Pawling High School Innovation Fellowship Project Helps Immigrants Build a Stronger Future

Seniors Sophia Gomez, Marlene Ruiz, Nelson Cruz and Wuesley Gomez represented Pawling High School at the Dutchess County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (DC BOCES) Innovation Fellowship presentation in April.

The Student Innovation Fellowship program invites Dutchess County seniors to develop school or civic improvement projects and present them to peers and educators, building essential skills in critical thinking, problem solving, civic engagement and both written and spoken communication along the way.

The group of seniors – three of whom are English as a New Language (ENL) students – presented a project entitled “RAIZH” (Reunifying All Immigrants in Zones of Hispanic Heritage) – a title giving a nod to the Spanish word rais (meaning “root”). RAIZH focused on supporting immigrant families through cultural celebration, advocacy and inclusive communication. Backed by months of research and community feedback, the team proposed mentorship programs, culturally responsive events and multilingual outreach to strengthen family and community bonds.

“We were inspired by people who are being deported without knowing their own rights as immigrants,” said Sophia.

ENL teacher Marlon Marmolejo supported his students throughout the process and praised their perseverance and growth, particularly when facing the presentation aspect of the project.

“They were nervous, but I convinced them this would be a great opportunity to get agency on an issue that they deeply care about,” said Marmolejo. “I’m proud of the passion they exerted about the topic.”

Little Hands, Big Discoveries: PRIDE Students Grow, Taste and Explore

Kindergarteners and first graders in the PRIDE program at Pawling Elementary have been tasting, gardening and bird watching their way to new experiences this year.

Special education teacher Kasey VanKleek has been helping her students explore the world around them while teaching essential life skills through the creation of a class garden and “Tasting Fridays,” a weekly event during which students have the opportunity to experience different kinds of foods through taste, touch and play.

“Tasting Fridays allow our students to experience foods in different ways and hopefully become more comfortable with trying new things,” said VanKleek.

The class has also begun weeding, raking and mulching the garden outside their classroom in preparation for the warmer months ahead. They enjoy daily trips outdoors to inspect the flower beds and fill the bird baths and feeders – and other students have been taking notice.

“My favorite moments are when other kids come over and want to join us in our garden,” VanKleek said. “It is so great to see them interacting and feeling pride in our work.”

Eighth Graders Take the Lead with 20Time Project Workshops

Pawling Middle School students of all ages crafted, strummed, drummed, wrote and played their way to a host of new interests during a series of after school workshops led by eighth graders for their 20Time projects this year.

An educational initiative that encourages students to spend twenty percent of their class time pursuing a passion project of their choice, 20Time is offered to all Pawling eighth grade students during their English Language Arts classes.

Projects this year run the gamut from podcasting and social advocacy work to sharing their knowledge of music, games and art with younger students – and that’s where the workshops come in.

“These events gave them a chance to be independent and more easily connect with younger students to further the goals of their projects,” said eighth grade ELA teacher Darlene Eirish-Schofield. “They’re really morphing with it and building confidence, trying new things and showing real leadership.”

Pawling Elementary School Launches First-Ever Spring Break IXL Showdown

What began as a professional development session turned into a spring break showdown at Pawling Elementary School. After attending a training for IXL – an online platform for math and English Language Arts practice – Assistant Principal Audrey Feliciano and Literacy Coach Jenni Selvaggi were inspired to launch the school’s first “IXL Showdown,” a friendly competition using IXL’s leaderboard feature, during spring break.

“We already had this great resource we weren’t using to its full potential,” said Feliciano. “The training helped us realize that this leaderboard feature could be the perfect tool to keep kids practicing while also having fun.”

IXL supports the district’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) by providing data for targeted instruction. The friendly competition helped students maintain skills during the break through lessons and games at their own pace. Top-performing classes and students earned prizes – but the real win was seeing students excited about learning.

“We’re trying to build a culture of celebration around learning,” said Selvaggi. “This was a great way to start that.”

Congratulations to the winners of the Spring Break IXL Showdown (and kudos to all who participated)!

Top Leaders

Alora Valdez (Grade 3) | Mason Neumann (Grade 4) | Noah Gregorio (Grade 2)

Class Winners

Mr. Malone's 4th Grade Class (Most Skills Proficient)

Ms. Stipak's 3rd Grade Class (Most Accumulated Time Spent on IXL)

Digital Backpack

The digital backpack is updated regularly with information from the schools and local community. You can find a link for it under the Parent tab of the homepage. It is also listed on the homepage with the date of the most recent update.

We Are Hiring!

The Pawling Central School District is a great place to work. We have positions open for full-time permanent building substitute teachers, typists and custodial workers. We also have substitute positions open in many other job categories: certified teacher, uncertified teacher, teaching assistant, teacher aide, monitor, bus driver and food service worker. We also have part-time positions open, such as school monitor. Full-time positions earn excellent benefits. As a team of educators, we never doubt that we are making a difference for our community. PCSD offers walk-throughs and orientations for those thinking about working in schools. Our very best employees are often people who live in our community. Diverse and bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply. See the link below to reach our friendly and helpful Human Resources Team.

https://www.pawlingschools.org/human_resources