Alistair McKay is Perfect in Noetic Learning Spring Contest

Alistair McKay is exceptional. The Woodhull Intermediate School sixth grader scored a perfect 20/20 in the Noetic Learning Spring Contest, placing him in the top ten percent of all sixth graders nationwide.

“There were over 5,000 students who took this exam, and under 300 students obtained a perfect score,” explained Jessica Risalvato, who leads Huntington UFSD’s SEARCH program. “In addition, he achieved an amazing score of 24/25 on our five Math Olympiad tests this year, placing him in the top two percent of students worldwide.”

Mr. McKay is a role model for his classmates and for every Woodhull student, regardless of their grade or academic program. He is proud of his accomplishments and doesn’t intend to stop here. The youngster enjoys a good challenge and has fun striving to master difficult materials and questions.

“This is the highest scoring student I have had in my nine years here at Huntington, and Alistair's performance reflects not only his academic ability, but also his dedication and work ethic,” Ms. Risalvato said.

Jessica Risalvato has been the Huntington School District’s SEARCH and Math Olympiad program teacher since August 2017. She obtained undergraduate (sociology) and graduate (childhood special education) degrees at Fordham University in 2007 and 2008, respectively. She earned an advanced graduate certificate in gifted education at SUNY Buffalo in 2015.

Prior to her appointment in Huntington, Ms. Risalvato had been working as an elementary grade level gifted program teacher in New York City since September 2013. She earlier spent a year working as an elementary teacher at Our World Neighborhood Charter School and five years as an elementary grade teacher at Bronx Charter School for Excellence.