Board of EducationJohn McNelis, PresidentKerry Davis, Vice Pres.Joshua DeLanyJessica HessJames MarinoUzma MehrJudith Rose

SuperintendentDouglas Wyant, Jr.

HighlightsHornell City School District October 2016

Thirteen new staff and faculty members greeted students this fall. Here’s a brief

introduction to our new hires:

Nyree Andrews is the secretary to the assistant principal and athletic director at the High School. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Keuka College and previously worked in the private sector. Andrews has three grown children and resides in her hometown, Corning.

Ashlen Arias-Bond is the grade 7-12 guid-ance secretary at the High School. Previously, she worked at the New York State Department of Health as an administrative assistant. She’s a graduate of Hornell High School and Rochester Institute of Technology and currently lives in Hornell.

David Butler is a groundsman for the district’s maintenance department. He was employed by Alstom for 27 years and has worked as a substitute in the district’s maintenance department for the last several months. Butler is a native of Canisteo and currently lives in Hornell with his family.

Leigh Emerson teaches third grade at Bry-ant Elementary. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from SUNY Geneseo and has worked as a long-term substitute in several districts. She is a native of Almond and currently lives in Swain with her two children.

Katherine Henderson is the district’s school psychologist for grades PreK-5. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SUNY Cortland. She earned her doctorate in Psychology from Hofstra University and is a licensed psychologist. Henderson worked in schools in Long Island for five years

Meet the district’s new staff members

Above, from left: Nyree Andrews and Ashlen Arias-Bond.

Left: David Butler

Right: Katherine Henderson

Below, from left: Kate Wargula, Leigh Emerson, Sydney Schierer and Roxanne Sanford.

continued...

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What you can do:

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before moving to Hornell. She also has experi-ence as a clinical psychologist in skilled nursing facilities and with individuals with develop-mental disabilities. A native of Long Island, she currently lives in Hornell with her husband and two daughters.

Jill Livingston is a kindergarten teacher at North Hornell Elementary School. Livingston has been a teacher for 13 years and has taught PreK and K-5 reading in Hammondsport and Andover. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Alfred University. A native of Canisteo, she currently lives in Hornell with her husband and daughter.

Ann Margeson is a kitchen helper at the High School. She is a graduate of Hornell High School and lives in Hornell. She’s also employed at Dollar General, has two children and four grandchildren.

Samantha Salmon is a first-grade teacher at North Hornell Elementary School. Previously, she was a PreK teacher in Hornell and Canisteo through Head Start. She also taught reading K-5 in Whitesville. She earned her undergraduate and graduates degrees at Alfred University. She lives in Hornell with her son.

Roxanne Sanford is the licensed practical nurse at Bryant Elementary. She received her training at BOCES and previously owned her own nursing home. For the past few years, she has been a substitute nurse in Arkport and Hornell. She was hired for the position at Bryant in May.

Sydney Schierer is a general/vocal music teacher at North Hornell and Bryant Elementary Schools. She completed her undergraduate degree in Music Education at Houghton College and her Master’s at Nazareth College. She was previously employed as a PK-12 music teacher at Webster Christian School. She lives in Henrietta with her husband and 18-month old daughter.

Steve Sleight returned to the district as transportation supervisor. He previously held the position from October 2009 to August 2014. Most recently he was the transportation supervi-sor for the Keshequa school district. He began his career as the service manager for Elsenheimer Chevrolet. He is a licensed school bus driver instructor and a licensed 19A examiner. He lives in Canaseraga, his hometown.

Kate Wargula is a second-grade teacher at Bryant Elementary. She earned an undergraduate

degree in fine arts from Alfred University and a Master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Buffalo. She previously taught third grade in Maryland. Wargula lives in Hornell with her husband and 15-month old daughter.

Not photographed: Susan Thompson, food service helper.

New staff, continued...

Above, from left: Jill Livingston and Samantha Salmon

Right: Steve Sleight

Right: Ann Margeson

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Steve Sleight returned to his position as transportation supervisor for the Hornell

City School District in July, just in time to implement the switch to fleet busing. Sleight focused on how to best make the change in the time he had available and the outcome exceeded his expectations.

“It went just about as smoothly as you could hope for,” he said. “Honestly, it went better than I thought it would. We’re tweak-ing some small things, but it’s working really well.”

The move to fleet busing was recommended by the district’s transportation committee, which began meeting in December 2015 to look for ways to improve efficiency and maximize instructional time for students.

The committee’s first task was to review the district’s bus fleet, transportation schedule and any special transportation needs. Then, the group turned to Transfinder, a company that the district contracts with for data support with its transportation system. Staff at Transfinder were tasked with assessing the existing plan and building a projected plan that makes the most of instructional time, minimizes the length of bus rides for students and is cost-effective.

The review by Transfinder recommended that the district switch to fleet busing beginning in the 2016-17 school year. Fleet busing means that all of the buses in the fleet are used to trans-port North Hornell and Bryant school students first, and then a second run is made to transport Intermediate and Jr./Sr. High school students.

The change was designed to cut down on the amount of time that students spend riding the bus each day and maximize instructional time, and in that regard, it has been successful, said Adam Porter, Gr. 10-12 assistant principal.

“Last year, there were kids who routinely rode the bus for more than an hour,” he said. “The longest ride time in the district now is about 45 minutes.”

The change also drastically cut the amount of time students spent after school waiting for their bus to pick them up, especially at the High School.

The streamlined arrival and departure of buses has made a noticeable difference at Bryant Elementary, said Jennifer Sorochin, principal.

“It’s running like clock work, thanks to our teacher aides and bus drivers,” she said. There’s no lag time in the morning. The students arrive at about the same time and go to their classrooms. It’s phenomenal at the end of the day. Students are dismissed, get on their bus and are on their way home in less than five minutes.”

“I’ve been very impressed with the team response from drivers,” she added.

To schedule two separate bus runs school start times had to be modified. North Hornell and Bryant School start times are earlier this year, while the Intermediate and High School have a later start time.

According to Scott Carroll, HS principal, research supports the notion that adolescent students benefit from a later start time. Second-ary schools with later starting times typically have lower absenteeism and tardy rates.

In addition to moving to fleet busing, the district has spent the last two years trying to enforce existing transportation policies. Enforcing the existing policies has reduced the number of unaided transportation miles.

For grades 7-12, students who live 1.5 miles or less from their school are now considered walkers. At the Intermediate and primary grades, students who live .7 miles or less from their school are walkers.

Sleight added that the state guidelines for transportation recommend grade 9-12 students within 3 miles of the school should walk, while students in grades K-8 should walk if they live less than 2 miles from the school.

Fleet busing cuts ride

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Construction updateIntermediate School

During the summer, 30,000 square feet of roofing was replaced at the Intermediate School. All of the roofing that was replaced was outside of warranty coverage and beyond its expected life. The roofing contrac-tor currently is working on the roof above the pool and pool locker rooms. The new roofing will carry a 30-year manufacturer warranty. When work is completed, approximately 40,000 square feet of new roofing will have been installed.

Renovations continue in the pool and locker rooms. The pool will receive a new ce-ramic tile finish. All other finishes in the pool area also will be upgraded, including new acoustical treatments, timing, scoring, score-board, lighting, spectator seating, entrance doors, starting blocks, HVAC equipment, pool plumbing/filter equipment, water treatment and mechanical equipment.

In the boys and girls locker rooms, new underground plumbing and electrical conduit has been installed. In the boys locker room, new foundations for the mechanical mezzanine have been poured. In the coming weeks, the new concrete slab will be poured, allowing for plumbing, HVAC and electrical work to continue. New concrete walls also will be installed for the mechanical mezzanine, which will hold the new air handling equipment and pool air handling unit.

In the girls locker room, underground plumbing and electrical work are currently being completed. This will allow the new concrete slab to be poured and shortly after, concrete walls will begin to take shape.

All finishes in the girls and boys locker rooms will be new. When completed, the locker rooms will include a coaches office, team room, storage, individual showers, individual changing rooms and new toilets and sinks. Pool and locker room renovation work will be completed in January 2017.

Jr./Sr. High SchoolCurrently, the New York State Department of

Education is reviewing project plans for the Jr./Sr. High School. The project will be bid during

the winter and work is expected to begin in the spring. Work will include renovation of the “A” gym and “A” gym girls locker rooms. (The boys locker room was renovated in the prior project); the “B” gym and both the girls and boys locker rooms; and West (Jr. High) and South (Sr. High) parking lot renovations, including a new student drop-off loop on the North side of the building. Interior renovations will include removal of asbestos and renovation in 30 classrooms. This work should be completed in summer 2019.

2016-17 capital outlayPlans for the 2016-17 capital outlay project

have been submitted to the state. The scope of work includes renovation of two bathrooms at the Intermediate school, installation of carbon monoxide detectors district-wide as required by the state, and installation of an emergency generator at the Columbian building. This work will occur during the winter and be completed in spring 2017.

The Intermediate School pool will receive a new ceramic tile finish.

Below: Work continues in the boys locker room at the Intermediate School.

25 Pearl StreetHornell, NY 14843

607-324-3012www.hornellcityschools.com5

Highlights

District fiscally sound, according to recent audit

A recent independent audit found the Hornell City School District to be fiscally sound and

in compliance with state and federal regulations for managing its finances.

The audit was conducted by Drescher & Malecki LLP, Certified Public Accountants, of Buffalo. It reported no deficiencies and offered commendation to the district’s business office for its efforts.

The audit reviewed financial statements of the district’s governmental activities, major funds and aggregate remaining fund information for the 2015-16 fiscal year. In a report to the district dated September 7, 2016, auditors found no material weaknesses, significant deficiencies or instances of noncompliance with government regulations for both the district’s financial state-ments and federal awards.

School Closings and Delays

In the event of inclement weather or other emer-gencies, families will be notified by telephone

through our Blackboard Connect emergency no-tification system. It is important that the schools always have updated telephone information for families. Delays and closings will be announced on local radio stations and will be posted on our Education Access Channel (Channel 9 on Time Warner Cable), the district’s Facebook page and on our website – www.hornellcityschools.com.

• Two-Hour Delay: If a two-hour delay is announced, your child’s school will begin its program two hours later than its regular schedule. School will dismiss at its usual time unless other weather or emergency issues occur. There will not be a breakfast program. Buses will run on a two-hour delay.

• The Hornell City School District is closed: If this is announced, all school buildings will be closed for the entire day. After-school and evening activities are normally cancelled, too. If after-school and evening activities will occur as scheduled, it will be specifically announced.

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