Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District

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Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District
"Building on Excellence."
Location
Flag of New York Manlius, New York, USA
Information
Superintendent Dr. Corliss Kaiser
Staff 148
Enrollment

4,771 total
1,577 high school
1,577 middle school
1,617 elementary school
Faculty 352
Type Public Primary and Secondary
Budget $ 69.1 million[1]
Campus Suburban
Athletics 30 NYSPHSAA Section III varsity teams
2 NYSSRA Section III varsity teams[2]
Mascot Hornet
Color(s) Green and White

           
Established 1951
Homepage www.fmschools.org

The Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District (F-M) is a K-12 public school district located in the Town of Manlius in Central New York, enrolling approximately 4,800 students. F-M serves a large portion of the Town of Manlius, including the villages of Manlius and Fayetteville, as well as portions of Jamesville and Pompey. The district is partially funded by and governed under the authority of the New York State Education Department, whose standardized examinations are designed and administered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.

Contents

[edit] District history

[edit] Establishing the district

The F-M School District was established in 1951, when the then independent Fayetteville, Manlius and 11 other smaller districts united. Fayetteville High School and Manlius High School remained separate until [1956] when the Manlius School became the Jr. High (7-8) for the whole district and the Fayetteville school became the High School (9-12). The new Fayetteville-Manlius High School was constructed in Manlius and first opened in 1962. Fayetteville High School was renamed to the current Wellwood Middle School in 1965. Manlius High School became Pleasant Street Elementary, which was closed in 1969, sold and is currently a church and daycare. From the time it was formed until the present, the district has been led by only five superintendents, all of whose remarkable leadership has allowed Fayetteville-Manlius to achieve nationally-recognized successes in academics, athletics, and the arts.[3]

[edit] The oak tree and the hornet

The district offices located directly west of the high school, on Route 173.
The district offices located directly west of the high school, on Route 173.

The oak tree is the symbol of the F-M School District and its heritage. A 200-year old oak stood in front of what is now Wellwood Middle School until it was removed in the 1970s. The characteristics of the tree are reflected in the values, vision, and ambition of Fayetteville-Manlius. The tree is a steadfast, well-grounded, robust and distinguished entity on the natural landscape. The hornet is the school mascot, and also came from the hornets who nested in the great oak tree. A historical narrative is given by former teacher and assistant principal at F-M High School, Mr. Platt Wheeler:

“ On the front lawn of what is now Wellwood was a monster, monster oak tree. It has since been taken down. When it was taken down, Ken Phelps, who was then the Principal of Wellwood, had some of the smaller branches cut up into small parts. Ham King, who was the industrial arts teacher, had them finished off with shellac and so forth, and cut up into round pieces and given to various people who had been in the district for awhile and were aware of everything that went by it. As a result of that oak tree, the name of the yearbook was determined to be Oak Leaves. And, at that time when there was only one junior high, the name of the junior high yearbook was called the Acorn...So, out of the oak tree came oak leaves, hornet's nest, the acorns, the alma mater, class rings, etc. These all reflected as a result of the oak tree. ”
 
— Platt Wheeler[4]

[edit] Notable academic achievement

  • Science Olympiad
    • 2004 National Champions[5]
    • Other National Finishes: 3rd Place, 2005, 4th Place, 2006 & 2007[6][7][8]
    • Six consecutive New York State Championships (2003–2008).[9][10]
  • 2005 gold medal and 2006 blue ribbon, Expansion Management magazine's Education Quotient[11]
  • 1999, 2000, and 2006 GRAMMY Signature School[12]
  • Six-times named one of the American Music Conference's "Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America".[13]
  • The district is consistently honored by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards as having the one of the best high school art programs in the country.[14] In 2006, students from F-M High School received a record number of national awards, including the prestigious National American Vision Award.[15]
  • The state-of-the art observatory and planetarium are some of the only facilities of their kind on a public high school campus.
  • The district consistently exceeds average state and national performances on the SAT. In addition, 99% of F-M students take the exam at least once.[16] Here are the average scores, as of 2005:
    • F-M : 590 Math, 571 Verbal - 1161 Total[17]
    • State : 511 Math, 497 Verbal - 1008 Total[18]
    • National : 520 Math, 508 Verbal - 1028 Total[19]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Demographics

As of the 2005-06 school year, there were 4771 students enrolled in the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District, with an individual grade enrollment low of 301 students in grade three and a high of 421 in grade seven. The racial/ethnic makeup of the student population was 91.0% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 5.6% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1.3% Hispanic. Approximately 1.2% of the population, or 58 students, demonstrated limited English proficiency. Only 0.9% of the student body qualified for a reduced lunch price, and 2.9% were eligible for a free lunch.

There were 352 teachers employed in the school district, which calculates to a student to teacher ratio of approximately 13.55:1, though it is noted that the average ratio in eighth grade, and tenth grade core classes ranged from 19-25 students per teacher.[20]

[edit] Schools

  • Middle Schools (Grades 5-8):
  • Elementary Schools (Grades K-4):
    • Enders Road Elementary School,
      Mrs. Deborah Capri, Principal
      4725 Enders Road
      Manlius, NY 13104
    • Fayetteville Elementary School,
      Ms. Nancy Smith, Principal
      704 South Manlius Street
      Fayetteville, NY 13066
    • Mott Road Elementary School,
      Mrs. Lynnette Bonner, Principal
      7173 Mott Road
      Fayetteville, NY 13066

[edit] Organization

Fayetteville-Manlius' six schools are spread over four separate campuses in the village of Fayetteville and just west of the village of Manlius. Elementary and middle school students attend a particular school based on their residence within the district. Students entering Eagle Hill are typically from Enders Road and a portion of Mott Road, and those entering Wellwood are from Fayetteville Elementary (Fay-El) and the majority of Mott Road. Students from both middle schools go on to the high school.

The district offices, varsity athletic facilities, maintenance facilities, planetarium and observatory are located on the High School campus. The transportation department is located on the Fay-El/Wellwood Campus.

[edit] Administration

Dr. Corliss Kaiser has been Superintendent of Schools since 2005. She replaced Dr. Philip Martin, who retired after 28 years. Her supporting staff includes:

  • Ms. Anita Pisano, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
  • Mr. Jeffrey Gordon, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel
  • Mrs. Lisa Dinneen, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services
  • Mr. Michael Vespi, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services
  • Mr. Russell McCarty, Assistant Superintendent for Building and Grounds
  • Mr. Richard Roy, Director of Athletics
  • Mr. David Brown, District Coordinator of Music
  • Ms. Judy Clarke, Transportation Supervisor
  • Ms. Deb Ritter, Food Services Manager

[edit] Board of Education

Current Board of Education members (with term expiration dates in parentheses) are:

  • Mrs. Elena A. Romano (2010), President
  • Mrs. Barbara A. Black (2010), Co-Vice President
  • Mr. Michael J. Masse (2008), Co-Vice President
  • Mrs. Dawn E. Cottrell (2009)
  • Dr. John J. Cucinotta, M.D. (2008)
  • Mr. David P. Martin (2009)
  • Mrs. Ilene S. F. Mendel (2010)
  • Mrs. Elizabeth A. Primo (2008)
  • Mrs. Susan F. Ryan (2010)

[edit] Athletics

Main article: Fayetteville-Manlius High School#Athletics

F-M Athletics are renowned around the state and the country for competitive superiority, sportsmanship and academic integrity. The district's 32 varsity teams compete in the Colonial Division of the Onondaga High School League (OHSL), Section III of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) [1], and Section III of the New York State Scholastic Rowing Association [2]. Many teams also have modified, freshman and junior varsity components.

Fayetteville-Manlius Sports Teams
Girls: Boys:
**Fall - Cheerleading, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer,

Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball

 **Fall - Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Volleyball
**Winter - Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Indoor Track **Winter - Basketball, Bowling, Ice Hockey, Indoor Track, Swimming, Wrestling
**Spring - Crew, Golf, Lacrosse, Softball, Track **Spring - Baseball, Crew, Lacrosse, Tennis, Track, Polo, Handball, Cricket

In recent years, F-M has made a significant statement on the national stage in running and girl's lacrosse. The district is home to the current national #1 girl's cross country team, who won their second straight Nike Team Nationals competition on December 1, 2007.[21] Additionally, the boy's cross country team finished as high as 2nd in the nation in 2004 and girls lacrosse finished as high as 3rd in the nation in 2005.[22][23] A wide variety of teams claim OHSL and NYSPHSAA Section III championships every year, and the vast majority of teams are honored with NYS Scholar Athlete Awards.

[edit] Alma Mater

F-M's alma mater is a stoic symbol of the district's heritage. It is most commonly sung as a fight song (with the words "fight, fight, fight" appended to the "Truth shall be thy light" line), and is customarily sung at graduation ceremonies. The lyrics are as follows, sung to the tune of Aura Lee:

Guarded by the old oak tree
 Symbol of our goal.
 Steadfast as our pride in thee
 Its strength will write our scroll.

Fayetteville-Manlius
 Truth shall be thy light.
 Pledge we now our loyalty
 To colors Green and White!

Raise we now our voice in song
 To thee a tribute bring.
 Join the ever-growing throng
 Let all who love thee sing!

Fayetteville-Manlius
 Truth shall be thy light.
 Pledge we now our loyalty
 To colors Green and White!

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ FM News, May 2007
  2. ^ F-M Athletics Homepage
  3. ^ District History and Accomplishments
  4. ^ "Historical Perspective" by Platt Wheeler - FM Alumni Website
  5. ^ 2004 Science Olympiad National Results
  6. ^ 2005 Science Olympiad National Results
  7. ^ 2006 Science Olympiad National Results
  8. ^ 2007 Science Olympiad National Results
  9. ^ 2008 NYS Science Olympiad Class C Results
  10. ^ "F-M wins 5th state Science Olympiad" The Post Standard. March 11, 2007.
  11. ^ Education Quotient, Expansion Management
  12. ^ Grammy in the Schools Click on the "Signature Schools" link
  13. ^ American Music Conference's "Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America"
  14. ^ Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
  15. ^ "FM Art Students Receive National Recognition" - FM Art News
  16. ^ Town of Manlius Neighborhood Report. See page 11 for SAT performance.
  17. ^ ibid.
  18. ^ Average NYS SAT Scores, 2005
  19. ^ Average National SAT Scores, 2005
  20. ^ New York State School Report Card: Accountability and Overview Report 2005-06 (PDF). New York State Department of Education. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  21. ^ "Manlius NY 83 repeats, 8 - 9 - 10 - 19 - 37 adds up to record 88-point margin" - Dyestat
  22. ^ 2004 Nike Team Nationals Results F-M listed as "Stotan XC".
  23. ^ 2005 Girls National Coaches/Computer Rankings - LaxPower

[edit] External links