Dr. Constance Clark has replaced Dr. Robert D. Pinckney as the new superintendent of schools for the Westbury Union Free School District. Previously, Dr. Clark worked in Washington D.C. as the director of Upward Bound, a program that academically prepares disadvantaged students for admittance into colleges and universities. Prior to that, she was an administrator in the District of Columbia school system.

Dr. Clark reported at the Board of Education meeting Aug. 18 that a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation would continue to support the partnership between the C.W. Post School of Education at Long Island University, Yale University, and the Westbury School District. Although the partnership was established a year ago, the grant would secure its future for the next two years. The dollar amount of the grant has not been disclosed.

C.W. Post and Yale University have already begun to train Westbury School District teachers and administrators to implement the Comer School Development Model (CSDM). The CSDM is a systemic reform model developed by Dr. James Comer. The philosophy behind the CSDM, according to Jeff Kane, dean of the education department at C.W. Post, is "If you create a healthy environment for children, they are more apt to learn."

The practical application of this theory began with the creation of a district-wide steering committee comprised of representatives from each school. These representatives are teachers, administrators, parents, community members and CSDM specialists from C.W. Post. They meet together on a monthly basis to discuss ways to implement the CSDM in each school.

One way the CSDM is being implemented is that parents are learning to become more involved in their children's academic life. They are encouraged to set regular times and provide quiet locations for their children to do homework, to make proper homework materials available, to monitor homework, and to check to see that assignments are completed.

Additionally, schools are encouraged to become "parent friendly," according to Kane, "and that means friendly to all parents, even if parents don't speak English as their primary language." As a result of the CSDM, tri-lingual parent workshops are now offered throughout the district.

Finally, teachers who have received CSDM training are learning to take a more holistic approach to teaching. Kane explained, "When you're educating children, simply to assume that you can give them the information that is required explicitly in the curriculum is to ignore the fact that children need to meaningfully integrate this information into who they are and how they conceive of the world."

Dr. Clark said, "The Comer model really fits right in with where we want to take the school district in terms of opening the lines of communication between the community, the school and the central office."

Dr. Clark noted that the Westbury School District also received a grant from the Edinburgh Foundation to support a literacy program.

Bruce Dean, a retired minister and a parent, expressed his concerns at the Board of Education meeting regarding the recent spate of violent acts in schools across the nation. Dr. Clark's response was to say that the district was taking a "pro-active approach" to this issue. "The guidance department has been engaged to work with teachers in dealing with aggressive behavior in students," she said. Additionally, as part of a security effort, a meeting between the Westbury and Old Westbury Police Department and the teachers and administrators of the district will be scheduled shortly after the Sept. 7 opening of school. Dr. Clark hopes to involve the law enforcement agencies "so they can give us some pointers about how to deal with adverse situations in schools.

"In my previous experience as an administrator," Dr. Clark said, "it has been an asset for the local enforcement authorities to be involved in schools, not only so students can view the police in a positive role, but so they can also feel a sense of protection."

Finally, Dr. Clark said that she would continue to advocate the teaching of "character education" in the Westbury School District. "Across the country," she said, "there has been a big push, with all the violence in schools, for going back to developing character in young people." Dr. Clark admitted to the Westbury Times that this was a sensitive issue, as some parents might protest that the function of school is to develop students' minds, not their characters. However, Dr. William Lloyd, Westbury School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, said that librarians in the district are being trained to incorporate the fundamentals of "character education" in their lessons. He explained that through literature, students will be taught to recognize good citizenship, integrity, and respect for others' differences.

The next Board of Education Action meeting will be held Sept. 15 at 8:00 p.m. in the Middle School library.