A school year like no other; finalists named for Newsday's Marcus A. Henry award

This week's top stories

1. Long Islanders reflect on school year

The 2020-21 school year will be long remembered for the way Long Island schools — the students, teachers, administrators and staff — came together to meet the challenges of COVID-19.

The teachers, who many people said would never learn the technology for distance learning, did it. The school staff, which had to take on extra tasks such as contact tracing and temperature checks, did it. The students, who many people said would never wear masks, did it.

As Long Island's 656 public schools, 476,000 students and 36,000 teachers brought this tumultuous year to a close, the prevailing sentiment was perhaps best captured by eighth-grader Ashley Benitez DelCid, who spoke during a moving-up ceremony in Freeport. "We did it! We had our ups and downs throughout the year, but look where we are now. Ready to start a new chapter," she said.

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2. Nearly 80% learning 'on-site'

Nearly 80% of Long Island students were learning "on-site" to end the school year, after most districts started last fall on a virtual or hybrid schedule, according to data analyzed by Newsday from the state’s COVID-19 Report Card.

• The analysis, compiled from the June 16 Report Card, found that 79.1%, or 329,724 of students in the Island's 124 districts, were on-site in mid-June.
• More than 86,000 children Islandwide were categorized as off-site, or remote learners.

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3. Guitar returned after instrument theft

Police recovered stolen musical instruments and returned them to Carle Place High School. One of them, an electric guitar, holds a very special meaning for the orchestra teacher.

• Orchestra teacher Richard Stein knew the end was near for his older brother John, back in 2015, and wanted to honor him by celebrating their musical connection. Stein purchased a Stratocaster electric guitar — the type their musical idol Jimi Hendrix played when they were children. But John died of cancer before he could hear his brother play the beloved instrument.

• When the guitar, and a dozen other instruments, were stolen this month, Richard Stein was heartbroken. Police have made arrests in the case and recently returned 10 instruments to the school: a saxophone, a clarinet, two keyboards, two acoustic guitars, and four electric guitars.

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4. Wheatley student harassed, advocate says

An Old Westbury high school student said she was told to "go back to Pakistan" by some attendees at her graduation ceremony after delivering a speech instructing classmates to educate themselves about the "ethnic cleansings of Palestinians."

• As Huda Ayaz, 17, who is Muslim and of Pakistani descent, lined up to receive her diploma Sunday from The Wheatley School, some attendees chanted "we support Israel," said Ahmed Mohamed, legal director for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
• In a statement, Wheatley principal Sean Feeney told Newsday that Ayaz diverted from the original speech submitted for approval to the school's selection committee. In emails to parents, Feeney and East Williston district Superintendent Elaine Kanas blamed Ayaz for expressing what Feeney said were "inappropriate" personal comments.

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5. Hempstead center wins distinction

A Hempstead kindergarten center is the first on Long Island to win International Baccalaureate status for instruction that encourages primary-age youngsters to raise questions, then post them on classroom walls for discussion.

• The Baccalaureate organization, based in Geneva, Switzerland, recently authorized Prospect School in Hempstead to offer IB's Primary Years Program to its more than 500 prekindergartners and kindergartners.
• The announcement followed three years of teacher training and other preparation.

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Resources for you

• Meet the six finalists for the 2021 Newsday Marcus A. Henry Award. This award, in memory of former Newsday sports reporter Marcus A. Henry, is presented annually to a Long Island high school student who excels in the classroom and in athletics, and also displays great leadership.
• In a June event celebrating Pride Month, NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer J. Philippe Abraham and the union’s LGBTQ Committee hosted "How to Support Our LGBTQ and Allied Students," the latest chapter in the statewide union’s Many Threads, One Fabric social justice series. Participants heard from educators, students and parents.
• This special education toolkit helps make sense of an often confusing system and educates families of newly diagnosed children with special needs on how to get the best special education, services and resources available to them.

Round of applause

Three Long Island students have been named grand-prize winners in a statewide contest that asked them to create uplifting videos about their schools and communities.

Samantha Snevily, a senior at Division Avenue High School in Levittown, won the grand prize for grades 9 to 12 in the contest coordinated by the Rural Schools Association of New York State and New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal. The K-8 grand prize was won by eighth-grader Audrey Smith and seventh-grader Daisy Pitches, who attend the Montauk School.

Snevily's video included dance segments performed by peers and a voice-over in which she stressed the importance of coming together as a community in difficult times. It was accompanied by Ross Lynch's song "Better Together."

The video produced by Smith and Pitches expressed their love for their school and appreciation for administrators and teachers, while highlighting such events as the school's Multicultural Night and Sports Night.

Your questions answered

Have questions? Send them to ednews@newsday.com. Newsday’s education reporting team will pick one to answer in this space each week.

How can parents help children continue to learn during the summer?

Some students can lose a month or more of academic progress during the summer, research has shown, with low-income students disproportionately impacted. Additional studies have shown that summer learning programs can have positive effects on students, according to New York State United Teachers.

"Whether they’re out riding bikes or inside making crafts, every activity presents a learning opportunity for children this summer," NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said. "Learning is about more than reading a textbook or filling out a worksheet. Even if your family is just lounging at the beach, slipping learning experiences into your vacation is a great way to keep your kids’ minds sharp — and have fun as a family."

To help avoid the summer slide, NYSUT offered tips such as enrolling children in summer reading programs and having your child keep a daily journal. NYSUT also suggested checking out recreational and educational day programs offered by some cities and towns. Many schools distribute suggested reading lists. A local librarian can help develop a summer reading program with your child. The National Education Association, an affiliate of NYSUT, offers resources on how to find the best books for your child. The state Education Department also offers a summer reading program through local libraries across New York.

Specialized summer camps are another great way to keep children engaged with hands-on learning, educators suggested.

— Find the latest education news at newsday.com/long-island/education. Joie Tyrrell can be reached at joie.tyrrell@newsday.com or on Twitter @JoieTyrrell.