumping station located on the edge of school property would direct storm water run-off to the Bronx River when it is safe to do so. The storm drain capacity under Midland Road would also be increased. Once approved, final plans will be developed, and the project is scheduled to begin early 2015 and end in September 2015.

Board discussion focused the design and effectiveness of the system, the role of the state, and the tentative construction schedule. The Board requested more information about the system and more detail about the proposed schedule.  A second presentation will come when the plans are further along.

Excavating Hayes Field and installing underground storage will be a major project during the construction period, with massive amounts of soil removal required. Restoring the fields raises the question of what should the field design be, with what type of surface. Board President David Brashear said,
If this project moves forward, we are hopeful that we may be able to expand Hayes Field to full regulation size for most sports . . . As we learn more, we will report on our findings and any opportunities that emerge. Once again I would like to reiterate that we are not yet at any decision points.  But as I have said before, we are committed to the end goal – and that is to provide the facilities necessary to meet the needs of our programs and the needs of our students.

 

 Architect Russ Davidson displayed a possible reconfiguration of Hayes Field that would occur in tandem with the flood mitigation work. The reconfiguration calls for laying out a competition field and installing artificial turf. This would have an impact on the Elementary playground and parking. Such a plan would increase the School's flexibility to schedule games, representing another approach to address current constraints. The Board is also exploring various other off-site options for field expansion.  The architects estimate the projected cost for regrading and installing artificial turf and redesigning the Elementary playground would be in the range of $2.5  to 3.5 million. Both projects would require public approval through a bond referendum.


-
 



Finding a Voice

Each year the Board of Education conducts several "curriculum conversations," designed to continue the dialogue about an essential question: To what extent do Bronxville students produce high quality, original work that demonstrates the capacity for analysis, reasoning, problem-solving, and effective communication about complex global issues?

Over the past two years the topics presented have included inquiry labs, fifth grade research projects, social studies discussion, and “stepping up to questioning.” The Board has heard students and teachers describe their work, watched classroom videos, and learned about professional development programs such as lesson study and action research.  This approach reflects an underlying belief that it is more productive (and interesting) to have a series of connected conversations about an important question than to have a periodic stand-alone dog-and-pony shows.
Model UN provides the opportunity for students to research an issue and present their findings in a persuasive manner.



















At its November meeting, the Board of Education held its first conversation of the school year, focusing on "Finding a Voice: Communication and Public Speaking."  The discussion provided an overview of how verbal communication skills develop with respect to focus, presence, use of technology, and scope of audience: 
Having something worthwhile to say stands at the center of this process: our youngest students begin with “show and tell” -- informally sharing information about themselves, their likes and dislikes, and their families. In the intermediate years, students learn to report what they have learned about a specific subject. Later still, they examine issues from multiple perspectives, determine their own beliefs, and weave what they know and believe into a coherent narrative.
The background document can be found here.