The school year is approaching the halfway mark, and it has been a great year for District 12. The Malverne High School marching band just won second place in the state championships, and administrators have expanded the district’s character education program to all four schools to help keep students motivated to achieve their goals. more

Many of us have lost jobs or income during the worst recession we’ve endured since the Great Depression. And many people on fixed incomes are feeling the burden of high taxes. To some, this seems like the worst possible time to float a $31.8 million bond to finance school improvements. We understand this view, but we see things differently. more

The Valley Stream Central High School District will launch its new interactive Web site next week, officials said, and the new site will feature more pictures of students, have downloadable forms, and offer access to assignments for students who are absent. more

Board meeting The Long Beach Board of Education will hold a regular meeting at the middle school at 8 p.m. on Dec. 8.PTA meetingsSEPTA Rap Session: Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. @ Public LibraryEast PTA Meeting: … more

Throughout the long, at times agonizing health reform debate, conservatives and insurance-industry lobbyists have argued that we don’t need a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers. more

Last week, the Valley Stream Central High School District celebrated the accomplishments and achievements of its students by showcasing their talents to administrators, parents and community members during American Education Week. more

After debating the student parking policy for the past few weeks, the Central High School District Board of Education decided at its Nov. 10 meeting to change the policy and prohibit students from leaving campus in their cars. more

Saul Lerner, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District athletic director, recently resigned his post as coordinator of the Nassau County Boys' Basketball Committee because, he said, the Section VIII Athletic Council rejected a proposal of his to fine-tune the seeding process that ultimately determines teams' playing schedules. In 2006, Lerner was the architect of an ability-grouping system that determined a team's conference by its record. Previously, teams were assigned to conferences without much regard to their records. Rather, officials used what they called the "snake," in which teams were seeded and then laid out on a grid that wound back and forth in serpentine fashion. more

At its Nov. 3 public work session, the Rockville Centre school district said it has ordered doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine but that it has not received any to date. School district administrators have been working with the Nassau County Dept. of Health to develop a protocol to provide vaccinations to students and appropriate personnel if and when the vaccine arrives. more

An Elmont Schools employee is suing the district, alleging sex-discrination for a series of e-mails that made the rounds in the district office earlier this year. The case, which was filed in federal court, could take as long as a year to be resolved as both the district and their accuser try and work their way through the federal system. more