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Vol. 91 No. 8
FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2026
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Freeport schools celebrate Black History Month By ANDREW FRANCIS afrancis@liherald.com
Courtesy Freeport Public Schools
Kindergartners from the Columbus Avenue School’s early childhood center were the youngest performers at the Freeport Public Schools’ district-wide Black History Month celebration.
Teachers, administrators, students and their families filled the Performing Arts Center at Freeport High School on Feb. 10 for Freeport Public Schools’ annual district-wide Black History Month celebration. Hundreds of parents and family members filled the auditorium for the free event. The district has held the event since 2012. Students from all grade levels in the district recited poems and performed cultural dances, songs and music, while artwork was on display in celebration of the accomplishments and progress of Black people in the United States and across the globe. “In celebrating the diversity of our district, honoring Black history gives our students meaningful opportunities to better recognize the many contributions that have shaped our community,” Lynn Fusco, the school district’s director of arts and community relations, said. Continued on PAge 3
Music educator honored by L.I. Music Hall of Fame By ANDREW FRANCIS afrancis@liherald.com
The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame has named Freeport native Edward Norris III its 2025 Educator of Note Award recipient. The honor recognizes Norris’s contributions as a featured performer and music teacher for the past 23 years in various groups and ensembles. He will accept the award at a ceremony on March 20 at the Hall of Fa m e ’s m u s e u m i n S t o ny Brook. According to a statement from the hall, the award honors “exceptional teachers who dem-
onstrate a commitment to music education, play an active role in the community and have a significant impact on the lives of music students of all backgrounds and abilities.” The Educator of Note Award was established in 2007, making Norris the 19th Long Island teacher to be recognized. “I’ve been doing music my whole life, ever since I was in high school in Freeport,” Norris, 46, a member of the Freeport High class of 1997, said. “All throughout my time growing up I was heavily involved in the music program, and it really became a way of life.” Norris is currently the direc-
I
said to my students…it’s their award.
EDWARD NoRRIS III Director of choral music, Glen Cove High School tor of choral music at Glen Cove High School, where he also teaches standard and Advanced Placement music theory. He has directed the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra’s Nassau Chamber Chorale for the past 20 years. In 2013 he conducted a performance by Glen
Cove High’s Select Chorale at the White House for President B a r a ck O b a m a a n d o t h e r guests, and three years later, on a concert tour of Italy, he led the chorale in serenading Pope Francis at one of the stops. Norris plays several instruments, including violin and piano, but said he developed a passion for conducting after
observing his high school chorus conductor, Stephan Pagano, and lear ning how moving music could be for performers and listeners alike. He recalls singing in an emotional holiday choral performance at the Freeport Salvation Army in December 1994, when he was a sophomore in high school, and decidContinued on PAge 20