The East Williston School District ranked No. 1 in overall passing percentage in Nassau County and Long Island for math and English Language Arts test scores in grades 3-8, the assistant superintendent said during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting.
The board also unanimously approved amendments to the district’s tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, lowering the minimum years of service for eligibility from five to two.
“When we look at those scores we reflect on all the work that we do every day,” Assistant Superintendent Edward Kemnizter said of the rankings, which were released this week by the state Department of Education. “That’s our teachers’ hard work, students’ commitment to being better, our Board of Education supporting all our programs and our leadership team ensuring our students are No. 1.”
The Education Department this week reported district scores for students statewide who participated in spring tests last school year under new learning guidelines known as “Next Generation.” The new guidelines were adopted in 2017 and enacted this year, replacing the previous Common Core guidelines.
Of the district students who took the math assessment, 93% passed, good enough for the top spot out of qualifying districts. East Williston also had a passing percentage of 86% for the English Language Arts assessment, which earned the district top honors, according to data the district provided.
Statewide scores showed a 48% rate of proficiency in English Language Arts and a 50% rate in math, according to the scores released by the state.
Superintendent Danielle Gately commended the students and district employees for the achievements, saying the board is proud of the staff’s recognition for developing the whole student.
“Providing a personalized level of instruction is what gets us here,” Gately said. “It’s not test prep, drill and kill with multiple choice questions, it’s really developing critical thinking in our students, looking at them as the whole person and meeting them where they are.”
The board also approved an amendment to its tax exemptions for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers.
Deputy Superintendent Diane Castonguay gave a presentation on the new volunteer firefighter and EMS exemption, which the district previously opted into but has to reapprove amid the new changes from the state.
The current requirements for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers to be eligible for exemptions–which can go up to 10%–include a minimum of five years of service. The amendment now reduces the minimum requirement to two years of service, Castonguay said.
Taxpayers who fall under other requirements for the exemption, including those with over 20 years of service, a spouse of a volunteer killed in the line of duty who has not remarried or a deceased volunteer, are unaffected by the amendment, Castonguay said .
The district currently has exemptions for religious entities, veterans, volunteer firefighters and EMS workers, the physically disabled, new home improvements, persons 65 years old and older and disabled persons with limited income. Eligible homeowners receive reductions in their property taxes which are then reallocated to the rest of the taxpayers in the district.
The district has to notify Nassau County by Jan. 2, 2024, that they are opting into the exemption, Castonguay said.
