What if we told you that you could travel to Paris this summer? What if you could finally achieve your dream of becoming an astronaut? What if you had the opportunity to travel back in time to the 1890s or 1960s? Well, you can. Just pick up a book.
Some of our school districts already require students to read one or multiple books over the summer. We commend those districts and think others should follow suit and implement their own summer reading programs in the future.
Summer learning loss, or the summer slide, is real — but we can prevent it. This is more important than ever before as students are being held to a higher standard.
We’ve heard the argument from parents that summer break should be just that — a break — and mandating a child to read a book defeats that purpose. We disagree.
Instilling the value of reading into our lives and those of our children is important. Reading stirs the imagination, helps you think critically and makes you a lifelong learner.
While reading may be difficult for some kids and others may just not like it, there is a book for everybody — or at least an educational magazine — and there are so many places to find them.
Visit your local library to find summer reading programs for kids and adults. Go online and download an eBook. At the bare minimum, try out Audible and listen to an audiobook.
We urge everyone to turn off the video games, get off the computer and escape for a few minutes in the pages of a book. Relax — you will be OK and you may even find it fun.
In the time-honored tradition of required reading, we end with a quote from Betty Smith’s 1943 classic, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”
Graduates file in at Thursday's ceremony. Photo by Phil Corso
Kings Park High School seniors cherish their final moments as students at the school. Photo by Phil Corso
Parents rush to snap photos of their beloved graduates. Photo by Phil Corso
Kings Park grads gear up for their big day. Photo by Phil Corso
Kings Park Board of Education President Tom Locascio and Superintendent Timothy Eagen listen to student remarks at the graduation ceremony. Photo by Phil Corso
Student Council Treasurer Alan Ma introduces the guests at Thursday's Kings Park graduation. Photo by Phil Corso
Kings Park salutatorian Justin Barish speaks at Thursday's graduation ceremony. Photo by Phil Corso
Valedictorian Zachary Marcone delivers his remarks to the graduating class. Photo by Phil Corso
Valedictorian Zachary Marcone has his speech flown in for him via drone. Photo by Phil Corso
A proud Kings Park graduate receives his diploma.
Kings Park High School grads toss their caps into the air. Photo by Phil Corso
Kings Park School District administrators stand, along with the high school's official robot, before the graduation ceremony begins. Photo by Phil Corso
Kings Park High School said goodbye to its 2015 graduating class on Thursday night as students flanked the football field in the company of flocks of excited family members.
The men were donned in red caps and gowns while their women counterparts sported white and they sat in alternating order, properly decorating the school field in Kingsmen colors before their final sendoff. Class valedictorian Zachary Marcone and salutatorian Justin Barish were two of several students to step up and deliver encouraging remarks before the students shook hands and grasped their high school diplomas.
“You must strike a balance in life,” said Marcone, who had his speech flown in via air drone to symbolize the possibilities the future holds. “Everything you do in life must be balanced.”
Principal Lino E. Bracco said 91 percent of Kings Park High School grads were off to college next year and wished the graduating class well before the two-hour ceremony concluded.
Zachary Leach collects his diploma and walks off the stage on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford.
More graduates enter the stadium on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
The Class of 2015 walks into the stadium at Smithtown High School West on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
Superintendent of Schools Dr. James J. Grossane read a passage from “All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten” on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
Class Co-Presidnets Cameron Daleo and Ian Lesnick took a Class of 2015 selfie on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
Students decorated their caps for graduation on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
Jacqueline Dominger receives her diploma on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
Emily Seymour smiles as she walks off stage with her diploma on Wednesday June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
Claire Desio shakes the Superintendent’s hand as she collects her diploma on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
The newly graduated seniors throw their caps in the air in celebration on Wednesday, June 24. Photo by Rachel Siford
By Rachel Siford
Smithtown High School West had their commencement ceremony on Wednesday, June 24 at 5 p.m. and this year was special because they were celebrating 100 years of Smithtown graduates.
There were 433 seniors graduating this year. Superintendent of Schools Dr. James J. Grossane delivered a speech, quoting from “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” by Robert Fulghum, reminding students the importance of “holding hands and sticking together.”
Principle John Coady also said a few words, followed by Rebecca Cheng, the honorary speaker, who encouraged her fellow classmates to be the best they can be and to make a difference in the world. Co-class Presidents Cameron Daleo and Ian Lesnick concluded the speeches with a walk down memory lane, reminiscing on the good and bad times of getting through high school.
Education advocates march into the office of state Sen. John Flanagan on Thursday calling for the passage of the New York State Dream Act. Photo by Phil Corso
The Smithtown office of state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) had a line going out the door last week as advocates called on him and his fellow lawmakers to pass the New York State Dream Act before legislative session ended.
Dream Act advocates congregate outside Sen. John Flanagan’s office Thursday in prayer. Photo by Phil Corso
Various faith leaders from congregations across Long Island gathered in prayer outside Flanagan’s office on Thursday with hopes of nudging the recently appointed Senate majority leader to help pass the Dream Act before session ended June 17. The advocates held up signs in protest of the state’s sluggish pace in making the legislation a reality for the nearly 146,000 undocumented immigrants across New York who graduated from public high schools but are unable to access federally-funded financial aid for college.
The bill, which has passed in the Assembly in February by a vote of 87-45, would open up state aid for the students.
Peggy Fort, a retired teacher and social justice chair of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook, stood in the crowd outside Flanagan’s office Thursday and said the state had to act before thousands of up-and-coming immigrant children are locked out of the higher education process.
“Allowing our New York State ‘dreamers’ who are full of courage, creativity and intellect to access funding for higher education is a way of ensuring the future of New York State,” she said. “It makes absolutely no sense to continue this policy of no action. But I think we will be able to turn that around.”
A June 2015 report from the Fiscal Policy Institute found there were 526,000 immigrants living on Long Island, making up 18 percent of the population and 20 percent of the economic output. Of those immigrants, almost 100,000 are undocumented — about half living in Suffolk County and half in Nassau.
Sister Rosalie Carven delivers petitions to state Sen. John Flanagan’s Chief of Staff Ray Bernardo on Thursday. Photo by Phil Corso
Victoria Daza, of workers advocacy group Long Island Jobs with Justice, said Flanagan was an ideal Long Island lawmaker to head up the Dream Act push, as his North Shore district encompasses educational hubs Stony Brook University and Suffolk County Community College. Daza said it was unacceptable that Flanagan has yet to publicly support the legislation in the four years since it was first introduced, leaving students to foot their full college bill with each passing year.
“The Dream Act cannot wait,” she said. “Education is a human right and these kids should not be excluded.”
Flanagan’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Soon after a short prayer vigil outside, the throng of advocates marched into Flanagan’s office along with more than 100 petition signatures. Sister Rosalie Carven, a social justice coordinator with the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood, walked into the office with conviction before handing over the paperwork and asking Flanagan Chief of Staff Ray Bernardo to deliver their message.
“It can’t stop here. Everyone here is an advocate for the passage of this,” she said. “The time is now. The job has to get done. It’s discriminatory to keep kids out of higher education.”
MaryEllen Elia succeeds John B. King Jr. as the state’s next education commissioner. Photo from state education department
MaryEllen Elia, a former Florida superintendent, will succeed John B. King Jr., as New York’s next education commissioner and local education leaders across the North Shore are anxiously waiting to see if she’ll pass the test.
The New York State Board of Regents formed a seven-member search committee in January to find a replacement for King, who announced he was leaving his seat after accepting a federal senior advisor position to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
For a decade, Elia served as the superintendent of Hillsborough County, Florida, and was named state Superintendent of the Year in 2015. She is credited with much success in Hillsborough, as her district won $100 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help develop a teacher evaluation system that used student standardized test scores as a key factor.
The system, Empowering Effective Teachers, received national praise from Duncan and the American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who stated in a press release the system provides extensive support for teachers and pay structure incentivizes teachers to take on more challenging positions.
Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said in a press release that Elia has a remarkable record of working collaboratively with parents, students and teachers to get things done, which was crucial to make sure the implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards went smoothly for students and teachers in Florida.
Elia is delighted to return back to New York, and said in a press release that she is happy to work on behalf of the children. She still considers herself a teacher at heart, and believes that a good teacher is also a good listener.
The New York native had her first teaching job in Sweet Home Central School District in Amherst, N.Y., where she taught social studies for 16 years. In 1986, when her family moved to Florida, she became a reading teacher for three years and then held various administrative positions in the district until her departure.
During Elia’s 10-year tenure as superintendent of Hillsborough, students have received national recognition for their achievement. Fourth and eighth grade students earned high reading scores than any of the other 22 districts that participated in the 2013 Trial Urban District Assessment.
All of Hillsborough districts public high schools placed on the Washington Post’s list of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” in 2012 and 2013.
Former state education Commissioner John B. King Jr. at a community forum. File photo by Erika Karp
King stepped down last December amidst much controversy, specifically for his methods of implementing the highly controversial Common Core in New York.
Superintendents, politicians and members of the community all found problems with King’s techniques, feeling that the Common Core was rushed into the schools and not given enough time for teachers and students to understand it. Another fault was his background, which lacked any teaching jobs. King was a co-founder of Roxbury Prep, a charter middle school in Massachusetts.
“I was the first to call for his resignation, he developed a hostile approach and seemed oblivious to his role,” New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said.
Englebright said he hopes Elia will provide a fresh look at the system, and that she’ll bring her background as both a teacher and an administrator to the schools of New York.
One thing is for sure; Elia has her work cut out for her.
“I think she has a monumental task ahead of her, “ Timothy Eagen, Kings Park’s superintendent said. “On Long Island, about 50 percent of students in grades three through eight refused to take the assessments this past year. There is a lot of work to be done.”
Middle Country school district Superintendent Roberta Gerold felt there wasn’t a collaborative culture surrounding the application of the Common Core under King’s tenure.
“There needs to be a responsible conversation, and I don’t think we had that with King, he was reluctant to slow down,” said Gerold, who also serves as president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.
Fellow superintendent, Joe Rella, of Comsewogue, said he is desperate for a more collaborative and ongoing conversation.
“This reform dialogue needs to stop, he said. “We need time to examine what has happened. I am optimistic on Elia’s hiring until further notice.”
The superintendent’s prayers may just be answered, as Elia stated that her first item of business as commissioner will be listening to the members of the community, parents, teachers, students and administrators.
Johanna Testa, vice president of the Miller Place Board of Education, said while she is 100 percent happy to see a new commissioner, who has experience teaching in New York, she still has some concerns over Elia’s track record of student test scores being tied to teacher evaluations.
“I’m just not convinced she’s the right person for the job,” Testa said.
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