Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District (BCSD) is a rural fringe central school district located east of the city of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

whose main campus resides in the town of Brunswick in

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

, New York,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The district has two operating school buildings: Tamarac Elementary School (

Pre-K Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool o ...

through 5) and Tamarac Secondary School ( 6 through 12). The district is a member of the Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene

Boards of Cooperative Educational Services The Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES //) is a program of shared educational services provided to school districts by the New York State Legislature. History BOCES owes its origin to a state legislative enactment authorizing the f ...

(BOCES), known a
Questar III
The district was created upon the centralization (consolidation) of fourteen smaller districts in Brunswick, Pittstown, Grafton, and

Poestenkill Poestenkill is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,530 at the 2010 census. The town is southeast of Troy and is centrally located in the county. The town is named after the Poesten Kill, an important stream ...

in 1956 and the high school opened in 1958. The first class graduated in 1960. The district had a combined student body of 1363 during the 2007–2008 school year.

History

The district was created upon the centralization (consolidation) of local schools in 1956. Previously, Brunswick was serviced by twelve smaller districts, each usually made up of one single-room schoolhouse. Of those previous districts, only two of the original buildings exist in their original state.

Pre-centralization

Upon the creation of the government of the Town of Brunswick in April 1807, three commissioners of schools were appointed. Their tasks were to develop schools within the town and offer funding using the Common School Fund, which the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

had set up in 1805 to help cover the costs of public education. In 1812, the Legislature developed a school district system in which each district was self-governing. These districts were typically small by necessity, so that students could walk or ride to school in a reasonable time period each day. At the time, public schools were funded by a combination of population-based state reimbursement, taxes, and tuition paid by parents. In 1867, tuition was abolished, making public education free to all. At that time, attending school was voluntary, but by 1874, it became mandatory for students aged 8 to 14. Enforcement was sometimes difficult though, especially considering the agricultural economy that the area depended upon at the time. By 1945, ten districts in Brunswick had a student population of 313 between first and ninth grades. Due to the added expenses of small districts (in an era becoming increasingly dominated by the automobile) and sometimes crumbling school facilities, the idea of consolidating smaller districts into one larger district (centralization) became a legitimate issue. By 1953, fourteen districts in Brunswick, Grafton, Pittstown, and Poestenkill were proposed for centralization. Eight of the districts were serviced by

one-room schoolhouse One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

s with no running water.

Districts preceding centralization

At the time just preceding centralization, Brunswick was served by twelve districts. District #1 is located at the corner of Menemsha and Lansing Lanes and was commonly known as the Paul Springer School. The original schoolhouse was built in 1885 but burned down in 1970. The district became known as Brunswick Common School District after the Brunswick Central School District centralization. In the 1960s, students from the elementary school (the only building in the district) voted to name the school George Washington School. The district remained independent until merging into

Averill Park Central School District Averill Park Central School District (APCSD) is a suburban and rural fringe public school district located east of the city of Rensselaer in south central Rensselaer County, New York. The district has five operating school buildings: three ...

in 1995.

District #2, known as the Garfield School, is located at the corner of Moonlawn Road and

New York State Route 2 New York State Route 2 (NY 2) is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It extends for from an interchange with Interstate 87 (I-87) and NY 7 in the town of Colonie to the Massachusetts st ...

(Brunswick Road). The school was originally named for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

, who occasionally taught nearby. It was owned by BCSD until the mid-1980s when it was transferred to the Town of Brunswick. It currently houses th
Brunswick Community Library
an
Brunswick Historical Society
and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1988. District #3 was known as the White Church School or the Horace Mann School. Little more information is easily found about the school. District #4, known as the Pleasant Valley School, Rock Hollow School, or Cropseyville School, was located in the Pleasant Valley sector of Cropseyville on Brunswick Rd. This school was built in 1889 as a replacement for two nearby schools: one near the site of this school, and one on South Road. Today the building is a private residence. District #5 was originally serviced by the McKinley School, located on

New York State Route 7 New York State Route 7 (NY 7) is a state highway in New York in the United States. The highway runs from Pennsylvania Route 29 (PA 29) at the Pennsylvania state line south of Binghamton in Broome County, New York, to Ve ...

(Hoosick Road), east of New York State Route 142 (Grange Road), and west of Town Office Road. The building was built around 1872 and the building still stands, housing a local business. The replacement schoolhouse, known as the Lee School, was located at Keyes Lane and Merrill Avenue. It was constructed in 1953 but soon closed due to centralization. It was then sold to the Brunswick Center Fire Department and used as a banquet hall until it was demolished in 1997 to be replaced by a ne
town community center
LittleRedSchoolhouseBrunswick

District #6, most commonly known as the Little Red Schoolhouse, but also sometimes known as the Lincoln School, Brick School, or Rocky Road School, is located at the corner of Buck Road and New York State Route 278 (Brick Church Road). Built around 1830, the building is the oldest standing schoolhouse in Brunswick and is still owned by BCSD. It underwent renovations in the 1970s and received additional refurbishments in the latter half of the 2000s (decade). It was added to

in 2008. District #7, known as the VanArnum School, was located on Grange Road north of Calhoun Drive. The school was closed and sold at public auction in 1953. District #7 was centralized int
Lansingburgh Central School District
District #8, located on Hoosick Road across from Mickle Hill Road, was known as the Haynerville School, most likely named for the hamlet. District #9, known as the Moody School, was located on Dater Hill Road. District #10, located on Brunswick Road, east of St. Mary's Cemetery entrance, was centralized into th
Enlarged City School District of Troy
District #11, called the Sycaway School, was located on the corner of Hoosick Street and Lee Avenue. This district was consolidated into the Enlarged City School District of Troy and is the current site of School 18, one of that district's elementary schools. District #12 was known as the Tamarac School, which is the namesake of the current schools on the main campus. It was located on Camel Hill Road, off Tamarac Road. The school was built in 1864, but collapsed under the weight of snow during the winter of 1994–95.

Centralization

In January 1945, the Town of Brunswick Trustees created a committee charged with gathering facts about school district centralization and reporting back to the community. In late 1945, the committee proposed a plan to the New York State Education Department, which was approved. Unfortunately the plan was out of the scope of a reasonable budget. By late 1950, town residents began commenting on the inadequacies of the then current infrastructure, equipment, and services within their schools. In early 1952, the district superintendent created a committee made up of one member from each school district to reevaluate centralization. By July 1953, the committee was formed and a chairman elected. That August, committee members met with members of the Education Department to discuss school programs and expected expenditures. It is estimated that an average teacher's salary would be $3,750 in 1956. In March 1954, the Centralization Committee produced a pamphlet entitled Digest of Facts to inform the community of the project. In April 1954, a citizens' advisory committee was created, made up of 48 individuals, representing all districts involved in centralization. By August, the committee produced A Partnership in Education pamphlet to be distributed in the area. On October 8, 1956, the citizens' committee voted to centralize and the first Board of Education was elected.

"Brittonkill"

While the official name of the district is that of the encompassing town, the name Brittonkill has been in use since 1956.Minutes of Central School District No. 2 of the Towns of Brunswick, Grafton, Pittstown and Poestenkill. January 12, 1956. Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District Archives The name is a combination of the names of the four main towns served by the district: Brunswick, Pittstown, Grafton, and Poestenkill. The district held a competition in late 1955 to replace its name "Central School District No. 2 of the Towns of Brunswick, Grafton, Pittstown and Poestenkill". First prize was Brittonkill, submitted by Charles Meeson (also the district treasurer at the time); second prize was "Pittwick", a combination of Brunswick and Pittstown, submitted by Sally Parker; and third prize was "Rock Hollow", the name of a hamlet just east of Cropseyville, submitted (coincidentally) by both Cynthia Pope and Susan Kehn.Minutes of Central School District No. 2 of the Towns of Brunswick, Grafton, Pittstown and Poestenkill. December 8, 1955. Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District Archives The Board of Education did not adopt "Brittonkill" on the first attempt, voting four to four on January 12, 1956, and the naming issue was tabled indefinitely on February 9, 1956.Minutes of Central School District No. 2 of the Towns of Brunswick, Grafton, Pittstown and Poestenkill. February 9, 1956. Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District Archives Brittonkill is just a nickname, Brunswick Central School District is their legal name. Website is http://www.brunswickcsd.org. In addition, the Brittonkill Teachers' Association
Brittonkill PTSA
an
Brittonkill Education Foundation
all make use of the name. Media and official references to the district typically use the name Brunswick (as with budget votes and school closings) and sometimes "Brunswick (Brittonkill)", although many times the district is referred to (incorrectly) as Brittonkill Central School District. Sports reports will usually reference the Tamarac Bengals. On rare occasions, the school buildings may incorrectly be referred to as Brittonkill High/Middle/Elementary School.

Geography

The district is bordered b
Hoosic Valley Central School District
an
Hoosick Falls Central School District
to the north; Berlin Central School District to the east;

to the south; an
Enlarged City School District of Troy
an
Lansingburgh Central School District
to the west.

Administration

Board of Education

The Board of Education (BOE) is the authoritative legislative body of the school district. It approves

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

and

funding Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm use ...

; sets committees and district priorities; and approves employment (including the Superintendent) within the district, among other things. The president of the BOE is the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' Chief financial officer of the district and the

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

of the Board. According to official policy:

The Board of Education is a legislative body responsible for the governance of the Brunswick School District in a manner consistent with the laws, rules and regulations of the State of New York and the United States of America... and as a body, is the unit of authority for the School District

Members are

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

by district residents that are registered to

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an Constituency, electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision making, decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election camp ...

. The election takes place on the third Tuesday in May annually. This is the same day as the budget vote. Each year, three board seats are up for election. Board members are not paid for their services to the district. The BOE is made up of nine members, each serving a three-year term; there are no term limits. The current members are Matt Wade (President), Mike Fortun (Vice President), Robert Fitzgerald, Anthony Grab, Jacklyn Lindemann, Margaret McCarthy, Jack Roddey, Leah Wertz, and Judy Wienman.

Superintendent of Schools

The

Superintendent of Schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

is Dr. Angelina Bergin, who began her tenure on July 1, 2013. The Superintendent is the Chief Executive and Administrative Officer of the district, is the official district spokesperson, and has '' ex officio'' membership to all district committees. The Superintendent is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the district in addition to administering policies of the Board. Below is an incomplete list of past superintendents (incomplete in that it only spans back to 1984):

Schools

Tamarac Secondary School (then Tamarac High School) opened in 1958 and the first class graduated in 1960. The building serves grades 6 through 12, has a total staffing of 81.3 (on FTE basis), 685 students, and has kept average class sizes below 25 pupils from 2004 to 2007. There is one building principal and one building assistant principal. TamaracSecondary

The district

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

is located within the Secondary School. This is where graduations, school plays, concerts, and some BOE meetings take place. The auditorium lobby is also a polling place during general elections and budget votes. The Secondary School hosts a state of the art video production studio, allowing students to take part in all aspects of the media production process. Morning announcements are produced live in the studio, hosted by a teacher and student. TamaracElementary

The red "TAMARAC" letters found on the front façade of the building (see image at left) were the class gift of the Class of 2003 Tamarac Elementary School opened in 1965. It currently serves grades

through 5. The building has a total staffing of 55.92 (on FTE basis), 668 students, and has kept average class sizes at or below 22 pupils from 2004 to 2007. There is one building principal. While the latest school report card and NCES records do not mention a Pre-K program, one has been initiated during the 2008–2009 school year on a limited basis.

Student body

Ethnicity

Students during the 2006–2007 school year: *Total Student Body: 1353 (100%) *

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

: 1304 (96%) *

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

: 19 (1%) *

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

: 16 (1%) *

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

: 12 (1%) * American Indian or

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

: 2 (0%)

Grade level

Students during the 2006–2007 school year: *Elementary (K-5): 556 (41.4%) *Middle School (6-8): 326 (24.3%) *High School (9-12): 461 (34.3%) *Class of 2007: 103

Testing scores

Data of passing rates (≥ 65%) for students taking Regents exams in the 2006–2007 school year:

Other statistics

According to reports, more than 90% of the class of 2007 intended on attending either a two-year or four-year

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

after graduating high school, almost half of which planned on attending a four-year institution. The following is additional data for the 2006–2007 school year: *Attendance rate: 96% * Dropout rate: 1% *Annual spending per student: $12,971

Curriculum

The district follows the general curriculum set forth by the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...

of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...

, under the direction of the Commissioner of Education and the New York State Education Department. To graduate, a student must have at least four credits each of English and social studies; three credits each of math and science; two credits each of gym class and foreign language classes; one credit of fine art; and one-half credit of health class. The student must also have at least 22 credits overall and pass a prescribed amount of state tests to receive a

Regents diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

. For all subjects except gym and health, a full-year course is equal to one credit. Each year of gym class is equal to one-half credit and one-half year of health class is equal to the required amount of health credit. In addition, the secondary school offers many electives such as digital photography, media production, studio in art, drawing, painting, band, chorus, choralaires, Latin roots, public speaking, fundamentals of Microsoft Office Suite, in addition to many others. The secondary school offers two AP classes:

AP US History Advanced Placement (AP) United States History (also known as AP U.S. History or APUSH () is a college-level course and examination offered by College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. Course The AP U.S. History course is designed ...

and AP Physics ( B and C). The district's foreign language options include Spanish, French, and Russian. Most of this information can be found in th
High School Curriculum Guide
which is published by the high school Counseling Center. Students have the opportunity to take part in a number of New Visions programs offered by Questar III an
Capital Region BOCES
New Visions programs are higher-level and hands-on learning programs offered to students that apply to take it their senior years and take place at different locations around the

capital district A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...

. Choices include th
New Visions: Math, Engineering, Science, and Technology
program, th

program

program, th

program

program, th
New Visions: Health Services and Special Education
program, the New Visions: Law & Government program, and th
New Visions: Journalism and Media Studies
program. Dependent upon funding, students also have the opportunity to attend the new four-year Tech Valley High School. Even if a student attends Tech Valley High School, the student still receives their diploma from their home school district.

Athletics

All of the athletic teams are known as th
Tamarac Bengals
offers varsity, junior varsity (JV), and modified teams. The varsity team is in Class C and in 2008 had its first winning season in over a decade
Soccer
offers varsity, JV, and modified teams for both boys and girls. The boys' varsity team is in Class B of the Wasaren League and won the sectionals game agains
Cohoes
in 2008, but lost the regionals game t
Plattsburgh
offers varsity, JV, and modified for both boys and girls. For the school's fiftieth anniversary, the athletic department released a list of the top 50 boys' varsity players of all time. Cheerleading is offered both for football and basketball seasons

and girls

both offer varsity and JV teams

offers varsity, JV, and modified teams

is only offered to girls and has varsity, JV, and modified teams. Cross country offers varsity and modified teams and includes many athletes from the track and field team. Recently added was a golf team.

Student organizations

The high school offers a significant number of extracurricular student organizations. One of the major events is the school play. The high school and middle school each have a play on opposite years. In 2008, the high school presented their adaptation of

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

. In addition, the school offers these student organizations:

Infrastructure

Besides the two school buildings on the main campus, the district used to own another school building, Parker School, in Pittstown. The school district sold the school for $69,112 in 2015 to Paul Donnelly. The campus has one main sports field, complete with bleachers, a reporters' box,

concession stand A concession stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, fair, stadium, b ...

, and newly installed storage building. The track that surrounds the main field underwent a significant upgrade in the late 1990s from a small dirt track to a professional

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

. The field is used for both football and soccer. The area is also used for track and field events such as high jump,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

, and

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

. Elsewhere on campus there are three soccer fields, one baseball diamond, two softball diamonds, one outdoor basketball court, and two tennis courts. The district owns and runs its own bussing service. The bus garage is located on Tamarac Road, about one half mile from the main campus. The main campus is serviced by a

trickling filter A trickling filter is a type of wastewater treatment system. It consists of a fixed bed of rocks, coke, gravel, slag, polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat moss, ceramic, or plastic media over which sewage or other wastewater flows downward and c ...

type

wastewater treatment plant Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environmen ...

, which replaced a large septic tank and

leach field Septic drain fields, also called leach fields or leach drains, are subsurface wastewater disposal facilities used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges after anaerobic digestion in a septic tank. Organic materials in ...

in the early 2000s (decade).

Notes and references

External links

Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District WebsiteNew York State Education Department
{{Authority control School districts in New York (state) Education in Capital District (New York) Education in Rensselaer County, New York