Dear Bronxville Community,

The Board of Education is thrilled to commence the 2025/2026 school year in full partnership with you and your family. We are all in this together and our aligned goals of providing the best public school education for your children is our utmost priority.

Here's a summary from the Bronxville Board of Education meeting on September 4, 2025.

Community & Leadership:

The 2025-2026 school year is off to a smooth start! 

• The Board welcomed a "cohesive and strong leadership team" including:
• Adrienne Laitman as Interim Elementary Principal, Michelle Tween as Elementary Assistant Principal, and Roz Palacio as 6-12 Assistant Principal. Congratulations to Anthony Vaglica on his new role as Director of Physical Education, Health, and Athletics. 
• Significant improvements have been made to the District website, receiving positive feedback from the community and staff. Community members were encouraged to sign up for Bronco Beat and other District communications via the website.
• While we are not able to take additional days off for every holiday, we do want to recognize and honor the important celebrations that matter deeply to our families and community. That’s why the District’s calendar now includes mention of holidays such as Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Eid al-Fitr, and Easter—to acknowledge our community’s rich traditions and promote a sense of belonging.
• As a token of her appreciation, Dr. Kelly had T-shirts created for all employees to wear on the first day of school to foster school spirit and highlight the Bronxville Promise.

Curriculum & Professional Development:

Our faculty had a highly productive summer, enhancing our curriculum in key areas:

• Grammar: Kindergarten through 8th-grade teachers mapped and revised grammar lessons for greater transparency and assessment.
• Economics: Second through fifth graders will explore advanced economic topics with support from retired AP Economics teacher Steve Klurfeld.
• Civil Discourse: Middle and high school faculty developed new units to foster discussions on controversial topics like birthright citizenship and the Electoral College, promoting deeper understanding of diverse perspectives.
• AI Integration: A large group of middle and high school faculty redesigned curriculum through the lens of Artificial Intelligence, preparing students to use AI productively and ethically. Our technology teachers also worked on District-wide AI curriculum mapping.
• Student-Led Mini-Electives: Following a successful pilot, students will again propose and teach mini-electives. 
• The Board approved our Professional Development Plan supporting these initiatives.

Student Safety & Well Being:

• Student safety remains a top priority, with all employees completing abuse prevention training. 
• The Board also approved our annual District-Wide Safety Committee members and updates to the Building Level Emergency Response Plan. 
• The Board annually approved recommendations for students with disabilities from the Committee on Special Education (CSE), Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE), and 504 accommodation plans, providing a range of programmatic and support services.
• We are excited to announce the approval of the 6th-grade trip to Boston, offering rich historical and academic experiences.

Facilities & Infrastructure:

The facilities crew was commended for getting the buildings "pristine" and ready for opening day. 

Ongoing capital projects are progressing:

• The flood pump shelter is complete, except for a defective roof that is awaiting replacement material and the evaluation of alternatives for decorative fencing.
• The security vestibule is awaiting permanent doors expected by Thanksgiving. Until then, the existing entry system remains as is given the temporary doors could not support the electronic sophistication required. The millwork for the project was highly praised for its quality and character.

Financial Management:

• Preliminary results show a robust surplus and fiscal responsibility, allowing us to allocate $500,000 to offset the tax levy and add $1.7 million to our construction reserve. This reserve will help fund future projects, including the replacement of Hayes and Chambers Fields.
• Four business office policies (travel reimbursement, use of credit cards, inventory, and capital asset accounting) were updated and approved, in preparation for a potential audit from the New York State comptroller.
• Annual contracts for special education and pupil personnel services were approved.
• Authorization was given to dispose of a non-working Gator utility vehicle, as the cost to repair it exceeded its value.

We look forward to an outstanding year at The Bronxville School!

A detailed meeting agenda may be found at Bronxville’s BoardDocs site.

The BOE’s next regular meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 16th; the public portion of this meeting starts at 7 PM.

Edward Lennon, President

Sara Kenny, Vice President

Michael Brandes

Susan Conniff

Miki Kapoor

Peter McSherry

Christina Skinner