Garden City Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen has been on the job now for more than a year, and began the first work session of the school year on a positive note, touting the goals his administration has accomplished so far and making recommendations for the current school term.

"The reason we suggested goals is that I'm a firm believer that you really have to have a road map to where you're going in order to align all of your efforts and to make everything you want to do work with maximum efficiency," he said at Monday evening's work session.

He added that he wanted to avoid the trap that many school districts fall into: trying to accomplish many things, often at cross-purposes, forgetting what was started and therefore failing to finish, doing incomplete jobs or attempting to achieve goals too large to handle. "I think it's very important for us to have a realistic sense of where we're going," he said.

Last November, after spending his first three months as superintendent speaking with various groups, including teachers, administrators, PTA and union representatives, and looking back to see how the district handled things in the past, Dr. Feirsen presented the Board of Education and the public with a comprehensive list of district goals. The list covered curriculum and instruction, special education, business and finance, facilities, personnel, technology, transportation and organizational culture and climate.

Dr. Feirsen was happy to report that many of the goals he presented at that time have been accomplished. Some are currently still being worked on or are being started this year, and others have been placed on hold to be reviewed at a later date.

Accomplished goals include: the development and implementation of an administrative reorganization plan and "high confidence" staffing projections for this year for Pupil Personnel Services (PPS); the hiring of curriculum coordinators for grades 6 through 12; the review of scheduling/personnel allocations for special education and secondary schools to ensure balance of student needs and district resources; development and implementation of a staff development program for school psychologists; planning for upcoming negotiations; the implementation of testing in grades 3 through 8; the review of honors criteria in order to expand student opportunities; the continuation of differentiated instruction for grades K through 12; analysis of the budget line-by-line; the commissioning of a demographic and facilities study; and the development of a proposal for a curriculum review cycle.

The district is currently working on several goals, including: strengthening the evaluation/observation process for teaching staff; developing and implementing a program of staff development for psychologists; upgrading or selecting a new student information system; reviewing the New York State athletic framework with coaching staff to ensure alignment; implementing a foreign language (FLES) program in grade 2 and planning for a program for grade 3; developing a plan for the improvement of instructional technology through needs assessments and focus groups; continuing a curriculum review cycle in mathematics; improving grade 8 math scores; developing improved district and school Web sites; preparing for a state audit; reviewing the system for evaluating facilities personnel; establishing a district data mine; and establishing a "culture of accountability" among administrators and staff.

This school year Dr. Feirsen hopes to promote conceptual teaching and learning; strengthen student writing, particularly non-fiction; provide support for new curriculum coordinators; assess Advanced Placement courses and compare with the IB program; develop a plan for alterations and additions to facilities; initiate a curriculum review cycle in science and guidance; extend and enhance co-teaching at the high school; complete the renovation of the Middle School field; and hire consultants to review bus routing, bus replacement schedules and other transportation issues.

Dr. Feirsen is especially excited about conceptual teaching and learning, which involves taking data and other resources that focus on how the mind works and applying it to how material is taught. He said that one way this can be accomplished is for teaching staff to look at what needs to be accomplished by June and work backwards to the current month.

School Board Vice President Colleen F. Foley asked Dr. Feirsen how goal accomplishment might be affected since she quickly calculated that the district has hired 16 administrators in 14 months, including eight curriculum coordinators. Dr. Feirsen responded that he believes that deep change occurs over time and is not greatly affected by who comes and goes.