THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

School Board Shocker: Richard Bernstein Resigns from Board. Applicants Welcomed.

Posted on July 2, 2002 by John Bailey

WPCNR Evening City Star Reporter. July 2, 2002. 1:15 A.M. E.D.T. Richard Bernstein, a two-term member of the Board of Education, announced by letter, his immediate resignation from the School Board Monday evening.

THEN THERE WERE SIX: Michelle Schoenfeld set out only six Board of Education member nameplates Monday evening. Richard Bernstein had announced his resignation.
Photo by WPCNR

At the regular Board of Education Monday evening, Michelle Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board said that,” in a letter to the District Clerk, Mr. Bernstein said his decision was based on time contraints in connection with his job as well as family responsibilities. The resignation takes effect immediately.”

Dorothy Schere, newly elected President of the Board of Education, said there were three avenues for dealing the vacant position. She said the Board could leave the position vacant until the next School Board election, they could hold a new election, or appoint some one to serve until May 20, 2003, when the 2003 School Board election would be held.

Schere said it was the Board’s unanimous decision to appoint a member of the community to complete the term.

Public invited to apply for appointment to seat by July 15

Ms. Schere invited anyone who wishes to be appointed to Mr. Bernstein’s seat to send a letter to Michelle Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board of Education, stating their qualifications or resume by July 15. Schere said the Board would review applications and “begin interviews in late July.

Schere thanked Mr. Bernstein for his time taken to serve on the Board.

The departure of Bernstein leaves a vacant position on the 7-member Board, paving the way for a possible return to the School Board of recently deposed 18-year Board member, Larry Geiger, should he so desire and the Board of Education appoint him, or Stephen Sules, the other Board member defeated in the May 2002 School Board elections. Even Dr. Saul Yanofsky could apply.

Mr. Geiger, Mr. Sules, Dr. Yanofsky, or any other resident of White Plains, wishing to serve should send their letter/resume to Ms. Schoenfeld, Clerk of the Board, 5 Homeside Lane, White Plains, New York 10605 by July 15.

Robbins of South Orange-Maplewood’s Renowned Columbia High, New WPHS Principal.

Posted on July 1, 2002 by John Bailey

WPCNR Evening City Star Reporter. July 1, 2002. 11:30 PM E.D.T.: The Board of Education reorganized Monday evening, and appointed Dr. Christine M. Robbins, currently Principal of the South Orange-Maplewood Columbia High School in New Jersey, to lead White Plains High School, replacing William Colavito.

DR. CHRISTINE M. ROBBINS
First Woman Principal of White Plains High School.
All Photos by WPCNR

Dr. Saul Yanofsky introduced Dr. Robbins to the White Plains community describing her as “the other bookend we’ve been looking for,” as the statuesque and dignified Dr. Robbins sat next to new Superintendent of Schools, Tim Connors, in the front row at Education House Tuesday evening.

Seasoned Savvy Principal

Dr. Yanofsky described her as a new chapter in the district’s history, the first female Principal of White Plains High School, saying, “She survived the typically lengthy White Plains selection process. She comes to us from South Orange-Maplewood High School where she is familiar with the politics of a diverse school district. She has served three different districts, and this is the fourth high school where she has served as principal.”

Familiar with a White Plains High Environment

Yanofsky said Columbia High School where Dr. Robbins now serves, is “so much like White Plains High School,” saying it has “the same degree of diversity and its issues” and is approximately the same size (1,800 students). White Plains High School, as of September, 2001, served 1,763 students.

He described her as bringing to Columbia High School new initiatives, new ways of transitioning students to high school and an innovator in how extra-curricular activities are weaved into the high school environment.

He also expressed admiration for her academic writings, saying, “she is the most published administrator, I’ve ever seen.”

NEW LEADERS IN THE FRONT ROW: Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools to be, left, and Dr. Christine Robbins on right at Monday evening Board of Education meeting. Mr. Connors was brought in midway in the Robbins courtship.

Connors Involved in Hire.

Dr. Yanofsky said that once Dr. Robbins had been selected as a candidate that the School Board “involved Tim Connors midway on in interviews,” including making a site visit at Columbia High.

Dr. Linda Ochser, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources told WPCNR that the new principal had applied to the City School District through the second advertisement for the position placed in the New York Times.

Enjoys a Diverse School.

Dr. Robbins told WPCNR she was familiar with White Plains High School through work with students at Columbia High, working with students of White Plains High School on the Minority Achievement Gap issue.

She said was attracted to the White Plains Principal position, because “I really enjoy a diverse school,” and because of her admiration for Dr. Yanofsky’s achievements in the City School District, involvement in the minority achievement gap issue, and the environment Mr. Colavito, the retiring principal, has created at WPHS.

She said she also wanted to move closer to home, having spent nine years in New Jersey school systems, the last three at Columbia High.

She currently lives in South Orange during the week, and makes her home in Stratford, Connecticut, with her husband, Dr. Donald Robbins, a retired school administrator, who has a position at the University of Bridgeport.

She and her husband are parents of two daughters, Melissa, 25, a graduate of the University of Pittsburg, and Heather, 22, a graduate of the University of Connecticut.

She said she was interested in moving to White Plains.

Respect for Mr. Colavito’s legacy.

WPCNR asked how she planned to begin her transition to WPHS. Dr. Robbins said “I’m going to be supportive of Mr. Colavito’s initiatives, get to know the faculty, administrators, and students.”

Dr. Robbins said she had not known Mr. Connors prior to interviewing at White Plains, but felt he was a very dynamic leader, and looked forward to working with him.

She begins at 515 North Street on July 16.

County Social Services Building Flooded

Posted on July 1, 2002 by John Bailey

WPCNR City Evening Star Reporter. From Westchester County Department of Communications. July 1, 2002. 6:00 PM E.D.T.: A broken water pipe at the Westchester County office building at 112 East Post Road downtown, caused the building to be closed to the public, affecting about 950 employees. County officials said they expect to have the six-floor building reopened Tuesday.
Departments and offices affected were: Social Services, Probation, Mental Health, Consumer, Women, and Youth, Veterans, Section 8 of Planning and the Civil Service Employees Association. Depending on their job responsibilities, some employees were relocated to 150 Grand Street.

Others remained at their regular duties “in the field” or were sent home.

The water pipe into the boiler in the basement of the building apparently burst some time over the weekend, causing about 20 feet of flooding in the basement.

The White Plains Fire Department and the county Department of Public Works responded when the water was discovered Monday morning. Damage is being assessed.

School District Names Dr. Christine M. Robbins to Head WPHS.

Posted on June 30, 2002 by John Bailey

WPCNR NewsReel. From Board of Education. June 30, 2002. 11:00 PM: The Board of Education will be asked to approve the appointment of Dr. Christine M. Robbins to replace William Colavito as Principal of White Plains High School. Dr. Robbins is being offered a three year contract extending to July, 2005.

Dr. Robbins comes to WPHS from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, and the South Orange and Maplewood School District.

An intriguing matchup with White Plains

The District mirrors the White Plains district. It consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school and serves 5,000 students. (White Plains served 6,708 as of September, 2001). The School Budget of South Orange-Maplewood was approximately $56,000,000 in 1997-98, according to the South Orange Village Township, the latest figures WPCNR has been able to obtain. In contrast, the White Plains City School District will spend $126.9 MM in 2002-2003.

Superb reputation.

Columbia High School is one of the top schools in New Jersey in numbers of Merit Scholar Semifinalists, according to information supplied by South Orange Township. The school is home to one of the two students selected from the state of New Jersy to be PresidentialScholars. Columbia also boasts 3 students who recently were given state awards for high scores on Advanced Placement tests.

In 1997, the Columbia High School was chosen a School of Technology Excellence by the American Technology Honor Society.

The school, similar to White Plains High, is strong in music, winning state and national awards. Its Jazz Band performed at the inauguration of former Governor Christine Todd Whitman and with South Orange jazz artist, Thelonious Monk on the NBC Today in New York Show.

Strong in Math

In 2002, four Columbia High students received perfect individual scores on the New Jersey Math League Competition. In the team competition, Columbia placed third in its division among 80 other schools.

Involved in Successful Freshman Transition to High School Program

Most recently, Columbia HIgh School under Dr. Robbins, working with a district-wide committee has developed a program to transition middle school students more successfully to high school.

According to the South Orange& Maplewood Board of Education Meeting Highlights, February, 2002 issue, “based on research, visits to other school districts, and discussions with district staff, committee recommended creating teams or clusters.”

This program was instituted for 50% of the 01-02 Freshman class and “has shown a measure of success” and all 2002-03 Columbia freshmen will be included in the cluster program.

The South Orange-Maplewood cluster program divided half the freshaman into five clusters for three core subjects, language arts, science, and social studies, according to the Highlights report.

The newsletter describes the teachers in the cluster as having “a common planning time in order to share information about students, develop cluster activities, and plan instructional strategies.”

Dr. Robbins obtained a B.S from Pennsylvania State University. The nominee for Principal holds an M.S. from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a EdD from the University of Virginia.