The Common Core standards being taught in public schools has created a buzz within education communities nationwide. On Nov. 30, more than 50 teachers and parents from area school districts gathered at Levittown Hall for a seminar on Common Core and Regents testing. more

The drug addicts’ brain scans that Dr. Stephen Dewey takes appear in psychedelic shades of red, yellow, green and blue, each indicating a level of brain activity — or inactivity. Red means excited. Blue is dormant. Dewey is the laboratory director for behavioral and molecular neuro-imaging at the North Shore-LIJ Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. In that capacity, he’s put hundreds of addicts’ brains to the test — the positron emission tomography test, that is — seeking to understand precisely what happens to the mind when a pot smoker lights up or a heroin junkie shoots up. And, he has found, it isn’t pretty. more

The Levittown School District is mourning Board of Education Trustee Kevin J. Regan, who died on Oct. 20 after a battle with cancer. He was 72. more

The first day of September marked the first day of school in Wantagh, as 3,033 students walked into the district’s five buildings. With new backpacks, sneakers and school supplies, students mostly donned smiles but there were a few tired faces mixed in. more

There were hugs and stories shared as Wantagh’s teachers and staff members went back to school on Monday, marking the beginning of the new year. more

Nassau BOCES installed former East Meadow School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Dillon as its new district superintendent at a board meeting on Aug. 20. more

Dr. Robert Dillon, the East Meadow School District’s superintendent from 1999 to 2007, has been tabbed to become the superintendent of Nassau BOCES. more

John McNamara hasn’t even spent a month on the job, but he can already envision himself staying in Wantagh a long time. more

Jake Thomas and Alex Vargas, both 21, played baseball together in 2011 at Calhoun High School under legendary coach Joe Corea. In 2010, Thomas led the Colts squad that captured the Nassau County Class AA title. In 2012, Vargas played a critical role in the Colts’ victory at the Long Island Class AA championship. Major League teams recently drafted them both. more

Who would have thought that the Independent U.S. senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, would so quickly close the gap with presumed 2016 presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton? more