Dear Families,

It’s official! We are close to the end of another school year, with the last day for elementary students on Monday and exams finishing up on Tuesday. This will be my last Friday message for the year. Tonight we celebrate the class of 2024 at our VSH Graduation Ceremony at Innovative Field starting at 7:30 pm. This is an amazing group of close to 330 young adults who will do great things in the world. We are excited to honor them. 

As families begin to switch gears for the summer, I wanted to let you know about some important resources that are available from Ontario County and New York State. Ontario County has provided a complete resource guide that has information such as farmer’s markets, food pantries, mental health resources, childcare, library information, and more. Ontario County has also provided information about Summer Meals for students, and Pop Up Food Pantries. Also, New York State has officially launched the Summer EBT, which is a new program that provides families who are struggling financially with food benefits to help cover the cost of groceries when school is out of session. Find out more and apply on their website. If you or your student need help locating other resources, please reach out to your student’s counselor or building principal.

In addition, the summer continues to be a time for learning on the VCS Campus. Opportunities include enrichment programs for students in K-9th grade as well as Camp Invention, a separate camp filled with exciting enrichment experiences. We also have College Boot Camp, for students entering grades 11 and 12 and continued expansion of our Work Based Learning internship program for high school students. For more information, reach out to the main office in your child’s school.

We also offer an Extended School Year program as well as other opportunities for students with disabilities. We have the Summer Academy, for students in K-9th grade who need additional support with literacy and mathematics skills, and the Regional Summer School held at Canandaigua Academy, for high school students who need to make-up course work. The offerings for special education, Summer Academy and the Regional Summer School are based on invitation. 

Looking forward to next school year, administration will release student placement information the week of August 19. This will allow us to be sure that the information provided to families through secure docs in ParentSquare is accurate and up to date.

I hope that you and your family have a chance to take a break this summer to recharge and enjoy the warmer weather. To the Class of 2024 and their families, we wish you the best as you begin a new chapter together. For the rest of our VCS families, we’ll see you back on campus in September! 

With gratitude,

Tim

6/14/24

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had a great week! 

Recently, you may have noticed new signs on High Street in front of VCS that alert drivers they have entered a school zone. Although the NY State Department of Transportation did not allow us to decrease the 40 mph speed limit in front of the school, the Town of Victor posted additional signs warning that fines double if motorists are ticketed in that area. Law enforcement will pay special attention to High Street to further enhance speed enforcement, thereby promoting vehicle and pedestrian safety. Thank you to Victor Town and Village officials for their work in advocating for the safety of our students. 

Celebrations are a major part of this time of year. Today is Flag Day, the anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official US flag in 1777. On Wednesday, June 19th, we will have no school in honor of Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a national holiday that commemorates the day that Texas, the last Confederate state, learned about the Emancipation Proclamation, marking the end of slavery in the United States in 1865. We celebrate Juneteenth and the ideals of freedom for everyone, and an understanding and appreciation for the differences between us. 

Finally, on Wednesday evening, the ECS Auditorium was packed with people as our Board of Education celebrated a significant number of students, including our amazing artists, the wonderful award-winning Winterguard team, and our fantastic student athletes who competed in NY State tournaments, including our NY State Champion Girls Lacrosse team! We also celebrated 18 teachers who earned the designation of Tenure based on their exceptional work in our classrooms.

In addition, yesterday, the Elementary Special Olympics Parade started at the ECS and finished over at the Intermediate School. Students lined their bus loops to cheer for the athletes, hold up posters, and share high-fives as the parade went by. Today, our elementary student athletes participated in the Special Olympics, which showcased their grit and determination. Congratulations to all of our students who participated today!

I hope you and your family have a great weekend, and Happy Father’s Day to all our VCS Dads! If you have any questions, please reach out.

With gratitude,

Tim 

June 7, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had a great week. I have a few reminders, and much to celebrate!

First, as we get close to the end of the school year, our students begin to transition into end of the year activities and gatherings. These activities and gatherings provide us an opportunity to strengthen our school community and offer students a chance to continue to build meaningful relationships with one another. As with any community, sometimes conflict happens. Please know that we are committed to working together with families to resolve issues that occur between students. If your student brings you a concern about something that has happened, the best way to begin is by addressing it with the adults who are in closest contact with your children, which is usually a teacher. These are the adults who will make a difference. Certainly, involving a counselor or other pupil services staff and building administration is appropriate if the initial steps are not improving the situation. I encourage you to follow the “chain of command” protocols that are listed on our website.

I’d also like you to be aware that our expectations go right along with the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), which is the official policy of New York State that all students in public schools have the right to an education free of discrimination and harassment. Please read this informative guide that presents an overview of the basic requirements under DASA. More information and a reporting form for your child’s building can also be found on our website. 

Our commitment to the safety and well-being of students will continue to be a high priority for the faculty, staff, and administration at VCS. We look forward to partnering with you and your children as we continue our educational journey into next school year.

Second, a quick reminder that our last day of school for elementary students will be Monday, June 24. The last day of classes for Junior High and Senior High students will be Thursday, June 13. Exams will begin on Friday, June 14 and run through Tuesday, June 25. Graduation will be held on Friday, June 21 at 7:00 PM at Innovative Field in Rochester. We are looking forward to celebrating this incredible accomplishment with students and their families!

And finally, what a week to be a BlueDevil! The Junior High hosted an incredible Art Show that displayed the work of our amazing student artists across hallways and classrooms at the VJH. In addition, we continued our Spring concert series with the 5th grade Bands Concert. Our youngest actors/singers performed in the K/1 Multiage performance of 5 Fun Plays by Audrey Wood, which included fantastic acting, singing and dancing! We have had amazing Spring athletic success as well. The Boys Lacrosse team is headed to the state finals on Saturday for the second year in a row and Boys Baseball, Girls Lacrosse, and several of our Track & Field athletes are headed to NY State tournament competition today and tomorrow. Win or lose, we are extremely proud of our student athletes as they have earned this significant success through their dedication, hard work, sportsmanship, and resilience. 

I hope you have a great weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

Hello Everyone,

I hope you had an enjoyable week! I have three brief announcements. 
 
 First, we continue to work as a District and a community on the revision of our VCS Mission and Vision statements. Originally, we were hopeful to have final statements by July. However, the committee of over 30 students, staff, Board members, parents and community members met recently and decided that we need additional student input toward our Vision statement. Our students are the most important part of the process, so we are reaching out to our juniors and seniors from VSH to obtain more feedback from them. The committee will meet at the end of June to review this additional data and start to formulate a rough draft of our Vision statement. I will keep you updated on our progress. 
 
 Second, a hallmark of the end of the school year is the number of unique events held for our seniors. Our amazing Class of 2024 had its Senior Parade on Thursday along with the Senior Breakfast at Bristol Mountain this morning. The Senior Ball is tonight. The Senior Parade is unique to VCS because of having all our students on one campus. Our seniors walked our campus from building to building while thousands of students and staff cheered them on. The parade celebrates the commitment of our senior class and the staff that has supported them over many years and is a major accomplishment for our younger students to strive for. 

We also have the Senior Bash set for Tuesday, June 18th, which is a fantastic event supported by parents of the senior class and funded by various fundraising throughout the year. Friday, June 21st is our graduation at Frontier Field, scheduled for 7:30 pm with fireworks to follow (rain date is Sunday, June 23rd). 

Finally, we have much to celebrate! Last week, VJH and VSH students competed in the Special Olympics at Marcus Whitman School District. We had a large contingency of student athletes compete and their grit, determination and talents were great to see. In addition, we also had four teams earn Sectional titles! Champions include both our Girls and Boys Lacrosse teams, our Baseball Team, and our Boys Golf team. Emma Goodell, Rhylin Fehrenbach, and Terrez Davis all won individual sectional titles in Track and Field. 

Also, a huge shout out to VJH student Brody Steward who earned 1st place in the NY State Civics Bee held in Albany, NY. Brody is one of an exclusive group of students from across the United States who qualified for the national competition in Washington DC in the fall. Good luck to Brody and all our student athletes as they continue competing in future events. I can’t forget our amazing music department, who have performed eight exceptional concerts throughout the past three weeks. Our music program is second to none! 

A reminder to our seniors to stay safe on the roads going to and from the Senior Ball tonight. Have a great weekend and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,
Tim

May 24, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you had a wonderful week! I have three brief announcements. 

First, a huge thank you to the VCS community for passing our school budget by an overwhelming margin of 77.66%, up from a 70% passing percentage in the last budget vote. Thanks to your support, we can not only maintain the comprehensive education that is expected from us, but also enhance the overall educational experience of our children. The budget prioritizes areas such as special education, adding staffing for the Integrated Co-taught teaching model, which supports students accessing grade level curriculum at a greater level with appropriate supports, and staffing for behavioral support of our students with complex behavioral needs. The budget also prioritizes needed staffing for enrollment increases at our Intermediate School to maintain appropriate class size, including in critically important classes such as art, music, and physical education. Within these additions, we are also cognizant of preparing a budget that maintains one of the lowest True Tax Rates in the area. 

A special thank you to our faculty and staff who do the challenging work every day. As I said in my staff message after the vote, by far the most important factor of any successful budget vote is the respect the community has for the people that work with and take care of their children daily. Our faculty and staff are second to none!

In addition, thank you to Assistant Superintendent for Business Derek Vallese, for overseeing the budget development process. Also, an immense note of gratitude goes to Maureen Goodberlet, Carrie Fagan, and the entire group of adults overseeing our vote, including our school safety team, who provided coverage for 15 hours while the polls were open.

I look forward to my continued work with Adam Snyder and his dedicated leadership to our school community as well as welcoming Carol Prescott to a highly functioning Board of Education that always puts children first. A huge thank you to Elizabeth Mitchell for her amazing dedication to our children during her time on the Board of Education. She is a highly competent Board member and community leader who will be missed. 

Second, the day of our budget vote was a great example of the connection between school and community that we continue to build. Thousands of people were on our campus throughout the day and evening beyond just our students, staff, and voters. Events included the Cares Carnival, led by our student leaders in the Cares Club, who oversaw hundreds of our younger students playing games and having fun outside. The money raised goes to families in our community who need support. In addition, we had the amazing Random Acts of Art show in the late afternoon, which displayed the countless art exhibits created by our high school students that show the tremendous talent of our artists. We also had many athletic contests occurring, including four separate sectional competitions. Good luck to all of our student athletes who are still competing.

The amount of people on our campus on May 21st is not a unique occurrence. Every day we host community members in a variety of different events, making us a major hub for positive activities for the Victor-Farmington region.

Finally, on Monday, our staff and students have off from school while we celebrate Memorial Day, which honors the over one million American military personnel who died since our country was founded while performing their duties in service to the United States Armed Forces. These heroes gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I know we will remember this sacrifice as we spend time with family and friends this weekend.

Have a great weekend and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

May 17, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you all had a good week. I have two updates for you.

First, we had two amazing events this week that featured our students and community. Yesterday, we held the first School to Career Breakfast which celebrated the first year of our high school work-study initiative, which is under the direction of Susan Utz, our Work-Based Learning (WBL) Coordinator, and Carrie Goodell, our Director of Math/Science. Over 90 area business representatives, faculty, staff, and students gathered to learn more about the program and celebrate the success from the year. 

In addition, last night we celebrated the Dollars for Scholars award recipients. The Dollars for Scholars organization helps local students to achieve their educational goals by raising scholarship funds, and other financial support for students. This year, $134,239 worth of scholarships went to 95 outstanding VSH seniors! Thank you to all of our faculty, staff and community members who gave so much to help support our graduates. 

Second, the School Budget vote is Tuesday, May 21st from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm in the Early Childhood School Boardroom. Please visit our website for more information, and please email me at Terranovat@victorschools.org if you have any questions. We are also publishing daily budget facts via social media. 

May 21st is also filled with many other exciting events. These include:

• Random Acts of Art (5:00-7:00 pm - Senior High Art Wing)

• Cares Carnival (3:30-6:30 pm) - North Fields by HS sponsored by VSH Cares Club. 

• VSH Orchestras Concert (7:00 pm) - JH/SH Performing Arts Center

• Many athletic events throughout the afternoon & evening, including sectional competition.

Have a wonderful weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

May 10, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you had a great week! 

A reminder that Tuesday, May 21st is the VCS Budget vote for the 2024-25 school budget. You should have received your budget newsletter in the mail. Check out our website if you would like to view the newsletter online along with having access to other budgetary information. 

If you have not registered to vote in Ontario County you can attend Voter Registration on May 14th, from 3-7 pm in our District Office. If you have questions about voter registration please reach out to us. 

Last evening at our May Board of Education meeting, we celebrated our state champion Victor Indoor Percussion Ensemble (VIPE), as well as several DECA students who competed in the world competition. In addition, we honored our 2024 retirees who have made such a lasting impact on our students and staff. It was a wonderful celebration!

Finally, two shout outs. First, congratulations to our VJH for being named a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Distinguished Gateway School and our VSH for being named a PLTW Distinguished High School. The PLTW Distinguished Program celebrates districts and schools committed to helping students “own” their education by increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in technology and engineering programs. 

Also, a thank you to our very own Victor Robotics Team for running their annual spring recycle event tomorrow (Saturday), from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Auxiliary Parking Lot by VSH. Electronics equipment cannot be accepted this year; however, anything related to clothes, food, most scrap metal, bikes, etc will be gladly accepted. This event is a great way to help our environment and support our amazing Robotics program at the same time. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all our VCS moms! May your day be filled with rest, relaxation, and family on Sunday. 

Have a wonderful weekend and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

May 3, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you all had a great week! 

We are in the final stages of our 2024-2025 budget process. The annual Budget Hearing is scheduled for this Tuesday, May 7th from 7:00-7:30 PM in the JH/SH Performing Arts Center. During the hearing we will discuss the specifics of the budget and answer questions from the audience. This will be followed by the Meet the Board Candidates Night from 7:30 - 8:30 PM which is sponsored by the PTSA. This event will be livestreamed. In addition, the annual Spring Budget Newsletter will be arriving in mailboxes in about a week. Finally, please mark your calendars for the Budget Vote, which will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in the Early Childhood School Boardroom from 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM. 

If you have any questions regarding the budget or the budget process, please refer to our website for more information. Please also reach out to me at Timothy Terranova.

The first weeks in May are a wonderful time to celebrate incredible people who do amazing things. Today is School Lunch Hero Day, which honors our food service staff who work tirelessly every day to put the nutritional needs of our students first, while making everything taste great! Thanks to Alix Tepol-Dewitt and her amazing team for the important work that they do every day.

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Tuesday will be Teacher Appreciation Day when we honor our amazing teachers for all that they do! A big thank you to our Victor PTSA for the Staff Appreciation Luncheons and their support of our teachers and staff throughout the year. We can’t forget our phenomenal school nurses. Wednesday is School Nurse Appreciation Day. Thank you VCS Nurses for all of your hard work ensuring the health of our students! 

A correction from last week. The last day of exams for the VSH is Tuesday, June 25.

Enjoy the weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

April 26, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you had a good week! I have three updates for you.

First, thank you to everyone who has taken a few moments to fill out our Mission and Vision Survey. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please take a moment to fill out the questionnaire. Your responses are important and will be used to support our work creating the revised VCS Mission and Vision Statements later this year.

Second, as I said in last week’s update, the Board of Education needed to adopt the 2024-25 school budget on April 11th, before NY State finalized state aid revenue for districts because NY State was late with their budget. The Board adopted a total budget of $103,224,919. On April 20th, VCS was given approximately the same amount of state aid for next year as this school year, which is disappointing. This is approximately $900,000 less aid than the state legislators recommended to the governor before the budget was finalized.

Based on our financial strategy and forecasting, despite this loss of revenue, we are still able to add some staff to significant need areas for next year. However, we did not add all the proposed positions because of the loss of aid. Positions we did add include: 

• Special education staff that will enable students to access grade level curriculum with appropriate supports as they move through VCS. In addition, we are planning to add a second Behavioral Specialist to support staff with their work with students with complex behavioral needs.

• Additional teachers to support increased enrollment at the VIS and maintain appropriate class sizes.

• Additional hours for our Work Based Coordinator to support high school students and internship opportunities across businesses during the summer.

 Because the Board of Education adopted the budget of $103,224,919 on April 11th and, by law, cannot change this total, the community will vote on this amount. Because we did not receive the higher amount of state aid, our actual expenditures will be less than this amount, so we maintain a sound financial strategy moving forward.

It is important to note that we have a lower tax rate than we did in 2019-20 and both our tax rate and per pupil expenditure is lower than the average tax rate and per pupil expenditure for schools in Wayne, Monroe, and Ontario Counties. 

Please visit our website for more information related to our budget. We are also mailing a comprehensive budget update to every residence in the VCS School District, which should arrive between May 8 and May 15. 

Finally, because we have not utilized our full allotment of snow days, the last day of school for elementary students will be Monday, June 24. The last day of classes for Junior High and Senior High students will be June 13. Exams will begin on Friday, June 14 and run through Friday, June 21. Graduation will be held on Friday, June 21 at 7:00PM at Innovative Field in Rochester. We are looking forward to celebrating this incredible accomplishment with students and their families. 

Have a great weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

Dear Families,

Hope you're all doing well! As we wrap up another busy week at VCS, I want to share three updates and two celebrations.

First, the Victor PTSA does incredible work to provide opportunities and programs for our students, and we are so grateful to them for their service and commitment to our schools. The PTSA leadership team is currently looking for volunteers for the upcoming 2024/2025 school year.  Please consider joining the PTSA, and adding your skills and experience to the team next year.

In other news, the Board recently approved the 2024-25 school budget. What makes this process challenging is the lateness of the NY State budget, which determines our state aid. When the Board adopted the budget on April 11th, we did not know how much state aid we will have for next year. As of the writing of this community update, we still do not know our state aid.

Currently, we are refining our staffing increases for next year, which is different from the previous three years where we needed to add significant positions. Derek Vallese, Assistant Superintendent for Business, and I will discuss the specifics of the budget and staffing during the Facebook Live Town Hall on Tuesday night, April 23rd at 6:30 PM. We will also discuss the budget as part of next week’s community update.

In addition, a quick reminder that on Monday, we will be sending a survey out to community members asking for their input on how they feel our schools are doing in terms of educating children, as well as telling us what they feel will be important in the future. This will support our work creating revised VCS Vision and Mission statements later this year. Please be sure to take a few moments to fill it out.

Finally, congratulations to two groups of VCS students. Three of our Victor Mathletes, Thomas Barbato, Xander Bhalla, and Sabrina Bhalla, traveled to Owego Free Academy with the Monroe County All Stars to compete in the New York State Mathematics League state competition! They did a great job and it was quite an honor to be chosen. Also, congratulations to Victor Senior High students, Leena Ruebens, Gina Baker, Grace Martinek and Reed Austin who received the Ontario County Recognition Award from the Ontario County Youth Bureau for their exemplary character and leadership in and out of school. We are very proud of you all!

Have a great weekend. Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude, 

Tim

April 12, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you had a wonderful week! I have two updates, and two celebrations for you.

First, last night, the Board of Education adopted a $103,224,919 budget for the 2024-25 School year. This budget includes staffing increases at the elementary level due to enrollment, increases in special education support, a greater number of substitute teachers, and a small number of miscellaneous items.  

We are in a unique situation this year since our ability to afford these critically important additions is dependent on the final NY State budget, which was due April 1st, but still has not been finalized. If NY State gives us the appropriate amount of state aid based on our enrollment, we will be able to afford these new positions. If, however, we receive less aid from NY State than what we are advocating, then we will most likely need to reduce our spending on staffing increases because we will not be able to afford the total number and maintain a sound budget strategy. This will mean we will have higher class sizes at the elementary level, less special education support than we need, and less substitute teacher availability. I will continue to keep you updated on any developments regarding the state budget.

Second, a shout out to all of the musical performers from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, individual athletes and teams who earned sectional titles and were all recognized at last night's Board meeting. In addition, Victor Central School District has been named the recipient of the NAAM Foundation’s 2024 Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) Award. This is the fourth year in a row that VCS has earned this honor! The BCME Award is a signature program now in its 25th year of celebrating school districts and individual schools for their support and commitment to music education and their efforts to ensure access to music for all students.

In other news, we are planning on sending a survey out to community members asking for their input on how they feel our schools are doing in terms of educating children, as well as looking into the future and telling us what they feel will be important toward the education of our children 10, 15, and 20 years from now. This, along with the work of the committee that met last month will go a long way in creating a rough draft of the VCS Vision later this spring. Please be on the lookout for this survey.

And finally, congratulations to the Victor Indoor Percussion Ensemble (VIPE) and the VCS Winter Guard! Both ensembles put on incredible performances to bring home a win for their respective NYS Championship this past weekend, and will be competing in the World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. The Winter Guard competes this weekend, and VIPE next week. Best of luck to both ensembles.

Have a great weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

Spring Break - enjoy!

Hi Everyone,

 I’m sending my weekly message a day early because our Spring Break starts tomorrow (Friday). I have three brief messages.

First, tonight at 6:30 pm is our Budget Workshop in the ECS Boardroom. We will review up to date information on the process for developing the 2024-25 school budget. You can either attend live or watch live at the following link. You can also watch it at a later time via our website. I will have more information about our proposed budget after the break.

Second, I was thrilled to have two outstanding groups of VCS students on the Facebook Live Town Hall Tuesday evening. The first group included students involved in our new Work-based Learning program at VSH under the direction of Mrs. Sue Utz. Students, Mrs. Utz, and a local business owner discussed internship opportunities for our students in businesses across our area. It’s an exciting new initiative that will pay huge dividends for our students in the future! In addition, I also had students from the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee on to discuss our new DEI recommendations that we recently publicized. It was a very informative conversation. The Town Hall is approximately 50 minutes long and you can watch it using this link.

Finally, as you have heard, a solar eclipse will be visible in New York State on the afternoon of Monday April 8, 2024.  We do not have school on April 8th because of the eclipse and the traffic concerns related to this event. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun for a brief period. Rochester is the perfect place to witness this unique event, as we are one of the few regions in New York State within the path of totality for the eclipse. As we have a front row seat to this extraordinary cosmic event, we wanted to give families information to have a safe and enjoyable eclipse viewing experience: 

• Do not look directly at the sun during the eclipse. 

• Sunglasses will NOT protect your eyes.

• It is not safe to view the eclipse through a camera or phone lens/viewfinder. 

• If your eyes are exposed to the sun without the appropriate protection, it can cause “eclipse blindness,” which can temporarily or permanently damage your eyes.

• It is recommended to use certified eclipse glasses from a trusted source. The Victor/Farmington Library is giving away free eclipse glasses.

 We encourage you to embrace this exciting opportunity with your child. Whether you experience the eclipse from a public setting or from home, it promises to be a memorable and enriching experience.

 I hope you and your family have a safe and enjoyable Spring break! We cannot wait to have your children back with us on April 9th!

With gratitude,

Tim

March 22, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you all had a great week! I have four brief updates. 

First, we have a pressing need for bus drivers and bus monitors. These are critically important positions that help our school district function in a safe and efficient manner. Each position has excellent starting pay, great benefits, and there is comprehensive training available. You can find out more about those opportunities, or any of the other jobs that are open on our website. 

Second, our students continue to do amazing things! Last weekend our VSHS Performing Arts students had an exceptional presentation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The talented performers, musicians, and stage crew came together to create a wonderful experience for our community. Our DECA Team also had a very successful weekend attending the New York State Conference in Rochester. Sixty-eight students had a unique opportunity to network, compete, participate in workshops and enrich their education outside the classroom. Nine VHS students earned the opportunity to compete at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California next month and four students were chosen to attend the Emerging Leader Series there!

Third, a huge shoutout to Tara Glynn, our Volunteer of the Year award winner, who is also co-president of our PTSA. Tara does so much for our school community! Special thanks also to our PTSA, who works extremely hard to support our students as well as our faculty and staff. Please consider joining the PTSA if you haven’t yet and/or reach out to PTSA leadership if you have any suggestions or ideas that they could implement to support our District.

Finally, coming up is a very busy week before April Break. Monday evening is the VSH/VJH Bands Concert. Tuesday evening, I am looking forward to our next Facebook Live Town Hall! I will have two sets of guests. At 6:30 pm we will highlight our new Work-Based Learning program that has high school students participating in internships across businesses in our area. At 6:55 pm we will have a great discussion with students about the important work we did to develop and create our new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Recommendations. Also, on Tuesday at 7:00 PM in the ECS Boardroom, PIE and PTSA are hosting a terrific opportunity for families of students who are all ages to find out more about planning for college.

The VSH/VJH Choirs Concert is on Wednesday night.  Thursday, there will be a budget workshop starting at 6:30 pm in the Boardroom where we will discuss updates to our proposed budget based on projected state aid numbers. In my Friday message next week, I’ll give you an update on where we are with the process. If you want more information, please be sure to check out our website where you can find recordings of past meetings and presentations. 

I hope you have a great weekend. Good luck to our VIPE team who is competing at the Victor Home Show starting at 1:00 pm on Saturday in the SH gymnasium and our Robotics team who is competing in Albany this weekend.  I am also looking forward to a safe return of over 260 tired seniors (and chaperones) from Boston! If you have any questions, please reach out.

With gratitude,

Tim

March 15, 2024

Dear Families,

Last evening, The Board of Education heard a presentation by students and staff about the newly created Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Recommendations for VCS. The development of the DEI Plan is an action step from our Five Year Strategic Plan and is a result of months of work by many staff, students, administrators, Board members, and community members. In my opinion, this was an extremely collaborative exercise, where many individuals were given the opportunity to provide input. 

The goal of the DEI Recommendations is to improve our ability as a school district to make sure every child feels valued, supported and heard, regardless of their differences, and to make sure our differences are looked upon as strengths. The major themes of the DEI Plan are:

• Assess our current state as a District in terms of school culture and policies as they relate to equity and inclusion. 

• Assess how marginalized subgroups are doing in terms of participation in clubs, athletics, music ensembles, etc. as well as academic achievement. This includes representation in special education, the discipline cycle, etc. 

• Based on the above assessments, amend areas that need improvement while also growing our overall knowledge (students and staff) of one another’s differences and appreciation of these differences.

• Enhance our curriculum review process so that our curriculum is as inclusive as possible and reflects the growing diversity of our current world, without compromising rigor.

•  Increase student voice to allow for all voices to be heard while also increasing the toolbox of staff to better address “in the moment” issues tied to equity and inclusion.

• Communicate our actions transparently with the staff and community. 

You can view the DEI Recommendations on our website. Please also know that a small number of action items have already been started in the District, while most will be incorporated into yearly Management Plans, that drive the District's goals moving forward.  Please reach out to me if you have any questions. We celebrate inclusivity at VCS and will continue to emphasize the teaching of empathy, inclusiveness, and the strength of diversity within our community.

An example of a focus on inclusivity is our celebration of World Down Syndrome Day on Thursday, March 21st. World Down Syndrome Day is an annual celebration and global awareness day officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The purpose is to raise awareness of what Down syndrome is, what it means to have Down syndrome, and how people with Down syndrome play a vital role in our lives and communities.

Finally, a shout out to the Robotics Team who is competing at RIT today and this weekend in the First Robotics Finger Lakes Regional Competition. Also, the Victor Senior High School presentation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame opened last night to rave reviews! Shows run again tonight and tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, and a matinee tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Please visit our website for more information on how to buy tickets.

Enjoy the weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

March 8, 2024

Dear Families,

As the week winds down, we are looking forward to exciting things happening at VCS and we have a lot to celebrate! This past week was School Social Work Week. A huge thank you to our VCS School social workers for their vital role in providing support to our school community.

Congratulations to senior Soraya Hammer who received the Superintendent’s Award last night at the Wayne-Finger Lakes Region Awards Banquet. One high school senior from each district in the region is selected for this prestigious award.  In addition, congratulations to junior Emily Onze who received the Senator Helming Youth Leadership Award this week, celebrating Emily’s strong leadership skills throughout her high school experience.  

In other news, we are one week away from opening night for the Victor Senior High production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Our students have been working very hard to prepare for this show and tickets are available online or at the door. The show will open Thursday night (3/14) and run through Saturday. Curtain is at 7:00 PM each night, but there will also be a matinee performance on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM. Come and enjoy a wonderful evening at the theater! 

Congratulations to our Boys Bowling team as they head off to the State Championship tournament this Sunday in Syracuse. They have been working hard to prepare, and we are very excited for them. In addition, congratulations to our Boys Basketball team who took down undefeated Greece Athena last Saturday to repeat as Section V Champions! Finally, a huge shout out to our Girls Basketball team as they put in a valiant effort last week in the sectional finals and completed their amazing season. We are very proud of our athletes! 

As you plan for next week, Friday, March 15th is a Superintendent’s Conference Day and there will be no school for students. Don’t forget that Daylight Savings time begins this Sunday, which means set your clocks ahead by one hour.  Have a great weekend! 

With gratitude,

Tim

March 1, 2024

Dear Families,

What a great week for our school community! We have a lot to celebrate and some exciting events coming up. In addition, I have an update about our 2024-25 budget. 

Recently, I talked about the lack of state aid the governor is currently proposing for the Victor Central School District’s 2024-25 budget. Members of the Victor Board of Education and I are traveling to Albany next week to meet with our legislators and advocate for more appropriate state aid for our schools. We are also hosting separate meetings later in March with our local legislators, Senator Helming and Assemblywoman Byrnes, to continue our advocacy. The need for increased state aid not only impacts our ability to support needed programming, but also our proposed Capital Project that we will discuss later in the school year. Please click on this link to our website for more information related to our 2024-25 budget process. 

In other news, we held our Black Scholars Recognition Ceremony on February 28th to honor the 18 distinguished Victor students who have consistently maintained academic excellence. This event included special keynote speakers, Dennis Cole, Sr., and Dr. Jevon Hunter of Buffalo State University. Congratulations to our students for their achievement and recognition!

Also, a quick reminder that the District Orchestras Concert will be held this Thursday, March 7th. This is an incredible event where hundreds of our orchestra musicians from the ECS all the way to the HS play in front of a huge audience in the VSH gymnasium. The concert starts at 7:00 PM. 

Finally congratulations to our student athletes. A major shout out to our Boys Bowling Team! They won the Section V Championship a few weeks ago and will be heading to compete in the State Tournament on Sunday, March 10. We are so proud of their accomplishments!

Congratulations also to the following student athletes who are competing in NY State Championships:

Alpine Skiing - Amalia Ireland and Winter Shull
Swimming - Zach Shields 
Gymnastics - Annie Porter 
Indoor Track and Field - Lia Brasacchio, Emma Goodell, Ellis McIlhenney, Emily Perrotta, Julia Sodoma, Atasia Williams 

Good luck to both our girls and boys basketball teams who are competing in the Sectional finals tomorrow!  I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. 

With gratitude,

Tim

Presidents Week Recess - enjoy! 

February 16, 2024

Dear Families,

I hope you had a great week! Tomorrow marks the start of our February break. I hope you and your families enjoy your time together. I’d like to share an update on our District Mission and Vision revision as well as several celebrations. 

The VCS Mission and Vision is directly related to our Strategic Plan. Our Strategic Plan was created in 2022 and prioritizes our District goals for a five year period. Each year, VCS utilizes a Management Plan that takes important goals from the Strategic Plan and operationalizes them for each school year. This year’s Management Plan identifies the need to review our District’s Mission and Vision. For this review, we will utilize significant staff, student, and community input to refine the long-term vision (15 to 25 years) for educating our youth.

The bulk of the work will involve two committees. These committees will include staff, students, parents, community members and our Board of Education. I have asked our PTSA leadership to reach out to the parent community for parent volunteers to serve on this committee. Please reach out to our PTSA leadership at victorptsa@gmail.com if you have any questions about the committee membership.

Both committees will seek significant feedback from the greater school community to refine the revised Mission and Vision statements. The goal is to complete this entire process by the summer so that we can have a clear Mission and Vision to help refine next year’s Management Plan.

In other news, congratulations to our Victor Varsity Cheerleaders who placed 4th at Nationals in Florida this week! We are very proud of the hard work they put in to achieve their success so far this season. We also have several other athletes who are heading off to States. Congratulations to Zach Shields, who will be competing in the NYS Boys Swimming 200 Freestyle Championship and Amalia Ireland and Winter Shull, who will be competing as part of the Section V Alpine Composite Team in States. We are very proud of you all!

Finally, big shout out to the PTSA for the Books at Breakfast initiative they held this week at all of our schools. At this event, any student can come and pick out a book to keep. We are so grateful for the PTSA and their constant support of our schools.

Again, please enjoy the time off next week. School will resume on Monday, February 26. If you have any questions, please reach out to me. 

With gratitude,

Tim

Hello everyone,

I hope it was a great week for you and your family! We had an outstanding week together on campus, and I have a few updates for you.

As a school district, we are continuing to work on several important items, including the development of the 2024-25 budget, finalizing our next Capital Project, the planned review of our District’s Mission & Vision statements, as well as sharing the completed Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) plan. I will spend time discussing each item in the next few updates. 

Today, I will start with the budget. The 2024-2025 budget process has been complicated a bit by the Governor’s proposal to reduce our school aid by as much as $350,000. This is concerning news. However, we have many advocates, including our School Board, who are fighting for the appropriate amount of school aid in the final state budget. In fact, the School Board and members of our administration met with state legislators last Saturday to discuss the state budget and our need for adequate funding. We are hopeful that this advocacy will make a positive difference with state leadership, and we will continue to share updates on the budget with you as we work through the process. For the latest information, you can find all of our budget presentations, as well as archived recordings of past Board meetings on our website.

This past week, we have been celebrating National School Counseling Week. Our counselors not only support the academic needs of our students, but also their social-emotional needs as well as provide career guidance. A huge shout out to our wonderful Victor counselors for caring so deeply, and bringing a wealth of care, commitment, and resources for the wellbeing of our students!

Don’t forget that the 25th VCS Winter Guard Home Show is this Saturday. Individuals competing in Winter Guard are highly skilled, and put on an incredible show of choreography and color that you won’t want to miss! There will be 25 teams competing in this year’s show, Images in Motion, which begins at 4:00 PM in the VSH Gymnasium. 

Enjoy the warmer than normal weather, and the upcoming Super Bowl this weekend! Please reach out if you have any questions.  

With gratitude,

Tim

February 2, 2024

Dear Families,

2024 is off to an amazing start! This week, I have three brief announcements. First, this year, as part of our 2023-24 Management Plan, we have begun the exciting work of developing revised VCS Mission and Vision Statements. These new “positioning statements” will  not only capture the essence of  VCS today, but also define the direction of VCS in the future.

Initial development plans for our new Mission/Vision Statements include utilizing significant staff and community input via surveys and in-person work groups. These groups will include parents, students, faculty, staff, community members, and our Board of Education. More information on the selection of these groups and next steps will be forthcoming. We expect this entire process to take place between March and this summer.

Second, February is Black History Month. This is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society—from activists and civil rights pioneers to leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more. 

2024’s theme for the month is "African Americans and the Arts," and explores the key influence African Americans have had in the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary and other forms of cultural expression. Each of our five buildings will have events that occur throughout the month to honor this theme.

And finally, I’d like to give a shout-out to all of the students participating in the Elementary All-County Music Festival this weekend here on the Victor campus. We are so proud of you!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

January 26, 2024

Dear Families,

It’s been another busy week and the weather has been a bit of a rollercoaster. It’s often during these unpredictable stretches of winter weather that we receive many questions about school closings. To help everyone understand the process we use to make the decision to close school or not, we recently posted an article that explains the details. Be sure to check it out! 

In other news, our first public Budget Workshop was held last night. The recording is available for you to watch. The next Board of Education meeting will be Thursday, February 8, at 7:15 PM in the Early Childhood School Boardroom, and will include an update on our budget process.

In addition, congratulations to the 12 students who were inducted into the Tri-M Music Honor Society earlier this week. The Tri-M Music Honor Society recognizes students that have gone above and beyond both academically and musically, and provides students leadership opportunities to make a difference in their community through music-based service projects. This year’s group of students are incredibly talented and we are so proud of their accomplishments!

Finally, there are a few important presentations for families coming up next week. Our Partners in Education (PIE) is sponsoring a presentation on advanced academic opportunities for students in grades 7-12, and it will be held on Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM in the Early Childhood School Boardroom. There will also be a Special Education parent presentation for students in grades 8-9 this coming Wednesday evening at 5:30 in the High School LGI. For more information on upcoming events, please be sure to check out the District calendar on the website.

This week wraps up the first half of our school year. The second semester begins on Monday for students in grades 7-12. June will be here before we know it! I hope you have a great weekend. Please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

Hello everyone,

I hope it was a great week for you and your families! I have a few updates for you.

Last week I discussed our goals for the 2024-25 budget development process and series of dates for our budget presentations. It is important for the District to continue to share information with you regarding the budget process. We work hard on being transparent about how we are building the budget, with an emphasis on tying our investments to our Strategic Planning initiatives. Please continue to check our website for up-to-date information about the 2024-2025 Budget process. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions I can help with. 

In addition to the budget process, we also have an upcoming Capital Project that has been delayed because of the lack of response from the NY State Education Department (NYSED) with determining state aid tied to the proposed additions. NYSED has told us they will make decisions on state aid funding by the end of March. We obviously do not want to proceed with finalizing the details of this project until we know how much it will cost. We will have much more information on the Capital Project as we move through the coming months.  

A HUGE shout out to the PTSA for the amazing turnout at the Harlem Wizards basketball game against the staff last week. The gym was completely sold out with standing-room only, and the Wizards put on a great show! Check out some of the pictures on our Facebook page. Special thanks to all of the staff who played on the team, the volunteers, and our own Victor Senior High Key Club for their dedication to the event. All proceeds go to the PTSA, who in turn uses the money to provide enriching experiences for our students during the school day, celebrating staff, in addition to hosting afterschool, weekend, and evening family activities and programs.

An example of the impact the PTSA has on our schools occurs this Saturday (tomorrow) with Awesome Art Day - a family-friendly event that is open to all grade levels. Awesome Art Day runs from 10am-12pm in the Victor Primary Cafeteria and Auditorium. There will be art activities for all ages, and no sign-up is required. 

Finally, congratulations to the eight, incredibly talented VSH art students who have been chosen to have their work displayed at the RIT Start Here Art Show. The show opens tonight with a reception from 5-8 PM, on RIT's campus in the Bevier Gallery, Booth Hall (building 7A). I’ll have more on the students selected and awards next week! 

I hope you have a great weekend. Please reach out if you have any questions.  

With gratitude,

Tim

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful week! I have two celebrations and two updates.

Congratulations to the 111 high school students who were inducted in the National Honor Society on Wednesday night! We are proud of their outstanding academic achievements and service toward others. Also, a special shout-out to Victor Intermediate 6th grader, Joshua Lin, who secured second place for NY State in the nationally recognized Opus Music competition! Joshua is an incredibly talented violinist and a dedicated member of our VIS orchestra, band, and jazz band, and he credits the encouragement he has received from his teachers as a major part of his success. Congratulations Joshua!

For my first update, I wanted to give you a general summary of the process we are utilizing to build our 2024-25 school budget. Under the direction of Derek Vallese, our Assistant Superintendent for Business, we are collaborating with our faculty, staff, and administration to ensure that the following objectives are at the forefront of every decision we make:

• Enhance a comprehensive education that the VCS District Community expects

• Improve alignment of resources toward the goals of the District’s Strategic Plan

• Maintain the stabilization of Reserves

• Maximize the use of every dollar spent

• Maximize the ability to generate aid for future years

• Maintain transparency with the community

As always, we will work to find balance between the needs of our students with the financial needs of our community. At last night’s Board of Education meeting, we presented information tied to our transportation, security, and operations & maintenance budget. We will continue to publicly report our progress with developing the 2024-25 budget. The dates for future budget presentations are as follows:

Thursday, January 25, 2024 - Budget Workshop

Thursday, February 8, 2024 - Office of Instruction & Pupil Services

Thursday, February 29, 2024 - Revenues & Tax Cap Calculation

Thursday, March 14, 2024 - Personnel Update

Thursday, March 28, 2024 - Update on any changes

Thursday, April 11, 2024 - Review final budget and adopt

We encourage you to either attend the presentations or watch the live streamed presentations from home. The link to the livestream is found on our website and all budget presentations are recorded and kept on the website. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. 

Second, as you know our staff and students have off from school on Monday as we celebrate Martin Luther King (MLK) Day, which honors the slain Civil Rights leader who dedicated his life to achieving equality for people of all colors. What is unique about MLK Day compared to other federal holidays is that it is the only holiday designated as a national day of service. MLK Day not only honors the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but it encourages all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. On Monday, I hope you join me in not only celebrating the strides our country has made with racial equality, but also reflecting on the progress we still need to make in this area. 

Have a great weekend. Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! It has been an outstanding first week back from the holiday break. And with the arrival of January, it is hard to believe we are almost half way through the school year!

We are looking forward to the Harlem Wizards basketball game next week on Thursday night, January 11 at 6:30 PM in the high school gym. There are still some tickets available for purchase online. This is always a fun activity, and an important fundraiser for the PTSA. Our Victor PTSA does a fantastic job providing enriching experiences for our students during the school day, celebrating staff, as well as hosting afterschool programs and evening family activities. Please consider attending to support a great cause!

The Board of Education meeting for the month of January was originally scheduled for the same night as the Wizards game next week, but has been moved up a day to allow everyone to attend the game. The Board meeting is now scheduled for Wednesday, January 10 and begins at 7:15 PM in the Early Childhood School Board Room. 

Winter has officially arrived which brings occasional challenges with the weather. Safety is always our top priority. During drop-off and pick-up, please go a little slower on High Street and while driving on campus. Please remember that pedestrians always have the right of way, and please give our buses a little more room than you normally might in case someone has difficulty stopping. We want to be sure that everyone arrives and gets home safely.

Also, if the weather conditions are severe enough to close, please know that you will receive a ParentSquare message as soon as the decision is made. We will also post the information on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X - formerly Twitter) - so please be sure to follow Victor Central Schools on each platform. You can also find school closings and delays on local tv and radio stations. Hopefully, we won’t have severe weather this year, but it is always good to be prepared in case it happens.

I hope you have a great weekend and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

December 22, 2023

Hello Everyone,

As you know, starting tomorrow our students and staff are off from school for the Winter Recess. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again when school reopens on Wednesday, January 3rd. 

I wanted to extend a special thank you to our VSH Student Government for organizing the District Wide Food Drive, which ended today. Together, our student leadership and school community donated enough food to serve over 100 families in the community. This is another example of our incredibly generous community and outstanding student leadership! 

I’d also like to thank our faculty and staff for their support of our students during the food drive. The over 850 professionals who diligently work with your children on a daily basis are second to none and consistently have your children's needs at the forefront of every decision they make. Regardless of the job title, our professionals work hard to not only ensure academic growth and social development, but also make each child feel like a valued member of our school community. 

Finally, I’d like to thank all of you, your child's first and most important teacher! We look forward to our continued partnership for the benefit of your children. Together, we will continue to emphasize approaching every situation with an open mind and a positive attitude.We have had a wonderfully successful first three and a half months of school. We continue to celebrate our students’ achievements at all levels and look forward to an incredible start to 2024! I hope you and your family enjoy the time together over the next 11 days of break. We cannot wait to see your kids back on campus on January 3rd!

Happy Holidays,


Tim

Dear Families,

Last night, we began the Board of Education meeting by celebrating student success! It was an honor to have so many gather to recognize the great work of our students in the Senior High Fall Play, the Junior High Musical, NYSSMA Conference All-State, NYSSMA Senior High and Junior High Area All-State, ACDA Junior High Honor Choir, along with one of our Fall athletes who won Sectionals in two girls varsity swimming events and went on to compete in States. We are so proud of the exceptional achievements of our students!

In other news, I’d like to extend a huge thank you to our Victor PTSA for coordinating the PTSA Scholastic Book Fair that started December 7 and ended today - including multiple night events. Hundreds of people participated in the Book Fair and were able to purchase books for friends and families. The proceeds benefit the many PTSA funded events, field trips, and guest speakers that support our students, staff, and families. Our PTSA continues to play an integral role within our school district! Their next event is coming up January 11, where teachers and administrators take on the Harlem Wizards in basketball! Tickets are available now online.

The Senior High Student Council is having its annual Holiday Food Drive through Wednesday, December 21st. Food items can be dropped off at any of the school buildings. Please consider donating to this worthy cause and helping families within our district. A huge thank you to our Student Council!
Finally, this coming Tuesday is our December Town Hall on Facebook Live, starting at 6:30 pm. I am excited to have student guests from our music department as well as representatives from the Student Council at VSH.  In addition, the Scott Zahn Memorial Classic will take place next week on Friday, December 22nd. Scott Zahn passed away suddenly in 2019. He was a fabulous coach and mentor who influenced thousands of lives in both Victor and Canandaigua. The Classic is a double header basketball game between the varsity girls and then the varsity boys teams from Victor and Canandaigua. It will be held in the Victor Senior High School gymnasium starting at 5:15 pm. This Memorial Classic benefits both the Canandaigua Churches in Action, and the Victor-Farmington Food Cupboard. It is a wonderful tribute to Scott’s memory. Tickets are required and can be purchased online.

Please remember that next week is the last week before the December break. School will close after classes on Friday, December 22, and reopen on Wednesday, January 3. Enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

December 8, 2023 

Hello Everyone, 

My weekly community message is meant to celebrate positive things that occur throughout our District on a weekly basis. Today, unfortunately, I am sharing a concern. The District has recently had multiple incidents of racial slurs and antisemetic symbols written on school facilities or shared through technology. These incidents are unacceptable and undermine our core values of acceptance and appreciating differences in others in our community. Even one incident is too many.

I want to be transparent about these types of situations because I believe it is a collective responsibility to maintain a school environment that is free from racism and hate. 

Currently, the District is addressing the situation in three ways. First, our principals and other members of our leadership team met today to plan how to reinforce our message of inclusivity for all of our students and the intolerance of hate toward others. These messages will be age appropriate and occur before break. Second, we are increasing surveillance of our facilities and will administer significant consequences to anyone caught creating, sending or displaying hateful images or rhetoric. 

Finally, I am pleased to announce that our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Plan will be finalized in the next two months. This plan is crucial to the implementation of greater, more proactive measures to educate our children about the value of appreciating people’s differences, rather than looking at them as threats or weaknesses.  

We will continue to focus on creating an inclusive and safe environment for all of our students, staff, and community members. In the meantime, I encourage you to continue talking with your children about the importance of treating one another with respect and kindness and appreciating our differences, which strengthens all of us. Together, through the collaboration between home and school, I am confident that we can end this type of hateful behavior once and for all. Thank you for your continued support.

With gratitude,

Tim

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season.  I am excited to announce that we will be starting our first Superintendent's Student Leadership Council in January. The Superintendent’s Student Leadership Council will be made up of students in grades 8 through 12 who will meet with me periodically throughout the school year to share their feedback, school experiences, and perspectives on various issues affecting students, schools, and our community. This is an excellent way for students to build leadership skills, and for me to hear honest and direct feedback from them on important issues. 

If your student would like more information, or is interested in applying for this opportunity, please have them complete this brief Google Form by Monday, December 11th.

In other news, our Victor Teachers Association raised $1623 for the Victor Farmington (VF) Food Cupboard, which serves approximately 600 families in and around Victor and Farmington each month. If you and your family would also like to help out the VF Food Cupboard, our district wide annual food drive begins Monday, December 4 and will run through the end of the day on Thursday, December 21. Your student can bring donations to school and drop it off in their classroom. This tradition in our schools is a great way to help support others within our community. 

As a school community, we also have a need for people who love working with kids to be substitute teachers. If you are looking for a part-time job with flexible scheduling and great pay, you can apply online or come to the upcoming Job Fair at the Victor District Office, Thursday, December 7 from 8:30-5:00 PM. At the job fair, there will be computers available and assistance in filling out applications. We also have openings for other positions, so be sure to check out the website for more information.

In addition, December is a wonderful month for musical performances! Below is a listing of our upcoming concerts. Please come out and enjoy the immense talent of our singers and musicians.

Upcoming Concerts 
(All concerts start at 7:00 PM and are held in the JH/SH Performing Arts Center)

Tuesday, December 5 - 7th Grade Band/Chorus
Thursday, December 7 - 8th Grade Band/Chorus
Monday, December 11 - VSHS Bands
Wednesday, December 13 - VIS Orchestra
Monday, December 18 - VSHS Orchestra and Choir

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions.

With Gratitude,

Tim

November 22, 2023

Dear Families,

As you know, school is out of session starting today (Wednesday) for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will return to classes on Monday, November 27th.

I want to wish all of our students, staff, and families a Happy Thanksgiving. At VCS, we are thankful for the amazing faculty and staff who give so much of their time and effort to supporting our students. In addition, a huge thank you to our parents and guardians! You are the most important teachers in your child’s life, and your partnership with us is what makes VCS a special place.

We are also incredibly grateful for the more than 4300 students at VCS. They are the reason why we are here! I know from interacting with many of them and seeing their daily accomplishments that our future is in great hands.

Enjoy the break.

With gratitude,

Tim

Dear Families,

As the week winds down, we are really looking forward to some exciting things happening at VCS! I have three brief announcements. 

First, it is opening night for the Junior High musical! Come out and see the cast and crew put on Matilda The Musical tonight at 7:00 PM. You can also see our amazing performers tomorrow for shows at 1:00 PM and again at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available online and at the door. This promises to be an incredible show that you won’t want to miss. 

Second, the 15th annual ROC2Change Student Summit was held today, and over 400 students from around the Rochester area gathered together for the Fall Summit and discussed topics around the theme of respect and race. I am extremely proud of our Victor student leaders who worked together with students from Wilson High School to plan, facilitate and oversee this event. It was an incredible experience to see so many students gathered to work together on sustainable positive change that impacts society.

Finally, we have several student athletes who are heading off to NY State  competition this weekend. Congratulations to swimmers Meredith Hogan and Morgane Wethey. Meredith was the Section V Class A Champion and has qualified for States in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly. Morgane also qualified for States in the 50 Freestyle and the 100 Freestyle. We are also proud of Annie Porter who is heading to state competition in Gymnastics. 

Next week brings a short week, and time off for the Thanksgiving break. I hope you have a wonderful time off celebrating with family and friends. School will reopen again on Monday, November 27 and don’t forget that we have a Facebook Live Town Hall scheduled for Tuesday, November 28 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM. I am planning on having student leaders from the ROC2Change Summit on with me along with members of the JH Musical and student athletes who qualified for state competition.  

With gratitude,

Tim

Dear Families,

Today, students and staff do not have school in honor of Veterans Day. Veterans Day honors all the men and women who have served in the US Armed Forces. We thank them for their service and their incredible dedication to keeping us safe! 

Our staff and students honored our veterans in many ways this week. One example is at the Victor Intermediate School, where over 70 veterans came into school throughout the day (or zoomed in) yesterday to speak to various classes about their experiences. What an amazing opportunity for our students to hear about the incredible accomplishments and sacrifices that our veterans have made. 

In other news around campus, the Victor Junior High School will present Matilda The Musical! Next weekend, with the show opening on Friday, November 17th at 7:00 PM. Additional shows will be held on Saturday, November 18th at both 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Tickets are available online or at the door. Please come out and see our talented cast and crew in this really fun, family-friendly show!

Also coming up next week is the ROC2Change Summit. ROC2Change is led by students for students, and works to inspire and empower high school youth across the boundaries of geography, race and life experiences to become effective change agents. Our Victor students have combined with students from Wilson High School to plan and host the summit for next Friday, when hundreds of students from Rochester area school districts will gather together at Monroe 2 BOCES to participate in the summit that is themed, “Give Respect 2 Get Respect.” A huge thank you to our student leaders for taking this initiative!

Enjoy the long weekend! Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff and please reach out to me if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim Terranova
Superintendent

Dear Families,

This week, the weather definitely changed and we had our first official snow. And now that we have officially entered the month of November, we also enter a season of giving and gratitude.

Each year, Victor Central Schools participates in several drives to help those in need and foster a sense of community. In the coming weeks leading up to the holidays, students and families may choose to take advantage of opportunities to give back - either through the district wide annual food drive that benefits the Victor-Farmington Food Cupboard, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, giving to The Spot which gives free school supplies to students in need, a supply drive for the Ronald MacDonald House, or perhaps something that you do with your own family to give back to others. I am thankful for the many opportunities our students have to practice service towards others. 

I also wanted to express my gratitude to VSH teacher, Mr. Wuest, and Constellation Brands who worked together to have a professional seminar for over 20 of our students to meet with some of the most prestigious women in Information Technology (IT) and Computer Science for a Career Day at their Victor location yesterday. The gender disparity in the IT field has persisted for many years. This was a special opportunity created for our Victor female students that the leadership at Constellation Brands helped to facilitate. Obviously we want all of our students to have these opportunities, but in this case, we wanted to have a specific option for female high school students who are interested in IT to hear from female leaders who are great examples for our students. The combination of these types of experiences along with the work of Mrs. Utz, our new Work-Based Learning Coordinator, will lead to many more "real world" opportunities for all students, including a significant amount of internships in the future. 

Please enjoy the upcoming weekend. Don’t forget to turn the clocks back Saturday night, and enjoy the extra hour of sleep! In addition, next week is a short week because we have off on Friday in celebration of Veterans Day next Saturday. Veterans Day honors all the Military Veterans who have served in the US Armed Forces. We thank them for their service and their incredible dedication to keeping us safe. 

Enjoy your weekend and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude,

Tim

Hello Everyone,

I hope that everyone had a great week! I have three updates and informational items to share with you.

First, on campus this week, we  celebrated Red Ribbon Week as students learned each day about making healthy choices. I want to extend a special thank you to our PTSA for sponsoring Red Ribbon Week, and also for collaborating with our Substance Abuse Counselor and entire staff to provide helpful information, as well as future in-person presentations for our families that highlight ways to support one another to keep our children free from alcohol and other drugs. 

Second, there are always interesting opportunities and events going on around campus and in our wider Victor community. One of the ways we can make you aware of them is digitally through PeachJar. Sign up for PeachJar by simply visiting their website, click on JOIN under the Parent/Guardian option, and fill out the form to begin receiving information via email.

And finally, the VSH Drama Club will present “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong” tonight (Friday) at 7:00 PM, and tomorrow at 1:00 and 7:00 PM. Please come out to see this amazing show.

Please enjoy the weekend with family and friends. I know it is a busy time. Today our staff reminded students to be safe over the Halloween weekend and listen to the adults around them. Whether you have an elementary student or a senior in high school, it is always good to work together to send the same message of safety and making good choices. 

As always, please reach out to me directly if you have any questions.

With gratitude,

Tim

October 20, 2023

 Hello Everyone,

 As always, I hope everyone had a wonderful week! 

On Tuesday’s Facebook Live Town Hall, we were glad to have Ms. Lindsay Snyder, our District Substance Abuse Counselor, on with me to discuss alcohol and other drug use and the impact it has on adolescents. The Substance Abuse Counselor is a new position this year at VCS. It seems fitting that our conversation occurred before October 23rd, which is the start of Red Ribbon Week, which is the nation’s largest and longest running drug use prevention campaign. Lindsay talked about her role in our District and strategies parents can use from the youngest ages to deal with the causes of alcohol and other drug use, the issues with vaping, and proactive coping strategies for our adolescents as a substitute to alcohol and other drug use. 

Please watch the 20-minute conversation with Ms. Snyder. She is incredibly informative, and the information helps all of us increase the chances that our children will stay away from substance use and abuse. You can also visit our website for specific resources related to substance use and prevention.  

I was also pleased to have members of the VSH cast of “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong” with me during the Town Hall to discuss the comedy and the efforts they put into creating a fantastic production. The VSH Fall Play will occur on Friday, October 27th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, October 28th at 1:00 and 7:00 pm in the ECS Auditorium. I encourage everyone to come out and watch this amazing show.

The month of October is not only National Principals Month, but also includes School Board Recognition week. A huge shoutout to both our Board of Education, whose leadership has been so valuable to the success of VCS, and our five amazing principals, who always put children first in every decision they make. I am appreciative of their leadership and collaboration. 

Finally, athletic sectional competition has already started. We wish all our teams enormous success and admire our student athletes and coaches for all their hard work and dedication. 

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

October 13, 2023

Hello Everyone,

As always, I hope everyone had a great week! A special thank you to the VCS Security team, along with  our law enforcement partners for investigating the unsubstantiated threat that I explained in my earlier message today. Individuals worked throughout the night making sure everyone is safe. Again, the safety and security of our VCS community is our top priority. I have three updates for you this week.

First, we continue to think about the people of Israel, who experienced a horrific terrorist attack that resulted in the loss  of  a tremendous number of innocent lives as well as  the pain and suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians who are also victims. It is a horrific situation. If you have concerns and would like help in knowing how to talk to your children about these issues, please feel free to reach out to your child’s school counselor and access the links from my message earlier this week. 

Second, as usual, we have many events coming up. Please access our VCS District wide calendar on our website for a comprehensive list of events. Tomorrow, October 14th, is the Victor Marching Band Home Show at Corbitt Field, starting at 5:30 pm. Tickets are $12 and all proceeds serve as a fundraiser for the band. The show is called “Music in Motion” and thirteen bands will participate in this exceptional musical event, which is the second largest marching band show in NYS. The Victor Marching Band takes the field for their performance at about 8:20 pm. Please come out and watch our talented musicians!

In addition, this coming Tuesday, October 17th, we have our next Facebook Live Town Hall starting at 6:30 pm. We will start with student representatives from the VSH Fall play, “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong.” They will talk about this unique production and the work they are doing to make it a great show! The VSH Fall Play will occur on October 27th and October 28th. 

The second half of the Town Hall will feature Ms. Lindsay Snyder, who is our District Substance Abuse Counselor, which is a new position at VCS. Lindsay will tell us about her role in our District and strategies parents can use from the youngest ages to deal with the causes of alcohol and other drug use, the issues with vaping, and proactive coping strategies for our adolescents as a substitute to alcohol and other drug use. It should be a very informative conversation. 

Third, a huge shoutout to seniors Cam Ryan and Jack Lucchese who are organizing a Corn Hole tournament this weekend that will raise money for various charities. According to VSH Principal, Brian Siesto, Cam and Jack came up with this idea and are following through with the fundraiser. What a great example of outstanding student leadership! 

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

October 6, 2023

Hello Everyone,

As always, I hope everyone had a great week and your children enjoyed the day off from school today as our teachers and staff participated in professional development related to the implementation of our Strategic Plan. Our children have a four day weekend because of the holiday on Monday, October 9th for Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day. 

I want to put another plug in for our amazing Victor PTSA. They do so much for our students and families! As they say on their website, The VCS PTSA works alongside administration at each school, providing enriching experiences for our students during the school day, celebrating staff, as well as hosting afterschool programs, evening family activities, and dances. They are an integral part of our school community. If you are interested in joining our PTSA, please go to https://victorptsa.membershiptoolkit.com/home. 

We have a variety of events scheduled for this coming week. We are excited about the Victor Central School District Faculty Recital and Art Show on Wednesday, October 11th in the JH/SH Performing Arts Center.  The art show begins at 6:30 pm in the lobby by the Performing Arts Center and the recital begins at 7:00 pm.  It’s a fantastic show and the admission is free. In addition, Thursday, October 12th is our next Board of Education meeting. During the meeting our Board is recognizing Benjamin Barbash as our newest inductee to the Visual & Performing Arts Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, Ben passed away in 2011 at the age of 37. Ben graduated in 1991 and was a highly respected visionary, artist, businessman and a wonderful person who thrived in our theater program. In addition to Ben’s induction, October is Board of Education Appreciation Month and we will be recognizing our Board and thanking them for their tremendous leadership on October 12th. 

Finally, next Saturday, October 14th is the Victor Marching Band Home Show at Corbitt Field, starting at 5:30 pm. The show is called “Music in Motion” and the Victor Marching Blue Devils program is titled “El Dorado.” Thirteen bands will participate in this exceptional musical event. Please come out and watch our talented musicians. 

I hope you enjoy your long weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

September 29, 2023

Hello Everyone,

As always, I hope everyone had a great week. We are excited about the start of October and going full swing into the fall season! 

A big thank you to the staff members who joined me on our September Town Hall via Facebook Live on Wednesday evening, and were recognized for earning the Unsung Hero Award. As I said last week, the Unsung Hero awards are given to outstanding professionals each school year who go above and beyond for our kids. If you get a chance please visit our Victor Facebook page to watch them talk about their profession and the joy that they get from helping our children. 

In addition to talking to our guests, I also briefly discussed social media and communication. I gave reminders about social media and its relationship to obtaining accurate information about our schools. One reminder is the importance of separating fact from opinion. This is one of the most important skills we teach our children. It can be difficult sometimes, especially on social media platforms, to determine what is fact and what is someone’s opinion. However, if we think something is factual that may not be, it can lead to misinformation and confusion. If you want accurate information that relates to VCS, please go to one of our social media sites, the website, or call or email the person directly involved. Relying on second, third, or even fourth hand information typically leads to an inaccurate picture of what happened. I strongly encourage everyone to  always go directly to the source for accurate information. 

Today we had our Homecoming Pep Rally in the afternoon and it was a great success! This evening we have Homecoming night games involving varsity girls soccer, varsity girls volleyball, and varsity football, along with varsity cheer. Homecoming is always a wonderful time at VCS as we welcome back our amazing alumni. Please come out and cheer on our student athletes!

Finally, next week is a short week. Our students do not have school on Friday, October 6th because it is a professional development day for our faculty and staff. In addition, our students also have Monday, October 9th off for Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day.

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

September 29, 2023

Hello Everyone,

As always, I hope everyone had a great week. We are excited about the start of October and going full swing into the fall season! 

A big thank you to the staff members who joined me on our September Town Hall via Facebook Live on Wednesday evening, and were recognized for earning the Unsung Hero Award. As I said last week, the Unsung Hero awards are given to outstanding professionals each school year who go above and beyond for our kids. If you get a chance please visit our Victor Facebook page to watch them talk about their profession and the joy that they get from helping our children. 

In addition to talking to our guests, I also briefly discussed social media and communication. I gave reminders about social media and its relationship to obtaining accurate information about our schools. One reminder is the importance of separating fact from opinion. This is one of the most important skills we teach our children. It can be difficult sometimes, especially on social media platforms, to determine what is fact and what is someone’s opinion. However, if we think something is factual that may not be, it can lead to misinformation and confusion. If you want accurate information that relates to VCS, please go to one of our social media sites, the website, or call or email the person directly involved. Relying on second, third, or even fourth hand information typically leads to an inaccurate picture of what happened. I strongly encourage everyone to  always go directly to the source for accurate information. 

Today we had our Homecoming Pep Rally in the afternoon and it was a great success! This evening we have Homecoming night games involving varsity girls soccer, varsity girls volleyball, and varsity football, along with varsity cheer. Homecoming is always a wonderful time at VCS as we welcome back our amazing alumni. Please come out and cheer on our student athletes!

Finally, next week is a short week. Our students do not have school on Friday, October 6th because it is a professional development day for our faculty and staff. In addition, our students also have Monday, October 9th off for Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day.

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

September 15, 2023

Hello Everyone,

I hope your children had a great first full week of school! I continue to be impressed by their work and the efforts of our faculty and staff to make sure they are receiving a high quality education. I have three updates for you this week. 

First, our initial Superintendent Town Hall  for the 2023-24 school year will occur via Facebook Live on Tuesday, September 27th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. We instituted virtual Town Halls during the 2020 pandemic in order to communicate more effectively with our community. Since then, we have continued to have Town Halls approximately one time per month. They are meant to be informative sessions where I share important information, and highlight our students - showcasing their many talents and achievements. I encourage you to watch live or watch a tape of the presentation at a later date. I will have more information about our first Town Hall as we get closer to the 27th.  

Second, it is important to remind everyone of effective communication procedures when problem solving with faculty and staff about an issue related to school. Whether it is related to something in the classroom, athletics, or other types of school activities, we emphasize the need to initially problem solve with the staff member most immediately involved in the issue.  For many situations, this can be a conversation between the student and the staff member, which promotes independence and problem solving skills in our students. If for some reason the issue is not resolved with this conversation, or you have a younger child and/or are dealing with a more complex situation, then certainly a conversation between parents and the staff member is a great next step. If this doesn’t solve the issue, then we recommend a conversation with the staff member and administration directly aligned with the staff member. Please visit the  School and Community Relations page of our website for the specific checklist of personnel to contact related to questions or concerns. 

Certainly, there are unique situations where you may have an immediate concern about the physical or social-emotional health and welfare of your child. In these cases, reaching out to an administrator right away or utilizing our Safe School Helpline is something we encourage. 

Finally, I know the traffic situation, especially when dropping off children before school is challenging. I appreciate everyone’s patience as we all get used to the new traffic patterns tied to the school year. Please remind your children to be careful when either walking or coming out of cars to go to school. We have had numerous reports of students running across High Street and coming close to being hit by cars. Please also be careful of other drivers when turning in and pulling out of our schools. Safety is our number one concern, and we all play a role in it.  

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and please reach out if you have any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova

September 8, 2023 

Hello Everyone, 

It was a fantastic first three days of school! Thank you to our outstanding faculty and staff as well as all our families for their hard work in making our first few days so enjoyable for our children. From my walks through hallways and classrooms, I know our students are very excited about the start of a new school year.  I have four quick updates for this week.

First, safety continues to be our top priority. Our Coordinator of District Safety, Steve Slavny, oversees four, full time Security workers across our District during the school day. This year we have added a dedicated, full time security professional at the elementary level, and  we have added a full time security professional who works during after school and evening activities. These professionals, in conjunction with our School Resource Officer, Conor Boyer, have over 100 years of law enforcement service. One of the first things we are planning for are the annual state-mandated safety drills - including fire drills and lockdown drills. I am confident that having  our team of experts helping to coordinate these drills will make our District even safer. 

Second, our leadership team has done a tremendous job filling open positions that have played a major role in starting the school year smoothly. We are still in need of people to work as  bus drivers, teacher assistants, teacher aides, and food service workers. If interested, please go to the hiring page on our website, at  https://www.applitrack.com/victorschools/onlineapp/ .  

Third, we have a busy few days ahead. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the Village of Victor’s Hometown Day, which is a family friendly event in the village.  The Victor Devil Dash 5K and Family Walk is part of this great day and starts at 10:00 am. Proceeds from the Devil Dash go directly to the  Victor Educational Foundation.   The foundation  provides an enhanced experience through increased opportunities that promote educational excellence for the Victor School community. You can still sign up for the run/walk:   https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Victor/VictorDevilDash5K?fbclid=IwAR27WdJdkVvzT9cmRTlhsmTuYtUSfm7G2eq5LdS9D-lr4-gllzw2FAcZE3w  

Next week begins our first full week together.  It will be an exciting week, including this year’s first  Victor PTSA meeting on Wednesday, September 13th at the ECS Boardroom starting at 7:00 pm. Our PTSA is a wonderful organization that does so much for our students. I would encourage everyone to join this amazing group if you are able. 

Finally, Monday is the twenty-second anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our country. We appreciate the gravity of that day and the tremendous loss of life as well as the  incredible heroism displayed by so many, including our emergency services professionals.  Our principals and staff will have age-appropriate conversations with our students marking this important anniversary and making sure we never forget what happened. 

Thank you and have a great weekend. 

With gratitude, 

Tim

September 1, 2023 

Hello Everyone, 

We are getting close to the start of what promises to be an exceptional school year! As you know, our first day for first through twelfth grade students is Wednesday , September 6th, and the first day for UPK and Kindergarten students at the ECS is Thursday, September 7th.  It has been an incredibly busy summer on campus, with hundreds of students participating in summer experiences like the Extended School Year program, Summer Academies, Summer Enrichment programs, and many other cultural and athletic programs and camps. VCS is truly a community school district!  

Speaking of community, we received an update from the Village of Victor about the construction on High Street. Village officials have assured us that they will open High Street between Route 96 and the Lane Road intersection  at 3:00 AM on September 6th. They note that the project will not be fully complete by September 6th, but the road will be open and flagging will be used. Our outstanding traffic control professionals will further  support drop off and departure once school starts on Wednesday.We will also have additional adult support during arrival and dismissal time. 

For pedestrian traffic, please be aware that the recent road work on High Street resulted in the removal of  the sidewalk across the street from the school. As a result,  the sidewalk on the school side of High Street has been widened and reinforced with  bolstered curbing.  Students may now safely use the “new”  sidewalk along High Street between Rt. 96/Main Street and the South Campus Entrance.  Other safety supports include  controls for pedestrian-crossing signals to allow for safe movement across Rt. 96/Main Street. Members of the Victor District Security team will also be present at arrival and departure times to ensure the safe movement of our students as they become acquainted with the new traffic patterns.

On Tuesday, Sept. 5th, our three Elementary Buildings will host Meet & Greets for students and parents/guardians.  Please note that the High Street (south entrance, closest to Main Street) ) will still be closed at this time.  Entry to the District Campus will continue to be  available through the High Street north entrance, and the Lane Road entrance.  Once on Campus, vehicles may proceed to their respective  parking lots/buildings. Members of the Victor District Security team will be assisting with traffic flow, as well.    

The safety of our students is of the utmost importance. We ask for your patience over  the first few days of school as we deal with increased congestion related to having everyone back on campus at one time, and the ongoing road construction on High Street.  Please plan for extra time as everyone gets used to the new routines and drop off patterns. 

Please reach out to me if you have any questions. For building specific questions (school supplies, schedules, etc), please go to your child’s school on our website or reach out to the Main Office in your child’s building.  

Have a great weekend!  I look forward to seeing you soon!

With gratitude, 

Tim

Friday June 18, 2021  

Hello Everyone,  

As I write this final, weekly update for the 2020-21 school year I am struck by the commitment our community has for our children. To begin with, we have  weathered close to 40 weeks of school during a pandemic! All throughout this year we have faced many challenges and have consistently met them. From figuring out the protocols to reopen, to dealing with our first COVID cases in  October, navigating a Malware attack in February, and passing a school budget in May with more than 70% approval, our school community has come together in  more ways than one to support our kids. I cannot thank you enough for your patience and flexibility as you worked to not only be amazing parents, but also incredible part time teachers at home!  

The 2020-21 school year would not have been successful without the dedication  and commitment of our faculty and staff. They played a huge part in not only  maintaining the safety of our children, but also delivering a high quality education. As I always say, it’s a team effort filled with professionals who have a  growth mindset approach to their jobs. From our teacher aides and food service  employees to our bus drivers, maintenance workers, mechanics, clerical staff,  nurses, teachers and administrators, we are VCS strong! I cannot thank these 700 outstanding people enough for taking care of our more than 4,000 students and helping to keep our District afloat this past year! 

This commitment and dedication was readily apparent at last Sunday’s graduation when 340 proud seniors received their well earned diplomas at Frontier Field. It was incredibly gratifying to be able to acknowledge each senior after all they have  been through. It was an amazing ceremony filled with profound pride and gratitude. I know our seniors are well prepared for whatever exciting adventure awaits them. A special thank you to Principal Brian Siesto and the VSH staff who  not only organized this incredible event, but also made sure it ran like clockwork!  Best of all, the rain held off and the fireworks were spectacular!

Another form of commitment between our schools and the community is the value we place on the many ways that parents volunteer their time to support Victor students. Please consider serving as a parent representative on a shared decision-making council or committee next year. Please click on the link to the following website for more information. https://www.victorschools.org/district/shared-decision-making  

As a member of a Shared Decision-Making Council, you make a difference! The District truly benefits from your feedback and help with decision-making and respects the different points of view that parents and guardians bring to these  meetings.  

As I close, I want to call attention to “Juneteenth”, which will be celebrated on Saturday, June 19th. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day, celebrates the emancipation of those who  were enslaved in the United States. It originated in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 when Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom from  slavery in Texas. It is meant as a day of remembrance and a day of opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their culture. Our principals have  communicated the importance of this day to all of our students. I hope you share  the significance of this day with your children, too. 

Thank you again for an unforgettable school year! As always, please reach out if  you have any questions. Enjoy the last days of school and have a wonderful summer. We will be in contact with any updates regarding our number one  priority of returning to full time, in-person instruction for every student in 2021- 22. 

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday June 11, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

As we finish one of the last weeks of the school year I am struck by how quickly the time is going by. We have come a long way this year and we could not have accomplished so much without the support of the community. I have five brief updates today. 

First, I am pleased to report that as of this afternoon, our COVID cases remain low, with one active student case and no positive staff cases. We also have six students quarantined. A reminder that New York State is now allowing individuals age 12 and older to be vaccinated. It is the decision of the parent/guardian whether a child is vaccinated for COVID-19. For more information on upcoming clinics, please go to the Ontario County Public Health Department website: https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. All signs point to a complete reopening in the fall. We will do everything in our power to make sure it occurs as smoothly as possible. 

Second, I have enjoyed the monthly Town Halls that we continued this year from the weekly broadcasts that we started in March of 2020. Although we will not have a June Town Hall, I am planning on having at least one in the summer to review progress with opening school and answer questions tied to the reopening. We will then resume the monthly Town Hall format starting in September. 

Third, I am excited about the variety of summer activities that are planned for our students. We are notifying specific families this week and next about attending Summer Academies in August. The Academies are at both the elementary and secondary level and are for students who need a boost with skills, primarily related to ELA and mathematics. We also have significant opportunities for our students with disabilities. We are communicating these opportunities to families as well. 

In addition, we have an extraordinary opportunity for all students to participate in Summer Enrichment experiences. These will occur in July and include areas of interest such as art, music, sports, writing, mathematics, literature, science, and much more. Brochures describing these opportunities will be arriving soon. Each of the experiences has a limit on the number of students that can participate so sign up fast. 

Fourth, a special thank you to all of the VJH students involved in the Young Women’s Leadership group. They are an outstanding group of 7th and 8th grade leaders who not only do much for the culture and climate at VJH, but also help others. An example is their impressive work raising funds for the PLUTA Cancer Center by selling tee shirts with Victor insignias. I appreciate the work of Mrs. Gordon and Ms. Jerabeck to facilitate this extraordinary club and their efforts to continue to develop student driven leadership that puts others before themselves. 

Finally, Sunday is a special day. Our VCS seniors will graduate at 7:30 pm at Frontier Field! I couldn’t be more excited for our 340 graduates. They have persevered through many challenges but remained resilient and optimistic throughout the experience. They are role models for all of us and I cannot wait to see what they add to our world as they embark on a fabulous future. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend! 

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Monday June 7, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

As promised today, Governor Andrew Cuomo made an announcement specific to masking requirements for schools. This announcement came after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) weighed in on Dr. Zucker’s and New York State Department of Health’s suggested new mask protocols for schools which was sent for review last Friday, June 4th of 2021. 

Governor Cuomo has shared that masks are now not required to be worn by students, staff, visitors, and/or spectators, when they are outside on school grounds or at a school sponsored event. We are expanding our current policy of not requiring masking for outdoor experiences to include students, staff and guests who are outside on school grounds for any event, including athletics. It is a choice if anyone wants to wear a mask outside. 

The Governor did not authorize the state to make this change for mask wearing inside, despite the letter from Dr. Zucker that was widely circulated on Friday. He says the CDC was not comfortable with lifting indoor masking requirements. Therefore, masks must still be worn while inside of school buildings. We have reminded teachers and staff that they can allow mask breaks for students as often as needed in class and allow for students to take off masks at desks for periods of time if they feel it's needed. We are also advocating for teachers and staff to go outside for class when they have the opportunity. 

Therefore, as we have done all along, we will continue to follow state guidance. If this guidance changes and allows for more flexibility in schools then we will revise our procedures. 

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Sunday June 6, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

As I explained on Friday, Dr. Zucker, the NYS Commissioner of Health, sent a letter to the CDC late in the afternoon saying that starting on Monday, June 7th, NY State intends to issue guidance strongly encouraging mask wearing for students and staff who are indoors and who are not vaccinated, but not requiring it. 

Today, we received word from the NYS Department of Education that the Governor has not yet issued guidance. Therefore, schools should continue to operate under their existing procedures until further notice. No changes have been, or will be made by the Executive until after Monday June 7 to afford the CDC an opportunity to respond to the letter. 

As we wait for this guidance, Ontario County Superintendents are working with Ontario County Public Health to gain clarity on what is a reasonable approach if the state changes mask wearing in school from mandatory to strongly encouraged. I know people have differing opinions on whether changing mask wearing guidance with two weeks left in school is prudent. We will continue to listen to these opinions as we rely on our County Health Department for guidance. We will also make sure to communicate our thinking once we have solid information to make a decision. I will update the staff and community regarding next steps as soon as we have more information. 

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday June 4, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

I hope everyone had a great week. Yesterday we implemented our new policy of allowing students outside for recess and physical education without masks on. Today, at 3:30 pm, we received a copy of the letter from the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) to the CDC saying that starting on Monday, June 7th, NY State intends to issue guidance strongly encouraging mask wearing for students and staff who are indoors and who are not vaccinated, but not requiring it. According to the NYSDOH, students and staff who are vaccinated do not have to wear masks. We are reviewing this letter and its implications. I anticipate issuing an update to the staff and the community either Sunday or Monday regarding next steps. 

I am pleased to report that as of this afternoon, our cases remain low, with one active student case and one active staff case (a transportation worker). We also have five students quarantined. Again, we continue to advocate and plan for a full reopening for all grade levels in September. 

Today we celebrated our highest grade level, our seniors, as they took part in their annual Senior Walk! It was fantastic to see the reaction of our staff and students as they walked throughout our campus. We couldn’t be more proud of the leadership of the class of 2021. Their perseverance and empathy for others made this unique school year a special one. There is no doubt that their optimism and ability to adapt to the constantly changing parameters of this school year has prepared them well for the future! I am looking forward to celebrating this special group of seniors at graduation on June 13th at Frontier Field! 

We have so much to celebrate, especially during the graduation season. Take Wolfgang Moss, for example. This senior was recently chosen as the recipient of the Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES Superintendent Award for outstanding achievement through the Wayne Educational Center. We salute Wolfgang for his hard work and perseverance. He is just one example of the many seniors who have earned monetary awards and/or achievement recognition as they embark on their lives ahead. 

Speaking of what’s ahead, we continue to make significant progress with finalizing our summer opportunities for students. This includes August dates for our Summer Academies at both the elementary and secondary levels. This also includes expanded opportunities for our students with disabilities. Parents will be notified next week if their child qualifies for these programs. In addition, we are excited to offer a multitude of summer enrichment opportunities for students who are interested. These will occur in July and include areas of interest such as art, music, sports, writing, mathematics, literature, science, and much more. We will publicize these opportunities by the end of next week. 

Finally, a reminder that New York State is now allowing individuals age 12 and older to be vaccinated. It is the decision of the parent/guardian whether a child is vaccinated for COVID-19. For more information on upcoming clinics, please go to the Ontario County Public Health Department website: https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize our own Jack Lucchese, a freshman at VSH, who was selected for a full scholarship to any state university or college through a state run vaccine incentive program his parents entered him into. I know Jack and his family are extremely excited! 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend! 

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Previous Superintendent Messages

Wednesday June 2, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

We received word from the Ontario County Public Health Department that our proposal to allow students to take off their masks when they are outside, either during recess or for physical education classes, was approved. This approval also applies to the adults who supervise these students at recess and physical education. 

Based on this approval, beginning tomorrow, Thursday June 3rd, we are allowing students and their supervising staff to take off masks when outside during recess or physical education classes. We are also allowing students and staff to take off their masks when outside during end-of-year events such as field days and moving up picnics. 

Despite our new outdoor mask policy, we will continue to focus on keeping students and staff six feet apart as much as possible, but it may not be practical during recess on certain playgrounds. Regardless, students will still be allowed to take off their mask on these playgrounds. Students are also free to continue to wear masks when they are outside. We will not be able to supervise who is supposed to wear a mask and who is not when outside. 

The Health Department’s approval of our outside mask proposal is an exciting step in the right direction, however, it is important to note that we are continuing with our mask wearing policy for students, staff and visitors when inside school buildings. In addition, Interscholastic-Athletics will continue to follow the NYS interim guidance on sports and recreation and the NYSPHSAA protocols. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. 

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday May 28, 2021

Hello Everyone, 

I hope everyone had a great week. One of the highlights for me was having 12 outstanding high school students attend the virtual Town Hall on Wednesday night to talk about their accomplishments and outlooks on life. Special thanks to Cian, Olivia, Lily, Dom, Heaven, Marissa, Sarah, Andrew, Allison, Lamia, Aly and Semma for sharing a part of their evening with me. As I said during the Town Hall, each of these young adults has chosen a pathway in life that is filled with empathy, perseverance, tolerance, courage, humility, integrity, optimism, and a desire to help others. I learned so much from them! If you would like to see this special Town Hall, please go to the VCS Facebook page.

As you all know, this school year has led us down a variety of challenging pathways, but at each turn we have learned something new and grown along the way. In terms of COVID, as of today we have five active cases. Five students are quarantined. The Ontario County Public Health Department has also adjusted its quarantining practices and will no longer be quarantining students in third grade or above who are masked and are near a student who tests positive unless multiple students test positive. This is good news and will significantly decrease the number of students who need to be quarantined in the future. While quarantining is being loosened in the higher grades, the Health Department will still be strict with quarantining students from PreK through 2nd grade.

A reminder that New York State is now allowing individuals age 12 and older to be vaccinated. It is the decision of the parent/guardian whether a child is vaccinated for COVID-19. For more information on upcoming clinics, please go to the Ontario County Public Health Department website: https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. 

Perhaps the most exciting path in front of us is the future. We are currently making plans to have everyone back in school, five days a week, starting in September. It is our number one priority! I will have continued updates, not only on our reopening plans for September, but also plans to support students this summer.

Finally, Monday is Memorial Day. This special day is more than just a holiday. It honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. It’s an extremely solemn day where we recognize the thousands of individuals who made the greatest of sacrifices. I encourage our students to take a few moments on Monday to reflect on the meaning behind this long weekend and remember those that came before us. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday May 21, 2021

Hello Everyone,

It was another busy week at VCS between a multitude of activities and a successful budget vote!  Here are some brief updates.  

Budget Vote:
On Tuesday, May 18th, the VCS community overwhelmingly supported the 2021-22 school budget. Seventy-two percent of the voters approved this budget. This is a testament to not only the commitment of this community to our schools, but also the dedication of the staff to our children. It also comes with expectations from all of you that we will continue to operate with a growth mindset and look to build on the outstanding foundation that VCS is known for. A big part of strengthening this foundation is the strategic planning process beginning this summer. Staff and community input will play a major role. This process is a critical step toward clarifying what we value as a school community and how we apply resources to develop and support these values and goals.  I will have further information on the strategic planning process in future updates. 

Summer Opportunities:
I am pleased to report that we are finalizing a tremendous array of summer opportunities for our children. I apologize for the late notice for families. We found out in early April that we secured the needed funding from the Federal government to support these summer opportunities and then needed time to plan for their operation. Included in this array of offerings will be a Summer Academy for students from Kindergarten to Senior High. Students will be selected through our counseling offices based on academic needs. We anticipate that the VCS Summer Academy will run between August 2nd and August 20th for two to three hours per day. Parents will receive additional information on this program by early June. We will provide transportation for the Summer

Academies: 
In addition to the Summer Academy program, this summer we are also expanding opportunities for students with disabilities, which will include targeted reading support at both the elementary and secondary levels. Parents of students with disabilities who qualify for these programs will be notified shortly. Additionally, we are hopeful that we can offer other enrichment opportunities for both elementary and secondary students. We will have more information on enrichment opportunities as soon as we secure needed staff. 

COVID Update:
As of this afternoon, we have 5 active student cases in the District and 12 quarantines. The number of active cases are the same as last week and the quarantine numbers are significantly less. As you may already know, New York State is allowing individuals age 12 and older to be vaccinated. It is the decision of the parent/guardian whether a child is vaccinated for COVID-19.  The Ontario County Public Health Department has further information on upcoming clinics. The website is https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. 

Finally, this Wednesday, May 26th we will hold a virtual Town Hall from 6:30 to 7:30 pm on Facebook Live. This week’s special guests will include a variety of representatives from our 9th through 11th grade classes who have made a big difference for our schools and community this year. I cannot wait to showcase these student leaders!

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend!
 
With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday May 14, 2021 

Hello Everyone,

I hope all of you had a great week! Today, I’d like to share four updates with you. 

My first update pertains to last night’s Board of Education meeting where we honored three outstanding individuals, including two exceptional seniors, Emily Baker and Sydney Prescott. Emily spoke eloquently about her work in the New Visions program and was honored by Vicki Ramos, Superintendent of the Wayne/Finger Lakes BOCES, for her outstanding achievement in this very challenging program. Sydney received the prestigious Genesee Valley PTSA Humanitarian Award for her incredible dedication to our community and the PTSA. We are very proud of Sydney, Emily and all of our seniors who continue to make a difference. There is no doubt, they will make an even greater impact on our society in the future.

In addition to Emily and Sydney, last night, the Board also honored Intermediate School Special Education teacher, Tom Cheevers, for receiving National Board Certification as an outstanding elementary teacher. Tom is a fantastic teacher who leads by example and influences others. Moreover, he is representative of our outstanding staff who is committed to doing what is best for children every day. 

My second update today is in regard to the news story you may have seen about quarantines at VCS. As of this afternoon, Ontario County Public Health (OCPH) has quarantined between 114 and 116 students since the April 26th return of elementary students to full time instruction. The vast majority of quarantines were at the Intermediate Building (grades 4-6). We currently have 32 elementary students who are quarantined. The rest have safely returned to school.

For those who don’t know, OCPH is in charge of who is quarantined, not the school. When they receive word of a student who is positive with COVID-19 they look back two days from the onset of symptoms and ask for the seating charts of the classrooms that the student attends. OCPH then makes a decision, typically based on who is sitting near the student, about who is quarantined. School District administrators then assist them in calling families who are quarantined with follow up from OCPH afterwards. 

The good news is that as of today, none of the students who were quarantined have become sick with COVID-19.  In fact, we currently have only 5 students who are positive for COVID-19 in the entire District. We will continue to advocate to OCPH for relaxed quarantining procedures. 

My third update is about vaccinations. New York State is allowing individuals 12 and over to be vaccinated. It is the decision of the parent/guardian whether a child is vaccinated for COVID-19.  OCPH is offering two vaccination clinics next week if you are interested. The website is https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. Please scroll down approximately half way through the first page to find the links for the two clinics. 

Finally, a reminder that the budget vote and Board of Education election is this Tuesday, May 18th from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm at the Victor Primary School. We encourage everyone to come out to vote. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend!
 
With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday May 7, 2021 

Hello Everyone,

We continue to have a successful spring as we move through May. Below are four updates.

1. Teacher and Nurses Appreciation: This week not only included Teacher Appreciation Week, but also Nurses Appreciation Day. I cannot thank these two groups of professionals enough for everything they do to support our children. When you think of everything our teachers and nurses have done for our children on a day-to-day basis to not only educate them, but also support their mental and physical health, it is awe inspiring. I am thankful I work with such a professional and caring group of leaders.
    
2. COVID & Reopening: This week marked our second week of full day, in-person instruction for our elementary students. Our children are beginning to get back into the groove of full day, in-person learning. Unfortunately, we still remain in the High Transmission Zone in Ontario County, which means we are not going to be able to return to full time, in-person instruction this school year at the secondary level. We will continue to advocate strongly for a safe return for every student, PreK-12, in September. In fact, we will not only continue to put plans in place at the District level, but we will also advocate strongly for a different set of metrics that specifically evaluate the risk of our school community rather than the entire county.
   
   We currently have ten active cases in our school district, which is one more than a week ago. All ten are students and three of them are remote or go to school in a different location. We have approximately 80 students in quarantine due to potential exposure to COVID-positive students, either inside or outside of the school setting. We hope that this number goes down over the next week. I had a meeting with members of the Ontario Department of Health to clarify quarantining procedures. They have an extremely difficult job. The Health Department is being extremely careful with our youngest learners at the ECS. If a student tested positive, they would quarantine more children because of the challenges of student proximity and mask wearing at that age. At the VPS and VIS they are shifting to less stringent quarantining procedures as long as we continue to show a lack of spread within the schools. They are still quarantining students who are in direct proximity with a student who tests positive.
    
3. Summer Opportunities: We are excited about the summer opportunities that we will have for many of our students. These opportunities are a direct result of the additional one-time stimulus money that the Federal government allotted to us. We are also using a significant amount of this money, which is separate from the general budget, to enhance the technology in our District. This summer we will also offer an expanded program for students with disabilities beyond the extended school year program. In addition, we will have “Summer Academies” for students in general education at both the elementary and secondary level who need additional academic support. We are also working on other opportunities for this summer. We will have more information about these programs in the near future. 
    
4. Schedule Clarification: Finally, I want to clarify the schedule for the end of the year. Last week I made a mistake regarding the last day of the VJH. I neglected to explain that students at the VJH who are in the Gold Cohort will attend school on June 22nd. The revised last day schedule is below. 
   
   • PreK to 6thGrade- the last day of school for students is Wednesday, June 23rd
   • VJH- the last day for students in the Blue Cohort is Monday, June 21st. The last day for students in the Gold Cohort is Tuesday, June 22nd. Regents exams are Wednesday, June 23rd and Thursday, June 24th.
   • VSH- the last day for students is Friday, June 18th. Exams and credit recovery are from Monday, June 21st to Thursday, June 24th

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend!
 
With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday April 30, 2021

Hello Everyone,

We had a highly successful first week back for PreK through 6th grade students!

I cannot thank the faculty and staff enough for their work preparing our elementary students to attend school five days a week. Special thanks to all of our parents and guardians for supporting their children for the full return and maintaining safety while driving on our busy campus. I know our students are tired today, but it is because they have finally spent a full week in classrooms. I also know our 100% virtual learners have been busy, too, and are looking forward to a greater amount of synchronous instruction starting on Monday.

Unfortunately, we remain on hold for a full return of our 7th through 12th grade students because Ontario County continues to be in a High Transmission Zone. Our number of new positive cases per 100,000 people in the county has dropped from 163 last week to 112 today. According to both the CDC and the New York State Department of Health, we must be below 100 new cases per 100,000 people to decrease social distancing between students from 6 feet to 3 feet. The number should have enough room below 100 so that we do not have to quickly pivot back to a hybrid model if cases increase. If we continue to be in a High Risk Transmission Zone early next week, then it is unlikely we will return to full in-person instruction at grades 7-12 for this school year. I will keep you updated on this situation.

We currently have nine active cases in our school district. All of them are students. I know that at the VIS we had an uptick of quarantines today based on two positive cases. We do not believe any of the cases are related to each other. I also know how frustrating it can be to be back in school and then have children quarantined. I am working with the Ontario County Health Department next week to review quarantining procedures to see if we can have the procedures adapted to the new social distancing requirements. 

As we move into May I also want to update you on the end of the year schedule, particularly as it pertains to exams and last days.

• PreK to 6th Grade- the last day of school for students is Wednesday, June 23rd
• VJH- the last day for students is Monday, June 21st. Regents exams are June 23rd and 24th
• VSH- the last day for students is Friday, June 18th. Exams and credit recovery are from June 21st to June 24th

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend!
 
With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday April 23, 2021

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a fantastic week! We continue to operate with a growth mindset as we move through April and plan for the remainder of the school year.  I cannot say enough about the work our staff is putting into supporting our children in anticipation of a full return to campus. 

Starting on Monday, April 26th, our PreK through 6th graders will attend school in-person five days a week.  We couldn’t be more excited! I appreciate the thousands of parents and guardians who completed our survey on the reopening.  If you did not complete the survey we are assuming that your children are coming back to school full time starting on Monday. If you did not fill out the survey and you are planning on having your child attend 100% remotely, please contact your child’s principal as soon as possible. (The survey is currently closed.)

As you know, we are on hold with having our 7th through 12th grade students make a full return because Ontario County continues to be in a High Transmission Zone. As of today, the number of cases per 100,000 people is 163.97. According to both the CDC and the New York State Department of Health we must be below 100 cases per 100,000 people to reopen fully at the secondary level. If we move out of the High Risk Transmission Zone by early next week, we will look to bring our 7th through 12th graders back to school fully by May 10th. If we are still in the High Risk Transmission Zone early next week, then our full return will be delayed. If we continue to be in a High Risk Transmission Zone in early May, then it is unlikely we will return to full in-person instruction at grades 7-12 for this school year. I will keep you updated on this situation. 

Parent/guardian input has been critical to our reopening process. Our final survey numbers show 85% of our Pre-K through 12th grade parents/guardians are comfortable sending their children back to school full time. The remainder of our parents/guardians (15%) are either somewhat concerned or very concerned with sending their children back full time. In terms of PreK through 6th grade students, approximately 96% of our parents/guardians have chosen to send  their children back to school full time while 4% have opted to have their children complete the school year in the 100% remote model. 

Parent/guardian input regarding transportation has also been vital to our reopening plan. Roughly 38% of our parents/guardians will not require transportation for their PreK through 12th grade students going to school, while approximately 33% will not require transportation for their children from school. This means we will have significant traffic congestion between 8:15 am and 9:30 am as well as between 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm. In an effort to minimize potential traffic issues, we will have additional support from the Ontario County Sheriff's Department for the beginning of next week. Please drive carefully and be aware of children and families walking throughout the campus. We appreciate your patience as we move through the first few days of our new schedule. 

Despite the start of a new and exciting schedule at the PreK through 6th grade level, we still ask that you complete your daily health screening for your child. I know it is time consuming, but the completion of this health screening is critical to our ability to remain open for full time instruction at the elementary level. 

Finally, thank you for your feedback at this week’s Town Hall Meeting. I appreciate your continued engagement with our efforts to provide our children the best education we can have under the circumstances. Please go to our website at victorschools.org for specific information about our reopening plans and to review the updated Question and Answer document related to reopening. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions. Have a great weekend!
 
With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday April 16, 2021

Hello Everyone,

As we end another successful week I am reminded of how much our school district and community are intertwined with one another. As you know, VCS was named one of the best communities for music education in the United States. We could not earn this recognition without our exceptional teaching staff and the support of an extraordinary community. Thanks to everyone who has influenced our students musically.  I look forward to continuing our emphasis on a comprehensive education as we move forward. 

I have three brief updates for you this week.

1. We continue working on our reopening plans. As I said at last night’s Board of Education meeting we are planning on having our PreK through 6th grade students return fully in-person on April 26th. Please note that Wednesday, April 21st we will not have in-person school for elementary students. Faculty and staff will utilize this time to continue to plan for reopening.  At the secondary level we are still not allowed to shift to full, in-person learning because we are in a high transmission zone.  I will continue to update you when I receive information and are prepared to move to full in-person if the state allows. 

Please fill out the reopening survey if you haven’t done so already, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBVB4im3GgN2KKDr1jj4GzxHMzkICvMN9JZQlCNaaLq5Pyxg/viewform

This survey will give us valuable information on your comfort level with shifting to 3 feet social distancing, your choice of either 100% virtual instruction or fully in-person, and your preference for transportation.  Your child’s building principal is sending home updated reopening plans specific to each building either today or Monday. We are also holding a Virtual Town Hall dedicated to reopening that will include many of our principals on Wednesday, April 21st from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. 

2. I am appreciative of our Board of Education adopting the 2021-22 School Budget at last evening’s Board of Education meeting. The total budget is $83,218,489, a 6.34% increase from this school year. The tax levy increase is 4.2%. The District is not exceeding the Tax Cap. Our anticipated tax rate will be $17.78, which is still one of the lowest tax rates in the area. The approximate tax rate increase between this year and next is 4.1%. 

This budget allows for an increase in 11.65 positions from this year in critically understaffed areas like student mental health, special education, curriculum and instruction, cleaning, technology and academic intervention services. In addition, we were able to add back a 0.5 section of PreK from an earlier budget reduction. We are also trying our best to mitigate class sizes by adding a small number of sections back at the secondary level. The additional staffing based on the above needs will be supported through the increase in Foundation Aid our District received from NY State. We are cognizant of the need to balance our expense increase with our ability to pay for these expenses. This budget allows for this balance and supports stability in our financial outlook for the next few years.

3. Last night I asked the Board of Education to delay approving next year’s school calendar. We are definitely moving the start of school from September 7th to September 9th so that our families celebrating Rosh Hashanah are not missing the first days of school next year. In addition, we are still finalizing April Break, since the WFL BOCES break is different from Monroe County. There are some complications regarding moving the break that we still need to review before making a final decision. I will ask the Board to approve the final calendar at the May meeting. 

Thank you for your ongoing patience and support as we continue to navigate this challenging year. As always, please reach out to me with any questions you may have. Have a great weekend!

Thank you again for your continued patience. Please let me know if you have any questions.

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Monday, April 12, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

Thank you for your continued resiliency as we deal with COVID and its ramifications as well as the continued  ambiguity of our situation. 

As you heard late Friday, we received updated guidance from the NY State Department of Health (NYSDOH). Specifically, the guidance allows for school districts to reduce social distancing requirements between students from six feet to three feet. In terms of busing, the guidance mentions sitting one student per seat as an example; however, it lists this as “where possible.” After discussing the language with other Superintendents, we are going to allow two students per seat and siblings to sit together on buses. This should enable VCS to transport students who wish to continue to take the bus. 

This morning we received word that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated Ontario County as a High Risk Transmission Zone. Because of this designation, we can still reduce social distancing for elementary students (PreK through 6th grade) from 6 feet to 3 feet, which will enable us to bring all elementary students back to full time, in-person learning by April 26th. However, if our area continues to be designated a High Risk Transmission Zone, students at VJH and VSH will need to remain at 6 feet social distancing as stated by the NYSDOH guidance, which means we need to stay in the hybrid model at VJH and  VSH. 

From a preparation standpoint, we will continue to plan for a full reopening on April 26th. Our Transition Zone  status next week will determine whether we can return to full time, in-person learning at the secondary level  on April 26th. Again, regardless of this status, we are planning to be fully, in-person at the elementary level. I  will continue to update you on this status as I receive new information. The following are specific next steps  the District will take between now and next Wednesday. 

• We will revise and send a parent survey (pre-K through 12th) later this week that will not only seek  feedback on the reopening but also ask for a choice between 100% virtual or fully in-person instruction as well as for transportation. The survey will not be due until the day after next week’s Town Hall.  
• We will finalize the Question and Answer document for parents later this week and send it with the parent survey.  
• We will have a reopening update at the BoE meeting on Thursday. 
• Individual buildings and departments will continue to plan for full time, in-person instruction. Individual  building leadership will send specific reopening plans to parents by the end of this week.
• We will continue to monitor the Transition Zone status to see if we can fully reopen at VJH and VSH by April 26th. 
• I will send another community update on Friday, April 16th.  
• We will have a virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, April 21st to review our reopening plan and answer  questions. Individuals can have until the following day to submit their survey information. 

Thank you again for your continued patience. Please let me know if you have any questions.

With gratitude, 

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday, April 9, 2021

Hello Everyone,

I hope your week was a good one. As you know, we have been advocating for updated guidance from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for weeks. Late this afternoon we received updated guidance. Although the first read looks promising, we need to review the guidance more carefully. I will send an updated letter on Monday with our next steps in the process of attempting to fully reopen. I am delaying the parent survey as we want to review the new guidance before finalizing the questions. We will also have a Virtual Town Hall, most likely the week of April 19th, to discuss the reopening. 

Please remember that students in PreK through 6th grade will not attend school in person on Wednesday, April 14th. The elementary faculty and staff will use this time to revise curriculum and lesson plans, work on specific ways to support the social-emotional needs of students, as well as focus on room structures and logistics necessary for a safe return to full time, in-person instruction. The strong possibility exists that we will also use April 21st for a faculty and staff work day. I will have more information next week.

Please let me know if you have any questions. 
With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 

Hello Everyone, 

The VCS staff continues to work tirelessly on specific plans to reopen if we are able. As I have said in the past, we anticipate a shift to every day, in-person instruction starting on either Thursday, April 22nd or Monday, April 26th. We will finalize this date in the near future. 

In an effort to fully plan for the reopening, we will have no in-person instruction at the PreK through 6th grade level on Wednesday, April 14th. Students in the cohort that typically attends on April 14th will remain home. This will give our elementary staff valuable time to plan for the potential reopening. We anticipate that students in the cohort who typically attend school on Wednesday, April 21st will also remain home for planning  purposes. 

Another big piece of the reopening picture revolves around parent/guardian input. We will send a second  parent/guardian survey regarding both transportation and the choice between 100% virtual and days in person  later this week. We ask that you fill the survey out by Tuesday, April 13th. It is important to note that once you  make your choices, you are committed to these choices for the rest of the school year. 

As of now, how the rest of the school year unfolds remains in the hands of the New York State Department of  Health (NYSDOH). In order to shift the social distancing requirement from 6 feet to 3 feet between students, which would allow for every day, in-person instruction, we still need updated guidance from the NYSDOH. To date, we have none. Reopening fully without guidance by the NYSDOH could be devastating, both from a liability standpoint, and potentially, from a funding perspective. The longer the silence by the NYSDOH the  more challenging it is for us to fully reopen. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 
With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

March 26, 2021

Hello Everyone,

These are challenging times. The lack of control any of us have on what will happen next is weighing on all of us. I understand this and appreciate how you are helping your children handle these extremely unpredictable times. In this message, I want to continue to clarify Victor Central School District’s stance on reopening plans.

A few themes have emerged over the past week that I think are worth sharing in some detail.

The Community Has Strong Opinions On Reopening:
Many community members shared their concerns at Wednesday's Town Hall and other venues regarding the District decision on reopening. Some are in favor of the reopening and wish we would do it sooner, and some are concerned about reopening and would rather have our District keep the hybrid model for the remainder of the school year. It goes without saying that any decision that we make will please some and disappoint others.

The VCS Staff Is Working Extremely Hard:
I am in full support of the VCS staff, without whom this year would not have been possible! Unfortunately,
some staff are taking criticism for the situation that they have no control over. This is unfounded in my opinion. As Superintendent, I can tell you that our staff is going far above the call of duty to create a learning environment that maximizes learning experience for students. In addition, they are balancing significant work with technology and in-person instruction while also attempting to communicate with parents. Whether they work with students, drive our buses, clean and maintain our facilities, run our offices, or serve our food, I couldn't ask for more from them. Like you, our staff is made up of people who have families and their own lives. They are doing this job because they love kids. Many are doing this with significant family/health challenges of their own. I, along with my fellow administrators, will continue to support our staff as they attempt to potentially change the way they teach our children, yet again.

Guidance is ever-changing, but I think the following information represents the most accurate description of VCS’ current reopening stance:

1) We are appreciative of the revised guidance from the CDC and the support from our Ontario County Health Department. We need updated guidance from the NY State Department of Health (NYSDOH) in order to shift the social distancing requirement from 6 feet to 3 feet between students. The impact of reopening without updated guidance by the NYSDOH would be severe, both from a liability standpoint and potentially from a funding standpoint. In addition, we have always followed the guidance from the NYSDOH since that's their job is to oversee the health and safety of schools. I am concerned by the lack of communication from this department.

If you are interested in advocating for the adoption of the CDC social distancing guidelines, please reach out to Commissioner Howard A. Zucker, M.D., 518-474-2011 or email howard.zucker@health.ny.gov. You can also reach out to your local legislature to advocate for the NYSDOH to adopt the CDC guidelines.

2) Regardless of a lack of guidance from the NYSDOH, both District and building staff are working tirelessly on specific plans to reopen if we are able. The planning started before this week and will continue when we return from break on April 5th. I would anticipate that if we have clearance from the state and our COVID cases are limited we would either shift to every day, in-person instruction toward the end of the week of April 19th or Monday, April 26th. The reason for not opening on April 19th is the extended time gives us further ability to monitor COVID rates after April break while also preparing for reopening.

3) If we do receive revised guidance from NYSDOH that follows the new CDC 3 foot rule, and we are able to return fully, there will still be challenges. As I said at the Town Hall this week if our community is labeled a "High Transmission Zone" during April our VJH and VSH students would not be able to come back to full
in-person because the state says they need to be 6 feet apart. Elementary students would still be allowed to be in-person at 3 feet. If we are able to return every day, in-person and we end up with additional COVID 19 cases, then the likelihood for significant quarantines by the County Health Department is greater than at present since more students will be in close proximity with each other. In short, we will need to monitor the time between mid-April and mid-May very carefully to check COVID rates.

4) We will follow up with parents the week of April 5th regarding both transportation choices and a check of the choice between 100% virtual and in-person learning. We would ask that once you make your choice you make a commitment to this choice for the rest of the school year.

5) VCS has created an in-depth Question and Answer document that is available here (LINK). This will likely grow and change in the coming days, but it is a great resource as we attempt to reenter this potential new phase of learning. As always, individual building leadership will also be reaching out to parents after break with more specific developments from a building level.

The coming weeks are sure to bring us continued challenges, however, I am confident that they will also bring us many more moments that we can be proud of. Please enjoy time with your family during break and stay safe. We will continue to communicate with you, both from the District as well as the building level, regarding updates to our plans.

Please reach out to me if you have questions or concerns.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday, March 19, 2021
 
Hello Everyone,
 
I know many have heard the news that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) today decreased the social distancing requirement from 6 feet to 3 feet in schools across the country. We have been advocating for  weeks for clarification about this possible shift. The specific guidance from the CDC says,

Between students in classrooms

• In elementary schools, students should be at least 3 feet apart.
• In middle schools and high schools, students should be at least 3 feet apart in areas of low, moderate, or substantial community transmission. In areas of high community transmission, middle and high school students should be 6 feet apart if cohorting is not possible.

We currently reside in a community that qualifies for 3 feet social distancing. Ontario County Leadership sent the following message today based on the CDC guidance: 

Ontario County is encouraged by the recent announcement by CDC making modifications to their K-12 operational guidelines. The County is fully supportive of any local school district that decides to implement these new guidelines after consulting with their Medical Director, School Board, staff, and community.

While Ontario County does not have the authority to issue guidance itself, we continue to be supportive of scientific-based guidance implemented by the CDC, and we stand ready and eager to work closely with our local schools to help them implement the new CDC operational guidelines in any way we can if they choose to do so.

Christopher DeBolt
Ontario County Administrator

Our leadership staff has been proactively working on logistics for a possible reopening for the past few weeks.  We still have much work to do to determine how to safely follow the new CDC guidance. This includes, but is not limited to, clarifying the allowable procedures for lunch and buses, and getting direction from the NY State Department of Health regarding this process. 

Our first priority is to receive feedback from you regarding your intentions to allow your children back for in-person learning five days a week. We will also have a 100% online option for students. Please fill out the following survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlPk6gV77zKgE2LQt_HmsanU9Ion_JtnBDdZMQ3K7sbCQ3OA/viewform by Friday, March 26th so we know how many students will be returning to in-person instruction and how many students need transportation to and from school. This information is critical for future decision making. 

Next week we will send you a question & answer document clarifying many of our procedures that will be used to reopen.  In addition, we are having a Community Town Hall, via Zoom, about the reopening on Wednesday, March 24th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. We are also utilizing our Reopening Committee from the summer, which includes faculty, staff, parents and students, to review our procedures. 

We are targeting the second half of April for a safe return to full time, in-person instruction with a 100% virtual option for students. We will continue to send updated information as we receive it. Please let me know if you have any questions. 
 
With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday, March 12, 2021

Hello Everyone,

I hope you and your families have enjoyed the fantastic change in weather this week. We are definitely getting closer to spring!

First of all, I want to thank all of our staff for their incredible dedication this school year. They have gone above and beyond to not only navigate the new normal of COVID 19, but to master it! One of the challenges for everyone during this pandemic is health. From staying home if they feel rundown, to becoming quarantined based on contact with infected individuals, to dealing with their own family's health needs, our staff continues to meet today’s challenges with extraordinary empathy and enthusiasm. It goes without saying that there is so much more accountability for our staff not to attend school because of symptoms of illness. Despite increased accountability, I am grateful to announce that today we can also celebrate increased COVID prevention and protection as the vast majority of our staff is now becoming fully vaccinated. As many of you know, the side effects of the second vaccine – fatigue, chills and fever – can make it difficult for some staff to come back to work right away. 

With that said, I appreciate our community's patience as they face classrooms that may have substitutes. I also appreciate our substitute staff who are helping us continue to remain open while staff are out sick. Finally, many of our staff are helping tremendously when others are absent, supporting substitutes and/or doing other jobs to help the building run smoothly. I am hopeful that between spring and the continued progress with vaccinations we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Speaking of a light at the end of the tunnel, we will soon be providing you with new advocacy letters for reopening to send to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). We are hopeful that we can give the NYSDOH more specific examples of how successful our school community has been with COVID positivity rates and other data that supports a decision to safely decrease the social distancing requirement. Our building leaders continue to work on reopening plans for when/if we get the green light to reopen this spring. In the meantime, we will be sending parents and guardians a brief survey asking about interest in coming back five days a week vs. going 100% online if we are able to open full time. This will give us more specific information on potential class sizes and other considerations necessary for a smooth transition. As I have said numerous times before, we will need between two and three weeks to prepare our schools for a full reopening if the state relaxes requirements. 

Finally, we have a total of 5 active COVID-19 cases as of this afternoon- zero staff members and 5 students. This is down from 23 in mid-January. We hope for continued good news as we move into mid-March.

Thank you for your continued support through these challenging times. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

March 5, 2021

Hello Everyone,

We have had another successful week at VCS. Highlights include preparation for the VHS musical, VIPE and Winter Guard practices, athletics (both winter athletics and the start of volleyball, cheerleading and football), and numerous other experiences for students in club and extracurricular activities. In addition, our Girls Indoor Track team won the Sectionals on Thursday and our Girls Bowling Team was also crowned league champion last weekend. What a fantastic achievement for a talented group of student athletes.

While students and staff continue to make incredible strides under difficult circumstances, VCS administrators and the Board of Education continue to advocate to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for guidance on decreasing the social distancing requirement from 6 feet to 3 feet or less, a change which would allow us to make preparations for students to return to in-person instruction five days a week. As of this afternoon we have 6 active cases in our District (4 students & 2 staff members), which continues to be a low number. Our updated chart of total and active COVID cases is on our website at: https://www.victorschools.org/district/2020-reopening-process/vcs-covid-cases

As we navigate a return to traditional in-person instruction five days a week, many people are wondering who makes the final decision to lower the social distancing requirement. While it is true that the District could make the choice to lower social distancing requirements against the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NYSDOH and our Ontario County Department of Health, such a move would not be prudent or safe. We need these experts, especially the NYSDOH, to give us criteria for lowering the social distancing requirements, which would allow us to fully reopen in the safest manner possible. If you haven’t already, please consider sending a letter to your state legislators and Governor Cuomo advocating for lower social distancing expectations. We have sample letters for your use on our website. Finally, I want to remind you that the Superintendent’s Conference Day originally scheduled for March 12th was shifted to this past September so students will have school on Friday. Have a great weekend.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

February 26, 2021 

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had an outstanding week. As you know we have been advocating for criteria from the state to allow us to decrease the social distancing requirement from six feet to three feet or less. Until we either get permission from the state to reduce the social distancing requirement or the state gives us criteria that we can meet to reduce this distance, we do not have the space to bring everyone back to VCS at one time. 

There are two important facts about our current situation worth noting:

1. Between January 29th and February 12th we held steady at seven active COVID cases for students and staff. Since February 12th we have decreased the number of active COVID cases to a point where we have three as of this afternoon- one student and two staff members. 
2. By the beginning of March all staff members will have had the opportunity to complete at least the first round of vaccinations. This means that by the end of March all interested staff should be fully vaccinated. The combination of vaccinated staff and extremely low active case numbers is very encouraging. I believe this data, along with our ability to hold high risk sports (again- a state decision) without incidents of COVID transmission up to this point, speak to our ability to safely have all of our children sit three feet apart in classrooms. 

While I am not in the position to redefine guidelines for 100% attendance, I am encouraged that the Commissioner of the NY State Department of Health has said publicly that his department is looking at the six foot distancing requirement and it is a high priority. If you haven’t already, please consider sending a letter to your state legislators and Governor Cuomo advocating for criteria to lower social distancing expectations. We have sample letters for your use on our website. 

The need to continue to advocate to safely return to school full time was never more apparent than after this week’s Town Hall Meeting where we listened to eight incredible students articulate how important school is to them. Jonathan, Isabel, Sophia, Grace, Cody, Kevin, Almina, and Liam spoke eloquently about what they love about school and also about challenges that they face. If you haven’t had a chance, I encourage you to watch the Facebook recording of this Town Hall. Seeing these amazing kids in action is not only a tribute to them but also to our teachers, staff and parents who continue to guide and support them.

Speaking of support, VCS lost the immeasurable support of two amazing staff members who passed away this week. Carolyn Strahs, secretary at the Primary School, and Barry Johnson, bus driver, were mainstays in our District and impacted thousands of students, staff and parents during their time at VCS. Our hearts go out to their family and friends. They will be sorely missed but will never be forgotten.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

February 12, 2021

Hello Everyone,

First, I want to thank all of the families for your patience and resilience as our District battled the Malware attack. I know it added even more stress to a very stressful school year. We were fortunate to have experts like Ms. Angela Affronti, our Director of Technology, and the Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES EduTech group who worked tirelessly to get us back online. This crisis pointed out the need for our District to take a close look at our technology infrastructure and the money needed to support a stronger infrastructure as we move through this year and beyond. We will have updates on our work in this area at future budget presentations.

Second, at last night's BoE meeting I discussed the need for our state and local leaders to give school districts guidance on a safe way to return to having in-person school five days a week. We need metrics from the state that will safely allow us to reduce the social distancing requirements in schools, which will allow us to return to in-person school five days a week. In addition, more of us are choosing to become vaccinated and the availability of the vaccination is increasing.

We posted a sample parent advocacy letter (please click on this link) to our Facebook page as well as our website. This letter can be used by our parent community to advocate for the state to give us the metrics that we must meet to reopen schools. In addition, the Board of Education and I will send an advocacy letter to state and local officials in the next few days. Again, I am not minimizing the dangers of COVID-19, nor the impact it has had on our community. We are advocating for the state to provide us with the criteria, based on credible medical science, to allow us to safely reopen. Once we have this criteria, we will work together to attempt to meet it.

Finally, our weekly COVID-19 numbers are on the next page. We have had an increase of five total cases since last week, but the number of active cases stayed the same.

Please reach out if you have any questions and have a wonderful February break.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday February 5, 2021

Hello Everyone,

First, I want to thank all of you for your patience and resilience as we deal with the Malware attack on our District computers. We had a very successful first day back for our PreK through 3rd grade students. It was fantastic to see them in their classrooms. We have set up a schedule for staff to have their computers re-imaged this weekend. Special thanks to our technology staff as well as countless volunteers who will be on campus on Saturday and Sunday to help with this re-imaging.

I will receive an update on our progress from our EduTech leadership on Sunday afternoon. As soon as I know the status of Grades 4 through 12, in-person school for students in the Blue Cohort I will let you know. This will most likely be late in the afternoon on Sunday. Pre-K through 3rd grade students in the Blue Cohort will be in person on Monday.

Our updated COVID-19 numbers are below. Since my last communication on Friday, January 29th we have had six more cases of COVID-19. The increase includes two students at VSH, two students at VJH, one student at the ECS and one student at VIS. The total number of active cases has stayed the same at seven. This continues to be good news. 

We will update the chart again on Monday on our website.

Thank you and have a great weekend.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday January 29, 2021

Hello Everyone,

It was a busy week in the Victor Central School District. Not only did we have in-person and virtual instruction along with a variety of after school activities, but we also had a Budget Workshop with our Board of Education last evening. You can view the workshop either on our District webpage at victorschools.org or our Facebook page. Highlights of the budget workshop include details about the Tax Cap that will be higher than last year’s cap due to debt from the Capital Project, and state aid numbers that are in flux but trending slightly positive based on the restoration of state aid for this school year. The concern over state aid is that a significant part of the aid projected for 2021-22 is from federal money, not state money. The federal money is a one-time revenue source. This could lead to a drop in state aid for the 2022-23 school year if the state does not replace the federal money. 

In addition, the presentation goes in depth regarding revenue beyond taxes and state aid as well as projected expenses for next year. We also discuss our plan for staffing efficiencies that do not impact essential programming but will help us reduce the current gap between expenses and revenue. Our goal remains to offer a high quality, comprehensive education to all students comparable to surrounding districts while balancing the financial needs of our community. We have two more budget presentations in February. We encourage you to watch.

Our updated COVID-19 numbers are on the next page. We have been updating the chart on a daily basis on our website. Since my last communication on Friday, January 22nd we have had 7 more cases of COVID-19. However, the total number of active cases has decreased from 17 to 7. We continue to show a decrease in active cases in our District, which is good news.
 

We will update the chart again on Monday on our website.

Thank you and have a great weekend.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday January 22, 2021

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a fantastic week. I have two updates. First, I want to give you information on a new process for our food service starting in February.

Starting on February 1st, the Victor Central School District will be sending home one complete breakfast and lunch FOR FREE at the end of each in-person school day. Provisions made by the USDA because of the pandemic will provide all students with FREE nutritious meals on the days they are not in-person regardless of household income. This program is in addition to the breakfast and lunch meals students are already receiving while in school.

Our first distribution day is Monday Feb 1st. Our junior high and senior high students will have carts at the exits for them to pick up their food while our elementary students will have food delivered to the classrooms to take home at the end of the day. Elementary families can opt out of the meal program if they wish. Secondary students simply pick up the food if they choose.

English Elementary Opt Out Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsELNE24amPLqH84UIdnDqrsZZfx5XMwkIGjOVxIm8DKGoiQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Spanish Elementary Opt Out Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSxAxsHSklEOKnnMkYOvc4jywc1UGgi6rcx6aq-lnEKs17vQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

For our 100% remote learners, we will be offering a home delivery service on Wednesday only. The home delivery will contain five breakfasts and five lunches and will follow the school calendar. Home delivery will not occur over holiday breaks or when school is closed. Our 100% remote learners will need to Opt In to the food deliver program by going to the following link:

English 100% Remote Learners Opt In Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFNbyxcFnGirmuLetmUG0w5d7dQj_vRTv9Gm5EOT7k5JS5Dg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Spanish 100% Remote Learners Opt In Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMdaZhnXDDqBAJxqZMZdioNz1iHIwGh5LnEiLQDNELPD6K2A/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you have any questions about this new process please reach out to our food service department.

Second, our updated COVID-19 numbers are below. We have been updating the chart on a daily basis on our website. Since my last communication on Friday, January 15th we have had 13 cases of COVID-19. However, the total number of active cases has decreased from 23 to 17.

We will update the chart again on Monday on our website.

Thank you and have a great weekend.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

January 19, 2021

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Every five years, the New York State Health Department requires all public school districts to test drinking water for lead contamination and to take action if lead levels are above their accepted 15ppb (parts per billion) threshold. 

This winter, Stohl Environmental sampled all VCS faucets in student occupied buildings where someone could potentially drink from the tap and their results showed we have 34 out of 692 outlets above the accepted threshold. Per Health Department guidelines VCS has shut down those 34 outlets for remediation. For more information on testing results by building please go to the following link.

https://www.victorschools.org/district/departments/facilities-and-operations

If you have any further questions on this mandated testing policy, please contact Chris Marshall, VCS Director of School Facilities at 924-3252, ext. 7125 or email him at marshallc@victorschools.org.

With gratitude,

Superintendent Tim Terranova, Ed.D.

Friday, January 15, 2021

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had an excellent week. I have a small number of updates. Last evening the
Board of Education approved Mr. Derek Vallese as our new Assistant Superintendent for
Business starting in mid-February. You can read about Derek’s qualifications on our website and
Facebook page. Derek currently works as the School Business Official in the Albion Central
School District. He has a strong accounting background as well as experience as both an auditor
and a school treasurer. The combination of exceptionally strong financial acumen, excellent
interpersonal skills and high character makes him an outstanding addition. We are looking
forward to having him as part of the VCS team.

The Board of Education also approved Mr. Matthew DeAmaral as our District Treasurer. Matt
takes over for Lynn Lubaszewski, who has done amazing work for our District and is retiring in
March. Matt comes to us from the Churchville Chili School District with over four years of
experience as Treasurer. The hiring of Mr. Vallese and Mr. DeAmaral solidifies a financial team
that will do great work for the school district and community for years to come.

Since our last COVID update we have had seven people test positive. Six are students- three
from VHS, two from VIS, and one from VJH. One staff member from VPS also tested positive.
The chart below shows our current COVID cases.

As I said earlier this week, we will not send daily COVID updates after today. We will keep a
daily record of COVID cases on our website at victorschools.org. Please refer to our website if
you would like daily updates. We anticipate having the chart updated by 4:30 on weekdays. I
will still send a weekly update to the community that includes the updated number of COVID
cases each Friday.

Finally, this Monday there is no school in session because of Martin Luther King, Jr Day. Dr.
King sought to raise the public consciousness of racism and to end racial discrimination and
segregation in the United States with a goal of racial equality. His message is as important now
as it was in the 1960s.

Clayborne Carson, founding director of the King Institute, said the following, “If you
realize that Dr. King was a human being just like the rest of us, who was caught up in a
great movement and did extraordinary things, then people begin to understand that they
can do extraordinary things, too.” Please enjoy the long weekend as we reflect on Dr.
King’s legacy.

With gratitude,

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Dear Families,

Six people have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday’s update. Five are students- two from VSH, one from the ECS and two from VIS who are remote learners. In addition, one staff member from VIS tested positive.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

Starting the week of January 18th I will shift to sending a COVID-19 update to staff and the community once a week, typically on a Friday. We will continue to update our daily COVID cases on our website utilizing the above format. If you are interested in keeping track of our daily numbers please go to our website www.victorschools.org for the information starting next week. We will continue to work with the health department to contact specific families when contact tracing as necessary.

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Dear Families,

Five people have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday’s update. Four are students- three are from VSH and one is from the ECS. In addition, one staff member from the Transportation Department tested positive.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Monday, January 11, 2021

Dear Families,

Nine people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the last update on Friday. Eight are students- five are from VSH, two are from VPS and one is from VJH. In addition, one staff member from VPS tested positive.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Friday, January 8, 2021

Dear Families,

I hope everyone is healthy and looking forward to the weekend. I am pleased that we completed a successful first full week of school for 2021.

As we move through January, please note that we have made a commitment to offer a variety of experiences for our children including VSH Jazz Ensemble, VJH Jazz Band, VIPE, and Winterguard, along with many other activities, including multiple interscholastic sports. We are emphasizing safety while promoting experiences, both inside and outside the classroom, that are critical to our children’s academic and social-emotional needs. The week’s events in our nation’s capital speak to the importance of what schools do to support these needs, ultimately improving our ability to educate our future leaders.

As of today we have not had any guidance from the state regarding testing for COVID-19 in schools. I know some districts in Monroe County are beginning to test students and staff again because of their status as a micro cluster zone. VCS is not considered to be in a micro cluster zone as of today. In addition, we are working with local hospitals and medical facilities to find ways to have our nurses and health office workers vaccinated as soon as possible along with designated student services personnel approved for vaccination by the state. I will continue to update you on this work.

Five people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the last update. Three are students- one from the ECS, one from VIS and one remote learner from VJH. In addition, two staff members tested positive-one from the VIS and one from the District Office.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

January 7, 2021

Hello Everyone,

As Superintendent, I am very concerned about the events that occurred in Washington DC yesterday. I
reached out to our principals to give them the latitude to work with their staff on potential developmentally appropriate ways in which to interact with students today and throughout the next few days. After consulting with our principals, some of the priorities they have within these conversations include:

• Listening and allowing children to talk about what they are worried or wondering about
• Emphasizing the concept of a peaceful transfer of power in relation to US history
• Emphasizing respectful and polite discourse, particularly when opinions differ
• Refraining from taking a side and imparting personal political beliefs

As I said in a previous letter from last June, as a school district and as parents and guardians, we must never forget that our kids are watching us. In my opinion, very often they are more perceptive than we are and have the ability to understand more than we think they do. Today’s students are the future leaders of a society that will need strong leadership, especially as it pertains to understanding and appreciating our differences - racially, culturally, physically, or economically. While there is no doubt our children have what it takes, it is our job to help them learn how to effectively problem solve in order to make lasting change.

I trust our staff to have these important conversations with our students in an age appropriate way. I continue to be amazed by the VCS staff’s ability to create a learning environment grounded in acceptance, care, kindness, and compassion.
 

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Dear Families,

Five people have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday’s update. Three are students- one from VPS, one from VIS and one from VSH. In addition, two staff members tested positive-one from the ECS and one who works between VJH and VSH.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Dear Families,

Four people have tested positive for COVID-19 since yesterday’s update. Three are students- one from VIS, one from VJH and one from VSH. In addition, one staff member from VIS tested positive.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the
website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Monday, January 4, 2021

Dear Families,

Six people have tested positive for COVID-19 since my last update on January 2nd. Four are students- one from the ECS, one from VIS, one from VJH and one from VSH. Two are staff members- one from VJH and one from District Office.

Below is an updated listing of cases as of this afternoon:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the
website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Dear Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful start to the New Year. In preparation for our return to school on Monday I wanted to give you an update on our COVID cases since my last correspondence on December 22nd.

Below is the chart as of this morning, which includes all of the cases since the last update.

Since December 22nd an additional 27 staff and students tested positive for COVID-19. However, the number of total active cases that we know of as of our return to school on January 4th decreased by nine (17 to 8). This number may change over the weekend as we find out about more cases.

In terms of the 27 additional cases, 20 were students (9 from VSH, 4 from VIS, 3 from ECS, 2 from VPS & 2 from VJH). Seven were staff (3 from VSH, 2 from VIS, & 2 from ECS). It is my understanding that all of the individuals impacted, including individuals who needed to be quarantined based on these positive cases, have been contacted.

One unique development over break involves the positive cases at the ECS. Although we only had 3 students and 2 staff members test positive from the ECS since the update from December 22nd, the individuals who tested positive had interaction with one another in the same classroom or same area of the school. Because of this, the Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) quarantined 17 ECS staff members over break as a precaution. During this time the OCPH shortened the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days. Because of the shortened quarantine period, all of our quarantined ECS staff members are slated to return to school January 4th unless they develop symptoms between now and then.

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. .

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Dear Families,

The Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) informed us today that three students and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Two of the students were from VSH, with one being a remote student, and one student is from VIS. The staff member is from the ECS. The OCPH is still deciding on whether any quarantines are necessary from these cases. Our updated numbers are below.

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

This will be the last update until the weekend before January 4th. As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the
website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health. Happy holidays and please stay safe.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Sunday, December 21, 2020

Dear Families,

The Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) informed us today that one student and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19 today. The student is from VJH. One staff member is from VPS and one works at both VJH and VSH. We are not aware of any school related quarantines from these cases. Our updated numbers are below.

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Dear Families,

The Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) informed us today that two students and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. One student is from VJH and one is from VSH. There are no school related quarantines from these two cases. The staff member is from the ECS. The OCPH is still investigating any potential quarantines from this case. If the OCPH has further questions they will contact individual families. Building administrators may also call individual families if quarantining is necessary. The numbers below also reflect the addition of two transportation staff members who were already noted in previous letters. Our updated numbers are below.

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the
website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Dear Families,

The Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) informed us today that a student and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. The student is from VJH. One staff member is from the VIS and one is from the ECS. The OCPH is still investigating any potential quarantines from these cases. If the OCPH has further questions they will contact individual families. Building administrators may also call individual families if quarantining is necessary. Our updated numbers are below.

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing the four pillars of health and safety:

• Don’t come to school when you feel ill
• Wear a mask properly
• Socially distance
• Wash hands.

As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the
website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Dear Families,

The Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) informed us today that two students and three staff members tested positive for COVID-19. One student is from VJH and one is from VPS. Two of the staff members are from VJH and one is a bus driver in the Transportation Department. The OCPH has determined that no quarantines are necessary related to the bus driver. They are still investigating any potential quarantines from the other cases. If the OCPH has further questions they will contact individual families. Our updated numbers are below:

The OCPH has also advised us that classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities should continue as scheduled. We are asking that all families work with your children to make sure they are practicing social distancing and mask wearing outside of school. As always, if you have any questions regarding this or other COVID-19 related concerns, please contact your child’s building principal or me. You can also contact the OCPH at 585-396-4803 or email them through the website https://www.co.ontario.ny.us/101/Public-Health.

With gratitude, 

Tim Terranova 
Superintendent

Previous Superintendent Messages

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Dear Families,

The Ontario County Public Health Department (OCPH) informed us today that three students tested positive for COVID-19. One student is from VJH and is a remote student and two are from VIS. The OCPH has determined that no quarantines are necessary related to these students. Our updated numbers are below.