HARLEM VALLEY — Responding to their school district’s state-issued “report cards,” local superintendents attempted to put the results in perspective.First, all three superintendents pointed out that the 2009-10 report cards are the first to use a new system of standards for the math and English tests.Test results were broken up into four levels, Level 1 being the lowest and Level 4 the highest. Levels 3 and 4 are considered passing. This year, the ranges for each level on the math and English tests were adjusted so that students would have to earn higher test scores to be classified as Level 3 or 4.Millbrook Superintendent Lloyd Jaeger pointed out that the reason for the change was that the previous definition of levels did not accurately indicate the future success of students on New York State Regents exams in these subjects. The levels on the science tests were not changed as they seemed to be more accurate.“There were more 3s that actually were 2s that needed improvement. The logic behind the shift was to raise expectations,” said Jaeger.The change is evident in the report card assessment results. The percentage of students testing at Levels 3 and 4 in math and English dropped considerably for the North East (Webutuck), Pine Plains and Millbrook school districts.The changed standards also had an impact on statewide results. An extreme example of this is the statewide seventh-grade English results. In 2008-09, 80 percent of students were at Levels 3 or 4, while in 2009-10, only 50 percent were at that level.The science results were consistent with previous years, with all of the local district schools scoring higher than the state average.At Webutuck, Superintendent Steven Schoonmaker included a breakdown of the scores in the district’s weekly newsletter. His report compared the mean scores during the last two years rather than the percentage of students in Levels 3 and 4, which he said he feels is a more accurate way of comparing results.“I don’t want anyone to think that either I or we are satisfied with the results,” Schoonmaker said. Webutuck tested below the state average in eight of 16 categories. “But I think [comparing the mean scores] doesn’t show as big of a gap statistically.”Pine Plains tested below the state results in eight of 16 categories, but Superintendent Linda Kaumeyer said she felt that it was a positive report card, pointing out that the district had achieved accountability in all categories (Webutuck did as well) and that comparing districts was often an “apples to oranges” situation.“Often the media like to compare district to district,” she said, “and I understand that it’s information the public wants to know. But in order to get a true picture, this is just one piece of the puzzle.”Millbrook scored higher, sometimes by substantial margins, than the state average in all categories except for seventh-grade math.Schoonmaker was blunt with his opinion of the report cards.“District report cards are not particularly helpful,” he said. “They generate what I like to call political data, which is designed to justify the expenditure of money rather than improve student performance. What really is valuable is not the report card but the item analysis we can take from the individual tests.” Jaeger of Millbrook agreed and said that departmental meetings have been held to discuss not only the overall grade results, but also those of individual students.Both Pine Plains and Webutuck conduct their own testing at different points throughout the year, and both superintendents said that the data on the report cards do not come as a surprise to the district.“If anything, the report cards are less helpful [than Webutuck’s own testing] because you get it once at the end of the year,” Schoonmaker said. “At that point, the grade is already over. But what we’ve done is bench-marked assessments to drive our own academic intervention services.”The shared goal, Kaumeyer stressed, was the education of students.“The bottom line is we’re constantly working hard to assist students to raise the bar as high as they can,” Kaumeyer said. “The New York State District Report Card creates a measure by which educators and the public can compare district to district because everyone’s taking the same test. But it’s really just a snapshot of that point in time.”Kaumeyer said that rather than comparing, for example, the scores of eighth-grade math in 2009-10 to the scores from eighth-grade math in 2008-09, it is more accurate to compare the scores of a particular class of students as they rise through the grade levels.“It’s a concept of measuring growth over time,” she said.Schoonmaker disagreed, saying the seventh- and eighth-grade tests are different. Jaeger observed that all of the area school districts are small and that the performance, high or low, or just a few students can skew results.School districts are given a much more detailed breakdown of each of the tests before a simplified version is released on the state education department’s website for public consumption. “From there, we can see what subjects are strong or weak and even break it down to individual students, classes or instructors, in terms of identifying the best,” Jaeger said. “We’re interested in identifying successful teachers so ones who are struggling can replicate that success.”The New York State District Report Cards can be viewed, in their entirety, at www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/reportcard.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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