Serving Manhasset
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Friday, April 24, 2015
Vol. 3, No. 17
Troupe, station to do radio play
Bellini store to close, reopen
Gift of Life turns 40 years
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Students opt not to sit for state exams
o at h o f o f f i c e
Nearly 16 percent of N. Shore refuses to take ELA assessment B Y B ILL SAN ANTONIO North Shore school district officials said students who recently opted out of the state assessment in English Language Arts reflect the concerns of parents and school administrators with a teacher evaluation system that relies heavily on student test scores and a fumbled rollout of the Common Core standards. About 15.7 percent of students eligible to take the exam in the East Williston, Herricks, Manhasset, Mineola, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park and Roslyn school districts refused to take the exam, according to figures obtained by Blank Slate Media, joining more than 65,000 students on Long Island and more than 100,000 throughout New York, according to various published reports. “What we need to see are substantive changes in the assessment
and teacher evaluation system that allow for local districts to play a more prominent role in what needs to be done in those areas. Right now, we’re working with a very top-down approach,” said Manhasset school Superintendent Charles Cardillo, whose district had 56 of 1,554 eligible students (3.6 percent) opt out of the exam. Of the North Shore districts that reported students opting out of the English-Language Arts assessment, Roslyn had the highest percentage — 32.5 percent — with 480 of the eligible 1,475 students choosing not to sit for the exam. Less than 20 percent of eligible Herricks students (228 of 1,771 eligible, 12.9 percent) and Mineola students (229 of 1,254 eligible, 18.3 percent) opted out of the exam, while 21.1 percent of the 810 East Williston students refused to take the assessment. “The New York State tests tell Continued on Page 52
PHOTO BY bill san antonio
Village of Munsey Park Mayor Sean Haggerty signs the oath of office during the village’s meeting last Wednesday. See story on Page 2.
DA, county lawmakers act following Skelos probe By Ja m es G a l l o w ay
on a county public works contract sent shockwaves through Nassau County last week as News that a federal in- officials scrambled to plug provestigation into state Senate cedural loopholes and uncover Majority Leader Dean Skelos what went wrong. Acting District Attorney (R-Rockville Center) centers
Madeline Singas opened an investigation Thursday into the county’s contracting practices. And on Tuesday, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican, and Democratic Continued on Page 53
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