Hudson City School District Initiatives Celebrate Launch of School Year, With Focus on Continued Academic Success

Sep 12, 2024 | Board of Education, District, Elementary School, Superintendent

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Superintendent Dr. Juliette Pennyman’s Vision Also Includes Strategies to Advance Achievement at Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School

Highlights of the Hudson City School District’s successful Sept. 4 launch of the 2024-2025 school year were shared with the Board of Education at the Tuesday, Sept. 10 meeting by Superintendent Dr. Juliette Pennyman. Dr. Pennyman also outlined a comprehensive education plan for Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School, and introduced additional new district staff members.

Opening of School 
Dr. Pennyman outlined numerous opening-of-school initiatives, designed to advance scholastic achievement and nurture a tighter school community:

  • Superintendent’s Conference Day: The Sept. 3 event kicked off with Dr. Pennyman’s opening address, in which she introduced new staff, welcomed all to the school year and presented updates on her strategic plan for the district’s future. The forum also included updates from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager Dr. Tia Pressey and Dr. Elsa Kortright-Torres, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning. During a special event, the district was honored to hear an address from Principal Baruti K. Kafele, a distinguished urban educator, master teacher and a transformational school leader.
  • Summer Professional Development: Dr. Pennyman, the administration, teachers and other faculty and staff participated in comprehensive professional development and learning opportunities during the summer, focused on Dr. Pennyman’s 6 Keys to School Improvement.
  • Recognition: Dr. Pennyman thanked the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity’s Albany chapter and the Hudson Police Department for ensuring a smooth, fun first day of school at Hudson Junior Senior High School.

Cell Phone Rule 

  • A student cell phone rule has been well-received at Hudson High School and by parents, Dr. Pennyman said. Classrooms now have numbered cell phone pouches; students place their cell phone in a pouch at the start of a class and retrieve it at the end, enabling students to have their phones during class transitions and lunch. Students have been advised that lockers are the ideal place to store phones during the school day. If a phone in a pouch rings, the phone is held in the school office for the remainder of the day. The goal is to advance concentration while minimizing distractions to learning, she said.

Bluehawk Café Debuts

  • Hudson Junior Senior High School’s reimagined, upgraded and beautifully renewed cafeteria has been reborn as the Bluehawk Café, featuring attractive amenities designed to substantially increase students’ enjoyment, comfort and ability to nurture relationships with peers. Dr. Pennyman led a team that worked for a year on brainstorming and renovating the cafe. The multifaceted project, which is receiving widespread rave reviews, was paid for by unallocated food service funds, Dr. Pennyman said.

Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School Comprehensive Education Plan
The Board of Education approved this advancement plan, which Dr. Pennyman explained was created in response to New York State education metrics and the importance of nurturing a more tightly-knit school community. Random students were surveyed; commonalities included the importance of stronger connections with staff, a desire to feel accepted by both staff and peers; concerns about bullying; ensuring student voices are heard; the value of knowing more about teachers; and feeling a sense of safety. Two commitments headline the plan:

  • Commitment 1: Fostering relationships between adults and students to ensure students feel they have advocates and are supported. This approach’s foundation will be a strategy called RULER, an acronym for supporting social and emotional learning:
    1. Recognizing emotions in oneself and others.
    2. Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions.
    3. Labeling emotions with a nuanced vocabulary.
    4. Expressing emotions in accordance with cultural norms and social context.
    5. Regulating emotions with helpful strategies.

Key implementation strategies will include building relationships with students via RULER during daily meetings; refining community days with techniques that include scheduling celebrations and focusing on Hispanic and multicultural themes; having counseling staff and positive-behavior teams updating Check-In/Check-Out procedures with more specific goals and expanded participation; and additional and restructured home visits and family-connection meetings to cultivate stronger school-community relationships.

  • Commitment 2: Develop and implement effective Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) practices across all grade levels and settings to provide academic, social-emotional and motivational/behavioral support to increase student engagement and proficiency across content areas. The initiative is based in three priorities: academic advancement, improving attendance and supporting social and emotional learning. Key strategies will include implementing daily writing instruction and shared writing/editing opportunities; utilizing mindfulness activities throughout the day and implementing RULER lessons; and incorporating AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) strategies into instruction to facilitate learning and enhance instruction. In addition, efforts to advance attendance by Hispanic students will be empowered.

New Staff
Dr. Pennyman introduced new staff members, who received warm applause from the Board of Education and audience. They include:

  • Jill Hanley, Associate Principal, Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School: She will transition into her new role as the District recruits for a replacement third-grade teacher. “She has been an integral part of the Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School community for many years, serving as a third grade teacher and on many committees. During this time, she has proven to be an invaluable asset to the District,” Dr. Pennyman said. 
  • Kathleen McPeek, agriculture teacher, Hudson Junior and Senior High Schools: She joins Hudson after seven years as a greenhouse technician at Rondout High School in Accord, Ulster County. She has been an organic fruit and vegetable grower for 15 years and attended Rutgers University to study Biochemistry before advancing to SUNY Oswego, where she is completing her master’s degree in Agriculture Education.
  • Edward Hamm, social studies teacher, Hudson Senior High School: Hamm returns to the halls where he was a student before securing his bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Policy Studies from Syracuse University and his master’s degree in Adolescence Education from SUNY New Paltz. He previously worked as a counselor and program manager, certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, who helped individual navigate housing challenges.

Elsewhere, the Board of Education also reviewed and approved personnel appointments and transfers, and heard an opening-of-school report from Hudson High School student representative Thomas Orbinski. Learn more by visiting https://go.boarddocs.com/ny/hudsoncsd/Board.nsf/Public. Click on the Sept. 10, 2024 Meeting Agenda and then click each item for details. View the meeting on the Hudson City School District’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCclZ1tN0IQ.

The next Board of Education meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. in the Hudson High School library. The meeting also can be viewed live, or on demand, on the YouTube page.