BlueStone Press, May 1, 2015 , Page 11

Memoriam

Pot Luck in celebration of

the life of Daniel Tolchin

from previous page

predeceased by her husband, Anthony Wade on Jan. 29,
2011. Flo was a communicant and devoted member of
St. Peter's Church in Rosendale. She was employed as a
secretary at Benedictine Hospital in Kingston for 26 years
until her retirement in 1995. She also worked part-time for
the Town of Rosendale as a deputy clerk. She is survived
by five daughters, Karen Wade Johnson of Rosendale,
Deborah Purvin and her husband, Theodore of Myrtle
Beach, SC, Patricia DeFelicis and her husband, Jerry of
Myrtle Beach, SC, Lynn Mary Waddell and her husband,
John, of High Falls and Kathleen Wade and her husband,
Jeff Decker of Rosendale; two sons, Anthony Wade and
his wife, Debbie of Pleasant Valley and Joseph T. Wade
of Rosendale; three sisters, Marie Beck of Rockford, IL,
Beatrice Pratt of Manalapan, NJ and Joan Pigford of Bath;
brother, William Miskowitz of Colonia, NJ; nine grandchildren, Keebie Edenholm, Lisa McDermott, Dacia Waddell,
Jeffrey Waddell, Melissa DeFelicis, Jerry DeFelicis, Trina
Beer, Angela Wade, Alyson Wade; great-grandchildren,
Brandon McDermott, Connor McDermott, Alexa Rose
DeFelicis, Jerry DeFelicis, Kory James DeFelicis, Landon
Waddell, Liam Beer, Jayden And Mya Melendez; many
nieces and nephews; her loving nurse, Irene Hodder of
Tillson; her Eucharistic Minister, Pat Merck of Tillson; the
Bruderhof Community of Rifton for their kindness and
compassion and many dear friends. She was predeceased
by her son, William Joseph Wade, grandson, Robert
Anthony Waddell, great-grandson, Christopher Huckell,
her son-in-law, Burton Johnson, sister, Dolores Perry and
brothers, Robert J. and Stephen Miskowitz, Jr.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April
21 at St. Peters Church, located at 1017 Keator Avenue
in Rosendale. Burial followed at St. Peters Cemetery in

Tests
from page 1
in-writing, in advance of the assessment, of their intent to
have their child refuse the assessment. He went on to say
if the school did not receive written notification from a
parent/guardian, our procedure was to contact the parent/guardian to confirm.
According to the New York State Allies for Public Education, as of mid-April, over 177,000 students opted out of
taking the ELA test in New York State. This number comes
from 64 percent of state schools giving information.
Agostaro said that these numbers are possibly reflecting the notion that some parents are in opposition to the
way students are tested in general.
The description of the common core is outlined on
corestandards.org. State education chiefs and governors in 48 states came together to develop the Common
Core, a set of clear college- and career-ready standards
for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language
arts/literacy and mathematics. Today, 43 states have
voluntarily adopted and are working to implement the
standards, which are designed to ensure that students
graduating from high school are prepared to take creditbearing introductory courses in two- or four-year college
programs or enter the workforce.
Agostaro said that the nature of the assessments is
more challenging than they were three years ago. A
couple of years ago when the old assessments were given
out by the state, grades 3-8, many of our grade levels were
performing very high, said Agostaro. We were at a 90-95

STONE RIDGEDaniel Tolchin of Boca Raton

Florida, formerly of Stone Ridge died at home on Dec.
11, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. He was 51.
He was born in New York on April
15, 1963 to Harold Tolchin and the
late Christa Tolchin. A resident of
Florida for the last 14 years, he was
employed by Bath Fitters and had
previously worked at Mohonk Mountain House. He enjoyed taking walks
Tolchin
on the beach, playing golf, photography, Lord of the Rings, anything
Rosendale. Arrangements were made under the direction
of Copeland Funeral Home, Inc., located at 162 South Putt
Corners Road New Paltz, NY 12561. Memorial donations
can be made to St. Peter's Church 1017 Keator Avenue
Rosendale, NY 12472.

to do with the history channel and his dog, Irie. In

addition to his father Harold, he is survived by his wife
Devi Podes-Tolchin; his daughter Madison; son Trevor;
granddaughter Kayla Tolchin; his sister Doris Hartman
of Colorado; brothers Louis of West Hurley and brother
Rainer Berbig of Smithtown. A memorial service was
held on the beach in Boca Raton Florida. A Pot Luck
will be held on Saturday, May 16 at Tongore Park in
Stone Ridge from 2 to 5 p.m. to Celebrate Dan's life.
Memorial contributions can be made to assist with
his daughter's college to Devi Podes-Tolchin 1945 NW
4th Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33432.

Jeanette Madera-Dupree

OLIVEBRIDGEJeanette Madera-Dupree died at

home on April 15. She was 54. She was born in the Bronx
on June 8, 1960 to Raphael & Natividad Casanova Madera.
She was a Self-employed Attorney in Hyde Park. She was
married to Timothy J. Dupree. He survives at home. She
was a member of Regina Coeli Church in Hyde Park, Hyde
Park Zoning Board, Hyde Park Democratic Committee,

Board member of the Dutchess County Interfaith Council

and A.A.U.W. Survivors include her sister and husband;
Agnes Madera & Vincent DeRosa of Red Hook; niece,
Caitlyn DeRosa; nephew, Joshua DeRosa; step-children,
Stephanie Dupree, Timothy J. (Melissa) Dupree, Jr., Justin
(Melissa) Dupree and granddaughter, Julia all of Olivebridge. Visitation was held on April 20 at Wm. G. Miller
& Son FH, Inc., located at 371 Hooker Avenue in Poughkeepsie. A Mass Of Christian Burial was held at Regina
Coeli Church, located at 4339 Albany Post Road in Hyde
Park. Burial followed in the family plot in St. Peter's Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to: The Hudson
Valley Food Bank at 195 Hudson Street Cornwall On Hudson, NY 12520 or The family Partnership of Poughkeepsie
at 29N Hamilton Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

percent achievement level. Well, heres the dilemma: The

expectations before the exams are even given, were that
70 percent of our kids wouldnt pass. If I was a teacher
and I was designing an assessment that only 30 percent of
my kids were going to pass, Id have some concerns about
the nature of the assessment.
The common core program isnt a complete bust, however. Agostaro said that the focus on greater reading in
non-fiction and primary resource usage is important. One
of the biggest complaints amongst students is the way
math is being taught. The math is very different from
what I was used to when I was learning and even teaching math, said Agostaro. Its a different approach. Is it
better or not? I think time will tell. Do I agree with the way
assessments are built? Im not strongly supportive, but I
think the jury is still out.
Parents have several viewpoints on the common core
testing system. "My husband and I made the decision
together to opt out our daughter," said Marbletown Elementary School parent Kathie Hikade. "We feel the tests
should not be given to all students, and should not be
used as a way to evaluate teachers. It is our way of saying
'stop this madness'!
Megan Snair, president of the Parent Teacher Association let her child take the test. Although I completely
understand and respect parents decision to "opt out"
their child(ren), personally I felt that I did not have
enough information that would convince me otherwise
that we should refuse the tests for our daughter, she said.
It's a real personal decision. I spoke to many parents and
educators, as well as administrators, and at the end of
the day my husband and I were not prepared to have our

daughter refuse the tests at this time.

The superintendent said that it is important to understand what exactly the students are having trouble
with. Is it that they can't read the questions? Do they not
understand the content? Is it a good question? he said.
At the federal level, schools are expected to reach a participation rate of 95 percent. We are obviously not going
to reach that, said Agostaro.
These numbers could prove troublesome according to
Agostaro. The U.S Department of Education has made it
clear that when a district fails to ensure that students participate in required state assessments, the state education
agency is expected to consider imposing sanctions on the
district -in the most egregious cases- withholding programmatic funds. The state education department also
takes schools who do not meet the required participation numbers and declares them as a School in Need of
Improvement before imposing an improvement plan
which would require the school to set aside financial and
education resources to comply with such a plan according to Agostaro.
Agostaro said that if a student doesnt take a test, then
it doesnt provide the school with the progress of the
student. However he asked, the real question is if the test
is a good one or not. In the long run, students will always
have to take tests. They take them all over the place
whether it be the SATS, the ACTS, whether it be for a civil
service exam or a drivers test. You take a lot of tests. The
question is if it is good testing or not and Im not sure if
Im convinced yet.
For more information, contact Agostaro at 687-2400
ext. 4802 or 4803.

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