While our hallways have been quiet without students, the summer months have been a period of continuous activity within our schools. Behind the scenes, our facilities team has successfully managed a long list of projects alongside a comprehensive, top-to-bottom cleaning of every building. The District's support staff completed critical summer tasks and responsibilities, including enrolling new students and communicating with our new families. Of course, our educators have been equally engaged; as lifelong learners, Scarsdale teachers spent their summer collaborating on hundreds of program improvement initiatives, PD committee-funded projects, and participating in coursework. These recurring summer rituals are more than just preparation—they serve to seed creativity and amplify the vibrant energy our staff brings to their students. As we officially transition into the 2026-2027 school year, I hope you and your families have had the opportunity to pursue personal interests, explore new or familiar places, and truly disconnect from the pressures and routines of the academic year. We look forward to welcoming our students back on September 1st. |
Over the past few weeks, I have spent time reflecting on our mission statement-- to sponsor each student's full development, enabling our youth to be effective and independent contributors in a democratic society and an interdependent world--and how what is required to accomplish this has (or hasn’t) changed over time. I have also been attentive to the active discourse about educational technology and AI, and find myself lingering on two recently published pieces in particular. The first is an essay that appeared in the Atlantic titled, “ The End of Reading is Here”. Author Rose Horowitch suggests we are entering what might be considered the "postliterate" age, where the explosion of textual fragments—emails, social media captions, and short-form videos—has come at the expense of sustained attention to longer written works that convey rich, complicated, and nuanced information. The second is an opinion piece that appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled, " My Students Can’t Read” by Tyler Jagt. The author notes that even at elite institutions, students who once handled thirty pages of reading per class are now "intimidated by anything over ten pages" and often walk away from assignments with no real understanding. Comparing ultra-processed digital media to ultra-processed food, he argues that "cognitive windedness" is not a matter of student laziness, but of underlying skills—the neural pathways for sustained attention—that have atrophied from lack of use (an argument supported by research). Not surprisingly, our faculty have shared similar observations and concerns. The question is, what can or should we do about it?
I believe that, first and foremost, we should lean into our strengths. It has long been true that this District's greatest strengths are the individual students and teachers, the quality of the encounter between them, and the strong sense of mission shared by school and home. This human-centered focus is the starting point for addressing the challenges of the day. We also look to our Strategic Plan to help organize our efforts around the three core pillars Learning, Living, and Leading. These themes are not merely abstract concepts; they are the framework through which we prioritize the work of education in an increasingly complex and fragmented world. I invite you to read on to learn more about some of the work ahead this school year. |
In Scarsdale, we define Learning as a collaborative experience that encourages risk-taking and prioritizes opportunities for students to think deeply about problems relevant to their lives; express themselves clearly, critically and creatively; understand themselves and others within the broad fabric of human experience and the natural universe; to appreciate their rights and responsibilities as citizens; and to become people of integrity, maturity and generous spirit.
How can we ensure that our students experience all of this in the face of AI and the distraction economy? It will require that we maintain our focus on higher-order abilities of comprehension, synthesis, and deep thinking to build cognitive strength. Our approach to technology in the classroom must be reasoned, logical, and secondary to pedagogical intention. We will recommit to a pedagogy-first philosophy where technology is never the driver of learning, but is rather in service to it. We pause and ask ourselves, “Is technology necessary for this task? Does it support higher-order thinking, creation, or collaboration?” If the answer is no, we prioritize non-digital, physical mediums—paper, discussion, manipulatives, and the outdoors.
This approach is consistent with the Scarsdale Digital Competencies, which emphasize, among other things, Media and Information Literacy, Computational Thinking, and the Impacts of Technology. While some schools have established arbitrary screen-time limits, I worry that this approach lacks nuance and examination of purpose to be effective. However, I strongly believe that we can and should identify age-appropriate boundaries for screen use. This year, we will document and reflect on instructional technology use with the principles of sound instructional design, pedagogical intention, age appropriate implementation, and consonance with Scarsdale Digital Competencies. We must be wary of technology that acts as a "crutch." Recent causal research on AI in K-12 settings shows that while AI tools can improve student performance while they have access to them, those gains often disappear when students are assessed independently. Our aim is to foster durable learning, ensuring that students develop the underlying reasoning skills required for unaided performance. When called for, we will prioritize tools designed with pedagogical guardrails that keep students within their zone of proximal development.
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The second pillar of our work, Living, recognizes that a well-balanced life requires the dispositions necessary to be resilient in the face of adversity. We accomplish this by emphasizing strong developmental relationships and creating brave learning spaces.
The human-centered work of education has never been more vital. We are social creatures, and learning is a social endeavor. Every single student brings a unique and distinct self to school, and that collection of identities enriches the learning process. However, we have also seen how our differences, often amplified through textual fragments described earlier, can create conflict and interfere with learning. While our students must learn to construct arguments supported by evidence, they must also learn how to effectively and productively conduct themselves when supporting their positions. Thus, we will be engaging in work this year that deepens student understanding of how to engage in dialog across differences.
To support this, we are excited to implement the Common Circles program this year. As a reminder, the Common Circles exhibit is an immersive, research-based experience that blends art, technology, and storytelling to explore our shared humanity, build community, and teach the lessons of the Holocaust. In a moment marked by growing polarization, rising antisemitism, and increasingly dehumanizing rhetoric, the exhibition celebrates identity, strengthens historical understanding, and invites reflection. Above all, the experience encourages dialogue and creates a space where everyone is seen, heard, and valued. Tentatively scheduled to launch in February, Common Circles will build on our Developmental Relationships work and serve as a powerful catalyst for our existing curriculum, creating a cohesive thread of empathy, interdependence, and inquiry from elementary through high school.
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Finally, Leading in Scarsdale means growing and improving through inquiry and innovation. We recognize our responsibility as a "leading light" in public education to share our commitment to sustainability in our educational and economic practices.
Another important focus of my leadership this year will be on implementing the 2026 Bond Referendum generously approved by voters in May. We are working to bring Phase 1 through the design and approval stages and substantially toward completion, while simultaneously moving Phases 2 and 3 through the design and state submission stages. These facilities updates are essential to creating the educational environments that promote well-being envisioned in our Strategic Plan.
Alongside the capital work are careful implementation of the current year budget, and early preparations for the 2027-28 budget development process. The 2026-27 school budget was adopted at the tax cap, but expenditure reductions were again necessary, and primarily came from the net reduction of six faculty and staff positions (as 80% of our costs are staffing). As I communicated to the community back in March, staying within the cap in all but one year since the cap was adopted has led to downward pressure on the budget in a time of high inflation, and has forced difficult choices as expenditures have been growing faster than the tax levy cap allows. We anticipate the very same scenario this coming year, leaving us with only a few choices: further reduce expenditures through cuts, use fund balance (the “rainy day” fund), and/or ask the voters to override the tax cap. We look forward to engaging the community in the process, which formally begins with our public budget forum on November 16th.
In closing, I look forward with great anticipation to the arrival of our students on September 1st. Until then, I hope you enjoy the remaining days of summer and continue to find moments of meaning and joy with your families.
In partnership,
Dr. Drew Patrick
Superintendent of Schools
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