Page 38 - 2019 Westchester Economic Development Guide

EDUCATION
‘Pride in All That We Are’
In an academically high-performing county, the Ossining Union Free School District stands out.
A New Vision
Ossining High School students spent the last week of their 2018 summer vacation painting a mural created by artist Joe Pimentel of Newburgh. It was designed with the district’s new “Pride in all that we are” motto.
accolades as an Intel School of Dis- tinction; a Program of Distinction in Music Award from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; and as a “Best Community for Music Education” by the NAMM Foundation. Three Ossining High School students are semifinalists in the 2019 Regener- on Science Talent Search, and a fourth is a semifinalist in the Coca-Cola Scholars competition. Another senior is one of 12 national finalists for the 2019 Neuroscience Research Prize.
My Brother’s Keeper
Intended to improve student equity, the district kicked off its My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) program in December 2018. MBK is a nationwide initiative created by President Barack Obama to address opportunity gaps for boys and young men of color.
Nurturing Kindness
Beyond academic rigor and success, the Ossining Summer Kindness Chal- lenge helps build empathy and kind- ness among Ossining’s student body. “In addition to reading and enjoying time with family, I personally chal- lenge our students and families to perform as many acts of kindness as possible,” says Sanchez. The program has since been extended throughout the academic year.
W ith its highly educated residents, top-ranked schools, and outstand- ing high school gradu- ation rates, Westchester is the most educated county in the United States. In this academically high-performing environment, the Ossining Union Free School District distinguishes itself with dynamic leadership, innovation
and a sense of pride.
Named a “Superintendent to
Watch” by the National School Public Relations Association, Ossining Union Free School District schools chief Ray Sanchez shares Ossining’s recipe for success.
“Our district motto is ’Pride in all that we are,’” explains Sanchez. “We place a high priority on communi- cation and building alliances with community partners – such as the Ossining Police Department and the
Jacob Burns Film Center – to help enhance our programming and foster educational success.”
Strong Foundations
In conjunction with community partners and local government, the Ossining School District promotes “Ossining Basics,” a program that helps teach parents and guardians basic strategies to stimulate language and cognitive development in chil- dren from birth to three years of age.
For school-aged children, the dis- trict offers full-day pre-K and kinder- garten programs, as well as strong bilingual education, including a One- Way Dual Language Program and a Two-Way Dual Language Program that begins in pre-Kindergarten.
National Recognition
In recent years, Ossining has earned
Learn more about Westchester’s exceptional secondary and post-secondary education landscape on page 55.
Third- and fourth-graders at Claremont School learn how to make slime during Enrichment Day in November 2018.
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE