The Children’s Learning Cooperative of Long Island will host an information night on Tuesday for prospective parents of preschool and elementary-age schoolchildren. The cooperative is part of the Whole Child Foundation, a non-profit that operates schools in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley and Boston’s South Shore.

    It aims to fill a niche for families “who want learning that fits their child’s temperament and passions, but goes a little easier on their pocketbook,” according to a statement released by its director, Julie B. Rosenshein, a certified school social worker and educational consultant. She is the author of “The Highly Sensitive Kids Guide” and also specializes in the holistic treatment of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    While the cooperative has yet to secure an East End location, Ms. Rosenshein said that it would likely be in the Sag Harbor area, where she has received the bulk of parent interest — mostly among families that either already home school their children or for those who are looking at alternatives to public school.

    “It’s for many families who would consider home schooling if they weren’t the ones doing the home schooling,” she said, noting that tuition generally runs around $400 per month. Parent volunteers allow organizers to keep “costs down and the variety going, with every parent bringing their set of unique gifts and passions.”

    Tuesday’s information session will kick off at 6:30 p.m. in the main chapel of the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor.

    For the second year in a row, the Bridgehampton Museum will offer a scholarship to a graduating senior living in the Bridgehampton, Hayground, or Sagaponack School District.

    To be considered for the scholarship, students must submit an oral history essay recounting a Bridgehampton memory, or based on the recollections of someone who lived there. For example, last year’s winner, Steven Hatgistavrou, wrote about Ted Damiecki’s recollections of the 1960 World Series.

    Essays must be between 1,000 and 1,500 words and should be hand-delivered, e-mailed, or postmarked no later than March 15.  Essays shiould be in PDF, MS Word, or hard copy form. More details can be learned by e-mailing [email protected].

A winner will be selected by April 30 and will receive a check for $1,000, as well as have their submission published in the museum’s annual Bridge Journal.

    Eleanor Tritt, superintendent of the Amagansett School, briefed the school board Tuesday morning on a recent meeting of school superintendents  with the New York State Commissioner of Education, Dr. John King Jr.

    Dr. King, she said, advised districts to expect dramatically lower results on standardized testing, the outcome of increased standards. A number of questions, math questions in particular, are being given to students in lower grades who are not prepared for them, she explained. The superintendents asked the commissioner if he would draft a letter to parents indicating the reason behind the anticipated drop in test scores, she said, but “We don’t know if that will be forthcoming.”

    School officials, Ms. Tritt said, have been given examples from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests, a consortium of 22 states to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in math and English. Ms. Tritt called an example she was given “startling,” with a greater number of correct answers to a multiple-choice question than in previous testing. Two of five choices may be correct, she said, and answers can also be partially correct. “The sample question was only [worth] one point, out of 60 or 70 questions. This is what we are going to face,” she said. “That’s why these projected results will become so much lower.”

    Potentially compounding teachers’ challenges, PARCC is one of two organizations working with the state on new assessments. The state, Ms. Tritt said, is “preparing us for these PARCC tests, but at the same time indicating that they’re not really sure they’re going to go with [them]. We may be preparing students for tests that they then decide they’re not going to give. It is of concern to everyone. We are continuing to prepare our students, but we feel this is not an approach that is in the best interests of the children.”

    The school is moving ahead with a fiber-optic upgrade for a new telephone and Internet infrastructure. Greater bandwidth, the superintendent said, will be necessary to support the testing.

    Ms. Tritt summarized the above as “a good deal of new curriculum requirements, testing requirements, [and] technology requirements. We continue to move forward in meeting those requirements, but it is a challenge.” The commissioner is aware that new mandates are adding significant costs, she noted.

    School safety remains at the forefront of discussion and planning. Ms. Tritt briefed the board on a recent safety team meeting. The police and fire departments, as well as emergency management personnel, have worked with school officials to create and revise new safety procedures and acquire additional equipment. “We will be able to coordinate all the components of that plan shortly,” the superintendent said.

    School administrators are reviewing preliminary budget estimates, she reported. Though data from the state and from BOCES are still forthcoming, Ms. Tritt estimated only minor cost increases. “We are anticipating a need for some additional part-time support in the areas of reading and special education,” she said.

    Ms. Tritt said that salaries ($3.9 million), tuition ($2.6 million), and benefits ($1.8 million) account for 82 percent of the budget. Benefit expenditures are expected to rise by $205,000. “Health insurance costs have gone up dramatically in just a few years,” she said, adding that expenditures for the employee retirement system have also dramatically risen dramatically, even as state aid is being reduced.

    Over the next two months, the East Hampton School Board will hold work sessions to go over drafts of the 2013-14 district budget in line-by-line detail.

    On Tuesday night, at its second public workshop, board members pored over hundreds of pages of documents at a meeting that lasted nearly four hours.

    Apart from two members of the press, no one from the public attended the meeting. Unlike at a January meeting, documents being discussed were provided to those in attendance, although confusion quickly arose among the board members over the absence of page numbers.

    “Pagination is the word of the day,” said George Aman, the board president, urging presenters to include page numbers in future documents.

    Although the draft budget, which calls for more than $65 million in spending and includes several big-ticket items, Tuesday night’s discussion mostly centered around smaller items — picking over such things as a $165 sheet cake from Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton and $45 worth of facial tissue.

    Three presenters appeared before the board. Robert Tymann, East Hampton’s assistant superintendent, presented budget items related to his office. Gina Kraus, principal of the John M. Marshall Elementary School, presented items related to her school’s budget. And Charles Soriano, principal of East Hampton Middle School, presented his building’s report.

    When it came to possible cuts, Alison Anderson, a school board member, discussed the potential of revisiting funding allocated for elementary school field trips, “if we need an area.” Also, the $6,000 earmarked for new bookshelves at John Marshall provoked debate.

    “We’re still at the input level,” urged Richard J. Burns, the Superintendent of Schools. “But things like bookcases may be an issue if we need to cut $30,000.”

    Dr. Soriano told the board that starting next fall, the middle school projected an increase of 40 students. But despite the greater number of students, the school’s budget was projected to rise by only $60.

    Among the contested budget items: $800 on lifeguards for an end-of-year beach excursion, and a $995 sound system and $2,150 folding chair rental for graduation.

    Patricia Hope, a board member, urged that the middle school’s science department cut what she deemed its “wish list” by 20 percent. “There’s an awful lot of excess here,” said Ms. Hope, noting more than $14,000 set aside for equipment. She formerly chaired the science department at East Hampton High School.

    Over the next two months, budget numbers will continue being honed and finalized. Future budget work sessions are scheduled for Feb. 26, March 21, and April 9. The meetings begin promptly at 6 p.m. in the district office, which is at the high school.

Write Your Heart Out

    Spots are still available in a creative writing workshop for teens to be held next week at Stony Brook Southampton. Run by the Young American Writers Project and connected to Stony Brook Southampton’s master of fine arts program in creative writing and literature, the workshop gives teen writers a chance to work intensively with professional writers on their fiction, poetry, and personal essays. Classes will meet Monday through Friday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $525, with some partial scholarships available.

    A second workshop for teens will be offered between March 25 and March 29. Registration details can be found online at youngamericanwritersproject.com or by e-mailing [email protected].

African-American Heritage

    Kids of all ages can make their own paper masks and paper quilt squares during an African-American heritage family craft program on Sunday at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton. Those who attend will learn the story of the Underground Railroad and how codes were stitched into quilts to aid people as they escaped from slavery into freedom. The program will run from 2 to 3 p.m.

Nature Songs

    Ever watch a wave break on shore and want to burst into song? Plenty of music has been inspired by nature, and on Saturday, Tyler Armstrong will help kids 8 to 14 turn their ideas into music during a nature songwriting class at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.

    The class begins at 1 p.m. Advance registration is required. Participants have been invited to take their own guitar or other stringed instrument, binoculars, or anything else that helps them “get excited about the natural world.”

Golden Eagle Art Offerings

    Only boring people are bored, or so the saying goes. But sometimes, we need a little nudge to leave boredom behind. Kids might find that at the Golden Eagle art store in East Hampton, which will offer art classes for kids 6 to 11 each day next week from 10 to 11 a.m. Participants will make clay animals, watercolors, grassy field paintings, abstract landscape collages, and mixed-media landscapes. The cost is $20 per class.

    An introduction to drawing for children 8 to 14 will be offered each day from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students will learn the fundamentals of shape, form, and perspective while drawing in pencil, with a new project each day. The classes can be taken individually, however, those who sign up for all five days will be able to advance throughout the week along with the lessons. Children have been asked to take a sketchbook. Other materials will be provided. The cost is $140 for the full week or $30 per class. Advance registration has been requested for both classes.

    The Golden Eagle is on Gingerbread Lane.

Pasta, Muffins, Silly Putty

    Each day next week will bring a different project for younger children at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. Monday, kids will make a pasta salad. They’ll create their own stretchy putty on Tuesday, and “make a beach” in a Mason jar on Wednesday. Banana muffins are in store next Thursday, and on Friday, Feb. 22, kids will learn to make their own finger paints.

    Classes begin at 11 a.m. The cost is $22 including admission, $10 for members. Registration in advance has been suggested.

Vacation Week Classes

    As a reminder to those who may not have been reading this column in recent weeks, there are also vacation week workshops on tap from Monday through Friday, Feb. 22, at Guild Hall in East Hampton and the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, although some classes may be filled by press time.

    Guild Hall will have classes Monday through Friday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon for kids 6 to 9, with a different theme each day. The cost is $125 for the full week, or $115 for members. Individual classes cost $25, or $23 for members.

    At the Parrish, there will be classes for kids 4 to 6 from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, Feb. 22, and from 1 to 3 p.m. for kids 7 and older. The cost is $40 per class, $30 for museum members.

    Advance registration has been requested for classes at both places.

    After months of uncertainty over the future of its adult education program following sharp cuts in its annual budget, the East Hampton School District has announced that a pilot program will run from mid-March to mid-April, with two courses continuing into June. The program will operate at no additional cost to the district.

    Courses include basic drawing, bridge for beginners, bridge for intermediate players, computer literacy, introduction to Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, introduction to QuickBooks, defensive driving, intermediate and advanced English as a second language, preparation for the United States citizenship test, Test of English as a foreign language preparation, and a five-hour course required to obtain a New York State driver’s license.

    The courses, ranging from $55 to $155 with checks made payable directly to the instructor, will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings at East Hampton High School. Admission will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

    Course catalogs, which contain information related to registration, are available at www.ehufsd.org (scroll to Links/Adult Education and then past the blank page).

    “It’s such a great give-back to the community that we couldn’t just leave it in the dust,” said Bridget LeRoy, the district’s communications consultant, who will oversee the program. “I hope it works this way, as a public service to both instructors and those who sign up.”

    “I really appreciate [Superintendent of Schools Richard J. Burns] and the board being open enough to give it a try this way,” she added. “If it doesn’t work, it’ll be back to the drawing board, but I hope the program thrives and expands in years to come.”

    Faced with a 2-percent cap on property tax increases last year, the East Hampton School Board voted to slice over $2 million from the budget. Joan Carlson, who had run the adult education program for more than 20 years, was among the positions cut. The program’s future has been iffy ever since, until now.

Folk Dances and Music

    An international cultural celebration at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill on Sunday will bring traditional folk dances and music to the museum from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Along with a taste of other cultures, families will have a chance to tour the museum and take part in art workshops throughout the afternoon. The event is free and reservations are not necessary.

Ssssnakes

    Lindsey Rohrbach will help adults and children of all ages “unravel the mysteries” of the South Fork Natural History Museum’s resident snakes on Sunday at 10 a.m. Ms. Rohrbach will talk about what makes snakes reptiles, how they have evolved, and what they do to help us. Space is limited, so advance reservations are required with the museum, which is on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton.

I Heart You

    Love, hearts, and magic will be in the air during Valentine’s programs this weekend at the East Hampton Day Care Learning Center, Guild Hall in East Hampton, and the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton.

    Children can listen to Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond’s “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse” during a story time on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Children’s Museum, then follow that up at 11 by making puff paint with shaving cream, going on to use it to decorate hearts. The cost for the story time is $10, free for members. The workshop at 11 costs $17, including museum admission, or $5 for museum members.

    The East Hampton Day Care Center is hosting a free Happy Hearts Valentine’s program for 2 to 6-year-olds on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bruce Majic will perform tricks at 11. Crafts, cookie and cupcake decorating, games, and refreshments follow. Reservations with the center, on Gingerbread Lane Extension, have been requested. Kids 6 and older can decorate Valentine’s cookies during a workshop on Sunday from 1 to 2 p.m. at Guild Hall. The cost is $8, $6 for Guild Hall members. Reservations have been requested.

Theater Camp

    Theatrically minded 8 to 12-year-olds might keep busy during the February school break at the Bay Street Theatre’s kids camp on Feb. 18, 19, and 20. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, Susan Galardi and Bethany Dellapolla will offer instruction in acting, singing, dance, and more, along with theater games and improvisations. The camp will culminate with a performance for friends and family.

    The cost is $255 per child and advance registration with the theater in Sag Harbor is required, as spots tend to fill quickly.

Winter Break Arts and Crafts

    Guild Hall will also offer vacation week fun with arts and crafts workshops from Feb. 18 through 22 from 10 a.m. to noon for kids 6 to 9. Each day will bring a different theme, with animals, self-portraits, 3D, Op Art, and landscapes. The cost is $125 for the full week, or $115 for members. Individual classes cost $25, $23 for members. Reservations are required.

And Still More to Do

    There are winter vacation art workshops in store at the Parrish Art Museum, too. Sessions for kids 4 to 6 will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 18 through 22, and those for kids 7 and older are scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. each day. Each class will have a different focus — landscape drawing and painting, mixed-media collage, still-life painting, sculpture, and seascapes.

    The cost is $40 per session, or $30 for museum members. Space is limited and registration in advance is required online or by phone.

    From now until April, the East Hampton School Board will convene work sessions to go over drafts of the 2013-14 district budget in exacting, line-by-line detail.

    The purpose of the meetings is to provide transparency and openness to a process that for many outsiders can be difficult, if not impossible, to follow. While the public has been invited to attend, they are not allowed to comment. On Tuesday night, the board kicked off its inaugural work session for the upcoming budget season.

    Besides two members of the press, no one who was not an employee of the district was present. Copies of the draft budget, which right now calls for $65 million in spending, and of the documents being discussed by speakers were unavailable to those attending Tuesday night’s meeting. A reporter’s request for the documents was denied.

    “When the document is a little more solid, we will give it to the public,” Isabel Madison, assistant superintendent for business, said to the board, referring to the preliminary budget.

    During the meeting, Ms. Madison walked members of the board through budget items related to the superintendent’s office, the district’s projected legal costs, support services related to the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, and items pertaining to custodial costs and plant management at each of the district’s three schools.

    Richard J. Burns, the district superintendent, further clarified a more than $55,000 increase in projected legal costs for the upcoming school year.

    “It’s not for Sandpebble,” he said, referring to the ongoing lawsuit between the district and Sandpebble Builders over a multimillion-dollar school construction contract that dates back to April of 2002, “it’s for special education.”

    Ms. Madison later said: “Special education is costing us more than we want. It’s all being spent on one case, almost all on one case.”

    While the district had budgeted $30,000 for legal services related to special education in the 2012-13 budget, the first draft of the 2013-14 budget proposes adding another $60,000 for special education — bringing the final figure to $90,000.

    Later in the evening, custodians at the John M. Marshall Elementary, East Hampton Middle School, and East Hampton High School all made presentations to the board regarding their budget items for next year.

    Budget numbers will be honed and finalized over the next three months. Additional budget work sessions are planned for Feb. 12 and 26, March 21, and April 9. The meetings begin 6 p.m. in the district office at the high school.

Shakespeare a la Hayground

    Students from the Hayground School in Bridgehampton will perform a lesser-known Shakespeare romance, “Cymbeline,” today at 1 and 6 p.m. at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor.

    The performances are the culmination of the school’s annual Shakespeare residency program, which brings acting teachers and directors from Shakespeare & Co. in Lennox, Mass., to Bridgehampton each winter to immerse students in Elizabethan life. The production features not only student performers but costumes, sets, props, sound, lights, playbill, makeup, publicity, and photos and video created by students, teachers, and parents.

    The play is “an epic adventure story,” according to the school, about Imogen, a resourceful princess who marries poor Posthumous despite her father’s objections, only to see him banished to the Welsh countryside. Her search for him is a tale “punctuated with colorful characters, jealousy, deception, sword fights, cross-dressing, and sleeping potions,” the school wrote.

    The performances are open to all. Tickets cost $10.

Student Art at the Parrish

    The Parrish Art Museum’s 2013 Student Exhibition, an extravaganza of art by kids from all over the East End, will open tomorrow in Water Mill with a celebration for family and friends from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. honoring the work of the elementary school-level contributors.

    The show includes group projects by kindergartners through eighth graders and individual and group projects by high school artists. The high school artists will get the spotlight during a celebration on Feb. 9. The show will be up through March 3.

Happy Hearts

    Valentine’s Day may be a couple of weeks away, but at this time of year having something to look forward to can make a young heart soar.

    The East Hampton Day Care Learning Center’s Happy Hearts Valentine’s party isn’t until Feb. 9, but organizers have asked for reservations by Wednesday. The party will begin at 11 a.m. with a magic show by Bruce Majic. Valentine’s arts and crafts projects, cookie and cupcake decorating, and games will follow until 1 p.m., and refreshments will be available. The party is free, although donations will be accepted.

    Those who plan to partake in the fun have been asked to call the center, which is on Gingerbread Lane Extension, or e-mail [email protected].

The Word

    Montauk middle school students will read their own poems, as well as those of other students and poets, and recite memorized works during a poetry event called “Word Up!” next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Guild Hall. The program grew out of the students’ work with professional poets who have been coaching them on writing, revising, and presenting their own original work. There is no charge to attend.

Love and Books

    A story and craft time at the East Hampton Library on Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. will have Valentine’s Day as its theme, giving kids from 4 to 6 a chance to turn their thoughts to cupids and hearts and all things sweet.

    Older kids in fifth through eighth grades can indulge their love of books as part of a book club for young teens meeting next Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. The first book to be discussed will be Sharon M. Draper’s novel “Out of My Mind.” Copies can be reserved in the children’s room or by e-mailing [email protected]. Refreshments will be served.

Not by the Hair . . .

    “The Three Pigs,” as interpreted by Wonderspark Puppets, will blow the house down on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. The visiting troupe was founded by the husband-and-wife team of Chad Williams and Lindsey Briggs and performs in the New York City area, upstate, in Connecticut and New Jersey, and on Long Island.

    Tickets to their Sag Harbor shows cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3.

Happy Birthday, Amelia

    A 50th birthday bash for the Amelia Bedelia book series will pay tribute to the title character’s playful spirit and cheerful personality on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor. The party, for kids 3 and up, will include games, crafts, and snacks. Advance registration with the library has been requested.

Workshops for Teen Writers

    Teen writers will have a chance to work with professional, published writers in two creative writing workshops run by the Young American Writers Project at Stony Brook Southampton during the winter break. The first runs from Feb. 18 through 22, the second from March 25 through 29. The registration deadline for the first workshop is Friday, Feb. 8.

    Both sessions will guide student writers as they develop their fiction, poetry, and personal essay skills. By the end of the week, participants will have produced several pieces of completed writing. The March workshop will focus on creative writing. Classes meet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and cost $525, although partial scholarships are available.

    The Young American Writers Project was established and is sponsored by Stony Brook Southampton’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing and literature and is “dedicated to mentoring young people in the development of creative expression and critical thinking through writing,” according to a release.

    Students who participate in either workshop will be eligible to have their writing published in the YAWP E-zine and for presentation in a program at Stony Brook Southampton in April. Registration details can be found online at youngamericanwritersproject.com or by e-mailing [email protected].

Meet the Animals

    Families with children 6 and older can tour the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton on Saturday at 10 a.m. The tour offers a chance to meet some of the animals in residence there. Advance registration has been requested.

    Implementing a new math curriculum will be a complex and labor-intensive but necessary process, Eleanor Tritt, the superintendent of the Amagansett School, told the school board at its meeting on Tuesday.

    Teachers and administrators are meeting with a consultant, Mariana Ristea of the Great Neck Math Enrichment Center, to come up with and put in place a new math curriculum designed to conform to the state’s standards and address test preparation for same. At its Jan. 8 meeting, the board had resolved to hire Ms. Ristea to analyze existing curriculums, identify strengths and weaknesses in mathematics, and integrate topics in newly designed curriculum guides.

    “She really brought home to us a lot of the specifics of how we’re expected to implement the new standards,” Ms. Tritt said. “They really are much more complex than originally discussed.” One significant change, she said, “is to bring the conceptual knowledge down to the lower grades. They’re introducing concepts that are a little esoteric for young children, and for parents as well. But the way Mariana presented it to us really made sense. It was very informative.”

    Ms. Tritt also told the board that the school will be participating in the E-Rate program, which dates to the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The program provides discounts so that schools and libraries have affordable access to modern telecommunications and information services.

    Participation requires “a tremendous amount of paperwork,” Ms. Tritt said, but as the school is switching to a fiber-optic network, “there’s a company that does the paperwork for a small fee. We will be starting with them now so they will have all our information. When we move to the new fiber service, we expect that we will get some funding back. At this point, we don’t know how much that will be.”

    A lockdown drill last Thursday was successful, Ms. Tritt reported. “We’re very appreciative that the East Hampton Town police officers walked through the building with us and made various suggestions,” she said. One change police and administrators agreed upon was to identify room numbers with signs on their respective windows so that first responders would be able to pinpoint the location of an emergency situation from outside the building. Further review of proposed changes will happen on Wednesday, Ms. Tritt said.

    The superintendent also addressed the Schools Against Violence in Education program. There is now a state safety committee that will be working on safety plans and making recommendations to all schools, she said. “The state has asked for district-wide plans to be submitted to them, with an exemption for single-building school districts, because the building plan, which is more detailed, gives specifics that are confidential and should not be released to the public.”