The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

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‘Ready, Willing and Able’ and Branching Out at the Sheptin Tutoring Group

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Many of you know me and my company as academic support and test prep experts. I can say that my team is the best in Northern Westchester, bar none. From the Regents to SATs to ACTs to APs, we are ready, willing and able. And, as I write this article, I am planning an SAT program for students in the United Kingdom and opening registration for our well-received finals program for Greeley students.

In my practice, I wear two hats. Yes, Math is my superpower: Mrs. Goldberg, my 7th grade math teacher who recognized this talent, would be proud. But did you know that I have visited over 120 universities and colleges both in the United States and abroad? I am a professional member of the IECA, the premier qualifying organization whose members ethically guide students through all aspects of college planning. Our expertise is peerless. I am proud to be a card-carrying member. Mid-May will bring me to Chicago, where I will visit three schools and attend an annual IECA conference. After the frenetic first three weeks of June, I intend to visit five colleges in the Boston area.

After a tutoring session, the conversation often turns to college. Kids tell me schools they’ve recently visited and I try to offer some other interesting ideas. Too many of our students only consider a handful of schools that just do not have the bandwidth to accept everyone from our local schools. In my travels, I have encountered gems that are academically just as engaging and will provide unparalleled opportunities. Do a little digging or hire someone like me to do the legwork and you will be rewarded.

Since I have seen universities abroad (ask me about Uppsala University or the University of Bristol!) I’ve been asking my students and their families to put European universities on their list. Most European degrees programs are three years in duration –and some are free of charge–even to Americans! And classes are conducted entirely in English!

To wit: a three-year Bachelors Degree at the University of Amsterdam will set you back 30,000 Euros (for all three years!). You can’t even get that inexpensive an education at a SUNY.

While a full international education may not be an option for everyone, think about the advantages of an it, cost aside. Immersing your student in an entirely different culture, especially in our intertwined global economy, shows employers that a student can be independent, open and willing to take calculated risks. In most countries, international students with a student visa can work during the academic year and into the summer. It would make your child unique!

Perhaps the rah-rah of the Saturday football game is not available abroad, and Greek life is not a “thing.” However, every university I have ever visited has robust Student Unions, replete with societies (clubs) for everything imaginable under the sun. From Harry Potter Societies, to Jewish Societies, to Rowing Societies, you can find them all abroad.

So, if you see me, let’s talk about college. Whether you want to explore programs here in the US or abroad, to quote Frances McDormand, “I have something to say.”

Sheptin Tutoring Group, LLC

914-232-3743

alan@sheptin.com

Chappaqua: 175 King St., Chappaqua, NY

Manhattan: 157 E. 86 street, New York, NY

Opportunity to Study in Australia!

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The HGHS Foreign Exchange Club is offering two students in eighth grade the opportunity to learn, live and explore Australia for seven weeks through the student exchange program. Greeley students will have the chance to attend the prestigious Carey Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia.  This program is ONLY open to students in the Class of 2017.

In addition, two students from the Carey Grammar School will attend Greeley for seven weeks and experience our culture, community, lifestyle and learning environment. Carey Grammar has a robust exchange program with many countries yet this is their only exchange in the United States.

This is a direct, reciprocal exchange, which means that participating students will live in each other’s houses while in the foreign country. The exchange is sponsored by the Lions Club of Pound Ridge.

Timing of exchange

Students will arrive in each country for the start of second semester. Two Carey students will arrive at the end of January 2014 and stay for seven weeks, which includes February break. The two Greeley students will go to Australia in early July after completing ninth grade for seven weeks including one week of school break there. HGHS students will be back in time to participate in fall sports.

If this program sounds at all interesting to you, don’t miss the parent-student informational night next week: Tuesday, May 7 at 7p.m. in the HGHS Academic Commons. Applications will be available at this time.

For more information or if you cannot attend the information session, please contact Tyler Sherman or Slater Levey at HGHSForeignExchangeClub@gmail.com.

Summer Off? Not Quite.

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Teachers Balance Work and Leisure—Here and Abroad!

By Miriam Longobardi

summer-off“Oh, you’re a teacher– you get summers of –how great!”  What teacher has not heard that? The reality is that during the summer most teachers are involved in some type of work, whether it is working a summer job to supplement income or some form of professional development. More than 240 Chappaqua teachers spent many days writing curriculum, developing units of study aligned with the new common core standards, and serving on district committees.  Several more collaborated with administration to create new local assessments mandated by the state.  Still others took graduate and in-service classes but whatever the endeavor once August comes we are right back in the classroom setting up the room and preparing lesson plans for the new school year and an ever-changing curriculum.  When your child walks in on the first day of school, those engaging, neatly labeled displays and thoughtfully organized rooms ready for learning did not happen overnight but took weeks during our “time off”.

Fifteen Chappaqua teachers were accepted into a special cohort called Teacher Action Research Project (TARP).  This intense two-year commitment involves collaborating with colleagues across schools and grade levels using classroom experience to examine student learning and how to ensure that students are thinking deeply and supporting their thinking as they acquire content knowledge.
I participated on the panel consisting of teachers and administrators that interviewed those applicants and evaluated their proposals. They began their work in July and will meet every couple of months to share their progress, submit reports, and revise as needed over the next two years, including more summer work and visiting one another’s classrooms monthly to provide valuable feedback. Colleagues have shared that the influence on their teaching is life-changing.

To Rome with Love
For me, once school let out, rather than hitting the beach, I was off to Harlem to Columbia University Teachers College for a week-long intensive writing institute to help me prepare for a new grade level curriculum.  I was doing homework–required reading, writing papers and lesson plans–and taking part in group presentations.  After that kick-off to summer I was ready for some “me-time” in the form of a three week vacation through Italy and Croatia!

I traveled alone, booked all my hotels, flights and train travel online in advance after months of research and planning (and saving money!).  I landed in Rome and instantly fell in love with the entire city and all its history, art and local personalities!  From Rome I traveled to Venice and was swept away by its beauty. Its tiny streets make it more difficult to navigate and unlike Rome it was not as conducive to traveling alone. My first evening there, I met a great group of  people that live just outside Venice and were there to spend the evening much like we would go into New York.  They instantly befriended me and took me along as we walked the city stopping at fun places all along the way that I never would have discovered on my own.  In Florence, I saw amazing works of art and made more friends. I hiked along a mountain in Cinque Terre and then headed to Croatia for some relaxation on the beach.

The entire trip was great for the soul and brought me in contact with ancient history, incredible works of art, and many new lifelong friends.  Once back in the US I unpacked, repacked, and went to a week-long leadership conference in Baltimore to prepare for my newly elected officer position within the Chappaqua Congress of Teachers and then–you guessed it–my classroom beckoned.

Training in Bhutan
Not all travel is for leisure, and Ellen Moskowitz, a colleague of mine at Roaring Brook, spent her summer in Bhutan training teachers how to educate students with special needs in a general education setting.

Until four years ago, Bhutan did not educate those students and, after the government recognized the need to do so, reached out to the US Special Education Advisory and began efforts to train teachers.  Moskowitz was one of three teachers selected from many nominated candidates to be a specialist in their school.

She showed teachers how to identify student needs and support them in a pull-out program and what small group instruction is and looks like. She introduced them to language used, such as IEP (individualized education program) and helped them develop IEP’s. In addition to the teachers, principals, and special education coordinators who came from all over Bhutan, she trained instructors at the university level how to incorporate this information into their curriculum to better prepare new teachers to meet diverse student needs.

The Bhutan Foundation behind this initiative also planned weekend excursions to different parts of the country.  She had the opportunity to hike through mountains, sometimes at cloud level, as well as through rice paddies. Her hotel faced the Himalayan Mountains and she enjoyed waking up and facing that beautiful view each day before school.

She found the teachers very receptive and eager to learn new teaching methods and remains in touch with them via email, answering questions and engaging in ongoing discussions.

As teachers we are fortunate to find time to reinvigorate for the coming school year, but it is a balance.  I am proud to be part of democracy’s greatest legacy and that for which Chappaqua is renowned –excellence in public education.

Miriam Longobardi is a freelance writer, first grade teacher and single mother of two daughters living in Westchester.  A breast cancer survivor, she also volunteers for the American Cancer Society and has completed four marathons.  Also, check out her weekly New York Modern Love column  at Examiner.com.