Education

Eric Casale, who was principal of the Springs School for 15 years until his resignation in December, received a settlement worth $300,000 from the district last month following a leave of absence that began in August.

Jeff Nichols, the Sag Harbor School District superintendent, reported Thursday that there is actually evidence of school-related transmission in these two cases — an unusual finding given that that has not been the case in most other school districts on the South Fork.

Costs are rising for retirement plans, Medicare reimbursements for current retirees, and compensation for employees who opt out of the district's health insurance plan, according to Jennifer Buscemi, the school business administrator.

The Montauk School Board took action on Tuesday on two fronts: an ongoing building project that will see its decades-old portable classrooms replaced with new ones, and setting up the potential to use the school as a Covid-19 vaccine distribution site.

The New York Hysterical Society will host another round of comedy classes for children ages 10 to 16 in February through the Southampton Cultural Center.

In collaboration with the John Jermain Memorial Library, the donation allowed the school to buy more than 125 books promoting "a better understanding of people, how others live, and cultures other than our own," said Betty Reynoso, the assistant principal, who co-chairs the school district's diversity and inclusion committee.

The pandemic, the 2020 election, the former President Trump's impeachments, Supreme Court appointments, the Capitol riot -- these events are the kind of stuff that history textbooks are made of. But today's students aren't waiting for it all to be written down before they study it in the classroom. Many are watching and learning as history unfolds before their eyes, often in a controversial way.

The Eastern Long Island Academy of Applied Technology, which is operated by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or BOCES, will have online open house days for high school programs on Wednesday and next Thursday.

Following the big new this week that "high-risk" sports, namely boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and competitive cheerleading, could begin a foreshortened season on Monday, South Fork school districts grappled with whether that was in their students' best interests.

For children residing in the Springs School District who will be 4 years old on or before Dec. 1 this year, registration for the district’s prekindergarten program in the 2021-22 school year is officially open.

High-risk high school sports including wrestling, basketball, and competitive cheerleading can resume again in Suffolk, County Executive Steve Bellone announced Monday. The season will run from Feb. 1 through Feb. 27.

On two Wednesdays in Feburary, the school will offer tests to students and staff who have indicated their willingness. Like many schools, Springs has been plagued by Covid-related disruptions and staff and student quarantines.

East Hampton High's winter sports seasons were still on hold as of this week, the second week in a row that the school's students were learning remotely. "It hurts — they were just getting into a routine, and then were cut off."

East Hampton High School and Middle School will return to their usual hybrid learning plan starting Monday, but the John M. Marshall Elementary School will continue with remote learning through at least Friday, Jan. 29.

The Greater East Hampton Education Foundation has extended the deadline for schools to submit applications for its mini grant program, which provides students with educational opportunities that fall outside school budgets.

The East Hampton School Board on Tuesday formally promoted Adam Fine, the high school's former principal who became assistant superintendent this year, to the role of superintendent for the 2021-22 school year.

Art workshops, nature walks, a reading challenge, and more coming up for babies, kids, and teens.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli last week announced that the state-imposed cap on tax levy increases for schools will be 1.23 percent this year, which heralds the start of public schools' budget discussions for the 2021-22 school year.

Depending on the weather, East Hampton's Little League organization could begin outdoor clinics for 8 through 12-year-old boys and girls at the Pantigo fields in East Hampton this weekend.

The fitness and empowerment sessions for middle school girls will begin a new virtual session on Feb. 1, allowing girls to take part no matter where they live. Parent meetings this week via Zoom will introduce families to the program.

That the leaking roof and the aging kindergarten playground need to be replaced at the Springs School is not new news, but the district's architects on Monday offered updated cost estimates for the two projects, which are slated to start at the end of June.

The months since the pandemic began have seen "almost a 100 percent increase in the student population of the Amagansett School," according to Seth Turner, superintendent of the Amagansett School District.

Several activities for children are coming up.

As school staff, including nurses, therapists, and teachers, lined up to be vaccinated this week, school districts continued to grapple with plans to conduct Covid-19 testing all while trying to not let the virus upend children’s education.

For Guild Hall's 90th anniversary and the centennial of the Village of East Hampton, the 2021 Student Art Festival at Guild Hall will celebrate this area's history and look to an imagined future.

The East Hampton School District will restrict classes to remote-only at the John M. Marshall Elementary School starting Friday, and will extend this week’s virtual instruction at the middle and high schools through next week.

The Sag Harbor School District on Monday unveiled a preliminary plan to begin administering Covid-19 tests to its students and staff members within the next two weeks.

With East Hampton High School reporting 13 active Covid-19 cases this week and the middle school reporting another nine among staff and students, the two schools will switch to fully remote classes next week, the district announced Friday afternoon.

Almost all of Gansett Meadow's 37 units are now occupied, and the actual number of new Amagansett students is lining up with the East Hampton Housing Authority's original projections.

For a new, five-week workshop, Guild Hall has partnered with Loot, a Brooklyn comic book store that holds classes for kids.