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Interscholastic athletics in the Chappaqua Central School District are a component of the physical education program and an integral part of the District’s educational program. The Middle School Modified Sports Program and the Horace Greeley High School Athletics Program represent our commitment to the development of physical fitness, personal health and the competent performance of our students.
This value-building experience is offered to as many students as possible through playing as well as the association with a team. Through athletics, students experience dedication and self-discipline. Making a commitment to a team helps to nurture integrity, pride, loyalty and overall character. Carrying these values throughout life will make our students better global citizens.
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PROGRAM REVIEW
Department Focus
At our June pre-season coaches meeting, we established a department-wide goal around the concept of “respect the game”. “Respect the game” establishes an expectation for coaches’ conduct during practices and games. In order to “respect the game”, coaches need to be prepared every day and ready to provide a positive and meaningful experience for all of the participants on the team, regardless of their role on the team. “Respect the game” speaks to our existing practice involving coaches and athletes communicating with officials and opposing teams. “Respect the game” is about being committed to our teams and programs and giving our absolute best effort throughout the experience. This message was also communicated with athletes during the start of our fall practices, and more importantly, we couldn’t be prouder of the way our coaches and athletes represented themselves, our schools, and our community this season.
Coach Development
As part of an effort to support our coaches’ development, Assistant Superintendent for Leadership Development & Human Resources, Dr. Tony Sinanis, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, Dr. Adam Pease, supported the Athletics Department facilitated a professional development opportunity that framed the demands and challenges coaches will face.
Offerings / Participants / Staffing
This Fall 2019 season, 777 students registered for a sport -- 559 at HG, 113 at BS, and 105 at SB. After tryouts, 663 student-athletes filled roster spots on 27 teams that were overseen by 40 coaches.
Games and Contests
The Fall 2019 season started on August 19th and included 341 contests, with some of our fall teams are still competing. While there are many facets included in the organization of these events such as officials, chaperones, and transportation, the weather also provides many required changes to the schedules. This Fall included 97 rescheduled events and required 358 event chaperones.
Team Highlights
The Fall 2019 season was full of many highlights. As athletic performance can most easily be evaluated by wins and loses, we celebrated many victories this season including a girls soccer undefeated home record, an undefeated girls swimming and diving season, and an undefeated season and Section 1 Championship in field hockey.
Some of our other teams’ successes can be measured in ways other than what was displayed on a scoreboard. As some of our teams are still competing, not all records are finalized at this time, however, the Fall 2019 season overall provided our teams with accolades and valuable lessons that will prove beneficial to students for years to come.
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NEW INITIATIVES
Website Redesign
As part of the continued focus of the athletic department to continually improve communication, this summer we launched our new website. In addition to providing access to information needed by parents and athletes, the new site provides options that allow coaches to sync information such as scores and rosters.
New Registration Portal
For a number of years, the athletic department has utilized the R-School today scheduling program as a secondary software management system for contests, games, transportation, and chaperones. This summer, we shifted away from FamilyID to streamline our programs into one user interface. Our scheduling system now also includes the registration portal used by parents to register their children for athletic teams. We have found many advantages of utilizing one system for all of our needs as parents and coaches are becoming more familiar with the program. With all of the information gathered in one place, the system also works in conjunction with our new website allowing for instantaneous updates. The shared benefits of our experience have led Section 1 Athletics to consider switching to this same platform, which would then offer us additional benefits when working with other schools.
Greeley Pressbox
As a means of including as many students as possible into our athletic community, we have created a new student club known as the “Greeley Pressbox”. The club is designed to allow students the opportunity to be a part of our athletic department in ways other than participation in a sport.
The club helps develop podcasts (which have their own section on our new website) and make announcements during games. The group is optimistic about the possibility of establishing other opportunities that can also support the department and student body as a whole.
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ATHLETICS STRATEGIC COHERENCE PLAN COMMITTEE
Since 2017, the District has collaborated with Jonathan Costa, Assistant Executive Director of EdAdvance, to shape the strategic coherence planning process that has resulted in a focused and aligned community vision of student success beyond school.
The first step was to have a team of students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators, and Board of Education members build a consensus regarding the critical skills and attributes -- Profile of a Greeley Graduate -- that we, as a school community, believe are most essential to future accomplishment, and to then use them to guide the District’s planning and decision making.
Now, the Athletics Department has begun work with Jonathan Costa to develop a Strategic Coherence Plan for the Athletics Department that further aligns with the District.
Following a similar design for process goals and overview, the committee has developed the following:
Planning Process Goals and Overview
- Lead a representative constituent group of administrators, teachers, students, and community members through a data-based review of current Athletics Department goals, measures, and practices for the purpose of ensuring purposeful alignment with Chappaqua Central School District goals.
- Build consensus and commitment to a focused and aligned department purpose capable of guiding decision making, programming and resource allocations.
- Engage the broader Chappaqua community in an interactive process designed to ensure that the results of the department’s plan are reflective of Chappaqua’s values and aspirations for their students and school system.
- Compile the results of this exercise into a narrative plan that describes the process used and the outcomes reached so that they can be effectively communicated to all members of the Chappaqua Central School District community.
Department Purpose
Our Athletics Department fosters and reinforces the mission of the Chappaqua Central School District, which is to create a community for learning where students, families, and staff are joined in the pursuit of athletic excellence, personal growth, and teamwork. We seek to develop each student's full potential through involvement in interscholastic and intramural athletic programs led by a dedicated coaching staff. We promote values, practices and character traits essential to personal development and success in life beyond school.
To fulfill this purpose, we must:
- Welcome every student’s involvement in the program.
- Value perseverance, commitment, and hard work.
- Demonstrate sportsmanship, respect, and community spirit.
- Embrace healthy competition.
- Support every student’s social and emotional development and their ability to self-advocate.
- Communicate expectations and responsibilities of students, families and staff.
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On September 25th, the Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education appointed Mr. Brad Gitlin as a .5 Physical Education Teacher and .5 Assistant Director of Athletics at Horace Greeley High School, beginning October 28, 2019.
Prior to joining Chappaqua, Mr. Gitlin served as the Director of Physical Education, Health and Athletics for the East Ramapo Central School District; he has also worked with the New York City Department of Education as a physical education and health teacher and an instructional coach. While with the NYCDOE, he implemented standards-based physical education lessons in accordance with NYS Learning and Performance Standards, wrote and aligned all lessons to learning standards, and developed workshops for the Danielson Framework and a new scope and sequence for the physical education experience. In addition, Mr. Gitlin introduced new learning opportunities for both students and staff such as Jump Rope for Heart, Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon, Move to Improve classroom curriculum, and Wellness in the Schools nutrition program.
"Brad will be a tremendous asset and resource for both our athletics community and teaching staff," said Dr. Christine Ackerman, Superintendent of Schools. "His extensive experience as a classroom teacher, coach at the varsity and middle school levels, and service in school leadership roles will enable him to provide a progressive approach to educating the whole child."
Mr. Gitlin earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education from Hofstra University, holds a Master of Science Degree in School District Leadership from Touro College and received his School Building Leader Certificate from the New York State Education Department. He is also certified by the American Red Cross in the use of an AED, administering CPR and First Aid, and has over 10 years of experience in volunteer fire service as a Level I firefighter, lieutenant, and captain.
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CCSD Athletics Department Roles & Responsibilities
Middle and high school students are demonstrating a growing interest in participating in sports, and we are seeing an increase in the use of District fields by residents and Town programs. To better serve students and the community, the CCSD Athletics Department has recently added some new personnel and redefined some roles and responsibilities.
The following is a partial listing of key changes to CCSD Athletics Department leadership and overall program:
Jason Semo - Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education
- Supervise Athletics Program
- Program Development & Budgeting
- K-12 Physical Education and Health Curriculum Alignment
- Teacher / Coach Hiring, Observations, and Evaluations
- Player Discipline
- Strategic Plan Development
- Sports Boosters Liaison
- Senior Awards Dinner
- Building & Grounds / Custodial Staff Coordination
Brad Gitlin - Assistant Director of Athletics (.5)
- Oversight and Support of Middle School Modified program
- Oversight and Support of Off-Campus JV / Varsity Programs
- Homecoming
- Signing Ceremonies
- Mentoring New Coaches
- Website Management
- Physical Education Teacher (.5)
- Equipment / Supplies / Inventory
Steve McLees - Athletics Coordinator
- Athletic Trainer / Strength & Conditioning
- Chaperone Assignments
- Facilities Coordination
- Scorevision (electronic scoreboards) Management
Rachel Marino - Athletic Trainer
- Athletic Trainer
- Coaching Certification for First Aid/CPR
- Facilities Coordination
- Scorevision (electronic scoreboards) Management
Diane Lugo - Secretary for the Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education
- Day-to-Day Athletics Office Operations
- Team Scheduling
- Team Transportation
- Online Registration System Support
- NYS Data Reporting
- Maintenance and Facilities Requests
Jennifer Troup – Office Assistant for the Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education​
- Community Use of Athletics Facilities Calendar
- Billing for All CCSD Facilities Use
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