Education

During a preliminary school board discussion on Sept. 6, East Hampton School District officials indicated they are looking into the idea of adding driver’s education — complete with on-the-road driving lessons — back into the school day.

The Bridgehampton School District is planning to reboot its social-emotional and equity task force, which it originally launched two years ago.

The basketball court at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center was redone Sunday — the first step in a much larger plan that’s to include a new gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool, a regulation-size tennis court, and soccer, baseball, and kickball fields on the five-acre Sag Harbor Turnpike property.

Adults and children of all ages have been invited to the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill for this year’s Welcome Day, set for Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., plus other activities for kids and teens.

America’s 9-year-olds “are performing at a level last seen two decades ago,” said Daniel McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the United States Education Department. His announcement addressed a recent federal study that exposed the devastating effects of Covid-19 on the nation’s schoolchildren.

Suffolk Health Department officials and environmentalists alike have been keeping an eye on the new, innovative and alternative septic system at the Springs School, hoping it will serve as a model for other large-scale septic systems in the county. Recent test results, as presented at the Sept. 6 Springs School Board meeting, showed that it was headed in a promising direction.

The Retreat, a local domestic violence shelter and awareness organization, is seeking high school students to join its Teen Leadership Council.

Kids and teens can learn about salt marshes on Saturday at SoFo. Plus: pirates, creative writing, art projects, and more.

The Stony Hill Stables Foundation is once again offering scholarships to South Fork children interested in horseback riding. Applications are due Sunday, Sept. 25, in person at the stables, 268 Town Lane in Amagansett, and scholarships will be awarded "right away in September," the organization says on its website.

There's been a change of plans: The Sag Harbor School District announced Tuesday that it will put the Sept. 29 Mashashimuet Park bond referendum on hold in favor of pursuing a land deal that would allow it to build athletic facilities next to Pierson Middle and High School.

Every summer, Charlie Soriano, principal of East Hampton Middle School, picks a theme that sets the tone for students and staff to have a successful school year. The theme for 2022-23 is “perseverance,” and to prepare for classroom discussions of this, students have been asked to read the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes.

Tuesday, Sept. 6

First day of school in

In such a small village, enrollment has always come in waves. This is something that Lauren Thayer has seen firsthand in her role not just as Sagaponack School Board president, but also as an alumna herself and a parent of two former Sagg students. “I think of it as a positive. . . . It’s the chance that parents dream of” for their children, she said.

The arrival of September isn't just about school supplies and classroom assignments -- it's also time to sign up for after-school activities, and for children and teens who enjoy dancing, or want to learn, opportunities are plentiful here.

The Sag Harbor School Board has set a date for a town-hall forum about the Mashashimuet Park bond proposal, and is weighing changes to its public-comment policy for meetings.

Ayanna El, LeBron Napier, Bryan Solano, and Melanie Valladares are the recipients of this year’s scholarships from Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island (OLA).

School districts here are shaping curriculums to respond to students’ evolving passions, needs, and career aspirations. This year that means Latin American and African-American studies electives at Pierson Middle and High School, the return of mock trial classes and Bonac Broadcasting at East Hampton, and game design and film studies at Bridgehampton.

South Fork school districts have been beyond busy scooping up all the qualified teachers, teaching assistants and aides, special-education therapists, mental health providers, and substitutes they possibly can ahead of the first bell this year. Since May, school district records show that between Montauk and Bridgehampton, at least 50 teachers have been hired across various academic disciplines — most to replace people who retired, some to launch new programs.

New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday updated the official Covid-19 policies for schools, aligning the state with recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control. Notable among the changes is a relaxing of quarantine rules and testing requirements.

An ongoing review of the Wainscott School District's tuition payments for special-education services received by some of its students from the Sag Harbor School District has yielded $23,000 in savings for Wainscott from the 2021-22 school year.

Over the summer, 20 more students living in Springs enrolled at East Hampton High School, which means that the Springs School District may be called upon to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more on tuition than it anticipated.

Career and Employment Options, a company that offers career coaching and job placement help for students and young adults with disabilities, is seeking a consultant to work in East Hampton and Bridgehampton.

This summer marks the first time the Amagansett Library has had a staff member dedicated to teen programming and involvement. Kimberly Parry, the library’s new head of adult and teen services, was born and raised in Sag Harbor, and previously worked at the John Jermain Memorial Library there. She is working to construct a relaxing and welcoming space within the library’s walls for the teens of Amagansett.

School districts across the region are encouraging families in need to apply for a federally funded school meal program that allows schools to provide both breakfast and lunch for free or at reduced cost.

The actress Julie Andrews, who wrote the children's book “The Great American Mousical" with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, will direct a staged reading of the book on Monday evening at 7 at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

In this week's lineup for kids, teens, and families: A fairy parade, movies and stories, butterflies and birding, and more.

For about 28.2 million homes in the United States a permanent state of digital disconnection is an everyday reality. According to Evan Marwell, chief executive and founder of Education SuperHighway, a nonprofit that’s dedicated to bridging the gap to broadband connectivity, the reason 18 million households are offline is that they simply afford an internet connection.

The East Hampton Library's free children's fair is a highlight for kids this weekend.

The Sag Harbor School District on Monday publicized more details of its pending agreement with the Mashashimuet Park board of directors, which will play into the $13.5 million bond referendum that is up for a vote on Sept. 29.

Jacky Loving, a German-born, Montauk-based skater, surfer, paddleboarder, hiker, and all-round adventure-seeker, founded Loving Adventures to teach kids life skills through outdoorsy and challenging sports. “I’m just providing tools to get outside."