Brushton-Moira Central School District
758 County Route 7
Brushton, New York 12916
518-529-8948
Robin A. Jones, Superintendent of Schools

THE DISTRICT

The Brushton-Moira Central School District provides a public education to approximately 900 students from the towns of Bangor, Brandon, Brasher, Dickinson, Lawrence, and Moira. It encompasses an area of about 109 square miles with a population of approximately 2,500 residents.  The district was awarded a Pathfinder Award from the NYS Business Council for improvement on Grade 4 State Assessments in 2001, and was named Most Improved School by the State Education Department due to improvement in Grade 4 Mathematics Assessment results.

The Board of Education is committed to maintaining a comprehensive educational program for all of its students. The school district has a full range of educational, athletic and co-curricular activities which provide ample opportunities for students to express their interest. Since the Fall of 2002, students have been housed in one facility that has been expanded and renovated to provide for an effective educational program.

The Brushton-Moira Central School District is committed to educational excellence. One of the initiatives which the district has undertaken to improve student achievement is implementing the "consultant teacher" model. This model is an inclusionary form of instruction whereby special education teachers provide services in the regular education classroom. Thus all students receive extra assistance while maintaining students with disabilities within the least restrictive environment.

Initiatives in technology have resulted in teachers and students having access to computer resources through fiber optic connectivity. Four labs provide students with computer assisted instruction and internet accessibility. In addition, the district's libraries have been designated as "Electronic Doorways" by the State Education Department, providing our students and faculty in the high school with fully automated library services.   The district is also a member of a BOCES Consortium under the Title IID Competitive Grant focused on the improvement of Mathematics, Grades 5-8.

Brushton-Moira Central is proud of its partnership with Cool Brands Dairy, Inc., North Lawrence, N.Y.  The partnership joins resources and efforts in promoting educational activities in accord with the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), School-to-Work initiatives and our district's Exit Performance Standards.  In March 2004, the District was awarded the Reading First Grant.

The referral process at Brushton-Moira Central has recently been restructured to a "Tier Approach" by focusing on school wide prevention, early identification of children with learning problems and the timely implementation of intervention services.   The 3-Tiered Approach includes the Reading First Grant at Tier I, providing scientifically based high quality reading instruction at the K-3 levels.  The on-going assessing requirements of the grant provide a wealth of testing data to identify children at-risk.  These children are then referred to interventions at the Tier II level, including small group instruction and an intervention program through the Open Court Reading Series.  The student may also be referred to the Instructional Support Team (IST) where individual interventions may be made through the teacher-driven support plan.  This intervention would be continued until the student has acquired the skills commensurate with his/her peers at grade level.  If he/she is not making adequate progress, another intervention would be tried.  The child who is not responding to intervention is the child who is then referred to the Committee on Special Education, Tier III, for further evaluation and recommendations.  This level of service is delivered by certified special education teachers.

During 2003-2004, the district's teachers began a project to develop curriculum guides in all disciplines.  Curriculum maps have been created in many disciplines and additional steps will be taken in coming years to align maps with NYS Core Curricula to establish Essential Vocabulary at each grade level, and to develop Hidden Skills for Academic Literacy.

Brushton-Moira is a component member of the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton Board of Cooperative Educational Services. The district receives a variety of specialized shared services from the BOCES including occupational education, educational programs for children with special needs, itinerant services, performing arts, computer services and other support and management services.

THE COMMUNITY

The Brushton-Moira Central School District is located in the northern part of Franklin County. The school district is situated in a rural setting lying between the St. Lawrence Valley and the Adirondack Mountains. The area is largely agricultural with dairying being the main industry.

Various specialized services on a county and regional level are available to residents of the district. Numerous colleges are within easy commuting distances. Out-of-doors recreation opportunities abound in the immediate vicinity and in the nearby Adirondack Mountains; particularly hunting, fishing, golfing, skiing and all outdoor winter and summer sports. The Canadian capital of Ottawa and Montreal are both within one and one-half hours driving time from the district.