As summer in Pawling draws to a close, many local families are starting to think about preparing their children and teens to get ready for a new school year.  We reached out to PCSD’s  Superintendent Kim Fontana to ask her about what’s new this year for PCSD families. and to ask if she has any advice for parents about preparing their children to get back to school.

I met Kim at her sunny corner office at the PCSD Administration building on Route 22.  The first question that I asked her was if she has any advice for parents about preparing their children to get back to school.

As a parent with one graduate of Pawling High School and another son starting as a Freshman next year, I must admit that I expected Kim to mention things like getting kids back into an earlier bedtime routine and finishing up summer reading assignments.

Kim surprised me, saying, “Well, one thing I would say is that families should spend some time enjoying the rest of the summer and having fun together, and giving kids opportunities to play in unstructured ways.  Unstructured play helps kids learn to think on their feet, collaborate in teams, and communicate with one another. These are the high priority skills–we used to call them soft skills, now we call them essential skills.” 

She went on to describe her work on the NYS Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures. (She is one of only seven school superintendents who’ve been invited to serve.)  Kim said that the bulk of the research they’ve been reading and the feedback that they’ve been receiving from stakeholders emphasizes the importance of curiosity, creativity, an interest in learning and the ability to work with others. 

“I see many of those skills being developed in unstructured playtime, or when kids are in a novel situation–attending a summer camp, or attending a family reunion, or visiting a “home” country like, say, Guatemala, with a culture that they might not remember very well. All of those things parents might do with kids in the summer are good opportunities for them to develop both social and intellectual skills.”  

“Summer is also a time when families might have more time to let kids become contributors to the family.  I think, because families are so busy today, sometimes kids don’t feel like important contributors to the family’s economy as they once did. This might be a good time, for example,  to let kids go to the grocery store, and figure out if it’s better to buy blueberries or cherries this week, based on the prices and where they are grown.  It can be time consuming to teach kids how to wash the car or to make a meal–maybe in the summer families have a little more time. All of those things really benefit kids.”

“And of course, reading and talking with your child are always great to do. Maybe there’s time to write a letter to Grandma, or a thank you note.  It’s also great for kids to work on a project and see it through to completion.  Sometimes it’s nice to ask your child, ‘What do you want to accomplish this summer?’  Maybe it’s learning to whistle or caring for a pet or water skiing. Whatever it is –just something that they can start as a beginner and become better at than they were before. They don’t have to win a championship–anytime a child can see themselves get better at something improves their confidence.”

I asked Kim about what’s new this fall for PCSD programming and facilities.

“Facilities are going to take the lead in my response, because it’s very exciting! Our new stadium and track are now open.  Townspeople are welcome to use the track and are starting to use it. It is open to the public dawn through dusk, except during practices. People can find the athletic calendar on the district website to see when the track is open. We’re looking forward to the official grand opening, the week of Homecoming in the fall, when many of our teams will have night games.”

  “We hope to have our new Innovation Lab–that’s the addition on the high school building– completed this fall. This should be ready by the end of September, which means that students enrolled in technology, engineering and design classes will have a new dedicated learning space to use this year. Once that is complete, renovations will begin on the former woodworking shop, which will become the new cafeteria. The plans are beautiful–it will include a nice outdoor seating area adjacent to the cafeteria.  The new cafeteria should be able to open in January. Once the students move down to the new cafeteria, work can begin on the old cafeteria, which will become our new music suite.  We are also planning to complete the renovations on the auditorium this year, by adding a new transformer to power the theatrical equipment and also adding air conditioning–we don’t have a timeline on those things yet, because we are waiting for the units to arrive.”

Other ongoing projects for the high school include the installation of air conditioning throughout the school, which involves work that has to happen over two summers, while school is not in session. Half of the ducts are being installed this summer; the rest will happen next summer, with the expectation that the AC can be turned on in fall 2024.  Public restrooms are also being installed which will affect access to the boys’ locker room and the fitness center this year.

Work will also begin on Pawling Elementary School this spring.  The first project will be to relocate the school library to a more central location in the primary wing. The new library will be a little larger than the old one and will include some outdoor courtyard space. The current library space will then become the main office, so that it can be located near the main entrance to the building, which will improve school safety.  There are also plans to add a structurally pleasing canopy by the main entrance, to protect folks from the rain while entering and exiting the building.

Kim spoke about how these new facilities will support some of the new programming that has been implemented by the district in recent years. 
            “For example, our pre-engineering program, ‘Project Lead the Way’ was begun about 8 years ago, but some of its high school expressions have been held in less than ideal facilities. Now the facilities will match the programming. We’ve increasingly worked on interdisciplinary and applied studies at the high school. We’ve had Applied Geometry at the high school for a couple of years, but didn’t really have the facility to match it. We’re hoping to give students more opportunities to work in teams–some students will design a product using CAD drawings, others will manufacture the product using a 3D printer and other students will market that product. That kind of interdisciplinary work is facilitated by having a common space with a “dirty” part and a “clean” part and teachers working together to make exciting things happen.”  

Kim also spoke about how the MakerSpace and music programs will be moving into new rooms at the elementary school that will be renovated specifically to support those programs. Previously those programs were held in regular classrooms.  Recently, the District added a strings program for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade music students.  That program will continue to expand. 

The district is also continuing to invest in technology and connectivity to support digital literacy standards that have been implemented during the last few years.  Kim mentioned that this effort is ongoing and important to support programming such as digital citizenship, which teaches students how to participate safely online and how the internet and algorithms work, among other things. “Those are things kids today need to understand,” Kim said. 

Kim also spoke about a new “fine arts” pathway to graduation that the district is in the process of applying for.  She also proudly noted that 44 students earned the new Seal of Civic Readiness diploma enhancement that was implemented last year. “I’m going to brag on behalf of Mrs. Horn, who implemented this program. We exceeded high schools that are ten times our size, in terms of sheer numbers of students who participated and earned the Seal.”

Another change next year for elementary school families is that they will have a new principal. Former Assistant Principal Michelle Rivas is stepping up to become Principal of Pawling Elementary School this year. Families are invited to attend Ms. Rivas’s reception on August 9 at 4 p.m. on the elementary school grounds. There will be activities for the kids and an opportunity for parents to meet Ms. Rivas.

As our conversation drew to a close,  Kim spoke about the phenomenal staff who work for our school district, and about the strong support for the district that she feels from the Pawling community.  “The board provides me with both steadiness and an interest in innovation, which allows us to be flexible in providing new opportunities to students,” she said. “It’s pretty amazing what we are able to offer–16 AP courses and other dual credit options providing college credit at the high school. That’s not many fewer than Arlington, which is six times our size.  I think we do a pretty good job of living up to our motto of ‘Small Size, Diverse Opportunities!’”