Here is the N-SSBA Newsline Newsletter 6/2026

Newsline

Service, Support & Advocacy

June

2026

Our Executive Committee

Our Calendar of Events

Contact Our N-SSBA Staff

Bob Vecchio

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N-SSBA wants to thank our Strategic Partner Sponsor

Executive Director's Message

"Another Year in the Books!"

As we close out another school year, first on behalf of Lorraine Mentz and myself, we just want to say THANK YOU!

Thank you to all of you for coming out to our events, your feedback, advocacy, support and most importantly your leadership that has contributed to the successful delivery of one the best public education systems in the country!

Board members are often told this is a thankless job, but as N-SSBA Past President, John Verdone once said, it's not thankless it's priceless! So true on so many levels.

N-SSBA had a very successful year! We had increased attendance & engagement with our membership on multiple levels, at our events both in-person and virtual, traffic to our website, phone calls & emails to the office, and solid representation & participatation at statewide and national events.

We had a very successful advocacy season, of note was successfully pushing back and holding off the Project Labor Agreement bill from passing. We will keep a watchful eye on this in the future, excellent job by all those who advocated on this and many other priority issues.

There is always work to do on the advocacy front, and right now our priority is urging the Governor to not opt in for the Federal School Choice Tax Credit Program which will redirect federal dollars away from supporting the mandates they impose on public education. See our position statement here N-SSBA opposition statement.

This past month, we hosted our annual new school board member dinner. It was great to meet and get to know the 45 new board members from districts across Long Island who attended alongside our veteran board members who offered excellent advice on what to expect.

N-SSBA has already set up some exciting events for the 2026-2027 season, and we hope to see you at many of those events.

We want to thank all of our sponsors who supported our association during the year. Their support has helped us elevate our events for our membership, and due to strong financial management of the association by our Executive Committee, N-SSBA has once again frozen the annual membership dues at the current levels.

We also want to thank the members of our Executive Committee, their commitment and leadership have helped N-SSBA to better serve and support our members.

Lastly, we want to wish all of you and your families a very happy, healthy, and safe summer. Take some time to relax and unwind as we know it will be another action packed school year coming up.

Happy 250th Birthday America! Onward and Upward!

Hats Off to the Class of 2026!

SAVE THE DATE!

N-SSBA Out & About

Below is a listing of meetings and events that N-SSBA attended and participated in:

6/2 – Attended the NYSCOSS webinar on the Federal Voucher Tax Credit & Scholarship Granting Organizations law
6/4- Attended the Commack BOE meeting to present award to Susan Hermer, Commack, NY
6/8- Facilitated the quarterly virtual meeting of COLSBA
6/8- Attended the N-SSBA New School Board Member Dinner, Farmingdale, NY
6/10- Attended the monthly meeting LIEC, Dix Hills, NY
6/10- Attended the Oceanside BOE meeting to present awards to Robert Transom & Donald Maresca
6/11- Received a tour of the Rocky Perk Café at the invitation of the district, Rocky Point, NY
6/12- Recorded a radio show with the West Babylon School District
6/15- Recorded a radio show with the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District
6/16- Attended the virtual monthly meeting of REFIT
6/17- Attended the Middle Country BOE meeting to present an award to Kathleen Walsh

Baldwin UFSD Among First K-12 Public School Districts in the U.S. to Integrate Misty II Robots into Curriculum

Baldwin High School students enrolled in Advanced Placement® (AP) Computer Science Principles are learning to code and program Misty II Robots as part of Baldwin Union Free School District's commitment to preparing students with the skills needed to succeed beyond high school. Baldwin UFSD is among the first K-12 public school districts in the U.S. to integrate Misty II Robots into its curriculum.

Recognizing that robotics and artificial intelligence are shaping the future workforce, the district is providing students in grades 9 through 12 with hands-on opportunities to develop skills in coding, robotics and emerging technologies while exploring real-world applications with both computer software and hardware right from the classroom.

When using the Misty II Robots, which are equipped with a variety of popular programming tools, including Blockly, Python and C#, the Baldwin High School students can configure the robots to interact with their environment.

From greeting visitors by name with facial recognition to reciting a sonnet to dancing across the classroom floor, these learning experiences allow students to work with the same type of software powering robots used in industries ranging from healthcare to manufacturing.

“When students apply the code they develop in AP Computer Science Principles to Misty II robots, they move beyond theory and into authentic problem-solving,” stated Mr. Anthony Mignella, superintendent of schools for Baldwin UFSD. “These experiences help students build transferable skills, such as computational thinking, creativity, collaboration, and adaptability, which will serve them well in college, careers, and a rapidly evolving world.”

The district plans to expand the use of the Misty II Robots across other academic programs, including special education classes and engineering projects, where students will produce 3D-printed, fully functional prosthetic limbs to attach to the robots.