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‘More learning, less scrolling’ Hochul proposes statewide school smartphone ban as part of budget
proposal that will transform our classrooms, return them to a place of learning and that In an effort to eliminate dis- establishes a new statewide poltractions and keep students icy to make classrooms in the focused on learning, Gov. Kathy state of New York distraction Hochul has free,” she stated in announced a plan a news release. to ban smartphones If the $252 bilin schools as part lion budget is of her fiscal year approved, the ban 2026 executive budwould begin at the get. start of the 2025-26 Hochul’s initiaschool year, with tive is intended to students having to improve students’ d i s c o n n e c t f ro m mental health, safetheir phones ty and academic throughout the perfor mance, she school day, includsaid in her budget ing during lunch presentation on and while walking Jan. 21. States such the hallways. as California, FloriSchool districts da and Indiana would implement have already impletheir own plans for mented similar polenforcing the ban, icies on smartwith a proposed $13 phones in classmillion in funding StAtE SEN. rooms. from the state to The idea for New Patricia Canzonerihelp pay for phoneYork to follow suit Fitzpatrick storage systems was brought up last such as cubbies year, but due to and pouches. Every parental concerns about being district, Hochul said, must have able to reach their children, it a policy in place to help stuwas put aside. Hochul had hint- dents thrive without their ed at the idea of revisiting the smartphones. initiative for months before Lawrence school district making her announcement. Superintendent Ann Pedersen ContinuEd on PagE 15 “I am announcing today a
By Brian Norman
bnorman@liherald.com
A
Courtesy Janet Holmes
Eddy Maday with his mother, Janet Holmes, outside the Regal Lynbrook, where his movie ‘Presence,’ directed by Steven Soderbergh, is playing.
From Hewlett High to Hollywood: Woodmere native stars in ‘Presence’ Eddy Maday lands a breakthrough screen role By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
Woodmere’s own, Eddy Maday, has entered the film world, making his début in the horror/psychological thriller, “Presence.” Directed by Steven Soderbergh, “Presence” follows the Payne family as they move into a large suburban house inhabited by a poltergeist, referred to as the “presence.” The film was shot in single long takes, from the ghost’s point of view. Maday stars alongside Callina Liang, Chris Sullivan, Julia Fox and Lucy Liu. “Presence” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah, last January, and hit theaters a year later, on Jan. 24. Maday, 24, grew up surrounded by music. His father, Eddy Maday, is a violin maker and restorer, and his mother, Janet Holmes, is a cel-
list and a cello teacher. Eddy began performing in theater at a youngster, with Drama Kids, a children’s theater group in Nassau County, taught by Sandee Leonhard. Over the years, he transitioned to shows at Woodmere Middle School, and got involved in the Hewlett Theatre Company at Hewlett High School, directed by Dawn DeMaio. “At our school, drama is not just a club,” DeMaio, who teaches theater at the high school, wrote in an email. It is a program all its own, with five theater-arts courses, and full-length musicals and one-act productions every year, she explained. “Eddy took part in them all, and was always an excellent student and leader,” DeMaio added. She remembered his extraordinary talent and drive, after starting the program a year ContinuEd on PagE 14
s a mother of four, I know firsthand how essential a distraction-free environment is for our students’ success, and it’s clear that cellphones have been disrupting classrooms.