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Bush Elementary School Receives State Recognition

Dr. Kevin Whitaker, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent, presents a certificate from the New York state Board of Regents to Kathryn Benson, Bush Elementary School principal, for the school’s honor as a 2020 Recognition School. P-J photo by John Whittaker

It took an extra few months thanks to COVID-19, but Bush Elementary School can now show off its status as a 2020 Recognition School from the state Department of Education.

Bush Elementary School was officially recognized by the state last spring. By the time the award arrived in Jamestown from Albany, the Jamestown Public Schools Board of Education was meeting remotely.

“What this is is a certificate that recognizes Bush School as a Recognition School from the state of New York,” said Dr. Kevin Whitaker, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent. “Back in August when we were still doing this virtually we presented this in that weird ‘hold it up to the camera’ way. We figured we could do it in an in person kind of way with an opportunity to officially say congratulations to you and the staff at Bush Elementary School for this great honor.”

To be identified as a Recognition School, a school must:

¯ have an accountability status of Good Standing;

¯ have a Level 4 for the Combined Composite Performance and Growth indicator for elementary and middle schools or a Level 4 for the Combined Composite Performance and Graduation Rate for high schools for the All Students group;

¯ not have a Level 1 for any accountability indicator (English language arts (ELA) and mathematics progress; Chronic Absenteeism; English language Proficiency; College, Career, and Civic Readiness for High Schools) for the All Students group;

¯ not have any subgroups that were identified as Potential Targeted Support and Improvement (PTSI) based on 2018-19 school year results; and

¯ not have a 2018-19 Participation Rate for ELA or Math for the All Students group that is less than 95%. If a school did not have enough students to receive a participation rate, the school is still eligible to be identified as a Recognition School.

“This is a very exciting recognition and I know that the entire staff is very proud of this recognition,” said Kathryn Benson, Bush Elementary School principal. “This type of recognition couldn’t be given without their hard work and their collaboration that I’ve already seen so much of in the few months that I’ve been there.”

In other business:

¯ Upon the unanimous recommendation of the Board of Education, Whitaker is authorized to prefer Civil Service Law, Section 75 disciplinary charges against a member of the Jamestown Support Staff Association as soon as possible.

¯ Approved a bid of $16,127 from Monaco’s, a $32,948.45 bid from Washington Music Center, a $1,141.40 bid from Shar Products and a $455.65 bid from Music & Arts for music instruments.

“It’s to continue on with our musical equipment replacement plan since our financial situation did change since the beginning of the year,” said Brittnay Spry, district business executive. “We moved forward with purchasing some of our equipment for the music department and athletics so that we don’t throw off those schedules.”

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