School board reorganizes, announces new initiatives

The Uniondale School District Board of Education held its annual reorganization meeting on July 6, at which officers were sworn in, and the board received heartening reports from the superintendent and the district facilities director.

Mary Bediako and Natalie Longsworth were once again sworn in as board president and vice president, along with Susan Camille Trenkle, district clerk; Clarence Little, treasurer; Paul Meittinis, deputy treasurer; Maribel Hernandez, purchasing agent; Lenore Pringle, deputy purchasing agent, and Marciel Goldman, Medicaid officer.

Incoming 17-year-old Uniondale High School senior Christian Auguste was appointed the 2023-24 student board member. Auguste has a 93.6 grade point average, and will take four Advanced Placement classes next year.

“One of the big things I’m hoping to get going is a peer tutoring program,” Auguste said. “I already had it drafted, I pitched it to the principal, we brought it to the board, and now we can look into funding and hopefully get it approved.”

The board also honored Marilyn Hangen, a former teacher and principal at Smith Street Elementary School who died on June 14. Hangen was known for her dedication, community involvement and volunteerism, as well as having high standards for her students and caring about their well-being. She helped introduce new academic programs to Smith Street, and co-authored its winning 1994 application to the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which recognizes schools “for their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups,” according to the Blue Ribbon Schools website.

Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil’s update outlined upcoming programs and initiatives, and she announced the kickoff of Uniondale’s Summer Passport to Innovation program.

Darrisaw-Akil’s presentation began with statistics on the Class of 2023: 57 percent graduated with a Regents diploma, and 37 percent were awarded Advanced Regents diplomas. Not only will 84 percent of the graduates attend college next year, but 44 percent will do so at four-year universities, the highest percentage in years.

Turning to the upcoming school year, Darrisaw-Akil reported that Uniondale will offer students a total of 21 AP courses.

“This is really important,” she said, “because the data across New York state shows that students of color have less access to AP courses in comparison to other students, and we know that Advanced Placement achievement is one of the gateways to getting into more elite colleges.”

Darrisaw-Akil also assured school board trustees that the district would be seeking the best approaches for tracking students into AP courses, in the interest of guaranteeing that all students have access to them. A related goal is to help parents understand the demands of AP classes.

“Our school district never sleeps,” Darrisaw-Akil said.

Following her presentation, John LaBare, the district’s director of facilities and operations for the past 15 years, gave an update on ongoing building upgrades, including work on the library and the second-floor restrooms in Lawrence Road Middle School, as well as other renovations in the school and improving the look of its front entrance.

The district is also working on upgrades to the high school’s track and field. LaBare said the field would be ready for the football season in September.

Other improvements include upgrades in heating systems; a new tennis court; an extension of the high school parking lot; freshly painted walls; improvements to doors, including a better locking system; classroom upgrades; electrical safety upgrades; improvements to fire alarms; security vestibules; new bleachers at the high school and improvements to the main gym; the installation of steam traps to improve the district’s heating system; and a new irrigation system at the Grand Avenue School.

Upgrades to the libraries, restrooms and cafeterias in the elementary schools, similar to those taking place at Lawrence Road Middle School, are also in the works, as well as a new food service vendor for the cafeterias.

“I’m sure I forgot to mention a ton of things, we have so much going on,” LaBare said.

He also told the board that because asbestos was found in the Smith Street School gym ceiling, the ceiling is incomplete. LaBare explained that he is waiting for approval from the architect, and that the ceiling will likely be finished over a break next school year.