Community Update: March 2025

Home
Communications
Community Update: March 2025

Equity Summit celebrates our greatest strength

Diversity is our school district’s greatest strength.

Whether you talk with an employee, a parent or guardian, or a student, that fundamental belief almost always is at the top of the list of our assets. It was the first thing I learned about the City School District of �鶹Ӱ�� when I became interested in this job a little more than two years ago, and it continues to resonate during these difficult times.

This core value was at the heart of our second annual Equity Summit on March 27. The daylong session at our Harriet Gibbons Student Services Center brought together leaders of the equity teams at all of our schools to share the work they are doing with students and colleagues to advance our guiding principles.

The summit provided an opportunity for these leaders to share what is working well in their schools, and to learn from the experiences of their colleagues. Common themes throughout the day included:

Acknowledging and addressing unconscious bias
Creating classrooms where every student feels welcome and valued
Encouraging and increasing student voice
All employees are vital to these conversations
Relationships, relationships, relationships!

We are, of course, an incredibly diverse school community, rich in cultures, traditions and beliefs from throughout our city and around the world.

Our students speak 50 different languages. Some come from families who have made �鶹Ӱ�� their home for generations. Others come from halfway around the world and have called �鶹Ӱ�� home for only a matter of months – or even weeks.

And while we are fortunate to have an array of cultures, religions and languages, that richness extends to our diversity of thought and opinion as well.

No matter their history, each person in our school community shares their own individual perspectives on those experiences. We are proud to support safe learning environments in all of our schools that celebrate and encourage everyone’s unique views, as well as discussions that explore that diversity in ways that assure dignity and respect.

As we move forward, we will continue to uplift all of the diversity that makes our school community so strong and vibrant.

Sincerely,

Track Falcons soar at state, national meets

Congratulations to �鶹Ӱ�� High senior Samir Gardner, who achieved All-American status in the long jump at the New Balance Nationals in Boston on March 14, recording a mark of 23 feet, 4 inches, which earned him fifth place on the podium! That followed his second-place finish at the New York state championships in New York City the previous weekend, where he shattered the �鶹Ӱ�� High long jump record with a mark of 23-8.

Also at the New Balance event in Boston, the sprint medley team of Nasief Smith, Adam Elia, Daaron Harrell and Noah Bizer set a new school record with a remarkable time of 3:37.39!

At the Nike Nationals in New York City on March 15, the 4x400 relay team of Harrell, Elia, Gardner and Bizer placed 24 out of 30 in the championship division.

Congrats to our Falcons on an amazing season and a big shout out to the �鶹Ӱ�� Booster Club and Falcon families who helped make the trip to Nationals possible with their generous support!

Board member Vickie Smith recognized

Congratulations to Board of Education member Vickie Smith for her well-deserved recognition from the New York State Legislative Women’s Caucus!

Nominated by Assemblymember Gabriella Romero, Smith was recognized during Women’s History Month for her contributions to the �鶹Ӱ�� community. Smith has served in every leadership position on the board during her nine-year tenure, including as president from 2022-24.

�鶹Ӱ�� Mayor Kathy Sheehan also was among those recognized, nominated by Sen. Pat Fay.

Congratulations to all!

Elevating student voices

On March 20, more than 35 leaders from local non-profits and community organizations gathered in the �鶹Ӱ�� High auditorium to engage in meaningful dialogue with students at the "Possibilities For Peace: Re-imagining �鶹Ӱ��" Serve �鶹Ӱ�� Brunch. This event aimed to hear their insights and ideas on how we can collaborate to help our community thrive.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants -- guests and students alike -- for engaging in these rich and enlightening conversations.

Eagle Point welcomes Hochul

Eagle Point Elementary School welcomed Gov. Kathy Hochul to talk with students and staff about her plan to provide free school meals to all students in New York beginning next school year!

The governor also met with Eagle Point’s Student Leadership Team, along with Superintendent Josephy Hochreiter, district leadership and local elected officials.

“Hunger is a tremendous obstacle to student success, and Governor Hochul’s plan to remove that obstacle across our state is the right thing to do for our future,” Superintendent Hochreiter said.

�鶹Ӱ�� High hosts NYSLOC4ED & HMVAMC

We were thrilled to host two major events during March at �鶹Ӱ�� High's beautiful new campus – one of the best in the state!

On March 1-2, in partnership with the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

NYSLOC4ED creates empowering professional development spaces for education leaders of color and their allies across New York, and we were honored to partner with them alongside NYSCOSS on this important work.

On March 22, with approximately 200 attendees representing more than 70 regional school districts. The conference provided a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations, gain fresh perspectives and strengthen the network of passionate educators dedicated to advancing mathematics instruction.

�鶹Ӱ��