Next week school opens once again and the 2008-2009 school year for the Great Neck Public Schools begins on Wednesday, Sept. 3. And as the summer comes to an end, Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz looks to the future as she welcomes one and all back to school!

In an interview with the Great Neck Record, Ms. Berkowitz said: "It seems as though I've been involved in the field of education all my life, first as a student myself, then briefly as a chosen profession, then as a parent and now as a trustee and president of the Board of Education these past 17 years. When you are partnered in the field of education, you cease to look at calendar years, or religious new years as a way to set your calendar; the new year truly begins when our children go back to school in September."

All over the community, there are signs of "back to school." The school board held a "limited public action meeting" this past Monday and already each school building is busy with teachers and administrators preparing for the new academic year. As the summer wanes, the school district begins to gear up.

For Ms. Berkowitz, once August comes, it is always time to focus on school. "As a child I can remember that every August I'd hear all around me the same lament that one still hears today: the summer went by too quickly; how can it already be time for school to start? And the annual ritual began: I'd get a pair of new shoes and spend an hour or more setting up my new notebooks, but most of all I remember the smell of that new, wonderful box of 64 crayons, complete with built-in sharpener on the back. To this day, the smell of fresh crayons still brings me back to those carefree end-of-summer days, with feelings of new beginnings and the promise of what's to come swirling in my mind."

And now, this year, as yet another new school year begins, Ms. Berkowitz looks firmly ahead, with plans and with concerns. She noted how "The summer of 2008 brought a new word into our vocabulary: 'stay-cations.' Many of our residents and neighbors saw their vacation plans evaporate as we are all affected by, and concerned with the constantly rising costs of fuel and all other daily necessities. The changes in the economy impact us all."

Ms. Berkowitz went on to state that both the school board and Superintendent of Schools Ronald Friedman are addressing this economic impact. She reported that Dr. Friedman has served on a countywide committee this year "to look into ways of further consolidating services with other districts, as we have already been doing whenever feasible."

Ms. Berkowitz explained that she and the board of education are "pledging to explore further cost containment measures and do all we can to tighten our belts." However, she noted that "we must strike that delicate balance of continuing to provide the best possible education to all our students and we must ensure that there will not be any significant loss of services to our most precious commodity, our children."

As the board of education, the school district administrators and teachers, all focus on Sept. 3, Great Neck's young students, and their parents, can look forward to another valuable school year.

School Board President Barbara Berkowitz invites the community to look ahead with them. "As September quickly approaches I ask you to look ahead to the opening of schools with joyful anticipation, drive carefully, buy your crayons and remember that promise of new beginnings that the 2008-09 school year brings!"