Keyword: 'districts' | Herald Community Newspapers

On May 3, the Sewanhaka district's Board of Education announced that Dr. Ralph Ferrie will be the district’s new superintendent.

Following Sewanhaka Central High School District superintendent Warren Meierdierck’s announcement last December that he would be retiring in June, the district has been working to find a new superintendent to take his place. The district’s Board of Education placed advertisement in The New York Times, held a search meeting in March, and has been receiving leads from a search firm over the past few months. During the Sewanhaka district’s last BOE meeting, on May 3, BOE president Jean Fichtl announced that Dr. Ralph Ferrie will be the district’s new superintendent, beginning July 1. more

By Jackie Nash | 5/4/11

Gina Burnett, who has lived in the Elmont district for more than 15 years, is running for the district’s BOE for the first time, challenging board member Anthony Maffea.

How well do you know your school board candidates?

Board of Education elections for the Franklin Square and Elmont school districts will be held on May 17, in addition to budget elections for Sewanhaka, Franklin Square and Elmont. How well do you know the candidates who are running? more

By Jackie Nash | 5/3/11

The Elmont Jazz Masters were loudly applauded after performing at an Elmont Union Free School District Board of Education meeting in March.

And all that jazz

The Elmont Union Free School District’s Jazz Masters program has been turning musically talented students on to the blues and jazz genres for the past nine years. The program, which focuses on improvisation and higher tempos, is highly selective — students have to be recommended by their music teachers before participating. more

By Jackie Nash | 4/19/11

The Elmont Union Free School District, which ranks 55th out of the county’s 57 districts in per-pupil spending — $16,312 in 2009-10 — is proposing a 2011-12 budget of nearly $76.45 million. The above chart provides percentages for items included in Elmont's budget.

Superintendents on a mission: pass school budgets

After the State Senate’s vote on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget in March, the Sewanhaka, Franklin Square and Elmont school districts were handed new numbers for budget consideration — numbers that were considerably more favorable to local districts but did not eliminate their budget woes. more

By Jackie Nash | 4/14/11

Kareen Ligonde, an 11th-grader at Elmont Memorial High School, got a lesson on using the Jaws of Life at the Elmont Fire Department’s first open house, held last weekend.

Elmont F.D. hosts day for future firefighters

As part of a statewide program, Recruit NY, the Elmont Volunteer Fire Department, at 95 Lehrer Ave. in Elmont, opened its doors to area residents on Sunday, April 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event focused on educating local residents about what it takes to be a volunteer firefighter or emergency medical technician. Volunteer firefighter recruitment has become difficult for many Nassau County fire departments over the past several years, and the Elmont Fire Department is no exception. The department’s 170 members respond to approximately 2,000 emergency calls per year, and the department covers both Elmont and North Valley Stream. more

By Jackie Nash | 4/12/11

At the Sewanhaka Central High School district’s last Board of Education meeting, on March 22 at the Sewanhaka High School, pictured, a member of the Sewanhaka School Employees Association spoke publicly for a SSEA contract.

SSEA member speaks out for contract

The Sewanhaka School Employees Association has been working without a contract since July 2010, and at the Sewanhaka Central High School District’s last Board of Education meeting, held March 22 at the Sewanhaka High School, a member of the group spoke out. more

By Jackie Nash | 4/5/11

Brianna Valerio, 20, f Elmont, was arrested on March 30 for distributing drugs to an inmate at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow.

Elmont woman arrested after slipping drugs to prison inmate

Brianna Valerio, 20, of Elmont, was arrested around 2 p.m. on March 30 for distributing drugs to an inmate at the East Meadow Nassau County Correctional Center, at 100 Carmans Ave. in East Meadow. After Valerio had visited the inmate, prison officials noticed the inmate hiding an object in his hand — a taped ball that was later determined to be marijuana and ecstasy. more

By Jackie Nash | 4/5/11

Valerie Angelillo, left, principal of the H. Frank Carey High School, listened as Dana DeLeo, a mother who lives in the Sewanhaka Central High School District, spoke about her disapproval of the district’s ESL program structure at last week’s Sewanhaka Board of Education meeting.

Recurring discussion: Carey’s ESL program

For the second time in the past two months, parents came to the microphone at the Sewanhaka High School District’s Board of Education meeting to publicly disparage the district’s English as a Second Language program. The program is currently housed in only one school within the five-school district — the H. Frank Carey High School — and some parents within the district believe it has created an unsafe environment at Carey. more

By Jackie Nash | 3/29/11

The John Street School, at 560 Nassau Blvd. in Franklin Square, would house only Kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade students under the district's recently proposed reconfiguration proposal, which has been put on hold for further research.

F.S. district pauses reconfiguration proposal

The Franklin Square Union Free School District’s Board of Education made an announcement on Wednesday, March 16, at it’s regular monthly meeting, that it would put a hold on it’s proposal to reconfigure the district — a plan proposed nearly three weeks ago to create a middle school, and save the district $1.8 million by 2014-15. Under the plan, all Kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade students would be housed at the John Street and Polk Street schools, and fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students would be housed at the Washington Street School. more

By Jackie Nash | 3/22/11

District Attorney Kathleen Rice at a press conference on Wednesday, where she announced the arrests of 17 suspects for their role in a massive mortgage fraud and identity theft scheme.

DA takes down massive mortgage fraud operation

After a two-year investigation, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office indicted 17 people — including an Elmont man — for their roles in what has been called the largest mortgage fraud and identity theft scheme in Nassau County’s history, in which more than $20 million was stolen from homeowners, banks and the county government. more

By Chris Engelhardt | 3/17/11