PARENT AND COMMUNITY GROUPS

PIP Open House a Success!

PIP PIP HOORAY! Members and friends of Parents In Partnership(PiP) had a great time at their March 16 Open House at the Junior High School. Parents, administrators, community members, kids and even members of the Board of Education came to celebrate PiP's 6th anniversary advocating for students and parents. If you would like to learn more about PiP or want to join, contact Ellen Henderson at hem304@mhcable.com.

Do you think you can identify the people in this picture? If so enter the PiP 'Name That Important Person Contest'. A surprise prize awaits the person with the most correct answers! Send entries to Superintendent Jack Howe at HoweJ@hudsoncityschooldistrict.com.

Payne and Parents in Partnership Talk College

HHS students need to be spurred to think positively about themselves and their chances for college. This was the message High School Guidance Counselor Rocky Payne delivered as the guest speaker at Parents in Partnership’s Oct. 16 meeting in the HJHS conference room. Cheryl Goldstein of Learning Essentials also addressed the group.

Mr. Payne, a native of Chatham, said that when he was in high school, he said “there’s no way I’m going to college.” But, he said, “someone planted the seed for me.” And that’s how he sees his role at Hudson High, planting the seed that “you can go to college.”

LEFT: Guidance Counselor Rocky Payne addresses PIP members, from his left, Ellen Henderson, Alan Skerrett, Mary Udall, Pam Badila, Peter Meyer, Lynn Sloneker and visitor Cheryl Goldstein (obscured).

With marginal SAT scores, he thought his chances for college acceptance were out the window. Instead, thanks to the mentors who pushed him, he went to St. Lawrence University and ended up earning two masters degrees. It’s important to have a connection in the school, he said, whether it’s a teacher or someone who works in the lunchroom. And that person should emphasize the positive.

“More schools are becoming SAT-optional,” Mr. Payne said. “We have to work with each student, see what is the path for him or her. Never say, ‘Not college material.’ Say, ‘you might have a different path.” Some students may need to start in a two-year college before going on to a four-year college, he said; others might find their path leading to trade school.

Some HHS students believe they can’t afford college, as tuition prices continue to soar. But he told of a student last year who held down a full-time job while studying to get a Regents diploma and still received nearly a free ride to Russell Sage College.

“I tell kids, ‘Just because you don’t have money, that doesn’t mean you can’t go to college,’” he said.

Mr. Payne talked about the changing horizon of college acceptance. Fifteen years ago, he said, it was easier to get into places like the University at Albany; last year, 23,000 people applied there, making it more selective and more competitive. So he has them branch out and try other schools they might not have thought about.

School Board Member Peter Meyer said children are often signaled they’re “not college material” as early as fourth grade. Mr. Payne agreed, said testing bias also exists and he is encouraging students to take the PSATs in both the 10th and 11th grades, giving them more practice and a better chance to excel on the tests.

Mary Udall suggested forums for parents in which they would be encouraged to encourage their children’s interest in college

Pamela Badila said children are oppressed when they try to be unique individuals, lessening their idea of what they can achieve, and that parents, who are often victims of this oppression themselves, might be reluctant to come to these forums, an obstacle PIP would have to try to overcome. The after-school program, she said, promotes the idea that “everybody’s smart somewhere.”

“We can control the message we give the kids,” Mr. Payne said. “ ‘You can have a bright future.’ A Career Day targeted for 10th-graders went off well, he said. Mrs. Badila told about the Columbia-Greene Community College’s College Fair, scheduled for Oct. 22, and Mr. Payne said HHS was having a mini-College Fair Oct. 20.

Cheryl Goldstein, the owner-operator of Learning Essentials, 4 Delaware Ave., Greenport, said her business originated in 1995 as an educational supplies store, but has since expanded to become a day care center.