The Newburgh Enlarged City School District (NECSD) celebrated the start of the new school year with its annual Ring the Bell Ceremony. This event celebrates community members who have had a positive impact on our children and community, and welcomes students to a new school year.

Led by Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jackielyn Manning Campbell, executive cabinet members, Board of Trustee members, school building leaders, and the ceremony honorees gathered at the Meadow Hill School Little Red Schoolhouse to Ring in the 2024-2025 school year.

This year, the ceremony recognized ambassadors for literacy who have worked diligently to improve literacy in our community, as we work toward educating every Goldback, every day. These people act as role models, instilling access to literacy and a love for reading that goes beyond our classrooms, expanding our wildest imaginations. Our special guests helped us symbolically ring in this new year.

The ceremony recognized the following individuals for their efforts:

Student representatives who participated in our Spelling Bee competition this year, Ella Donnelly, Aiden Perry, and Priscilla Sobari. These scholars earned high marks on their written spelling test for their grade level, advancing them to a live competition. We are proud of their efforts, their leadership, and for positively representing their school in our inaugural district-wide Spelling Bee competition.

Ms. Amanda O’Neill is a library at Newburgh Free Academy Main Campus and works with the leaders of our various student councils. Ms. O’Neill champions NFA’s monthly book club, of which I am a part. She advocates for access to a wide variety of topics that are important for today’s children during a critical time between childhood and young adulthood. She is dedicated to giving our scholars a voice in selecting the books they read each month. And she encourages in-depth dialogue about each book. We are thankful for her dedication to literacy for our high school scholars.

Ms. Stephanie Montesanto, Head of Youth Services for the Newburgh Free Library, and Ms. Donna Rickey who is the book sale committee chair of the Friends of the Library. Ms. Montesanto coordinates creative opportunities to introduce literacy and a love of reading to the youngest members of our community while Ms. Rickey encourages a sense of community through reading as a volunteer with the Friends of the Newburgh Free Library organization. Together, they have been advocates for access to books that engage readers of all ages.

Ms. Allison Roberts works as an Instructional Coach at Vails Gate STEAM Academy and was extremely influential in helping Vails Gate improve their outcomes to become a school in good standing by New York State standards. Ms. Roberts is a dedicated professional who works to inspire her colleagues and increase their capacity to help our scholars learn and grow each and every day.

Our Family and Community Engagement team are individuals who support the academic goals of our scholars by engaging and supporting our families. Through spearheading successful events, facilitating direct connections between our families and their schools, communicating with our families in ways they are comfortable, and supporting our scholars to reach their potential. This team is led by our Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Access, Dr. Natasha Freeman-Mack and comprised of: Ms. Pamela Peterson, Ms. Leeola Williams, Ms. Laura Vega, Ms. Mayra Araujo, Mr. Antony Roncal, Mr. Bill Morgan, Ms. Kori Rogers, and Ms. Maria Vega.

Ms. Mariya Pushkanster, Director of Middle Level Education. Mariya’s enthusiasm for the achievement of our scholars and her willingness to volunteer her time to support our events is an asset to the success we had last year. Her dedication, attention to detail, and willingness to be a part of multiple programs that will help our scholars grow academically are essential to our team.

Dr. Manning Campbell concluded the ceremony by giving the bell one last ring and thanking all of the attendees and honorees who work tirelessly to support Every Goldback, Every Day.

All photos from the day can be found by clicking this link.