Huntington School Briefs
The J. Taylor Finley Middle School PTA gave its Character Award to student Ray Vega. The honor carried with it a $50 savings bond.
“Well, this doesn’t happen often or easily for that matter, but the PTA found itself with a little extra money this year thanks to a last minute floor hockey challenge with the high school,” said Bari Fehrs, who served as the Finley PTA president during the 2008/09 school year.
PTA members spoke with Finley Principal John Amato and decided to create the new award. “We didn’t want it to be about academics – that’s Mr. Amato’s department,” Mrs. Fehrs said. “We wanted it to be for a student who has shown good leadership, respect for fellow students and teachers and overall good character. We’re excited to give this award and hope to see many more students in years to come who share the values of this award.”
Trustee Retires from Teaching
Elizabeth Black, who was recently sworn into office for a third three-year term on the Huntington School Board, retired as an English teacher in the Kings Park school district at the close of business on June 30. Mrs. Black’s career spanned 34 years.
A graduate of SUNY College at Geneseo (Bachelor of Arts in English Education) and SUNY Stony Brook (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies), Mrs. Black earned her state school administrator certification through the College of New Rochelle.
Mrs. Black and her husband Edwin have three children: Brady Rose, Brendan and Kieran. She was named a 2008 Educator of Excellence by the New York State English Council, a professional organization for English teachers. The prestigious award “honors those teachers who are leaders in the classroom, collaborators with colleagues and mentors for those teachers new to the profession,”
New Teachers Hired
At their last meeting, Huntington School Board members approved the appointment of several probationary, part-time and long-term leave replacement teachers. Two of the new faculty members will be joining the music department.
Amanda Shimkin was hired as a long term substitute for the 2009/10 school year and will work with students in the music program at Woodhull School. She earned a B.A. degree in music at Syracuse University in 2007 and obtained an M.A. degree in music at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education in May 2009.
Ms. Shimkin is currently head teacher at Take Lessons.com in Queens and music director/head teacher at Thurnauer School of Music in Englewood, New Jersey. She has also worked as a soloist and choral director at United Methodist Church in Syracuse.
The district reviewed 72 applications and conducted 12 interviews before Ms. Shimkin was recommended for appointment.
Veronica Escamilla will work at Huntington High School and take over the choral program there. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music from SUNY College at Potsdam’s Crane School of Music in May 2009.
Prior to coming to Huntington, Ms. Escamilla has worked as a student conductor of the Crane Hosmer Choir, music director of both the Clarkson Golden Knotes in Potsdam and Theater Arts in Farmingdale, respectively.
The district reviewed 120 applications and conducted 25 interviews before Ms. Escamilla was recommended for appointment. She will be eligible for tenure on Sept. 1, 2012.
Math Scores Improve
After poring over results from this year’s New York State Mathematics Exam, Huntington School District officials have announced improved proficiency levels at all six elementary schools as well as at J. Taylor Finley Middle School.
At Washington Primary School, 98 percent of third graders reached the state proficiency level. Similar high scores were witnessed at Jefferson (97%), Southdown (95%) and Flower Hill (92%) schools. Higher scores were realized at Jack Abrams Intermediate School, too, with fourth (90%), fifth (86%) and sixth (89%) graders increasingly hitting the state’s magic number. Woodhull Intermediate School fourth (86%), fifth (88%) and sixth (93%) graders also turned in strong performances.
At Finley Middle School, steady increases have been seen in math proficiency scores over the past four years. For example, since 2006, seventh grade scores have from 74 percent proficiency to 93 percent. Eighth grade scores have risen from 80 percent to 90 percent.
District officials applauded both students and teachers for the fine performance on this year’s exam.
Diploma Breakdown
According to figures supplied by the Huntington High School guidance office, 57 students in the Class of 2009 earned a Regents diploma with advanced designation with honors. Another 69 graduates garnered a Regents diploma with advanced designation. Three students were awarded a Regents diploma with honors and 90 obtained regular Regents diplomas. 39 seniors graduated with local diplomas and seven qualified for an IEP diploma. Fourteen seniors need additional credits to meet graduation requirements. Six members of the Class of 2009 dropped out.
New Course Approved
Huntington School Board members have approved a new high school ESL/bilingual course: Native Language Arts III. The course was vetted earlier by the district’s Educational Development Committee consisting of teachers and administrators.
“This course is designed for the Spanish speaking students who are learning English,” according to the new course proposal submitted to the EDC. “This course will be offered to ELLs (English language learners) who are at the intermediate level according to the NYSESLAT state test. The teacher will continue to teach reading and writing in Spanish, grammatical rules of the Spanish language and literature from the Hispanic world. Students will learn reading and writing strategies while improving or developing reading comprehension.”
The course will rely on existing faculty members and any materials that are needed will be purchased by using existing budget monies. Administrators explained “the importance of this course becomes even greater when the level of education the ELLs come into the high school with is taken into account; the great majority of them enter the school with limited formal education, which means that their knowledge of Spanish is minimal. Extending the instruction of Spanish is necessary to solidify their second language acquisition and to prepare them to join the mainstream and be successful.”
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office