School districts across the South Shore had their state aid allotments for December held back when Gov. David Paterson ordered the payments halted so the state could stay in the black. more

Members of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Crime in Our Communities will hold a public forum with Nassau County police, prosecutors, elected officials and educators on Thursday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Levittown Library. The task force will tackle the growing use of heroin in Nassau County and will discuss programs and technology that are available to combat the sale and distribution of this illegal drug. more

One Kennedy High School senior studied whether endophytic bacteria injected into poplars would allow the trees to grow in inhospitable rocky and sandy soil. The research, conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Suffolk County, could one day help solve both the world fuel and hunger crises. more

Over the past four years, Calhoun High School’s Senior Experience program has worked with Invisible Children, a non-profit organization whose mission it is to raise awareness and funds for the forgotten children of northern Uganda who have been displaced and violently indoctrinated into Josef Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. more

Calhoun High School students are reaching out to help those touched by the disaster in Haiti. Calhoun is beginning relief efforts this weekend with the On Tour Company's production of "On The Razzle," collecting donations for Yele Haiti, an internationally recognized aid agency. more

Fireworks have exploded and the ball has dropped once again; 2010 has officially begun. This New Year, we are entering an entirely new decade. Who knows what to expect during the next 10 years? Past decades each seem to have distinctly stood out with specific connotations and names for themselves. The 1960s are commonly remembered as the hippie years, when young people listened to new forms of music and felt free and rebellious. A number of years later, the 1990s came along, and technology advanced to a whole new level, introducing us to the first DVD player and cell phones with built-in visual displays. more

Several weeks ago, I ran a two-part series on bullying and what schools are trying to do to deal with this growing problem. Shortly after, I caught the last few minutes of a TV interview with John Halligan, whose son Ryan was a victim of bullying and ultimately committed suicide. It was a riveting, heart-wrenching, and eye-opening talk. I wanted to share his story with my readers with a firsthand account of what occurred and tried to track John down via the Internet. more

In her freshman year at Kennedy High School in 2007, Bellmorite Stefanie Busgang suddenly started to lose her memory. The then 14-year-old couldn't remember how she got from one room to the next. "I was sitting in one place, and I'd be wondering how I got there," she recalled. more

Following two public suicides by students in the past year, residents expressed concern at the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District last week and asked school officials to consider measures the district could take to educate students about the issues surrounding suicide. more

From the bagel store to the beauty parlor, from the beach club to the bus stop, what is the number one topic of conversation among parents? Hands down, the survey says-teachers and teaching. And well it should be. Moms and dads are concerned about who is going to spend 180 days with their children for the school year. more