Photo by A. Warner

By Staff

June 11, 2025: The Bronxville School Board of Education held its June meeting on June 9, 2025.

Dr. Rachel Kelly, Superintendent of the Bronxville Schools, said the Bronxville School has been designated a Green Ribbon School based on the School's work in three areas: (1) reducing waste, recycling programs, and conserving water and energy; (2) the health & wellness of students & staff; and (3) environmental and sustainability education. She also said that the School held highly successful end-of-year concerts and athletic events.

Dr. Kelly also thanked the School, community, PTA, Board of Education, Bronxville School Foundation, Mayor Marvin, and Chief of Police Satriale for hosting a "perfect evening" on the front lawn of the School in honor of her 30 years of service to the School.

Louise Jacobs, Bronxville student representative to the Board, reported on several events at the School, including AP exams, the junior/senior "very fun" prom, and SFL Field Day, which featured lawn games, a dunk tank, and food trucks. She also spoke about the arts festival, senior week, and senior shadowing, where seniors gain experience in a job or internship related to their area of interest.

Dr. Kelly introduced several Bronxville teachers and students who spoke about student work on various independent studies. One student discussed her research on assessing the health of fish in the Bronx River. For 16 weeks, she fished in the Bronx River, collecting data on species and parasites and studying other aspects of the River. She said that this program made her realize she wants to continue this kind of work in the future and she now plans to major in marine biology in college.

Another student spoke about her research using "FreeSurfer." She said that the independent study enabled her to explore her interest in machine learning, computer science, biology, and anatomy.

A third student spoke about the analysis she did gathering and analyzing real-world data on patients. Another student discussed the work her group did on researching CRISPR's use in treating Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and ALS. Finally, two of these students spoke about work they did on another independent project related to "real analysis."

Brad Ashley, Director of Technology, spoke about the School's website, which has undergone a redesign and reorganization, which will be launched soon. The School's website has about 200 visitors per day.

Dr. Kelly announced that Adrian Leitman has been appointed interim Elementary School Principal. She also spoke about other personnel matters.

Dan Carlin, Assistant Superintendent for Business, reported that, through April, the School's projected year-end surplus is nearly $2 million due to higher revenues. He noted that non-resident tuition, special education tuition, interest income, and health services billings will be favorable this year. This surplus will help replenish the School's capital reserve. It was also noted that the Bronxville School Foundation provided the School with nearly $400,000 in funding this academic year. Carlin said that work will begin soon on a new security vestibule, and preliminary work has started on the pump enclosure.

Dr. Kelly said that the School has three new required policies:

(1) Extreme Heat Condition Days. The School should make every effort to reduce the temperature in classrooms when it reaches 80 degrees by opening windows and taking other measures. She said that the vast majority of the School's spaces are air-conditioned.

(2) Ex Officio Student Board Members: School Districts must now have ex officio student members on the Board. Bronxville already does this.

(3) Student & Personal Devices: Student and personal electronic devices are now subject to the law. The School has solicited feedback from students, parents, and faculty members. In the Elementary School, no devices with internet access are allowed. In Middle School, the School introduced locked cabinets where students must put their devices. They can have them for lunch and then return them after lunch. The most significant change is in the High School. The School is recommending to the Board that cell phones be turned off and put away in the High School. Teachers should not see cell phones at any time during the day.

As for personal laptops, all 9th graders will continue using Chromebooks, and 10th, 11th, and 12th graders can bring personal laptops to School, provided they are used for educational purposes. Their cell phones need to be off and away.

Dr. Kelly said the School feels good about where they have landed with this issue.

(4) Curriculum and Instruction: Ann Meyer, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, said that the High School English Department has implemented a new process for adopting new texts.