Journal News, Sept. 7^th, 2005.

The Elmsford schools began the year with new academic initiatives — a science curriculum map for kindergarten through eighth grade and a senior research project.

The curriculum map is designed to remove redundancies in the curriculum and give teachers a guide that is user-friendly and aligned with state standards, said Schools Superintendent Carol Franks-Randall.

The research project will allow high school seniors to study a question in depth over the year and present what they have learned to a panel that will include educators.

"It really helps to prepare them for what they're going to be doing in college," said Franks-Randall. "They're going to be working over a longer period of time on projects, and we want to give them an opportunity to begin to hone that skill."