McVey: ‘A red, white and blue ribbon school’

East Meadow School District Superintendent Leon Campo said that an injustice happened in the community in October. Then, McVey Elementary School officials learned that student “opt-outs” in last April’s state exams had cost the school a Blue Ribbon award — a coveted national honor given to schools that exemplify academic excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

But thanks to a banner presented by New York State Regent Roger Tilles, Campo said, the community will know that McVey is a red, white and blue ribbon school. “This is a school that’s a role model for excellence, not just in New York state, but across the great USA,” he said.

Tilles and State Sen. Kemp Hannon presented certificates of recognition to McVey administrators and parents at the Nov. 19 Board of Education meeting. The political leaders came to the district on their own accord, saying they wanted to acknowledge the school’s achievements despite the fact that it did not receive Blue Ribbon designation.

In January, Principal Kerry Dunne learned that McVey was one of 19 schools across the state that had been nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The East Meadow district has received the award once, in 2011, when W.T. Clarke Middle School was honored.

Dunne said she spent 60 hours preparing a 34-page application to submit to the Education Department, only to learn that the school might be declared ineligible if it did not meet the state-mandated minimum rate of participation in April’s state assessment exams for third- through fifth-graders. On Oct. 5, the department revealed the names of 335 Blue Ribbon-winning schools across the country, and the list excluded McVey, as well as 10 other nominated elementary schools in New York, presumably for the same reason.

Dunne and the principals of those schools had submitted a letter to program director Abi Kuma in June, voicing their strong opposition to using standardized testing as a criterion for the award.