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Ripley honors retirees, addresses AI

Ripley honors retirees, addresses AI

RIPLEY – At their meeting this month, Ripley Central School Board of Education members honored two employees who retired in June.

Ripley Superintendent William Caldwell presented plaques of appreciation to bus driver Heil Haskins and art teacher Alberta Parker. Haskins had been a bus driver for the district for 19 years and Parker served as art teacher for 11 years.

Caldwell noted Haskins was very popular with the students and was extremely dedicated to his duties as bus driver. “He’s so dedicated as a driver that he volunteered to come back as a substitute,” Caldwell said. “I hope I can be there when the students see him again.”

Haskins thanked the school district for the years he was able to serve.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said.

Caldwell commended Parker for all that she had done, not only as art teacher, but as yearbook advisor and set designer for the plays.

“I remember meeting Allie during the first couple of days that I worked here,” he said. “Thank you for all that you’ve done for the kids and the school.”

Parker noted how she had worked in several occupations before she became an art teacher.

“These were the best 11 years of my working career,” she said. “Everyone thought I was crazy when I went back to school in my 40s to become an art teacher.”

Caldwell and the board members expressed their appreciation for both retirees and paused the meeting to share in a reception for them.

“Thank you both for your time here at Ripley,” Caldwell said. “You are sorely missed.”

In a similar matter, Caldwell noted that it was school board appreciation week and many of the students made signs and cards for members of the BOE.

In other business, Board President Paul McCutcheon said he attended a presentation on artificial intelligence given by the Chautauqua County School Boards Association.

“I wasn’t particularly impressed by it,” he said. “I’m hopeful that the good things about it will outweigh the bad, but we definitely have to be aware of it and pay attention.”

In a related matter, board members completed the first reading of Policy 5840, which concerns artificial intelligence. Caldwell noted that the policy is just “baseline.” and will need to be revised as new situations arise.

In her report to the board, Principal Sara Centanni said the district continues to honor student accomplishments, especially ones that build strong daily routines and character.

“We recently held our first Crew celebration of the school year where we recognized students who demonstrated exceptional empathy, consistently completed their reading and math homework, maintained strong attendance and set a positive example for their peers,” she said.

Centanni said the district has introduced weekly incentives for classes that achieve 100% attendance.

“Attendance remains foundational to overall success, and in September, several of our students achieved near perfect or perfect attendance by missing only one day or zero days of school,” she said.

Centanni told board members that the school welcomed back guest speaker and artist Eric Jones who “captivated our students by live-carving impressive pumpkins while sharing a powerful and heartfelt message about the importance of empathy,”

Jones was the artist who created a sand sculpture of the Ripley Eagle earlier this year. Caldwell said that Jones told him he would come back to do a snow sculpture.

On Oct. 5, Centanni said, the school hosted its annual fall fest.

“The event offered families a joyous day of seasonal activities, made even more special by a visit from Mr. Morton, who brought an assortment of friendly animals including rabbits, turtles and goats,” she said. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who organized the event, donated pumpkins, volunteered their time and led activities.”