On Wednesday, September 18, Borough President Oddo joined with NYC SCA President and CEO Lorraine Grillo, DOE officials, Hungerford School Principal Kristin McHugh, and elected officials for the official groundbreaking of the new four-story 456-seat Hungerford school building for District 75 students on Staten Island.

“Regardless of how this day has started for you,” said Borough President Oddo at the groundbreaking, “at the end of this day please say aloud to your loved ones ‘this was a good day’ because it certainly is. This is the next chapter of the story about a state-of-the-art new school being constructed for Hungerford students and one about the persistence and grit from Kevin Moran, who willed it into existence through sheer determination. The end result will be a new school that will educate future generations of students in a manner they deserve. I am grateful for all those in DOE and the School Construction Authority for making this a reality. To all the parents, families and educators who have advocated and fought for this over the years, thank you as well and congratulations."

The new Richard H. Hungerford School will be located on the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex.

“We are thrilled to be doing this. This is going to be a spectacular school,” said NYC SCA President Lorraine Grillo speaking on the amenities that will be available at the new Hungerford School including: braille signage in every room, elevators on all floors, and wheelchair ramps. The new building will also include hearing loops, a wire that circles a room connected to a sound system which hearing-impaired students can connect to via their hearing aids or cochlear implants.
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Inclusion opportunities will be available for Hungerford School students across the entire Petrides campus.

Other amenities will include: 38 special education classrooms, Rooms for physical, occupational and speech therapy, stationary exercise room, full kitchen complex, library, guidance and medical suites, culinary art room, print/photography room, as well as administrative suite, conference room, teacher work room and parent room. 

Construction began in July on this $78 million investment. The project is expected to be completed for the start of the 2021-2022 school-year.

Photos courtesy of NYC SCA. 

​On Friday, September 13th, Borough President Oddo joined at Borough Hall with the College of Staten Island to celebrate the college athletic program’s recent milestone move to Division II Athletics, from the Division III CUNYAC conference to the Division II East Coast Conference.
 
Athletic Administrators, as well as Cross-Country/Track & Field, Baseball, and Women’s Basketball coaches joined with a select group of their athletes to talk on the importance of this move and what it means for their respective sports.
 
Assemblyman Michael Cusick and Assemblyman Charles Fall attended, and joined with Borough President Oddo in being named Honorary Division II Athletes by CSI.
 
“This is wonderful news for the College of Staten Island. The hard work and dedication of the students, staff, and administrators is evident. I look forward to seeing the success of their programs,” said Borough President Oddo. “I also wanted the record to reflect that I still have all of my NCAA eligibility available. Even at 53, I have game.”
 
CSI’s mascot, Danny the Dolphin, was also be present to celebrate CSI being one-of-two CUNY schools in Division II Athletics, the other being Queens College.
 
Congratulations College of Staten Island!

​Borough President James Oddo is pleased to announce that he is joining with the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation to collect backpacks and school supplies for needy Staten Island families. Donations of brand new children’s backpacks, folders, crayons, markers, non-toxic glue sticks, notebooks, #2 pencils, construction paper, and other new school supplies will be accepted.
 
Items can be left with Borough Hall staff at all of the remaining Sunset Summer Concerts. Donations will also be accepted directly at the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation Office (543 Cary Avenue). Volunteers from the Atlas Foundation will then distribute the items to families in need.
 
The remaining concerts, which begin at 7pm unless otherwise noted, are as follows:
August 1st--Fort Wadsworth (210 New York Avenue), United States Coast Guard Appreciation Night with a special thank you to our Military service members featuring 42nd Division Infantry Band. *6:30PM START TIME*
August 8th--Westerleigh Park (Neal Dow Ave. and Maine Ave.) featuring Julia Gargano and JD & the All Stars
August 15th--Silver Lake Park (Forest Ave. at Haven Esplanade) featuring Cause and the Effects
August 17th--Midland Beach Splaza (Fr. Capodanno Blvd. at Seaview Ave) featuring Vito Picone and the Elegants and guests
August 22nd--Wolfe’s Pond Park (Cornelia Ave. and Chester Ave.) featuring Whiskey Tango Four and Saints in the City
August 29th--TBD Location (rain-out rescheduled concert) featuring Joan Caddell and the Midnight Choir and The Black Ties
 
“I want to thank the Atlas Foundation for collaborating with us again this year on this drive, which will help many young students across the Island,” noted BP Oddo. “My office is happy to be a part of this initiative, and we appreciate all the Staten Islanders who donate to help the less fortunate in our community. For these children, starting off the school year with all the necessary school supplies will set them off on the path towards academic success.”
 
For more information on the drive, call Renee Sarno at (718) 816-2133 or email RSarno@statenislandusa.com. 

​New York State Senator John Liu, Chair of State Committee on NYC Education, and Borough President James Oddo will join together on Monday, June 24th, to hold a school diversity and specialized high school admission community forum on Staten Island. The forum will take place at Labetti Post, 390 Hylan Boulevard, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
 
This community forum, the last is a series of forums in New York City, is an opportunity for parents, teachers, students, alumni and stakeholders to speak about the issue of school diversity and specialized high school admissions.
 
“It is important that Staten Islanders have the opportunity to speak about the issue of school diversity and specialized high school admissions. Please join us for a chance to let your voice be heard,” said Borough President Oddo.
 
For more information, please call (718) 765-6675. To RSVP and to sign up to speak, please fill out the form in the link bit.ly/StatenIslandForum.

Borough President James Oddo will joined with NYC Department of Parks to hold a beach cleanup event in honor of World Oceans Day 2019 on Saturday, June 8th. A call to action was issued for Staten Islanders who are interested in cleaning up our beaches to join us at Conference House Park for a cleanup of the 3.5 miles of shoreline from 10am to 1pm.

104 Staten Islanders volunteered their time to join us, including students from IS 75, Port Richmond HS, Tottenville HS, PS 22, and PS 51. 

Cooling stations and restrooms were available. The cleanup at Conference House Park will featured tables with information from different environmental education groups and City agencies.

Below is video of Deputy Borough President Ed ​Burke showing the tremendous work our volunteers put in.  

Borough President James Oddo is pleased to announce the encouraging results of a Borough Hall-led pilot program that adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the positive impact of exercise on academic achievement.

Borough President Oddo was inspired to pursue physical education reform after reading Dr. John Ratey’s bestselling book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain which presented a critical mass of scientific evidence demonstrating the connection between exercise and brain development. In Spark, Dr. Ratey provided scores of case studies and academic findings that support his conclusion that aerobic exercise is “Miracle-Gro for the brain.”

The opening chapter of Spark details how the Naperville, Illinois school district significantly improved academic performance by transforming physical education classes. After seeing the documented benefits of a shift from sports-based skill development to a focus on cardiovascular fitness in physical education curricula, Borough President Oddo was determined to bring this innovative reform to the students of District 31 on Staten Island. As a first step, our office partnered with Principal Deirdre DeAngelis to pilot a Spark-inspired physical education program at New Dorp High School.

A randomly selected group of nearly one hundred ninth grade students began their early morning physical education class with seven minutes—building to 15 by the end of the school year—of intense aerobic exercise. Borough Hall’s graduate data fellowship program monitored the de-identified academic performance of the students in the pilot class and compared their grades in each marking period to those of their ninth grade peers.

At the end of the school year, Borough Hall’s Public Policy Team reviewed the results. Despite curriculum restrictions which limited aerobic activity to, at most, the first 15 minutes of each physical education class, the pilot found promising indications that students in the Spark pilot were gaining ground, as compared to their peers in the control group.

“Given the potential impact of Spark on the academic performance of public school students—not to mention the ancillary benefits on health, behavior, and personal development—a rigorous evaluation is the logical next step necessary to realize transformative physical education reform,” said Borough President Oddo. “A shift to aerobic exercise, if done right, could contribute to leveling the playing field for all students in New York City schools.”

The results of the study can be viewed here.

Based on the findings from the Borough Hall-led pilot, the Borough President is calling on the de Blasio administration to partner with Borough Hall to launch a large-scale pilot across public schools on Staten Island with full fidelity to the cardiovascular fitness model.

“I applaud Staten Island for applying the science of exercise to bolster student achievement, with measurable, positive results. This is only with 12 minutes of intense exercise three times a week.  It is wonderful to see the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of Borough President Oddo taking it to the next level and wanting to push it even further.  Imagine the possibilities,” said John J. Ratey, MD, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

“(Borough) President Oddo’s study on the potential benefits of vigorous exercise in schools is a fitting exclamation point to National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. The pilot program at New Dorp High School on Staten Island is further evidence that we have only scratched the surface in realizing the power of exercise. To that end, at the direction of President Trump, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is participating in the development of a national strategy to increase youth sports participation and regular physical activity. I thank the Borough President for his leadership on this important issue—and for doing the hard work on the ground to publish these important findings,” said Anthony C. Ferreri, DBA Regional Director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Region II.

“Starting my day observing our ninth grade students engaged in rigorous aerobic activity is exciting, but it is the improvement in the academic data of these students that really makes me a believer in the SPARK experience. So thankful that our school staff and students are always ready to try something new, especially something that can make a difference,” said Deirdre A. DeAngelis, Principal, New Dorp High School.

“In an effort to educate the ninth grade students of the Institute of Health Science, on the importance of physical activity, we have begun to implement the SPARK program to supplement our current physical education curriculum. We have seen an increase in interest from our students in the areas that the SPARK program emphasizes (beating stress and anxiety, improving body and mind, and sharpening thinking skills). The evidence has been undeniable. By implementing this program, we have seen that aerobic physical activity in the morning stimulates the brain and increases maximum academic performance throughout the school day,” said Richard Rucireto, Assistant Principal of Health & Physical Education and Supervisor of the Institute of Health Sciences, New Dorp High School.

Borough President James S. Oddo has announced that he is continuing the Patrick F. Daly Award after reviving it in 2017 in honor of the 26th anniversary of Mr. Daly’s death. This award goes to two educators who exemplify the values of fallen principal Patrick Daly, who was gunned down in Red Hook, Brooklyn while searching for a student who had left the school building 27 years ago.

“I’m grateful to be able to continue this award in honor of fallen principal, Mr. Patrick Daly,” said BP Oddo. “This award gives us a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to his sacrifice and legacy, while also recognizing outstanding educators who have made an impact in our community.”

Anyone who may wish to nominate a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, or principal may do so. The award will be given in Mr. Daly’s memory, honoring his legacy of service to the community, his steadfast commitment to his students, and his leadership.

"My family and I would like to thank the Borough President for continuing to honor my father's legacy, as well Staten Island's many excellent educators, with this award. We look for forward to this year's ceremony and meeting the 2019 honorees,” said Pat Daly, son of the fallen educator.​

Nominations are currently being accepted and will be accepted until July 8th. For full details, please visit www.statenislandusa.com/dalyaward.

On Tuesday, May 21st, Borough President James S. Oddo hosted “A Conversation with the Class of 2019” in the Black Box Theater at Susan Wagner High School.  Students were asked to bring questions about issues on Staten Island that affect them and to come prepared to talk about their own experiences and where they see themselves going in the future for a personal, one-on-one conversation with the Borough President. 
 
Topics that the students were interested focused on asking for advice as to what to expect moving from their close-knit communities into the colleges of their choice and how to deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with that. They gave BP Oddo and his staff ideas about how to communicate with the younger generation to break them out of their shell and be more involved in the community.

“You all have great opportunities ahead of you, and I want you to take advantage of them,” BP Oddo said to the group of students. “I am so impressed by all of you and your passions. I hope you will take your passions and help Staten Island become a better place to live.”
 
Students from Curtis High School, Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning High School, Michael J. Petrides School, Moore Catholic High School, New Dorp High School, Port Richmond High School, St. Joseph Hill Academy, and Susan Wagner High School participated in the conversation.