Top education officials visits Clarke M.S.

After a round-table discussion with East Meadow School District administrators, teachers, parents and students on Oct. 2 at Clarke, State Education Commissioner Dr. John King Jr. lauded the school for its interdisciplinary collaboration.

Courtesy East Meadow School District

Dr. John King Jr., seated at left, the state education commissioner, spoke with students at W.T. Clarke Middle School on Oct. 2, while Roger Tilles, top middle, Nassau’s representative on the Board of Regents, chatted with Principal Stacy Breslin.

Courtesy State Education Department

King visited several Clarke classrooms to hear how students are adjusting to the Common Core State Standards.

Courtesy East Meadow School District

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New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John King Jr. had high praise for the East Meadow School District last week, after he visited W.T. Clarke Middle School on Oct. 2 to see firsthand how instructors teach the Common Core State Standards.

King, who said he regularly visits schools across the state to see how they handle the implementation of the more rigorous curriculum, noted that Clarke made “significant academic progress” last year.

In late August, the State Education Department released the 2013-14 test scores for math and English Language Arts, and East Meadow’s scores rose at all grade levels, with the exception of eighth-grade math. Superintendent Louis DeAngelo said that school officials pooled the averages of each grade in math and English for all of the districts in Nassau County, and their numbers showed that East Meadow finished in the top 25 percent.

Accompanied by Roger Tilles, Nassau and Suffolk’s representative on the Board of Regents, King arrived at Clarke at around 11:30 a.m. last Thursday, and took part in a round-table discussion with teachers, parents, curriculum administrators and two students, seventh-grader Anusha Siddiqui and eighth-grader John Barry.

King and Tilles asked the questions. King asked Barry and Siddiqui how they might like to see the ELA state assessment changed, to which they agreed that they would prefer less emphasis on lengthy reading passages.

Both men said they were impressed with the district’s blending of different disciplines, citing the fusion of math and science, ELA and social studies, and music and art. “It’s very striking how strong the collaboration is across the school,” King said of Clarke.

Tilles said that while he is a proponent of the Common Core, he has been vocal in his opposition to what he sees as its rushed implementation by the Education Department. He added that he was pleased that East Meadow has not strictly adhered to the state modules, but instead uses its own discretion to administer the curriculum, while still maintaining its integrity.

“Having heard today’s presentations,” Tilles said, “I’m convinced that East Meadow is moving well ahead in the right direction.”