The Rhinebeck Central School District has finalized three goals to work toward during the 2026-2027 school year. The goals are to improve student attendance, finalize and communicate a framework for responsible technology use and plan for sustainable educational excellence.
Coming up with the goals was a collaborative effort with feedback from parents and staff, brainstorming by the Board of Education and work done by the administration.
“We looked for goals that would have great impact on learning for the students and be responsive to the feedback,” said Superintendent of Schools Albert Cousins.
Cousins said teachers expressed concerns about attendance, an issue in schools across the country after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Teachers, particularly at the high school level, expressed a lot of concerns with attendance, so we knew that was really important. We also know you have to be in school to learn and to develop social and communication skills,” said Cousins.
At Chancellor Livingston Elementary School, students are motivated to attend school each day as a board near the entrance shares the percentage of students in each grade who attend school.
Abby Meltz, CLS school counselor, started this initiative with the board and said student attendance has improved.
“I would see students check the board for the percentages and they would get excited if their grade level was in the lead,” said Meltz. “We would announce each month which grade had the highest percentage and you would hear students cheer from their classroom.”
Responsible technology use was the top issue presented by parents. The district will adopt and publish grade-level guidance for technology use as well as develop and communicate a position statement on the appropriate use of educational technology, including emerging technologies and AI.
Technology use is being examined in the elementary school, especially in kindergarten through second grade, and Bulkeley Middle School where sixth graders are taking home school laptops for the first time and being taught responsible technology use.
The plan for sustainable educational excellence involves analyzing enrollment trends to develop projections to inform short- and long-term planning, and come up with strategies for aligning staffing, facilities and resources with changing student needs.
This is to address a future trend in lower enrollment while ensuring a broad and balanced array of programs, courses, and opportunities for students.
“The main function of this goal is how we preserve and protect what we offer to students because we want to have a lot of offerings and choices,” said Cousins. “We don’t want to minimize any opportunities for students, but also have to be cognizant that we have a tax cap and that we receive less funding when the enrollments are lower.”