By Nick Buglione
In view of what's going on in our neighboring district, Dillon said, we are going to be covering the rules, expectations and policy for our athletes.
Dillon's announcement, made at the Sept. 25 school board meeting, comes on the heels of allegations that three players on the Mepham High School varsity football team sodomized three others on the junior-varsity squad as part of a hazing rite in August. It is alleged that the younger players were sodomized with a broomstick, pine cones and golf balls.
The two teams were at a football camp in Preston Park, Pa. Wayne County authorities are currently investigating the incident.
Given Mepham's proximity to East Meadow -- it's part of the nearby Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District -- Dillon thought it fitting to call a meeting with district coaches to go over policy and procedures. The meeting will cover not only the players' expected behavior, but that of the coaches as well, he explained.
The meeting was scheduled to take place in the Salisbury Center on Wednesday, Oct. 1, after the Herald went to press.
Parents attending the school board meeting applauded Dillon's idea. Please take the bull by the horns and be very forthright, said Gail Widro, a Salisbury resident who owns a business in Bellmore. Let's not have something awful like that happen again.
Widro said Bellmore has been buzzing with the news of the alleged hazing. People come into the store talking about it every day, she said.
The three students allegedly responsible for the assault, ages 15, 16 and 17, have since been suspended from Mepham.
New reading initiative
The East Meadow School District is introducing a new elementary school literacy initiative in the district this year, according to Lynne Manouvrier, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
The initiative will be aimed not only at promoting literacy among East Meadow youngsters but at pinpointing areas that need work.
In analyzing results of the ELA 4, a statewide test administered to fourth-graders to measure their aptitude in the language arts, the district found that while East Meadow students are able to understand basic literacy concepts, they have trouble in critical reading and analysis, Manouvrier said.
In order to ameliorate this deficiency, we would like to administer an in-district diagnostic test in grades three, four and five similar in scope to the ELA 4, she said. This assessment would assist the teacher in early identification of problematic areas and inform instruction throughout the year.
The district will also be working with Columbia University under its Columbia Reading/Writing Project. Labs will be set up at three elementary schools, where teachers will work with Columbia educators on refining literacy teaching techniques.
Monthly meetings will also be held to promote the sharing of instructional strategies between classroom and reading teachers, Manouvrier said. She also noted that tests will be administered in the spring to assess the progress of the elementary literacy initiative.
I feel it's a very positive approach, the assistant superintendent said, urging parents to get involved in the program. The elementary school is a very pivotal time.
Class size concerns
Concerns over growing classes dominated the community participation portion of the Sept. 25 board meeting, as four parents broached the subject.
My concern is about class sizes, said Nadine Salzman, an East Meadow parent and sixth-grade teacher in Flushing, Queens. Salzman said she knows first-hand the difficulties of trying to teach kids in a class of more than 30 students. The only way to guarantee the best education is to keep the class sizes low, she said to the school board. I really urge you to work diligently on this issue.
One resident said East Meadow fifth-grade classes hold upward of 27 children in some instances, 26 in the first grade.
This issue has been a hot one in East Meadow, especially since the 2002-03 school year, when the district laid off a number of teachers due to budget constraints, driving class sizes up. After cutting staff, the district contended that despite the increases, its class sizes were still favorable when compared with other Long Island districts.
Welcome aboard
Three new administrators were welcomed into the East Meadow School District at the board meeting. Maria Ciarametaro, the new principal of Bowling Green Elementary School, Jamie Glicker, assistant principal of Parkway Elementary, and Ellen Waldron, assistant principal of McVey Elementary, all received warm applause.
It was also announced that Louis DeAngelo, assistant superintendent for human resources, was granted tenure, effective Sept. 11.
