Ellicottville Central School Welcomes Students Back for the 2025-26 School Year
From fresh faces and classroom updates to a new cellphone policy and superintendent search, ECS kicks off the 2025-26 school year with energy, excitement, and community spirit.
By Mark J. Ward, Interim Superintendent
The hallways and classrooms are once again coming to life as our staff is returning to prepare their rooms for the students. This is always a very exciting time of the year for students, parents and our staff! There is a sense of energy and excitement as everyone “gears up” for a new year!
A new year means new goals, new friendships, and new opportunities to grow and build on. Teachers are ready to provide new challenges and opportunities for their students.
All staff will be returning on September 2nd and 3rd for Staff Development, meetings, required training and an opportunity to attend a number of presentations by staff members as well as outside presenters. Some of the sessions are required while others will provide staff members a variety of topics to choose from.
Like any year, there are a number of changes and updates. Here are some updates:
Karl Northrup is our new Board President and Carla Kruszynski is VP.
We will be welcoming a new Biology/Chemistry teacher, Ms. Erin Dunn.
20 room changes and a lot of painting took place over the summer.
Massive number of room changes will take you time to figure out where people are.
Finally, new flashing traffic signs have been installed on Route 219!
Jeff Dineen, a highly valued cleaner, retired.
Juliana O’Connell, an ECS junior, is the District’s first student School Board Member!
We have once again recorded some excellent testing results!
New staff members include: Kim Dickinson-cafeteria worker/cleaner, Kenze Tingue-teacher aide, Rochelle Bish-teacher aide, Cass Wilson-cafeteria worker/teacher aide, Cynthia Carlson-teacher aide.
The new Cellphone Policy will certainly be the biggest change students and staff in grades 6-12 will experience since students will no longer have access to their phones from 8:00am to 3:00pm. Cellphones will be locked in plastic cases that will remain with the students. A special device is needed to unlock the cases.
The 2025-26 school year will also be exciting for everyone, as the Board of Education will be hiring a new superintendent. The search is in the beginning stages with a meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 4th at 5:00pm. This will give parents and community members another opportunity to let the Board know the qualities and characteristics you are looking for in your next leader.
Sports are in full swing as teams are practicing and games are already happening. Our students have many opportunities to choose from as you can see from this list of sports/teams: Boys Soccer w/Franklinville, Girls Soccer, Titan Football w/Franklinville, Girls Volleyball, Titan Cross-Country w/Franklinville, and Titan Cheerleading w/Franklinville.
We want to thank our parents for the encouragement you give at home, which makes such a difference in your child’s success. We are very fortunate to live in a community that values and supports education. Together, we are creating not only strong learners, but also responsible and compassionate citizens. We pride ourselves in developing well rounded students who challenge themselves academically but who will also be good citizens.
As we begin this school year, we want to encourage our students to dream big, stay curious, and believe in their ability to achieve great things. Students, we hope during the year you will be able to enjoy success, build friendships and ask lots of questions! The journey of learning is not always easy, but with some personal toughness, positive attitude, dedication, and support, I am sure our students can handle the challenges they will face.