Board of Education Gets to Business

The held its monthly business meeting Tuesday night in the cafeteria, discussing nominations for BOCES, the ASCD annual conference and snow removal.

The Board nominated trustee Katherine Heinlein for a seat on the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). The seat is an unexpired term once held by Andrew Wittman. If elected on Feb. 14, Heinlein will only secure the seat until June 30 of this year, and then the process begins again.

Heinlein assured the Board and community members that she would do a great job if elected to BOCES. “We owe it to the children and the taxpayers to put Bayport- Blue Point School District on the right path,” she said.

The Board also approved to send Glen Eschbach, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, to the Association for School Curriculum and Development (ASCD) annual conference in San Francisco, Calif. on March 22.

Eschbach said the conference is at no cost to the district. The cost will be funded under Title II funds, which is specifically for teachers needs and come from the state.

Eschbach said he wants to go because the conference has presentations on differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction is a method of teaching used in classrooms to teach students a variety of engaging ways to learn material. It targets all students in the class instead of a select group of fast learners. Eschbach said he hopes to incorporate this method of teaching in the district and hopefully learn from other professionals at the conference.

Though it was not on the agenda, snow removal was a heavy topic. A few parents expressed their disbelief and outrage that only one side of Academy Street was plowed. The snow covered the other lane of the street. One parent was especially concerned because his kids were climbing over mounds snow to get into his car on the pick-up line in front of .

“The problem should be rectified before someone gets hurt!” he said to the superintendent.

Superintendent of Schools Anthony Annunziato said plowing in the street is not under the school’s jurisdiction. Islip Town is responsible for all plowing in the street, even around the schools. Annunziatio said he would call Islip Town again to have them plow. All the school can do is clear the sidewalks, which was already done.

Annunziatio admitted the mountains of snow piled on by the high school auditorium on Academy Street were unsafe. He assured parents he would call Islip again to plow, so he could ensure child safety.

For more on some complaints about Islip's snow removal efforts, read Questions Raised About Snow Removal in Islip.