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.

    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.

    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.

    In less than two weeks this month, the East Hampton School Board suspended five of its employees — three bus drivers and two mechanics. At the board’s Feb. 5 meeting, members voted unanimously to retroactively suspend two of the district’s bus drivers, effective Feb. 1. Two weeks later, in a Feb. 15 note sent by Richard J. Burns, district superintendent, to parents and staff, he announced that an additional three transportation department employees had been suspended for an indeterminate period of time. The employees are being paid during the suspensions.

     “I want to assure that this action has no bearing on the past or current operational safety of our buses; nor is it related to any interactions between our students and our transportation staff,” Mr. Burns wrote. However, since the suspensions are a personnel matter, Mr. Burns declined to comment further.

    The district’s 32-member transportation department now employs 29 bus drivers. Some members of the school community are questioning whether, in the absence of five employees, the district will be able to continue providing adequate services once classes resume next week.

    Edmond Bletterman, who previously oversaw the department, retired in October. Since his departure, the department has lacked leadership, although Joel Freedman was designated head school bus driver. Those with whom The Star spoke indicated that squabbling among bus drivers has resulted, with senior drivers taking on additional trips — whether to field trips, sporting events, or athletic games — that pay more because of overtime. Nevertheless, questions persist.

    “As this is an ongoing investigation, the district will keep you apprised of any new developments which we are legally able to share,” Mr. Burns’s letter concluded.

Big Kids at the Goat

    Older children who think they’ve grown out of the Saturday shows at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre may want to return this week, when Brad Shur, the puppeteer-in-residence at the Puppet Showplace Theater in Boston, brings his show, “Magic Soup,” to Sag Harbor.

    Based on a collection of traditional Yiddish stories, “Magic Soup” follows a young man whose search for a family recipe brings folk tales to life. Showtimes are at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3.

The Circus Is Coming!

    The Arestov Family Acrobats, Wilson’s Wonderdogs, the gravity-defying Amazing Sladek, and a miniature horse called Tom Thumb will visit Pierson High School in Sag Harbor on March 3 with the Yankee Doodle Circus.

    Performances, at 12:45, 3:15, and 5:30 p.m., will raise money for the Teachers Association of Sag Harbor’s scholarship fund. Tickets will cost $33 at the door for adults and $15 for children under 15, but those who buy them by Tuesday can save $5 on the price of an adult ticket, plus get free admission for two children.

    Advance tickets can be purchased online at getcircustickets.com.

Birds in Winter

    Lindsey Rohrbach, a nature educator at the South Fork Natural History Museum, will speak on Sunday about how birds survive the winter, why they sing less when it’s cold outside, and why they’ll sing more when the days get longer.

    The program will begin at 10 a.m. and will include time inside and outside the museum, when children will be able to feed birds right from their hands.

    Advance registration has been requested. The museum is in Bridgehampton, on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.

Clay Station

    A four-week pottery workshop at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill will give kids 7 and older the chance to create their own ceramic pieces using coil, slab, and sculpture techniques as well as the potter’s wheel.

    Wendy Gottlieb will teach the class, which will run for four Saturdays starting on March 2. It costs $120, $90 for Parrish members. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

    The East End Arts School in Riverhead has been chosen to take part in the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program as a “founding school candidate and assessment center,” according to a release from the not-for-profit school and art gallery.

    As an assessment center, the school will offer preparatory courses for those on eastern Long Island looking to participate in the development program, which involves 150 organizations promoting national standards for music education and consistent quality in teaching that emphasizes both theory and performance.

    An information session open to parents and students will be held on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at East End Arts, at 141 East Main Street in Riverhead. Registration and more information are with Steve Watson, the group’s education director, at 369-2171.

Theory assessments will take place on May 11 and May 12, performance assessments on May 22, and sessions to help students of all skill levels prepare for them will be held in the spring. More details are on the group’s Web site.

Building a Portfolio

    Linda Capello, accompanied by Dorene Quinn, a professor at the State University at Oswego and Pratt Institute, and Yvonne Buchanan, an illustrator and professor at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, will give a four-session course in building an art portfolio for college admission at Guild Hall in East Hampton, beginning next Thursday.

    The cost for the four hour-long workshops, from 5 to 6 p.m., is $90, or $80 for the children of Guild Hall members. Registration in advance is with the Guild Hall main office.

Tree Secrets at SoFo

    Children 5 and up will learn about trees in a program at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton on Saturday at 1 p.m. The program, which is called “Do Trees Sleep,” will be given by Tyler Armstrong, the museum’s nature educator, and will include a walk outside to see how trees survive the winter and get ready to grow again once the weather warms.

    The cost is $5 for each child, which includes admission to the exhibits. Reservations have been suggested.

Roll Up Your Sleeves

    Budding clay artists have been invited to get their hands dirty in a pottery workshop at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, Saturdays through March 23 at 2 p.m. Open to those 7 and up, the cost is $120 or $90 for the children of museum members.

Spring Theater Programs

    Stages, a children’s theater workshop, has announced an after-school program for children from 8 to 18 at the Southampton Town Recreation Center on Major’s Path. Students will attend rehearsals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, beginning next week, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. through April. The company will present a musical, to be determined, from May 3 to May 5 at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor. The cost is $475.

    A creative drama workshop for children 6 to 10 will meet at the recreation center on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. The cost is $275. Registration details for both programs are available at stagesworkshop.org.

Bay Street Camp

    Susan Galardi and Bethany Dellapolla will lead a week-long kids vacation camp at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor starting on March 25. Registration is being taken now for the $385 five-day program, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Exercises will include acting, singing, dance, and comedy. According to the theater, the camp generally fills up, so early reservations have been advised. The box office can be phoned with questions.

Early Deadline for Music

    Hamptons Music Camp’s summer 2013 early registration deadline is tomorrow. Applications are being accepted for students who would like to take part in a program from Aug. 5 to Aug. 16 with instructors from several top conservatories, including Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music.

    Private lessons for everyone from beginners to proficient performers will be available. One program, a world-music listening class, will expose students to many of the globe’s traditions. Morning yoga and movement classes will get the day started. There will also be courses in composition, music theory, and improvisation, among others.

    Classes will be held in Hoie Hall at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Application information can be found at hamptonsmusic.org. There is a registration fee of $80, which is nonrefundable. Tuition for the two-week program is $2,100, for one week $1,200.

    On Tuesday night, the East Hampton School Board convened the third of five budget workshops planned for the 2013-14 academic year.

    According to preliminary figures, while the high school’s budget is slated to decrease by nearly $25,000 from last year’s budget of $388,000, the district’s physical education, driver’s education, health, and athletic budget will see a $10,000 increase over last year of more than $1 million.

    Taken together, the preliminary 2013-14 budget calls for more than $65 million in spending.

    At the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Isabel Madison, the assistant superintendent of business, indicated that while a lot of moving pieces still remained, about $600,000 would likely need to be shaved from the budget before all is said and done.

     “There will for sure be cuts,” Jackie Lowey, a board member, later affirmed. “The question remains, could 10 percent be cut from each budget without slicing into crucial programs?”

    The purpose of the workshops, during which board members pore over budgetary items in line-by-line detail, is to provide transparency and openness to a process that can be difficult for outsiders to follow. The public, while invited to attend, cannot comment or ask questions. So far, not one member of the public has showed up. 

    But lacking sufficient documents, the already granular discussion becomes nearly impossible to grasp.

    At the first workshop, in late January, copies of the documents being discussed were withheld from audience members. At the next one, in mid-February, detailed documents related to the elementary school and middle school’s budgets were provided — with the latter stretching to more than 100 pages.

    But on Tuesday night, the board again reversed its course. While it provided audience members with documents, they were not the line-by-line items that board members received, once again making the discussion almost impossible to decipher.

    Adam Fine, the high school principal, presented his budget, while Joe Vas, the district’s athletic director, answered questions related to his.

    “If we had to say we needed to cut 10 or 15 or 20 percent from your budget, could we do it?” asked Ms. Lowey.

    “Yes,” said Mr. Fine. “If need be, we could even cut more.”

    Already, the high school plans to phase out its American Sign Language program, and board members discussed the possibility of doing the same with Chinese, which would ultimately provide a savings of $10,000.

    “It doesn’t seem like a lot to save for a language of the future,” said Alison Anderson, a board member. Subsequently, the board discussed the possibility of sending East Hampton students to the Ross School for Chinese instruction. Ross requires Mandarin throughout its K-12 program.

    As Mr. Vas approached the podium, Ms. Lowey remarked that “there are like-to-haves and need-to-haves in this budget. You are going to have to cut this budget. It’s not going to stand as is.”

    The disputed items included $10,000 for the Bonac on Board to Wellness, a health and fitness program; $2,000 on school uniforms, and nearly $10,000 on new sports benches, among several others.

    Also at issue was whether or not to continue the driver’s education program. Rather than eliminating it, Ms. Anderson spoke of making it a paid program. “We’re the only school on Long Island to offer it at all,” she said, urging that the board revisit it at a later date. Liz Pucci, a board member, asked that driver’s ed be discussed at next week’s board meeting, “so that parents can hear it.”

    In the coming weeks, two additional workshops are planned for March 21 and April 9. The meetings begin promptly at 6 p.m. in the district office, at the high school on Long Lane.

    Exposing her thoughts through the lyrics of the songs she writes is a “terrifying and beautiful” thing to do, said Sara Hartman, a 17-year old Pierson High School senior, who has just released her first extended-play recording and been accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston.

    Five tracks of her first album were recorded by Cynthia Daniels, an Emmy and Grammy-winning music engineer who runs Monk Music Studios in East Hampton. “That’s when I knew I had something,” Sara said. “It was an honor to work with her.” The album can be heard and purchased on iTunes, and the songs are on Sound Cloud in their entirety.

    Sara began writing music when she was 14, she said in a recent interview, when all she knew was a few chords on the guitar. She learned to play the guitar at Crossroads Music in Amagansett, after beginning there with drums and eventually studying piano, bass, and a little violin too.

    Recently, during the HarborFrost celebration in Sag Harbor, she played the ukelele and sang to an appreciative and apparently mesmerized audience who sat on the floor of the Grenning Gallery. She also performed at a recent fund-raiser for Peconic Public Broadcasting at Guild Hall in East Hampton. But her biggest gig so far was at the Living Room, a club in the city, last winter, she said.

    Sara still plays drums in the high school band and sings in the chorus, and she gives her music teachers, Eric Reynolds and Suzanne Nicoletti, credit for her acceptance at Berklee. They guided and encouraged her through the grueling paperwork and auditions, she said.

    Writing music has helped her to deal with the stress of her teenage years, she said, which not only includes school work and financial concerns, but what was for her an all-too-familiar topic: the separation and divorce of her mother and stepfather, which became final last week. These experiences had become a “part of what I am,” she said. To “sit down and play music” was the way she dealt with life.

    She also expressed gratitude to the crew at Crossroads, whom she called “beautiful people,” noting that Anthony Liberatore, who often plays guitar beside her, allows her to shine without getting in the way.

    There are many other musicians whose talent she says amazes her, and some have graced her first album. They are Joe Delia, who played piano, Klyph Black on bass, Randolph Hudson III on guitars, and James Bernard on drums. Christopher Beroes-Haigis played the cello, and her Pierson High School chorus sang on one track as well. “Cynthia came into the school,” she said, seeming amazed.      

    She has since been working on new songs, which she likes even more than those already recorded, and has been putting rough demos on YouTube. She also has a Reverb-nation page, and a fan page on Facebook.

    Her school achievements have included being the first student from Pierson to be chosen for an all-county jazz ensemble, an experience she loved. The intricate patterns and the experimental, cutting-edge sounds of jazz were enjoyable, she said, and she is excited about doing more of it at Berklee.    

    Unable to win a scholarship to Berklee, Sara said she was going to have to figure out the finances “one year at a time.” And she is hopeful that financial help of some kind will come from the community.

    Charles R. Soriano’s three-month absence from his post as principal of the East Hampton Middle School reached a crescendo in the last week, with anticipation  that he would return to work on Tuesday, following the district’s observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on Monday, and, at the same time, with kind words for Thomas Lamorgese, the interim principal.

    Since Dr. Soriano began an extended medical leave early last fall, purportedly for Lyme disease, Dr. Lamorgese, who is well known in the district, has filled the position. Before retiring in 2011 at the age of 58, he had overseen the middle school and before that was principal of the John M. Marshall Elementary School.

    Since an East Hampton School Board meeting on Jan. 8, when the board unanimously voted to approve an extension of Dr. Soriano’s medical leave through Jan. 18, rumors  concerning his whereabouts have picked up steam.

    “He’s coming back on Tuesday. Friday will be my last day,” Dr. Lamorgese said yesterday morning. “This is his building, and I was only here temporarily.” During his absence, Dr. Lamorgese confirmed that the two have exchanged e-mails. “We’re happy that he’s returning, and we’re looking forward to his return,” said Richard Burns, the district superintendent.

    While Dr. Soriano declined to discuss his leave, he responded by e-mail to The East Hampton Star earlier in the week. Confirming his return on Jan. 22 “pending my doctor’s approval, which I think he will provide,” Dr. Soriano said, “I look very forward to getting back to work.”

    Given the duration of his absence and what some described as a mystery surrounding it, a handful of teachers and parents have speculated that Dr. Soriano may be in the process of filing a lawsuit against the district, which they surmise might be related to a decrease in his salary this year. No one at the district office would confirm or deny such speculation.

    Prior to being appointed principal last summer, Dr. Soriano had been the district’s assistant superintendent for nine years under Raymond Gualtieri, the previous superintendent. According to records compiled by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, Dr. Soriano received a salary of $205,369 from July 1, 2011, until June 30, 2012. From 2008, his salary had gone up by nearly $20,000.  But when Dr. Soriano went from being assistant superintendent to middle school principal, his compensation decreased to $180,000.

    By way of comparison, according to the same database, Dr. Lamorgese was paid $166,985 in 2011. Superintendent Burns’s salary last year was $172,827.

    Asked about Dr. Soriano’s contract, Robert Fullem, deputy general counsel at the School Administrators Association of New York State, said, “By taking a new position, the former assistant superintendent is agreeing to forego the rights he had under the prior contract. There’s nothing forbidding them from entering into a contract at lesser pay.”

    Dr. Soriano earned a doctorate in organizational leadership and education from the University of Pennsylvania. He has an M.A. from Middlebury College, a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross, and a second M.A. in educational leadership from Rutgers University.

    Keith Malsky, the assistant principal of John Marshall who is president of the district administrators union, declined to comment, refusing to say whether a lawsuit had been filed against the district on Dr. Soriano’s behalf. 

    Given Dr. Soriano’s prolonged absence, some expressed concern about the possible need for him to rely on the district’s sick leave bank. However, George Aman, the East Hampton School Board president, dismissed that, saying, “he had plenty of sick days — and could even be covered until the end of the school year if need be.”

    In Dr. Soriano’s absence, several people described his leadership style as cold and aloof, while, anticipating his return, numerous parents have expressed regret at the possibility of seeing Dr. Lamorgese go. Claude Beudert, a special education teacher at the middle school who is vice president of the teachers union, was cautiously optimistic about Dr. Soriano’s return. “If he does come back, it would be a positive thing, because it would mean that the man’s healthy,” he said. “But I hope that he uses the resources in the district to help him do his job — namely the faculty, staff, and the community. It’s really tough to go it alone.”

    “At this point, the parents don’t really know Dr. Soriano very well. We haven’t had the opportunity to work with him much,” Wendy Geehreng, president of the middle school PTA, said. She mentioned that many parents feel particularly comfortable with Dr. Lamorgese because he is a familiar face. 

    One of Dr. Lamorgese’s daily rituals has been to stand outside the school during drop off each morning. With a smile and a nod, he customarily greets every student by first name.

    “His being there has meant a lot, I can’t even begin to tell you,” said Jody Kalafut, a former vice president of the school’s PTA. “They feel so comfortable walking into school. He knows them, he knows their names, their strengths and their weaknesses.”