April 18, 2023 | By Braden Carmen | observertoday.com
SILVER CREEK — Members from a subdivision of the New York state Education Department visited local districts to see how they could assist with addressing student needs.
The Silver Creek Central School District, along with Lake Shore and Gowanda school districts, recently welcomed representatives from the New York State Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages. The visit included a round table meeting including teachers and students, presentations, tours of the Silver Creek and Lake Shore campuses, and observations of classrooms.
“The associate commissioner is a lovely woman who really just wanted to put some boots on the ground, look at our classrooms and student programs, and ask what we needed,” said Superintendent Todd Crandall. “They were here for all the right reasons, to support and listen.”
Silver Creek has expressed interest to the state in recognizing the Seneca language for a state teaching certification. If the state recognized the language as an official state certificated subject, it would count as a second language for students to take toward graduation. The district currently offers Seneca language education from two educators, one of which is a certified teacher in another subject, while the other is not a certified teacher but “does great work for us,” according to Crandall.
Crandall highlighted that of 8,517 members of the Seneca nation, only eight of the members spoke the Seneca language as their first language. The district currently has a teacher on sabbatical in an immersion program to learn the language from elders.
Also of note, the Silver Creek Board of Education recently approved Jon Pulver as Modified Baseball coach, Janet Decker as Modified Girls Track coach, and David Rojas as Modified Boys Track coach. Gabriella Lockwood was approved as a district substitute, while Kelly Pieniazek and Kevin Rice were approved as Summer School Supervisors.
