Education

East Hampton High School has a track record of taking proactive steps to protect the health of its students, addressing topics such as vaping and mental wellbeing in recent years. Now, with administrators reporting more and more students struggling with substance abuse and addiction to electronic devices, they are again tackling difficult thorny issues with openness and the help of experts.

Shortly before the school board voted to hire Kathy Masterson as its new athletic director, Joe Vas, East Hampton’s current athletic director, handed her a maroon-and-gray Bonac baseball cap — a symbolic passing of the torch.

The Sag Harbor School Board on Monday adopted a $45.99-million spending plan that will be put up for a community vote on May 17. The proposal is unchanged from the last time it was discussed, on March 21, with one notable exception: New York State’s governor and Legislature have reached an agreement on their own budget, which will lead to more state money for Sag Harbor.

Having used two of its three inclement-weather days so far this year, the East Hampton School District announced this week that school will be in session for students and staff on Friday, May 27, and Tuesday, May 31.

Springs School District officials have reached their goal of trimming enough money from their 2022-23 budget proposal that it complies with New York State rules on tax-levy increases and will need only a majority vote to pass.

Easter is right around the corner and Mind Offline, a children's boutique and activity studio in Sag Harbor, will welcome the eponymous bunny and friends for a day of whimsical fun on Saturday, April 16. There will also be an egg hunt at the Ladies Village Improvement Society on Saturday.

The Country School in Wainscott, which has offered pre-nursery and prekindergarten programs for children since its founding in 1990, has announced its expansion to a second campus for students up to second grade.

Students at Pierson High School in Sag Harbor will perform "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at the Pierson auditorium this weekend. The four show times are Thursday and Friday night at 7, and Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.

Whether new to yoga or already familiar with the practice, teens can breathe in all of its benefits on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mandala Yoga in Amagansett. And there's so much else for kids and teens to do this week.

High school graduations are about three months away, giving the valedictorians and salutatorians plenty of time to work on their speeches. At East Hampton High School, those speeches will be given by Evan Masi, the valedictorian, and Anika Petruccelli, the salutatorian.

Coming off a year that saw its over-the-tax-cap budget pass on the second try by a single vote, the Bridgehampton School District’s proposed spending plan for 2022-23 adheres to the state limit on tax-levy increases.

Robotics competitions these days are complex affairs, filled with obstacles to overcome and tasks to complete, and the stakes are higher as teams of students from around the world face off against each other. After a two-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic, South Fork robotics teams eagerly rose to the challenge this month.

Poised to have a surplus of more than $900,000 at the end of the current fiscal year, the Amagansett School District is planning to put much of it toward next year’s budget to offset the rising costs that nearly everyone — municipalities, businesses, consumers — is facing.

The Montauk School District is proposing a $21.03 million spending plan for the 2022-23 school year, once again staying well below the state limit on tax-levy increases.

Provided that Sag Harbor voters agree, the athletic facilities at Mashashimuet Park will be considerably upgraded following several months of joint discussions between Sag school officials and the board of the nonprofit park.

For parents and high school students, there's an online program Wednesday on how Covid has changed the college admissions landscape. Also this week for younger kids: programs on native frogs, STEM workshops, arts and crafts, story times, and more, much of it free.

As thousands of young people rallied at Citi Field last week against Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill, which, among other things, prohibits discussions of L.G.B.T.Q.+ identities and issues in kindergarten, first, second, and third-grade classrooms, the Bridgehampton School’s Genders and Sexualities Alliance group staged its own rally on the school’s front lawn.

As they struggle to build a 2022-23 budget that stays within New York State’s cap on tax-levy increases, Springs School District administrators said they have now zeroed out their earlier drafts and started over.

East Hampton’s varsity Academic Team stands unbeaten this year and will next compete in the regional Quiz Bowl finals sometime in April. Having fun, while giving their brains a good workout, is the goal for the whip-smart members of this group, each with their idiosyncratic areas of expertise.

A teen PechaKucha at the Parrish Art Museum, with rapid-fire presentations by teen artists and high school art teachers, is one of the highlights of this week's South Fork programs for teens and kids.

As construction on its new 7,000-square-foot building nears completion, the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center is bumping up against unexpected costs that have left the organization “a couple of hundred thousand dollars” short of its $3 million budget. That’s why every little bit helps, its executive director said this week as she acknowledged a meaningful donation from the Hamptons United Methodist Church in the amount of $25,000.

The East Hampton School District’s new transportation center on Springs-Fireplace Road is proof that the future of school busing here is much more than bright yellow buses and a place to park them.

School district residents who would like to run for school board seats can officially begin submitting their paperwork for the 2022 election cycle.

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill has continued its longtime tradition of celebrating student artists with the annual Student Exhibition officially opening Sunday.

With gas prices skyrocketing and inflation impacting bottom lines almost everywhere, the East Hampton and Springs School Districts are feeling the crunch as they put together their spending plans for the 2022-23 school year.

The Sag Harbor School District's superintendent, Jeff Nichols, outlined the school’s new Covid-19 protocols relating to contact tracing, close contacts, and "even students returning to school if they test positive."

A teen writing competition, a search for the woolly bear caterpillar, and an introduction to ducks are among the things on tap for young people this week.

The playing field at the Pierson Middle High School in Sag Harbor is indeed a quagmire. Or an ice rink, or a sandbox, depending on the time of year. Now, six years after Sag Harbor voters opted for real grass over synthetic turf, the issue is back on the school board's agenda.

Sag Harbor’s Eve Achuthan-Kozar will be among the stars in a high-stress, cutthroat TV cooking competition, part of the storied “MasterChef” franchise, in which the often-terrifying celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay plays host, judge, and tyrant, but in this case, all the contestants are between the ages of 8 and 13.

A new semester of performing arts classes with Our Fabulous Variety Show, puppetry at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and adventures with the South Fork Natural History Museum are on tap for kids and teens in the coming week.