SINCLAIRVILLE — Cassadaga Valley Central School has recently entered into two different agreements with Clymer Central School and Falconer Central School to share services.

Cassadaga Valley will be sharing an Occupational Therapist with Clymer. Superintendent Tammy Mangus said her understanding of the history of this agreement is that Clymer was in need of an OT, but not one for a full day of service. She said most shared service agreements come from necessity.

“I asked my board president about the history and he said a lot of the time it comes from necessity,” Mangus said. “So, if a district needs to fill a part time position, etc. they can reach out to see if anyone is willing to share with them. Clymer was in need of an Occupational Therapist but did not have a full time slot.”

For Cassadaga Valley, Mangus said they were looking for someone to fill the role to help specifically with prevention measures in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and first grade. She said the plan is to diminish the need for primary students to have an occupational therapist by taking this measure, and that funding for this program has come through a grant.

Clymer Central School had discussed the need for services back at the May Board of Education meeting, discussing that three were interviewed and at the time the one they offered the job to knew they would be shared between the schools for a ten month position with Clymer and that they were working out a start date.

The second reason schools share services, Mangus said, is to help expand opportunities for students, which she called a win-win. This also plays into the school’s second new shared service, which is sharing a track team with Falconer Central School.

“Basically we are always looking if it is necessary if we do not have a full team,” Mangus said. “We see what available opportunities there are for our kids. We want to make sure there is an opportunity for our sitting teams to play and have the team be fielded. Many schools share sports teams.”

For any shared service between schools, Mangus said it always starts with why, specifically the need for the service or the opportunity to provide something more for students. She added that it involves being a good neighbor and communicator with other schools, specifically between superintendents, and the approval of the board of education.

“A lot of these capabilities came before my arrival so this good work was already being done for some time and we are continuing the work that has already begun to continue to meet the needs and offer new opportunities to our students,” Mangus said.

Cassadaga Valley is embracing the sharing of the Occupational Therapist to work proactively with students, Mangus said, adding that they are excited to root on the school’s athletes because of the new opportunity created with Falconer.

“I definitely hope in the future that we will really hunker down and focus on student growth,” Mangus said. “Growth in the primary years is important and I think we will have a strong student growth because of these services. I am looking forward to that growth and to rooting on our athletes here and continuing to share services like we have this year and in the past.”