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Schools
'It’s Like I Won The Lottery!': Area HS Senior Wins $300K Scholarship 'It’s Like I Won The Lottery!': Area HS Senior Wins $300K Scholarship
'It’s Like I Won The Lottery!': Area HS Senior Wins $300K Scholarship A high school senior from the Hudson Valley is being rewarded for her hard work with a more-than $300,000 scholarship to her dream school.  Putnam County resident Franceska Drejaj, a senior at Brewster High School, won the four-year scholarship to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where she is planning on studying government and legal studies, according to an interview released by the Brewster Central School District.  Drejaj won the scholarship through QuestBridge, a nonprofit that helps high-performing low-income students attend leading colleges. She was o…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Decade After Sandy Hook School Shooting, New Tech Gives Teachers, Students ‘Layer Of Security' Decade After Sandy Hook School Shooting, New Tech Gives Teachers, Students ‘Layer Of Security'
Decade After Sandy Hook School Shooting, New Tech Gives Teachers, Students ‘Layer Of Security' Gun control advocates will tell you that not much has changed since a 20-year-old gunman walked into a Connecticut elementary school and murdered 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown on Dec. 14, 2012. Since that day, another 279 people have died in 189 different shootings that have occurred at schools across the United States, BBC News reports. Among them are the 19 students and two teachers who were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022. What has changed, though, is the technology that’s available to schools to help keep students a…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
Gotta Go: NY Education Dept. Orders Schools To Replace Native American Mascots, Team Names Gotta Go: NY Education Dept. Orders Schools To Replace Native American Mascots, Team Names
Gotta Go: NY Education Dept. Orders Schools To Replace Native American Mascots, Team Names Schools in New York can no longer have Native American mascots or team names without risking serious consequences. In a letter sent to all school districts on Thursday, Nov. 17, the State Education Department’s Senior Deputy Commissioner, James Baldwin, ordered schools with a Native American mascot to find a replacement by the end of the 2022-23 school year. The order also applies to team names and logos. Schools that don’t retire their mascots could have their school officers removed or have state aid withheld, Baldwin said. Thursday’s order came after the Cambridge Central School Distr…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
Superintendent In Hudson Valley Resigns Just Over A Year After Taking Job Superintendent In Hudson Valley Resigns Just Over A Year After Taking Job
Superintendent In Hudson Valley Resigns Just Over A Year After Taking Job An openly gay Hudson Valley school superintendent has resigned amid backlash over his sexual identity by a small group of organized mothers.  In Orange County, Florida Union Free School District Superintendent Larry Leaven announced his resignation on Monday, Nov. 14 on the district's website, saying his resignation will take effect Wednesday, Nov. 30. "It has been a pleasure to practice my craft alongside some of the best in education," Leaven said. "I look forward to hearing great things about the Florida learning community and wish everyone well as they continue to connect, lea…

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by Kathy Reakes
Schools
Fairfield County Educator Fired After Video Shows Him Making Sexual Comments About Students Fairfield County Educator Fired After Video Shows Him Making Sexual Comments About Students
Fairfield County Educator Fired After Video Shows Him Making Sexual Comments About Students A teacher at a private school has been fired after a hidden camera video was posted on YouTube allegedly showing him making inappropriate comments about his female students in Fairfield County. The video of Iman Rasti, a teacher, writing director, and middle school dean at Green Farms Academy in Westport first surfaced online on Project Veritas on Thursday, Nov. 10. By Friday, Nov. 11, the school had fired Rasti, according to a letter sent to parents and obtained by Daily Voice. "Dr. Rasti claimed that the statements in the edited video were taken out of context," wrote Bob Whelan, he…

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by Kathy Reakes
Schools
Hundreds Of Drivers Shown Passing School Buses In Hen Hud District Hundreds Of Drivers Shown Passing School Buses In Hen Hud District
Hundreds Of Drivers Shown Passing School Buses In Hen Hud District A pilot program employed by a Northern Westchester school district has found that nearly 400 drivers illegally passed stopped school buses over the span of two months.  The program, used by the Hendrick Hudson School District which serves over 2,000 students in Buchanan, Verplanck, Crugers, Montrose, Cortlandt Manor, Croton-on-Hudson, and Peekskill, came from a partnership with technology provider BusPatrol, officials from the company announced on Tuesday, Nov. 1.  Through cameras installed on 49 school bus stop arms, the company captured a total of 367 il…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Independent Investigator To Probe Accusations Of Corruption At School District In Westchester Independent Investigator To Probe Accusations Of Corruption At School District In Westchester
Independent Investigator To Probe Accusations Of Corruption At School District In Westchester A Westchester County school district is hiring a third-party investigator to investigate corruption accusations that residents have raised. On Thursday, Oct. 27, Mount Vernon School District Superintendent Waveline Bennett-Conroy and Board of Education President Adriane Saunders released a joint statement in which they announced that the city's school district would "immediately retain the professional services of outside experts" to answer questions about the district's contractual procurement process and use of grant funding.  In the statement, Bennett-Conroy and&…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
High School In Northern Westchester Names Class Of 2023 Valedictorian, Salutatorian High School In Northern Westchester Names Class Of 2023 Valedictorian, Salutatorian
High School In Northern Westchester Names Class Of 2023 Valedictorian, Salutatorian A high school in Northern Westchester has announced the two seniors who were named valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2023. Yorktown High School announced that Ashley Song was named valedictorian and Daniel Sheinin was named salutatorian. Ashley is a member of the varsity girls' volleyball team, the Math Team, and Science Olympiad, according to the announcement. She plans to study mathematics in college and is still deciding where she will go to school. "My family has always been supportive of me in education and beyond, and I am forever grateful for their guidance," she…

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by Nicole Valinote
Schools
This Westchester High School Ranks Among Top 20 Statewide, New Report Says This Westchester High School Ranks Among Top 20 Statewide, New Report Says
This Westchester High School Ranks Among Top 20 Statewide, New Report Says A high school in Westchester County is among the top 20 in New York, according to a new ranking from the school review site Niche.  Scarsdale Senior High School, in the Scarsdale Union Free School District, was ranked No. 13 out of 1,255 public high schools in the state with an overall grade of A+. It was also ranked No. 1 in best public high schools in Westchester County. Scores are based on a variety of school statistics like math and reading test scores, in addition to reviews from students and parents, according to Niche. Scarsdale High earned top marks in several categories, in…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
These Northern Westchester Public Schools Rank In Top 25 Statewide, New Report Says These Northern Westchester Public Schools Rank In Top 25 Statewide, New Report Says
These Northern Westchester Public Schools Rank In Top 25 Statewide, New Report Says The Hudson Valley is well-represented in brand-new rankings of the best public schools in New York. The website Niche says its 2023 "rankings and grades are calculated using a series of steps to ensure statistical rigor and useful guidance in the school choice experience." The criteria used in making the selections are outlined by Niche here. Westchester County led the way among regional selections, with Scarsdale High School No. 1 in the Hudson Valley and No. 13 in the state. View Niche's profile of the school here. Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua was the next-highest school in th…

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by Joe Lombardi
Schools
Croton-Harmon High School Named 2022 Blue Ribbon Winner Croton-Harmon High School Named 2022 Blue Ribbon Winner
Croton-Harmon High School Named 2022 Blue Ribbon Winner Multiple Hudson Valley schools were named 2022 National Blue Ribbon winners. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, a part of the United States Department of Education, announces hundreds of award recipients annually. The award was created to recognize schools that are considered outstanding, and the winners are honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC, where schools receive plaques and flags. The following Westchester County schools were named winners: Croton‐Harmon High School in Croton-on-Hudson  Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua Bronxville Elementary School …

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by Nicole Valinote
Schools
Power Outage Causes Closure At High School In Hudson Valley Power Outage Causes Closure At High School In Hudson Valley
Power Outage Causes Closure At High School In Hudson Valley A high school in the Hudson Valley is closed on Tuesday, Sept. 13 due to a power outage. In Orange County, Warwick Valley High School is closed for both in-person and remote learning due to the power outage caused by a blown transformer, the Warwick Valley Central School District announced. "The power outage is isolated to Warwick Valley High School," the district said in an announcement on its website. "Therefore, this will not impact our other schools or students who attend morning or afternoon CTEC." Check back to Daily Voice for updates.

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by Daily Voice