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Vol. 28 No. 41
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Silver Lake to get $1.75M makeover by cristiNa arroyo roDriGuez carroyo@liherald.com
Cristina Arroyo Rodriguez/Herald
couNty executiVe laura Curran, at lectern, announced a raft of county flood-prevention and resiliency projects on Sept. 28, along with, from left, Sean Sallie, deputy commissioner for planning in the county Department of Public Works; Eileen Meus, executive deputy director for community reconstruction and infrastructure at the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery; State Assemblywoman Judy Griffin; State Sen. Todd Kaminsky; County Legislator Debra Mulé; and D.P. Civil President Brian Doherty.
On Sept. 28 at Silver Lake Park in Baldwin, state and county officials, joined by construction workers, announced the start of more than $20 million in flood-prevention and resiliency projects in the county, including $1.75 million for improvements in Baldwin’s Silver Lake Park, its watershed and the surrounding neighborhood to prevent damage during major storms. The Silver Park Drainage Project involves elevating the
perimeter walkway of the park, installing tidal gates on Silver Lake’s outfalls, constructing a new storm-water treatment device between Lofts Pond and the natural channel of Parsonage Creek, and providing a fish passage to Caroline’s Pond. The project is expected to be completed in 2022. “I’m confident that by building safer, stronger and smarter, we will protect lives, property values, economic development and continue to live on this beautiful island,” said Nassau Continued on page 4
Baldwin school district sets its sights on diversity hiring by cristiNa arroyo roDriGuez carroyo@liherald.com
At the most recent Baldwin Board of Education meeting, trustees voted unanimously to broaden recruitment efforts to hire a more diverse teaching staff and “bring multiple perspectives into the classroom, respect differences and prepare our students to live in a global community.” The board sent a statement to the Herald saying the new policy reflects “an ongoing commitment” to “exposing students to a range of cultures through activities, literatures and experiences.”
Regarding hiring for diversity, the board said, “Not only is it the right thing to do, but providing a more expanded view of the world also provides a better educational experience.” “Diversity and inclusion [are] essential in all endeavors, especially in education,” wrote Lonnie Hart Jr., who took to social media to support the district’s new diversity-hiring goal. “Teachers and administrators should reflect the demographics of the school district they work in.” The Baldwin School District student population is 47 percent Black, 32 percent Hispanic or Latino, 13 percent white, 5 per-
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ot only is it the right thing to do, but providing a more expanded view of the world also provides a better educational experience. boarD oF eDucatioN Baldwin School District
cent Asian or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3 percent
multi-racial. But teachers of color comprise 9 percent of 376 full-time teachers in the district, with 21 Black, nine Hispanic and four Asian-American teachers, according to the latest State Department of Education data. Baldwinite and parent of school-aged children Mark Prevatt viewed the board’s amendments positively, saying, “Long
Island has a long history of discriminatory hiring in education, and we’re only now just beginning to see both an acknowledgement of and direct actions against such practices.” While students of color have doubled in Baldwin over the last 20 years, the number of teachers of color has not, reflecting a Continued on page 13