By Liz McBreen
In each of the past three years, 24 elementary schools in New York state have received the award, one of the most recognized honors given to schools by the state's private sector. The award is presented by the Business Council of New York State to schools that improve the most from one academic year to the next according to students' scores on standardized tests.
Matthew Maguire of the Business Council describes the organization as a statewide Chamber of Commerce. "It is the biggest broad-based business group in New York," he said. "Big companies such as IBM and Kodak are involved in the council as well as small businesses, not-for-profits and everything in between. It is the major voice for businesses in New York state."
Gotham Avenue will be visited by representatives from the Business Council at some point in the coming weeks. The school will soon begin the process of coordinating with the council on a date and time for the award ceremony, according to Gotham Avenue Principal Marshall Zucker.
Zucker explained that there have not been any major changes in the curriculum at Gotham Avenue. "Every year, we try to look for all possible improvements," he said. "I like to think that they are going on constantly each year."
The president of the Business Council, Daniel Walsh, explained the significance of the award. "Schools that make a commitment to improve provide a service not only to their own students, families and communities, but also to other schools that benefit from their experience and example," he said. "New York's most improved schools come from all kinds of cities, towns, neighborhoods and financial circumstances -- proving that improvement is within the reach of any school that decides to improve."
Two schools from each of the state's 12 regions receive the award each year. According to Maguire, the 12 areas are based on the state's judicial districts, the same regions that the state's Board of Regents are based on.
The Business Council has for some time been an active advocate of policies to strengthen the performance of the state's public schools, Maguire explained. One of the organization's goals is to encourage businesses and business leaders to become active partners with schools in their efforts to improve.
Gotham Avenue was named a winner of the Pathfinder Award this year because the number of students scoring at a level of three or four -- four being the highest possible score -- on the ELA exam increased by 63 percent, and the number of students scoring three or above on the math exam increased by 37 percent. Franklin School in Hempstead was the other school in the region to be honored with the Pathfinder Award.
To receive the award, a school must show more improvement over the previous year than other schools in the same region, and at least half of its students must meet or exceed state standards on the fourth-grade ELA and math tests.
As a winner of the award, Gotham Avenue will be given $1,000 for the school's programs, an Apple computer and a trophy in recognition of its achievement. "I am very pleased about the award, and I am proud of everyone associated with Gotham Avenue," Zucker said. "Everyone involved works hard, and parents, teachers and students all work together."
The principal said he would be consulting with Superintendent Dr. Maria Palandra and the staff of Gotham Avenue to decide on how to use the award money in the most useful manner. "The most important part of this is that the students see how much they are capable of achieving," said Zucker.
