Oneonta School District eager for upcoming year

Aug. 31—The Oneonta school district is preparing for the return of students.

Oneonta high school principal Kevin Stevens and middle school principal Thomas Molle have been preparing for the upcoming school year since last spring and said they were both excited for the fall.

Oneonta School District Superintendent Tom Brindley said, "The Oneonta City School District's preparation for the 2022-2023 school year began well before the end of the 2021-2022 school year. We have welcomed roughly two dozen new faculty and staff members to our Yellowjacket team."

According to Brindley, the new faculty and staff members will work to foster meaningful and productive relationships with Oneonta students, parents and peers.

"We have an incredible group of professionals and administrators in our district who spent this summer doing many things to make the collective 'us' better," he said.

"Together we have built curriculum, completed campus improvement projects, lead or engaged in professional learning, updated district technology, participated in trainings, conducted 'New Staff Orientation', Oneonta Middle School 'Bootcamp' summer orientation, '9th Grade Transition,' Oneonta High School 'Link Crew Freshman Orientation,' operated summer programs and held kindergarten orientation," Brindley said in an email.

Stevens said he is hopeful of achieving several district and building goals for the high school for the school year. Some of the goals being increasing and managing student attendance (a difficult goal to manage due to COVID-19 and associated regulations), and incorporating social and emotional learning within the curriculum.

"We conducted student climate surveys with social and emotional learning goals in mind. The surveys help us target areas with strengths and opportunities based on the student data and it gives us a good perspective so we can target better social and emotional learning programs to meet student needs," Stevens said.

The high school has also reintroduced student activities and traditions that were originally postponed due to COVID-19.

"Activities will be returning for the upcoming school year and we will also have new clubs, events and organizations. We have an organization dedicated to mental health support for students and programs that address student social and emotional learning," Stevens said.

The high school also introduced new technology upgrades including large screens for presentations, Promethean boards, increased wi-fi access and multimedia technology, he said.

Other upgrades to the infrastructure of the high school include road maintenance, new energy-saving lights and a recently updated weight room, according to Stevens.

The Oneonta middle school has also been preparing for the upcoming school year, and Molle said he believes running the middle school is "not a one person show, but its a team show."

"Being well planned for the school year is important, but it's also being able to throw away those plans when the inevitable or unexpected knocks on your door," he said.

Recently, the middle school introduced a "house system" that encourages students to get involved and create a community with each other.

"We have a motto that goes by 'eight houses, one hive.' All students belong to a house and it's great because not all students belong in a club or in a sport so it makes sure that all students feel like they have a place in the community," Molle said.

The house system is comprised of eight houses and each house has two or more house advisors who are teachers. The houses also have two house leaders who are eighth grade students selected through an application process involving interviews with staff members and students, formal presentations and applications, he said.

Additionally, the middle school incorporates monthly themes and collections that go hand-in-hand with each other. Monthly themes include common courtesy and personal care, and monthly collections range from hygiene products to pet supplies, Molle said.

"There are a lot of important pieces behind the scenes. I want this place to be home for every kid that walks up that sidewalk and if we don't make sure they feel safe and valued, then we won't be able to break through with them," Molle said.

Brindley said he is excited to welcome Yellowjacket students back to campus and to continue to provide them with a "safe, caring learning environment filled with robust educational, social and co- and extracurricular opportunities."

Alexis Ochi, staff writer, can be reached at aochi@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213