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Friday, August 30, 2019
Vol. 94, No. 35
BACK TO SCHOOL
ANTIVAX PARENTS SPEAK OUT
TOWN SHUT OUT OF EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS
PAGES 35-46
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G.N. test scores are higher than county average
PL AKSTIS GETS PL AQUE
Schools reach 80% proficiency in English Language Arts, 81% in math BY J E S S I C A PA R K S AND TOM MCCARTHY Nassau County test scores show that students in grades 3 to 8 performed slightly better in math and English Language Arts this year than in 2018. North Shore school districts generally recorded higher scores than the county average in both subject tests. In math, 63 percent of students, or 32,587 students, in the county scored proficient in their grade level for math, compared with 60 percent, or 29,783, of students in 2018. Some 59 percent of county students, or 33,145, scored proficient in ELA testing in 2019, a 1 percentage point increase from 2018, when 31,344 scored at a proficient level. On the North Shore, Port Washington, Great Neck, Manhasset, Herricks, East Williston, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park and Roslyn recorded higher scores than the county average in both
subject tests. However, Sewanhaka and Mineola school districts scored lower than the county in both math and ELA. Students in the Sewanhaka and Mineola school districts had the lowest scores on the North Shore in ELA with 54 percent of students scoring at a proficient level. The Herricks school district had 81 percent of students score proficient in ELA, the highest of the North Shore schools. The East Williston school district had the highest proficiency rate in math among the North Shore school districts with 87 percent of students scoring at a proficient level. Sewanhaka had the lowest math scores with 47 percent of students scoring proficient. Some 81 percent of students in the Herricks school district scored proficient in math, and neighboring Mineola students recorded a proficiency score of 60 percent in the subject. Continued on Page 77
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARA RIETBROEK
Donna Plakstis with sons Ryan (center) and Tyler at the Jonathan Ielpi Firefighters Park. See story on page 22.
Using music and the arts to combat memory loss BY R OB E RT PELAEZ At the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck, the arts are being enlisted to help people suffering from memory loss, such as Alzheimer’s or de-
mentia. “The arts are for everyone,” said Regina Gill, founder and executive director of the arts center. The center’s Making Memories program invites anyone suffering from any form of
memory loss to come in and gain exposure to a variety of arts, including dance and music classes and watching films. “One of the many favorite anecdotal experiences I witnessed was during a dance sesContinued on Page 66
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