Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor

A beloved tradition continues
To the Editor:
The Shelter Island Annual Fireworks show will take place July 8, 2017 at Crescent Beach. We are so thankful for all of the support we have received over the past two years and hope we can count on it again this year.

Shelter Island Fireworks, Inc. took over the annual fireworks show in 2015 when the Island was at risk of losing its beloved tradition. Since then we have been able to make your donations tax deductible by becoming a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit; improved the viewing experience from the beach; and are proud to be lengthening the show this year in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Shelter Island Fireworks.

In addition to donating through our website or mail, we hope you will join us at one of our fundraisers, which have become benchmarks of the summer social scene. We are so grateful for all of the support we have received from local businesses, residents and summer visitors alike.

Thank you for all of your support — without your donations this tradition cannot go on!

To make a tax-deductible donation, or for information on any of our fundraising events, please visit shelterislandfireworks.com.

For more information, or if you would like to volunteer, please contact us anytime at PO Box 452, Shelter Island, New York 11964 or (631) 749-5050

We look forward to seeing you on the beach and at the events!
BRETT SURERUS, CARLA CADZIN,
JAMES RICHARDSON, KELLY SURERUS, SUSIE HALLORAN, MARY DUBITSKY
Shelter Island

More than a name change
To the Editor:
As a member of the New York State Early Learning Standards Task Force, I would like to comment on the Reporter’s recent editorial (“The name game”, June 8) and news article (“What’s in a name?”) on the new New York P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics Next Generation Learning Standards which have replaced the N.Y. Common Core Learning Standards.

This is much more than a name change. The revised standards have come about through an over two-year process involving input from over 10,000 teachers, administrators, parents, school board members and university educators. (The Task Force upon which I serve is one example.)

That feedback has brought about significant revisions, including an increased emphasis on reading and writing competence, clearer grade-specific expectations, and greater exploration of math concepts. Many of the goals and expectations in the early grades are banded across a number of grades, giving students time to reach mastery and recognizing that students develop at different rates.

These revisions and opening up of the process are clear responses to the failures in implementation that doomed the original Common Core. Further, the new standards make clear the distinctions among standards, curriculum, instruction and assessment, which in the past has led to much confusion.

The standards are not a curriculum, they are not mandated instructional strategies, nor are they a specific assessment model. Local control of education is a long-standing principle in New York and the U.S. The new federal Every Student Succeeds Act is predicated on this and gives even more control to the states and districts.

The standards do not tell schools and teachers what to teach or how to teach it. While there is state testing in grades 3 through 8, based on the standards, teachers can develop their own in-class assessments, based on the materials they choose to teach. Further, the state tests are being revised to make them shorter, more meaningful and helpful to parents and teachers.

As the former president of the Shelter Island School Board and current board member of the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of local control that insures the particular culture, characteristics and needs of each district are paramount while making sure our students are college and career ready. Holding students to higher and more meaningful standards will give them the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a world where change is constant and learning never stops.
STEPHEN GESSNER
Shelter Island

Be nice
To the Editor:
I cannot thank Richard Lomuscio enough for his column  (“Let’s all be nice to those summer visitors”), responding to the editorial (“Destination Shelter Island,” June 1). I could not have said it better myself.

There are residents who seem to think once they are here they own the place. Without the tourists and second homeowners it would be beyond a struggle for the Island’s full-time residents to keep the boat afloat. Wonder if anyone has ever done a study on one of their magic computers as to who pays the bulk of the tax receipts that carry our school, fire department, library, etc. I am sure someone in the assessors office could figure that out by pushing a button or two.

Stop being rude and selfish.

Again, thanks to Richard for a great column and a reminder to keep drinking water during the hot weather. A perfect response and perfect advice.
GEORGIANA KETCHAM
Shelter Island