Congresswoman Nita Lowey Visits Ossining Schools

Congresswoman Nita Lowey visited the Ossining Schools on Nov. 24, meeting with school administrators, Board of Education members, and parents to see the District’s full-day pre-kindergarten program and to hear about the District’s successes and challenges.

Ms. Lowey visited the Park Early Childhood Center, where she met with Superintendent of Schools Raymond Sanchez and other District officials, including Ossining High School Principal Joshua Mandel and Park Principal Carrieann Sipos, then toured pre-K classes.

The District’s full-day pre-kindergarten program was launched in the fall, after Ossining learned just weeks before the start of school that it had secured a portion of the state’s $340 million in full-day pre-K funding. The program hosts 252 pre-K students, and has a waiting list, said Ms. Sipos. With kindergarten students, Park now has a student population of 650, and 140 staff members.

Ms. Lowey also expressed an interest in the District’s dual language programs, which blend dominant Spanish-speaking students with dominant English-speaking students starting in pre-kindergarten – another program for which there is a waiting list.

By the time dual-language students reach high school, many are bilingual, school officials told Ms. Lowey. “Our goal at the high school is to help these students become trilingual,” said Mr. Mandel, “by offering them a chance to take French or Italian, if they’re interested.”

Mr. Mandel reminded Ms. Lowey of the praise often given to Ossining High School’s science research program, which in 2012 earned the school national recognition with the highly coveted Intel Innovator Award. He also noted that OHS is working with Westchester Community College and the State University of New York at Purchase on a program that would permit some students to receive one year of college credits -- the equivalent of a year toward an associate’s degree -- while still in the high school and at about one-third of the cost.

At the same time, school officials noted that Ossining faces unique challenges, including enrollment that has increased by 700 students in the last decade, as state funding has plummeted.

Although voters approved a $41 million bond to finance much-needed facilities upgrades several years ago, said Mr. Sanchez, New York State froze the District’s Foundation Aid in 2008-09. The Board of Education recently noted in a resolution that had Foundation Aid not been frozen, Ossining would have received about $50 million over the past seven years.

The combination of increasing enrollment and dwindling state and federal aid, said Mr. Sanchez, “means that we have the perfect storm.”

Ms. Lowey agreed that funding is one of the biggest challenges facing public education.

“It’s clear that your schools are not getting the funding you need to adequately educate your students,” said Ms. Lowey. “You do such wonderful and creative things here in Ossining and it does my heart good to see what’s being accomplished here. I would hate to see that change.”