The Syracuse school district will launch a new effort this year to get every student, across all the grades, involved in a community service project, school Superintendent Daniel Lowengard announced this morning in his annual “State of the Schools” address. The new effort, called “Generation Yes,” is modeled after Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s “Scholarship in Action” approach, Lowengard...
Syracuse school Superintendent Daniel Lowengard gave his last "State of the Schools" address this morning at Corcoran High School. He said districtwide reform is underway and called for continued community support for "Say Yes to Education."The Syracuse school district will launch a new effort this year to get every student, across all the grades, involved in a community service project, school Superintendent Daniel Lowengard announced this morning in his annual “State of the Schools” address.
The new effort, called “Generation Yes,” is modeled after Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s “Scholarship in Action” approach, Lowengard said.
This was his final state of the schools speech because he is leaving the job at the end of the school year.
He told the audience in the Corcoran High School auditorium that the future of the city and its schools rests on the community’s ability to come together to support “Say Yes to Education.”
“We must all have skin in the game. We cannot afford spectators,” Lowengard said.
Even in the face of deep budget reductions and roughly 250 job cuts, the school board has not retreated from putting more money and resources into Say Yes, Lowengard said.
Say Yes is a national nonprofit foundation working with the district and SU to improve all the city's schools. It's goal is for all city students to graduate from college or some other post-high school program.
School board Vice President Ned Deuel said the district is moving toward better collaboration with the Syracuse Common Council thanks to the efforts of Councilor Nader Maroun, who chairs the council education committee.
Maroun spoke at the address, too. Working together is about process, not personalities, and it is about looking far into the future, he said.
He also said the city and district need to move forward to resolve the issue of where to temporarily relocate students during a school reconstruction project that’s just getting underway. Maroun, Lowengard and the school board support a controversial, pending deal to lease space in the former Syracuse Developmental Center.
Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com.