The-Leader_1990-03-22

              Freeport • Baldwin
THE- LEABE 56ih Year, No. 12 Freeport, N.Y. 11520 OfTicia! nev,-spaper of the Village of Frecport-Frccpon and Baldwin School Disuicts Thursday, March 22, 1990 25f
Doris Selub: Stoking the fires of commitment
by Sue Morgan
The mantle of superintendent of
Frccport's schools seems to fit most
comfortably on Doris Selub's
shouldcrs-and why not? She steps into
office as a 20-year veteran Freeport
. administrator, an assistant
superinlendfnt for almost 15 of those
years.
As Mrs. Selub sits back'for a
discussion of her plans for Frccport's
children, one glimpses the fire of
commitment-a fire she vows to light in
each and every student.
It is not a vague promise. The trite
but nonetheless sometimes traditional
comment that a "child is not working
up to his capacity" has no place in the .
new supcrinlendcm's lexicon.
Task commitment
"Every child, •' ncourapcd. lam t
PRACTICING DANCE STEPS for Freeport Dollars for Scholars a-Wiour dance
rnarathon on March 30 are Katie Kelly and Vicky Dapice. To help sponsor a
dancer, call Stu Napear or Mike Campbell at Freeport ri.S., 867-5300.. -
Board defends priorities
byJoanDelaney.
The Baldwin Board of Education
held iu regular monthly meeting at
Milbum School on March 14 with an
agenda that included an update on the
mcntor-traching prograni.-
However, questions from several
. members of the audience included a
barrage of.commeDts relative to '.
Gnaiices and the financial ramifications
of educational programs. After board
: members attempted to explaitt costs'
' and justify professional and educational
decisions', Boafd Presidebt Bernard
Pittinsky finally commented, "I'll
watch every dollar.we spend, biit
dammit, I won't jeopardize our kids'
educationr His iropossianed d^ense of'
Baldwin's spending and prionties was
met with applause from the audience
. which included almost 30 smdents.
. Director of Curri?ulnm Richard
March .and the teacher-mentor
. coordinator Barbara Singer updated the.
. . - • • • i ^ • ' •-•.
board on the program, including a
recent State evaluation which was
extremely positive. It was noted that
the prograin which is state-funded
through a grant of $74,790 and
supplemented by. approximately
' $33/XX) in district money is one which
is nationally endorsed and could
possibly be mandated of districts in the'
near future. It is based on the premise
that teachas new to die piofesaon need
the assistance aiid guidance of
experienced teachers and it was noted
that generaUy 50 percent of new
teachers, without mentoring, .leave the
profession withjn the first five years..
Of that gjconp, 70 percent leave in the
fiistyear. .
Mentoring exists in four situations at
the senior high school, junior high
scixxd, Btookade and Meadow schools
and the'bulk of the costs involve the
"co-teacher": 'who. is a tegular
replaciement for the mentor and new
• . i . . . . . i ...' • . : . - . •"te<J'i'!nue<lenp»8»^'
and supported, can maximize what
they're doing," Mrs. Selub stresses.
"The key ingredient .to high
achievement is task commitment, and
that's not only true for the gifted."
Illustrating task commitment as the
"zeal of the "artist who must paint, or
the writer who must write," she wants •
to instill youngsters with the
enthusiasm for lifelong learning, "not
just.dabblirig, but completion,"
"It's okay to be up front atx)ut what
the message is," Mrs. Selub declares^
asking, "Who IS working np to their
polcniial? For.everyone, there is always
a piece that's unexplored, an endless
supply of things to ht learned."
. The critical factor in encouraging in
students the desire for continued
learning is modeling, says Mis. Selub,
and she wants the entire schools oaff to
demonstratejit— beginning with
herself. . . . . . •
• • "I've gone to night school for 21
years of my life," she says with a smile,
adding that it took her nine years of
evening study to receive her.
baccalaureate degree. She praises the
Freeport staff for their attendance at the
district's in-service cours^ as well as
seminars and worishops held put of the
village, but wants continuing education .
pursued "even more vigoroiBly." ' '
Mrs. Selub will also continue to look
outside the schools for enthusiastic
learners to light the children's fires with
their experiences. Of the close to 1.000
adults who are enrolled in the dlstria's
evening program, she says, "They too
are serving as role models whether they
are.going for a graduate equivalency,
diploma or. taking a cooking course."
. Among recent visitors were Freeport
High School graduates liow attending
colleges and onivetsities who held a
day long program for their younger
.counterparts.•The district's, peer
tutoring program is yet another
exaihiple of what Mrs. Selub calls
- "making.lhose connections over and
over again."
Recalling a visit lioin an FHS sem'or
tanked tenth ill her class who had beea
; a mediocre student until she made a
turnaround in the sixth grade, the
superintendent refers to the young
woman as a prime example of how the
realization of capability, can make a.
difference.. .
'I can succeed'
•. Self, esteem can't be taught by.
"giving- • • out'worksheets." Mt»;-
Selub advises. "You have to tell kids •
how capable they are ~ imbue' them
with that sense'of'I can do it, I will do
it, I can succeedl' With so much
criticism of education and young
people, educators need to stand op and
talk about what's good."
Of concrete assistance in making
such feelings emerge, she says, are
learning strategies that promise more
success for youngsters. As examples,
she cites computer assisted insuuction
which Freeport was one of the.first
districts to implement in the early
1970s, and newly acquired laser video
disc equipment which adds the
excitement of visual learning at
stodenb' fingertips.
, MIS. Selub also believes in the
importance of the team approach . -
involved in competitions and in the
Dodd Challenge program, which
involves all seventh graders in solving
problems, they can relate to real life
dilemmas. '
. As an avid (an of theaoe and ballet,
the superintendent also plans to build
ujxjn the already extensive program's
which gives students first hand
experiences with dancers, pQCtsl writers
and artists in residence in the schools.
She herself was instmmental bringing
performing artists into the classroom to
' woik on a personal basis with the
children after she began to feel that
hosting them at school assemblies was
not enough.
At the high school level, particularly,
. she cites the master classes given to
music students by members of the
(continued on pijo IJ)
- Potts Sehib,..