September 2009

By Michael Falzoi

The 2009-2010 school year ushers in a number of changes at Dansville High School. Before I touch on these I would just like to reflect for a moment on the 2008-2009 school year. First and foremost, what a remarkable community we have in Dansville! When our Future Business Leaders of America team made it to the national competition in Anaheim, California, they were faced with the challenge of raising over $4,000.00 in order to attend. Within one month many organizations in Dansville donated money to help make this happen, including the Lions Club, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and Dansville All-Sports Boosters Club. We even had some donations from private citizens and clubs within the school. When a community comes together in such a way to help our kids have a great experience, such as attending a national competition in California, it encourages all of us at the school to aim for new heights and make Dansville High School into a school the community can be proud of.

It is with this sense of direction that we have entered the 2009-2010 school year. First, the schedule at the high school has changed to address the needs of our students that the block schedule was unable to meet. Specifically, classes will meet four out of five times per week for fifty-five minutes. Students will meet more frequently during the week than they did under the block schedule, yet they will still meet for a lengthy period of time (fifty-five minutes as opposed to forty minutes in a “traditional” schedule). During the fifty-five minute periods, teachers will be able to complete activities that may not have been done in a forty minute period of time. We will be evaluating the impact of the schedule change during the year through conversations with the teachers.

Dansville High School will also be incorporating a “Core Values” statement: Courage, Commitment, and Honor. We believe that if students can embody these values they will be successful when they leave our halls. In order to encourage these traits we will be issuing awards in the form of a certificate and pin or medal, depending on the award. Please check our web link on the High School homepage.

Freshman year is perhaps the most critical year for our students. With this in mind, we will be instituting the beginning of a “9th grade Academy.” This concept is in the embryonic stages of development but when finished, we believe it will drastically reduce the dropout rate and improve the performance of our students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. Some of the critical features of the Academy include peer mentors, an “SOS” program (Save One Student) where adults in the building are paired with at-risk 9th graders, an Academic Support Center where students can receive extra help, a reading intervention teacher, and monthly meetings between 9th grade teachers, administration, and council. Please look for updates on this program throughout the year on our website.
The High School is the last stop on your child’s long journey to graduation. It is my mission that each student at DHS has a memorable and productive time. Please do not hesitate to contact me at 335-4010 or falzoim@dansvillecsd.org