BOE: Special Ed, ESL to be Revamped

The Glen Cove Board of Education tackled during Monday’s public meeting at .

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria said more focus needed to be placed on the Special Education and English as Second Language (ESL) students in the middle school.

“The sky is not falling. We just have to take a deep breath, and pause, and not think that the middle schools are coming apart at the seam, which is not the case,” said Laria.

Teams are being appointed to work with Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Dr. Shari Camhi to fix both programs, according to the Board.

“There are six areas that the teams [will] collect documents on: collection of data, teaching and learning, school leadership, infrastructure for student success, professional development and facilities and resources,” said Camhi.

The discussion topics resonating the most with attendees were the Advanced Placement Exam Review, or APEX (an online learning program), the Curriculum Committee, standardized test scores, and Fine Arts.

Some inquired if there was a plan to increase art programs within the school district.

“A lot of what is going on today has to do with politics,” said Laria. “But the Board and I are working to do everything we need to do, and doing it right.”

Laria announced that this would be the last planning session devoted entirely to discussing curriculum before the focus is shifted to the budget in December.