Themes from “Mister Rogers” to Guide Ossining Educators This Year

As they prepared for the start of school Tuesday, Ossining School District teachers, administrators and other staff listened to inspirational messages about the importance of building relationships in schools and valuing positivity, kindness and empathy.

Superintendent Raymond Sanchez thanked everyone who has worked hard to prepare for the 5,100 students’ return, from buildings and grounds employees to central office staff. He congratulated employees who are celebrating their 25th year with the district for the positive impact they have had on children’s lives.

Dr. Sanchez reflected on the important lessons Fred Rogers taught on “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood” and how they are relevant to teaching today.

“One of the things that he has shared and that others have shared is that one of the greatest gifts we can give to our students is love,” the superintendent said. “They all deserve love and know that they’re capable of love. There’s no greater lesson.”

After making his remarks, Dr. Sanchez unveiled the district’s back-to-school video, called “Mister Sanchez’s Neighborhood.” In the video, Dr. Sanchez sings the show’s opening song as he walks into his office, removes his suit jacket and work shoes, and puts on a navy blue cardigan and sneakers.

“Hey boys and girls, isn’t Ossining a great community and a great place to go to school?” he asks.

The video spotlights each school, including the dual language program at Park School and the music program at Brookside School. At Brookside, children gathered around the piano to sing “It’s You I Love,” one of the songs from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” At Park, kindergarteners said learning how to subtract and reading lots of books were some of the highlights of kindergarten.

“Have a great school year everybody,” Dr. Sanchez says in the video.

The opening day assembly also included welcome messages from Board of Education President Lisa Rudley and other school district leaders and employees. Students, staff and community members who are musicians performed Latin jazz classic “Soul Sauce (Guachi Guaro),” and Ossining High School students Jonathan Bermeo and Aya Abdallah each sang a song.

Brookside teacher Susan Carey spoke about how proud she is to be an Ossining native who raised her children in the community. Ms. Carey said was reminded of why she loves Ossining at one of the Community BLOCK Parties the district and Police Department sponsored over the summer.

“As I was walking around that day, seeing the various community groups represented … it reminded me of how lucky we all are to be a part of this town,” she said. “Whether you work here or live here, we are community of caring people. We are aware of our differences and embrace the diversity that defines our community.”

Keynote speaker Tony Sinanis, an author and nationally known speaker on educational leadership, emphasized the importance of having empathy and building positive relationships in schools.

Dr. Sinanis, assistant superintendent in another district, shared lessons he has learned about what makes schools successful. They all have empathetic leaders at the helm who build positive relationships with students, families and the community. Culture and relationships in a school affect everything from academic achievement to community engagement to mental health, he said.

He encouraged educators to build relationships by getting to know students and colleagues beyond what is just on the surface – their stories, their fears, their goals, their favorite ice cream flavor and more.

As the son of Greek immigrants who spent a lot of time with his grandmother while his parents worked, Dr. Sinanis spoke only Greek when he started school. “I was very fortunate to have a kindergarten teacher who knew that about me, who wanted to understand that when I got home at night, it wasn’t my mom who was there first. It was my grandma,” he said. “That impacted how I interacted with other people. So socio-cultural experiences are critical for us to understand.”

Dr. Sinanis gave tips for building a positive classroom culture, including eating breakfast or lunch with students, celebrating everyone’s birthday, making at least one positive phone call a week, and sending cards to the families of students to thank them.

He talked about his own passions and used humorous anecdotes to get points across, such as his love of Mariah Carey. “Mariah embodies perseverance,” he said, referring to the comeback she made after a disastrous New Year’s Eve performance on television a few years ago. She returned the next year and sang three songs live.

“What easily could have been the end of her career was a pivot and a shift,” he said. “That’s what we have to keep in mind in our work every single day.’

Teachers need to model that for their students. “So the next time someone struggles with something in your classroom, I want you to channel your inner Mariah,” he said.