Serving The Willistons, Albertson, Herricks, Mineola, Roslyn Heights, and Searingtown
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Friday, August 11, 2017
Vol. 66, No. 32
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BACK TO SCHOOL
MINEOLA TO BEGIN VILLAGE HALL UPGRADES
WORK TO CONTINUE ON GOV CONSOLIDATION
PAGES 35-38
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Mineola seeks gender parity in tech classes
ROCKIN’ OUT
School district to require grades 3-7 students to complete coding projects BY N O A H M A N S K A R “Build it, and they will come.â€? That’s the approach Mineola school district oďŹƒcials are taking to achieve gender parity in computer science classes as they work to integrate the subject more deeply into curricula, Superintendent Michael Nagler said. Starting this fall, all thirdthrough seventh-graders will complete three coding projects in dierent subject areas using the kidOYO platform, Nagler said. Students already use kidOYO, which the district introduced in 2015, to complete coding activities on their own. District leaders want to create a bigger “pipelineâ€? of younger students who go on to take advanced computer science courses in high school, Nagler said. Administrators are betting those bigger cohorts will naturally include more girls, who are statistically less likely to pursue computer science jobs.
“That’s the domino theory — that we’re going to have more exposure, we’re going to have more kids interested, more kids not afraid ... to tackle it,â€? Nagler said. The eort in the lower grades complements recent eorts at Mineola High School to bolster computer science studies, said Katie Sheehan, one of the school’s two information technology coordinators. All ninth-graders take a course called “Exploring Computer Science,â€? which teaches basic coding and computer logic. Students can then go on to take Advanced Placement computer science and eventually take college-level courses through the district’s partnership with Queensborough Community College, Sheehan said. The high school is also expanding the use of its fabrication lab, or “fab lab,â€? where students create designs and then program machines such as 3D printers to Continued on Page 58
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MINEOLA MEMORIAL LIBRARY
On July 29, Brady Rymer had kids jumping, dancing, and singing during his concert, sponsored by the Mineola Memorial Library. See story on page 49.
Mineola pauses some tree removal after outcry found some trees turned to stumps. The village is working with The Village of Mineola has engineers and an arborist to detemporarily stopped cutting termine how it can save as many down trees on roads it plans to trees as possible before work repave this year after residents starts on those roads later this
BY N O A H MANSKAR
year, Mayor Scott Strauss said last week. “We don’t take down trees for the sake of taking them down,� Strauss said at last Wednesday’s Village Board meeting. Continued on Page 58
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