Education

Students to monitor Island environment


Biology teacher Dan Williams explains his “Creating Environmental Stewards and Student Scientists” project, made possible by his Toyota Tapestry grant.

Shelter Island biology students will be undertaking a massive scientific review of the Shelter Island environment and its species in the upcoming years. There is also be the possibility for some new courses. These and other items were discussed at the March 15 School Board’s regular session.


BIOLOGY PROJECT


Biology teacher Dan Williams announced that he had applied for and received a Toyota Tapestry grant, the largest K-12 science grant program of its kind in the country. Grants are awarded for innovative classroom projects in the fields of environmental education, physical science, literacy and science education. Each year, only 50 grants are awarded for up to $10,000 each.


His project is called, “Creating Environmental Stewards and Student Scientists.” The project will involve the Science Club and all of the courses he teaches: Living Environment, Marine Science and Advanced Biology (Molecular Genetics). “This project is supposed to reach every type of student that we have here,” said Mr. Williams.


This project involves students monitoring different environmental regions on Shelter Island by keeping track of salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate levels and chlorophyll, among other factors, all of which are indicators of the health of the environment.


Students will then compile the data into a GIS environmental database with new information each year. “We will be able to see how things are changing — what’s going on in our environment.” said Mr. Williams. “We can then ask student-led questions (what is happening? What is changing? What is new?) with student-led solutions.”


Students will also look at species diversity on the Island. They will use spectrometers, digital microscopes and DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing software to monitor species’ health and a host of other aspects of species populations. The school already has some of these tools — others will be covered by the grant. Mr. Williams also plans on having his advanced students perform DNA sequencing at Brookhaven Laboratories. “To my knowledge, I’ve never heard of another high school student who’s been able to do that,” said Mr. Williams. Through the project, students will gain an appreciation for their environment and change from passive learners memorizing facts to active scientists learning through discovery, he says.


Mr. Williams was also accepted to the Department of Education’s program, “Academies Creating Teacher Scientists.” The program helps to update teachers’ skills and helps them translate complicated scientific concepts into more interesting teaching methods that students can understand.


He also applied for and was accepted to a third program at the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Center for BioMolecular Modeling. He will travel to Milwaukee at the end of June to help develop innovative and interesting ways to explain proteins to students.


PROPOSED COURSE ADDITIONS


The board heard new course proposals from teachers Roni Siller and Jen Corwin and Assistant Superintendent Donna Guiffre. “Have you ever paid $25 to have a pair of pants hemmed?” began Ms. Siller. “It doesn’t take more than 12 minutes. I think sewing is something every student should know how to do.” She suggested adding an introduction to sewing and interior design course. She said the 8th grade has shown an interest in sewing over the past year. She added that students could put together the costumes for plays, redesign curtains for the school and even save a large amount of money around the house.


“It is a trade that we should be exposing them to,” said Board President Rebecca Mundy. “It’s a fabulous thing to be able to,” added board member Kim Reilly. Ms. Siller said the course could be cycled into the curriculum every few years.


Ms. Guiffre presented a related class proposal on behalf of Stephanie Sareyani, which she described as needle-arts — creating small projects. The program would involve textile design, knitting, crocheting, needlepunch and needlepoint, among other “fiber arts.”


She too suggested that the class could be cycled into the curriculum every few years and perhaps designed to work in tandem with Ms. Siller’s course. Ms. Siller commented, “[Ms. Sareyani] is such a creative person, she can look at so many different fibers and understand how to put them together to make them beautiful works of art. I am more the technician: I know how to fit that shoulder into a jacket in a special way … if we could do more of these interdisciplinary types of things, we could feed off of each other’s specialties.”


With Jen Corwin’s “Inquiry,” class, she envisions “a course that would finally give a place for a kids to come and explore big questions … ‘What’s happiness? What’s justice? What’s responsibility?’” The course material would be based on the Socratic model of thinking-through-questioning and expose students to major philosophic thinkers from Plato to Martin Luther King Jr. Ms. Corwin said the course would be ideal for 7th- or 9th-graders to advance their critical thinking and social awareness skills and develop their character, though the material could be adjusted for any age level.


Ms Mundy, among others, reacted favorably to the proposals: “We need to start rotating in some new stuff and up the ante on our electives,” she commented. The board said they would like some time to review the programs and would probably vote on the items at the April 19 meeting. 


ELECTION MANAGEMENT


Business Official Sam Schneider proposed switching to a computerized system for managing voters on budget election day. The school currently uses the “buff card” system, comprised of six books of paper cards, some dating back to at least 1969, to keep track of registrations and who has voted. The books have to be updated manually and can increase voter wait time ­— voters in past elections have waited in line as long as 20 minutes to have their registration verified, said District Clerk Debbie Vecchio. Furthermore, some of the buff cards are beginning to fall apart. The books have to be replaced and the data transferred this year at a cost of about $1,200.


The proposed electronic system, called the BOLD system, would associate each name with a scanable bar code, allowing voters’ registrations to be verified quickly and easily. It can also generate election statistics by age, gender and street. Bold LLC., the company that provides the system, would train the election day staff for free. The system is currently used in 93 Long Island districts.


The new system would cost about $6,000 the first year and about $4,000 in subsequent years. He mentioned that the system is available through the BOCES program and therefore is subject to state aid, at a rate he estimated at 10 percent. “Certainly monetarily, with the budget, it’s not the best year for it, but it’s something to consider for the future.”


OTHER BUSINESS


• The Shared Decision Making Committee announced it had updated the school’s mission statement, which guides students to “engage, explore and empower.”


• Approved putting an additional proposition to go on the ballot for the school to expend a sum not to exceed $135,800 for the purpose of playground renovations.


• Approved a 10th-grade overnight field trip to Mashomack Preserve from April 29 to April 30.


• Appointed Janine Mahoney as the intramural girls physical fitness advisor, two times per week for 10 weeks, for grades 7-12, at a total rate of $1,052.00


• Approved Robin Anderson to provide GED instruction for a maximum of 10 weeks at 8 hours per week at the rate of $36.31 per hour.


• Accepted budget and revenue status reports for the General Fund, School Lunch Fund and Federal Fund.