Dansville Board of Education is mulling a proposal from the district’s shared decision making team to rename the former high school, now a combined middle and high school building, to Dansville Academy.
The shared decision making team consists of teachers, support staff, students and administrators.
The board accepted the proposal for consideration during its Aug. 14 regular meeting, after the idea first passed muster with the facilities committee.
The board decided during its Aug. 28 meeting to include seeking input from the community before making a decision. Specific plans for community forums and feedback initiatives have not been established yet.
“It gives the public and board members an opportunity to really think through all the ramifications and raise questions about a potential name change,” superintendent Paul Alioto said. “It’s something that you want to be permanent. It’s got to be well thought out. It’s not something that you rush into or through.”
For this reason, a final decision has been put on hold indefinitely. The final determination would not come to a public vote, though, Alioto said. It would remain under the purview of the board of education.
“They take this responsibility very seriously, and want to proceed very carefully,”?Alioto said.
He stated by phone last Thursday that the board is aware of heartfelt traditions in Dansville, and that discussions, pro or con, should not become a distraction to the district's primary purpose of educating children.
The reason for the name change is to help bring a sense of unity to the combined middle and high school grade levels, as well as to denote an expectation of high academic standards.
Although there will still be a need to assign separate responsibilities to the administrators, couselors and teachers within the differing grade levels, “It is important to [the shared decision making team] to create one school in as best they can, not two separate schools within one building," Alioto said. "The idea is we need everyone to work together for the betterment of kids.”
For this reason, the shared decision making team rejected names that separated the grade levels, such as 'Dansville Junior and Senior High School,' and the like.
If the board approves a name change, it is expected to go into effect immediately.
Dansville Board of Education is mulling a proposal from the district’s shared decision making team to rename the former high school, now a combined middle and high school building, to Dansville Academy.
The shared decision making team consists of teachers, support staff, students and administrators.
The board accepted the proposal for consideration during its Aug. 14 regular meeting, after the idea first passed muster with the facilities committee.
The board decided during its Aug. 28 meeting to include seeking input from the community before making a decision. Specific plans for community forums and feedback initiatives have not been established yet.
“It gives the public and board members an opportunity to really think through all the ramifications and raise questions about a potential name change,” superintendent Paul Alioto said. “It’s something that you want to be permanent. It’s got to be well thought out. It’s not something that you rush into or through.”
For this reason, a final decision has been put on hold indefinitely. The final determination would not come to a public vote, though, Alioto said. It would remain under the purview of the board of education.
“They take this responsibility very seriously, and want to proceed very carefully,”?Alioto said.
He stated by phone last Thursday that the board is aware of heartfelt traditions in Dansville, and that discussions, pro or con, should not become a distraction to the district's primary purpose of educating children.
The reason for the name change is to help bring a sense of unity to the combined middle and high school grade levels, as well as to denote an expectation of high academic standards.
Although there will still be a need to assign separate responsibilities to the administrators, couselors and teachers within the differing grade levels, “It is important to [the shared decision making team] to create one school in as best they can, not two separate schools within one building," Alioto said. "The idea is we need everyone to work together for the betterment of kids.”
For this reason, the shared decision making team rejected names that separated the grade levels, such as 'Dansville Junior and Senior High School,' and the like.
If the board approves a name change, it is expected to go into effect immediately.
