NEWS

IHS Administers Tripod Survey - By Rachel Z.

The Tripod survey, which aims “to document attitudes, perceptions, experiences, and practices” in classrooms (according to its website, www.tripodproject.org), was administered for the third time at IHS on May 15. Students took the survey in their second- and seventh-period classes.

BoE Discusses Replacing Decile Ranking - By Rachel Z.

An ad-hoc committee set up to discuss the ranking system at IHS has recommended that the Board of Education (BoE) eliminate decile ranks, effective for the graduating class of 2009.

Budget Aims For Equity - By Eva G.

The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) budget for the 2008-2009 school year, which was passed on May 20, includes a number of equity-related staff, programs, and services. These items, totaling $1,385,677, include a bias response officer and supporting clerical position, a human resources specialist and clerical positions, increased staff development, equity mentors in schools, an intermediate autism class, rural/urban field trips, increased funding to support small class sizes, and an expansion of the Link Crew program. (The complete list can be found at www.icsd.k12.ny.us/board/equity.html.)

Tattler Lawsuit Drags On - By Rayleigh L.

After 13 months of deliberating over the evidence, Chief Judge Norman Mordue of the US District Court for the Northern District of New York has not yet come to a decision in the case of Ochshorn et al. v. Ithaca City School District et al. The case was brought by members of the Tattler Editorial Board in June 2005. The editors claimed that in censoring the newspaper, the district had violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

News Briefs -

Voters Pass ICSD Budget, Elect New Members to BoE

Teukolsky Steps Down As Tattler Advisor - By Andrea Y.

Tattler advisor Roselyn Teukolsky will be leaving the position at the end of this year. Teukolsky originally joined The Tattler in May 2005, after the previous advisor, Stephenie Vinch, quit. Teukolsky remembers, “The Tattler office had been locked and The Tattler seemed to have shut down. As someone who had read and enjoyed The Tattler since 1979 (the year I started at the high school), I was horrified at the thought of losing it. No one seemed to care or notice that The Tattler had become history.” Teukolsky acknowledged that she hadn’t thought of applying for the job until former IHS math teacher Kevin McMahon urged her to.

Lloyd Retires As IHS Band Director - By Andrea Y.

After the IHS concert band performance on May 21, Director of Bands Will Lloyd announced to the audience that he would retire this year. Lloyd came to the district in 1972, after graduating from Ithaca College, and became the band director for (what was then) DeWitt Junior High School as well as four elementary schools in the area. The following year, Lloyd moved to Boynton Junior High School and in addition founded the IHS jazz band. In 1974, Lloyd applied for the position as Director of Bands at IHS and was granted it.

Mintz, Special Education Department Head, Retires - By Maddie H.

IHS Special Education Department Head Maria Mintz will retire this year, after 10 years in the Ithaca City School District. Mintz has spent the last three years at IHS and has developed strong relationships with students and staff.