Thursday, October 1, 2026
School is back in session, and the East Meadow board of education welcomed parents back for a new year of learning with its first meeting of the year since classes resumed during the first week of September.
The meeting featured celebrations, introductions, highlights from board members and district staff and a state-of-our-schools presentation
During announcements made at the Sept. 16 meeting by Ken Rosner, superintendent of East Meadow schools, he shared that the district is transitioning away from Blackboard Connect, a mass notification service, and will be using Parent Square beginning Oct. 1. Both programs are currently in use, although Blackboard will become obsolete beginning next month. On the forum, Rosner sends messages to district families, and advised if parents have any questions, they can visit the district’s website or contact their child’s school directly.
Starting Oct. 5, students in all secondary schools will be required to wear their ID cards on a lanyard at all times when on school grounds. Currently, students use their cards to enter buildings, but to strengthen security, Rosner said, they must have their ID visible and on them moving forward.
“We may not know every student,” Rosner shared. “There’s a lot of new kids coming into these buildings. They have to have them to sign in anyways — now we’re just asking them to put it on their lanyard. This is a serious safety concern for all of us, especially at dismissal time, when kids are leaving and athletic students are coming. There’s a lot of action in our schools, and I want to make sure our security knows exactly who’s coming in and who’s not.”
Ahead of presentations, Rosner also celebrated the district’s maintenance team, thanking them for their willingness to complete projects and for taking pride in their work.
“They are motivated group — they are a proud group,” he said. “I couldn’t let another meeting go by without saying thank you, officially, to all of them here tonight.”
In March, taxpayers in East Meadow voted to approve a $71.5 million bond to fund security upgrades, athletic facility renovations, and districtwide improvement projects. Matthew Cerverizzo, the district’s assistant business administrator, showed meeting attendees how to monitor project progress.
On the district’s website, EMUFSD.us, taxpayers can visit the “Reimagine – Bond 2026” tab, which provides links to district presentations and a breakdown of projects by building. An additional tab within the page, labeled “Bond 2026 Updates” provides a spreadsheet by school that shows a status report on each project. The bond page will be updated monthly.
Phase 1 of the projects includes safety vestibule upgrades in all district buildings, which Rosner said should be complete around Halloween.
Cerverizzo also encouraged attendees to sign up for the Bond Oversight Advisory Committee by filling out a 5-minute application under the bond’s general information tab. Joining the committee would allow taxpayers to play a more active role in the bond rollout. The application window will close next month.
“We would love to see as many applicants as possible,” he said.
David Spinnato, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, highlighted vast district accomplishments during the annual “State-of-our-Schools” presentation.
The highlights included a 98 percent graduation rate for W.T. Clarke and East Meadow high schools, which are nearly 600 students combined. 71 percent of students achieved an advanced Regents diploma, the highest level a graduate can earn in New York state. Special education and English-language learner students also achieved high levels of academic proficiencies.
Spinnato also highlighted achievements in advanced placement class metrics, career and technical education and civic-readiness, a special seal which requires students to take high-level social studies courses and perform civic activities to earn an additional distinction upon graduating.
He spoke of the district’s course catalog, which is something officials are working to make more available to all parents — no matter the age of the child.
“We always encourage our families to become friends with their guidance counselor,” he said, “because they’re there to help be a career guide for you, whether it’s post-secondary education or it’s the trades or into a technical school.”
The district is always focused on continuous improvement, Spinnato explained.
“We build specific plans and action plans for our departments, by department, with our directors, involving our principals in that planning, expanding professional development opportunities… (and) having a mindset for mastery for all — a mindset that every kid has the ability to achieve mastery,” Spinnato said. “It’s our job to figure out how we get them to do that.”
The East Meadow school board will host its next meeting on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Salisbury School, at 718 The Plain Road, Westbury. To view presentations and East Meadow bond updates, visit EMUFSD.us. A recording of the Sept. 16 meeting is available on the district’s YouTube page.
