Pioneer superintendent Ben Halsey has the following greeting for families on the eve of 2019-20:
“Welcome families, friends, and the wonderful communities of Pioneer Central School to the 2019-2020 school year!
“Here we are, once again, in the fall of another school year, preparing our buildings, our curriculum, and our staff to meet student needs with exceptional quality. It is a whirlwind of activity in all our buildings, whether we have physical construction or training of our outstanding staff.
“The team of administration, faculty, and staff are dedicated and driven to have an opening to the school year that will make all of us proud. We have many things to look forward to this coming school year. To name a few, I hope our families note the extensive paving and sidewalk work at Delevan. Smooth and large parking spaces will lead you to newly heated sidewalks to walk into the building.
“In Arcade, although not visible, significant improvements to all the heating and air-conditioning systems will provide better heating and cooling in a far more efficient manner to our students and staff.
“At the middle school, a performing arts suite is being built from scratch. The suite will include large instructional space with top of the line acoustics for band, orchestra, and choir and include small group and individual lesson rooms and offices for our teachers.
“The high school stadium has also had a significant face lift, including a re-surface of the track to be enjoyed by our athletic teams and community.
“Lastly, I am very excited to announce we will be unveiling a new Pioneer Schools App for your phone. This app that will provide all you need to know about what’s happening at Pioneer in one location on your phone.
“With all the ‘new’ developments with the district, I want to stress something ‘old’ and timeless that we are also placing emphasis. Kindness and Acceptance are two traits that stand the test of time. We educate children with new technology, new strategies, new books, and new staff, but the traits of doing it with kindness in our hearts and acceptance of each other must remain as the cornerstone.
“I share this with you and ask that you speak of it with your children, your grandchildren, friends and co-workers. Pioneer will continue striving to create new and exciting opportunities for our students, but we can never do so at the expense of treating everyone with kindness and acceptance. The true benefit of all we provide for our students lies in the fact that we must stand and deliver it with dedication to being kind and accepting. Your support and sharing of this philosophy will be powerful for our district and communities.
“Welcome Back. We can’t wait to see you.”
Benjamin Halsey, Superintendent