The Great Neck Board of Education honored key district contributors to the 2023-2024 school year Thursday night at the board’s final meeting on the academic calendar as well as adding three conference days to observe the holidays of Diwali and Eid.

Included in the acknowledgments were the district’s Shared Decision Making Committee members, a collection of parents, students, teachers and administrators for each school. The committees meet monthly to work collaboratively in achieving goals for its students.

“When I arrived in Great Neck Public Schools, it became very clear to me very quickly that the shared decision-making process was something that was part of the fiber and the fabric of this school district,” Superintendent Kenneth Bossert said. “And the work done at each of our buildings by these committees demonstrates itself in many ways in the wonderful opportunities that are provided to our students each day.”

At the final board meeting of the school year, the representatives for each school’s Shared Decision Making Committee gave its final presentation highlighting its achievements from the year.

Board President Rebecca Sassouni, who has previously served on these committees, said they are a way of finding consensus in the district’s actions and allow for a greater understanding of the various perspectives of both parents and students.

Board Trustee Donna Peirez, who also served on these committees and was a founding member, highlighted that seven of the nine school committees mentioned the word “community” and said it was an important focus amid divisiveness.

“That is so important I feel in these times when community seems to be fractured so much, for us to be building that sense in our children and in our parents and staff,” Peirez said.

Bossert applauded the efforts of these committees in fostering the growth of the whole student through their various initiatives.

“We truly are keeping the whole child in mind when planning our activities,” Bossert said.

Also honored were its student delegates, with upwards of four students chosen to represent their school during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Student delegates attended Board of Education meetings throughout the year with the responsibility of providing reports and presenting topics that concerned their respective school to the board.

Delegates represent the district’s two middle schools, two high schools and its alternative high school.

Also included in the acknowledgments were the district’s United Parent-Teacher Council Executive Board and Parent Teacher Association presidents.

The Board of Education also voted to accept the designation of tenure for 27 district employees. The employees ranged from teachers across nine of its schools to the district’s director of technology.

“Tenure is something to have earned. It is not a right upon entry to the organization,” Bossert said. “These candidates tonight exhibited the outstanding characteristics we look for in a prestigious learning institution. This is how administrators and Boards of Education leave their fingerprints on what happens within the district.”

The tenure class was honored as the first for Bossert, who assumed his role last August.

Bossert applauded the newly tenured employees for earning this professional achievement.

In other news, the board also voted to add three additional superintendent conference days to its calendar next school year to honor Diwali and Eid. One day would be designated for Diwali and two days for Eid.

“These will honor the lived experiences of the families who get to observe those holidays,” Sassouni said.