Batavia "B" Logo | Superintendent's Update

Dear Batavia Families and Community,

Earlier this month, we celebrated a number of national recognition days that highlight our important staff members, some of which we shared on social media:

May 1: Principals’ Day 

May 2-6: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6-12: School Nurses Week

May 6: School Lunch Hero Day - recognizing our dedicated school nutrition staff

Please join me once again in celebrating and appreciating these wonderful and dedicated groups of individuals who make Batavia special!

While COVID has taken a back seat in these recent updates, I do want to remind you of two resources available to you if you are interested in additional COVID case data:

Batavia CSD Website - updated weekly

NYS Covid Report Card - updated daily

Next Tuesday, May 17th, is the annual School Budget and Board Elections Vote. All eligible voters in our district are reminded of the following voting information:

Voting Day: Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 7 AM to 9 PM 

Voting Locations: 

Robert Morris School: For residents living North of Route 5 (Main Street) 

80 Union Street | Entrance on Union Street across from Notre Dame 

Batavia High School (Library): For residents living South of Route 5 (Main Street) 

260 State Street

We also have three candidates running for three Board of Education seats—you can read about them here. I would like to thank Board Member Michelle Humes for her dedicated service over the past year, as her term on the Board will end on May 18th.

More information on this year’s BCSD budget can be found here: 22-23 Budget Presentation

With the warm weather this week, it has been great to see some games and events outside. The regular season will be winding down soon, and we can look forward to some great sectional games…go Blue Devils!

I am looking forward to being part of the Musicians of Note Ceremony tonight in the newly named Frank E. Owen Auditorium at Batavia High School. How fitting and appropriate that the first major event in the Frank E. Owen Auditorium is this ceremony, where five BHS graduates will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to music—two of whom were students of Mr. Owen’s. I have the personal honor of playing with each one of these musicians we are celebrating tonight, and I look forward to paying tribute to Lyle Mark, as I have been a long-standing member of one of the bands he founded.

Speaking of music, John Kennedy featured their talented musicians last week and last night with choral and band concerts. Although I was not able to attend the choral concert due to the budget hearing, I did enjoy the band and orchestra’s performances, especially Bandroom Boogie and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Thank you to Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction Dr. Molly Corey and Social Worker Lindsey Dailey for kicking off the My Brother’s Keeper program this past Wednesday. We had some terrific volunteers that I met who will be great mentors to our boys of color at Batavia City Schools!

Last Friday, Jackson Primary and Batavia High School were featured at the Genesee County Business Education Alliance breakfast, where BHS Introduction to Education students showcased their work with our first graders. This was a wonderful presentation and truly showed the partnership across the district and our community. Additionally, our Community Schools program was featured at the breakfast as well. Congratulations to all those involved—well done!

On the academic front, I have two items to mention: First, congratulations to our newly inducted members of the BHS chapter of the National Honor Society. This is one of my favorite events of any school year, and our ceremony last week was no exception. 

And finally, congratulations to Mr. Kesler and the BHS faculty, staff, and students for earning a “Best High School” honor from U.S. News and World Report. Batavia High School earned a national ranking in the top 40% of U.S.-based public high schools out of nearly 18,000 schools. Batavia High School also ranks in the top 50% of public high schools in New York State and has a 92% average graduation rate (2017-2021).

 

Have a great weekend, and thank you for your ongoing support—it continues to be a personal and professional pleasure to serve as the Superintendent of Schools in my hometown!

Jason Smith

Superintendent of Schools

585-343-2480, ext 1000

jasonsmith@bataviacsd.org

Twitter: @JasonJasmith

@BataviaCSD