Harman Patil (Editor)

Blind Brook School District

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Motto
  
Schools of Excellence

Superintendent
  
Dr. Jonathan Ross

Grades
  
K–12

Schools
  
3

Type
  
Public (government funded)

Budget
  
$34,082,000 (2009–2010 school year)

The Blind Brook School District, officially known as the Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District, is a public school district that serves approximately 1,550 students in Rye Brook, New York, in Westchester County, United States. Before it was known as the Blind Brook School District, it was called District 5.

Contents

The Superintendent of Schools is Dr. Jonathan Ross. Dr. Ross previously served the district as the Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Facilities.

The district serves about 70% of the area of Rye Brook; the remainder is in the Port Chester School District.

Board of education

The Board of Education (BOE) is made up of five members who reside in the Blind Brook School District. An election is held each May to elect members to the BOE and to vote on the school district's budget.

District Directors

  • Director of Physical/Health Education and Athletics
  • Director of Pupil Services
  • Director of Guidance
  • Director of Technology

    • Demographics and instruction

    As of 2000 the district had 1,108 students and a 12 to 1 student to faculty ratio. Dr. James B. Van Hoven, the superintendent, said that district students are within "a high-powered academic program in a very intimate setting", and described the scenario as being "like a private school."

    Schools

    The Blind Brook School District houses three schools in two buildings across the district.

    The Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street Elementary School

    The Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street Elementary School (BMP-RSS) serves Kindergarten to 5th grade. The building was renamed in the late 1990s in honor of long-time building principal and Rye Brook resident, Bruno M. Ponterio. Ponterio was principal for about 25 years.

    Currently, the principal is Tracy Taylor. The assistant principal is Lori Cutrone.

    BMP-RSS was the first building built by the Blind Brook School District, and was erected in the 1950s. Before the current building was built, a mansion standing on the property housed the school.

    Before the creation of Blind Brook High School in 1973, BMP-RSS housed the entire Blind Brook School District. As time progressed, the building held grades K to 6th. When the middle school wing of the High School was built in 2002, the 6th grade was moved to the new building. That spring brought two graduations for BMP-RSS for the first time in its history, as both the 5th and 6th grades moved on to the middle school.

    In 2006, ground was broken on a new administration wing, and air conditioners were installed throughout the building. The construction marked the first additions to the building since the addition of the New Gym and a two-level classroom wing in the 1960s.

    Blind Brook Middle School

    Blind Brook Middle School (BBMS) houses grades 6th through 8th and is on the Blind Brook Middle School-High School King Street Campus.

    The principal is Todd Richard. The middle school associate principal is Ms. Butler.

    The first principal was Dr. Thomas Wolf. Dr. Wolf was key in the creation of the current BBMS curriculum during his tenure at Blind Brook, from mid-2002 to 2007. He announced in early 2006 that he would retire on January 31, 2007.

    A search for a new principal took place in 2006 and the Board of Education voted on a replacement prior to the end of the 2005–2006 school year. The replacement chosen was Karen Bronson, whose title, until Dr. Wolf retired, was "Principal on Special Assignment". She became the second principal in BBMS history.

    Bronson retired at the end of the 2010–2011 school year. A search process during this year resulted in the hiring of Patricia Lambert as her replacement. Lambert took over as the third middle school principal in July 2011. In 2013, Lambert moved on to become principal of the high school. Todd Richard, who was serving as the assistant principal for the middle school and the high school, was appointed as the new middle school principal.

    BBMS was originally composed of a hallway of classrooms and shared the entire building with the high school. As part of a district-wide bond referendum sparked by increasing enrollment, in 2002, a larger, two-story wing with a gymnasium, computer lab, and office space was built. This separated most daily activities of the middle school and high school, even though the two are still both under the same building.

    In 2006 ground was broken on a new middle school wing which houses general education classrooms, science labs, an MS cafeteria, lockers, and a new faculty office room.

    BBMS shares athletic facilities with the high school, along with the Monroe E. Haas Library and IMC (instructional media center), LGI (large group instruction), band room, auditorium, and cafeteria.

    Blind Brook High School

    Blind Brook High School (BBHS) was built in 1973 (renovated in 2002 and 2006) and houses grades 9th through 12th.

    The principal is Patricia Lambert and the associate principal is Derek Schuelein.

    References

    References

    Blind Brook School District Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA