August 3, 2016
HORNELL, NY –On Wednesday afternoon, the Hornell Board of Education passed resolution after resolution. Then came the topic of the Extra-curricular Activities Handbook, and there was some debate on that. A number of administrative staff and teachers in attendance argued that this policy creates an environment where a student literally “gives up” when confronted with this situation. Some argued that they would like to see the policy amended where upon the approval of each teacher of the failing subject, a student can have limited participation while bringing his grades up to par. The argument was that by taking away the after school privileges completely, the students lose all motivation to achieve acceptable grades and won’t work to do better in the long run. Basically, some do not want to have the students feel that when failing the four subjects, it’s the end of the road. Even if the amended policy took effect, students would still have strict monitoring and be required to show progress and have the teachers consent to continue.
However, some members on the board were not too keen on the idea, saying that if a student is at the point of failing four or more subjects, sports or after school clubs are a moot point. The resolution was tabled and further debates will continue.
Also in attendance and giving an update was Capitol project supervisor Mick Pavlick from Welliver Construction. He was somewhat apologetic to the board because of difficulties encountered when installing the climate control units at the North Hornell School building. Some of the parts that were ordered did not arrive and had to be reordered adding to the delay. He did assure the board that the project will be complete by the end of September. You can see his full report below.
