News & Announcements

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  Pre K Registration

  April 17, 2019

  Dear Parents and Community Members,

  A limited number of spots are still available for parents interested in enrolling their eligible child in the District’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten for the 2019-20 school year.

  The program is a full-day, five-day per week program for children turning four-years old by December 1, 2019. Children must also reside within the Island Park School District and meet all health and immunization requirements. Enrollment is limited so get your application in today!      

  UPK registration will be at Francis X. Hegarty School on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 by appointment only. Please call the Francis X. Hegarty School 434-2670/71 between 8am-4pm for your registration packet and to schedule an appointment.

  The day of your appointment, please bring:

  • Child’s Birth Certificate confirming your child will be four years of age on or before December 1, 2019.
  • 3 Proofs of Residency confirming you are a full-time resident of Island Park (e.g., driver’s license, telephone bill, deed to home, bank statement, etc.).
  • Updated physical and immunization documents from your child’s pediatrician.

  If more applications are received than slots available, a special board meeting will be held at a later date for the purpose of a random selection. Please call (516) 434-2670 for additional information.  There will be a mandatory UPK Parent Meeting on May 28, 2019 for parents of students who are newly accepted and subsequently enrolled in the program.

  Should other openings occur during the school year, those children not selected at the lottery will be notified in the order in which their name was selected.

  Thank you for your continued support of the Island Park Schools.

  • En espanol-Spots avail pre-k registration additional April 2019.pdf
  • Spots avail pre-k registration additional April 2019.pdf

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Island Park Staff Members Honored Through Library Resources

  The Island Park Faculty Association and the Island Park Public Library hosted their annual book dedication ceremony on April 3. This collaborative effort honors deceased members of the Island Park School District who have made lasting impacts on the education program and lives of students and colleagues.

  Each year, the IPFA provides a donation to the library, which is used to purchase a selection of books and hands-on learning kits as a tribute to the celebrated individuals. This year’s honorees were former Board of Education member John Marino, past Superintendent of Schools Dr. Erich J. Stegmeier and Transportation Department member Fran DiLeo. In addition to the dedication, their names were inscribed on a plaque that will be displayed in the library.

  Current and former members of the Island Park Public Schools’ faculty shared reflections about the individuals. Board of Education Vice President Diana Caracciolo remembered Mr. Marino and retired school nurse Barbara Gould spoke about Ms. DiLeo. Several staff members highlighted the contributions of Dr. Stegmeier. Music Coordinator Marie Sambolin, retired music teacher Joe Bonelli and retired industrial arts/technology teacher Neil Swernofsky reflected on Island Park’s second-ever Superintendent of Schools’ 26-year career in the district, which began with a principal position at Hegarty.

  Members of the district’s Board of Education and staff, along with the families and friends of the honorees, were present at the event. All had the opportunity to view the dedicated books and learning tools, enjoy refreshments and speak to other attendees. Special thanks was extended to IPFA President Pat Collins and retired math teacher Phyllis Baranoff for their efforts in coordinating this meaningful acknowledgment of Island Park educators.

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Summer Camp Application

  City of Long Beach
  Department of Parks & Recreation
  Summer Camp Application

  See Attached...

  • Long Beach Summer Camp Application.pdf

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Lincoln Orens students uphold National Junior Honor Society values

  Island Park’s Lincoln Orens Middle School welcomed 26 new members to the National Junior Honor Society, advised by teacher Ryan Walter, during a ceremony held on March 21. The new inductees join 30 other National Junior Honor Society members, bringing the current total to 56 members.

  National Junior Honor Society was established based on five pillars: scholarship, service, leadership, character and citizenship. Members are selected based on their demonstration of these qualities, with specific requirements for academics and community service. The organization’s student officers took turns in the spotlight, where they described the meanings of these values, the standards and expectations that membership involves and the symbolism of the torch that was lit to represent guidance.

  Principal Dr. Bruce Hoffman welcomed the honorees along with members of the administration and board of education, faculty and students’ families. He explained that the National Junior Honor Society members were being honored not only for their academic success, but also because they are leaders who are involved in their school and community.

  “You are here because you are leaders who are involved in or made contributions to your school and community, you are critical thinkers who have persevered through all the rigorous assessments and curriculum, you make a habit of questioning the world around you, and you are true to yourselves and the values instilled in you by your loved ones and the Island Park School District,” Dr. Hoffman said. He challenged the students to continue to strive toward even loftier goals.

  Each year, the two Lincoln Orens National Junior Honor Society alumni who have the highest grade point averages of all Island Park seniors at Long Beach High School and West Hempstead High School are invited to the ceremony to inspire their younger peers and share reflections and advice from their own experiences. Long Beach High School Class of 2019 speaker Jaylyn Umana shared words of motivation and advice based on his own educational journey. While West Hempstead High School’s Alexus Arnold could not be present, Guidance Counselor Andrea Porzelt read a prepared statement from her.

  The evening also featured musical interlude performances by seventh and eighth grade students of Mouret and Leidig’s “Rondeau” and Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday.” The ceremony concluded with the presentation of certificates by Dr. Hoffman and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Rosmarie Bovino.

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Island Park honors students and spotlights improvement projects

  The Island Park Public Schools’ March 25 Board of Education Meeting featured student recognitions and important district updates. Discussion items included summer recreation opportunities, a brief LIPA litigation update, presentation on how to improve the play area at Frances X. Hegarty Elementary School, the district’s 2018 report card and timeline of the summer bond projects.

  The meeting began with the announcement of Students of the Month who represented each grade at Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School and Lincoln Orens Middle School. Tommy Matute (kindergarten), Ava Porcelli (grade 1), Ilay Reyes (grade 2), Jason Trahan (grade 3), Billy Doyle (grade 4), Chrystian Ciccarello (grade 5), Camila Bonilla (grade 6), Jason Flores-Jiminez (grade 7) and Isabella Mendez (grade 8) received medals and certificates of excellence. Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School and Lincoln Orens Middle School principals Jacob Russum and Dr. Bruce Hoffman read teachers’ remarks about each student and how they played a positive role in the classroom and displayed excellent character. 

  Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rosmarie Bovino reminded families to register for the district’s Universal Pre-K program on April 9 and spoke about summer recreation opportunities. With construction interfering with the district’s 2019 summer recreation program, Dr. Bovino stated that the district will run two weeks of summer trips. In addition, the City of Long Beach is opening their summer program to Island Park students at the same cost as students in the Long Beach School District.

  BBS Architect Curt Coronado presented groundwork options for the Frances X. Hegarty play area. He shared ideas such as covering up the area with synthetic turf and a drainage system, which is being done throughout Nassau County. The board discussed other options with Mr. Coronado to preserve the area from damage and flooding. The board will continue to explore different options.

  Dr. Bovino shared the 2018 report card which highlighted how many students participated in the New York State assessments and how they performed. She shared the positive proficiency statistics and the academic growth of students involved in the Universal Pre-K program.

  To conclude the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Vincent Randazzo presented on what the community can expect from the summer projects and provided a timeline. He shared that the rails for the flood mitigation system are being installed. In April, concrete sidewalk repairs will take place and a test pile will be assembled on Radcliffe Road. This will be used to assess the condition of soil.

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Lincoln Orens Students Hear Impactful Story

  Lincoln Orens Middle School students received important lessons during a visit from Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan on March 14. Author of the book, “Four Perfect Pebbles,” Ms. Blumenthal shared her experiences during this devastating time in history and explained how she has made the most of her life ever since.

  Ms. Blumenthal presented her story about going through the Holocaust as a child and explained how the horrific treatment, illnesses and destruction affected her family as well as others. As a way to find hope while in the concentration camps, she invented a game in which she would search for four perfect pebbles that signified the well-being of her family.

  The author and public speaker then discussed what transpired after the war came to an end, including the tragic loss of her father to sickness. She moved to the United States with her mother and brother and began her education, having to start as a teenager in an elementary class. Through hard work and courage, Ms. Blumenthal not only caught up to grade level, but graduated eighth in a class of 267 students all while learning English and working after school. She was eventually married and had three children, and is now a proud grandmother and great-grandmother.   

  Ms. Blumenthal encouraged her audience to keep the story of the Holocaust alive so that future generations may continue to learn from it.

  “Despite all the terrible things that happened to me as a child, my life today is full and rewarding,” Ms. Blumenthal said. “I recognize the importance of sharing this part of history with you.”

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Letter From Superintendent NYSED Testing Program

  Dear Parents & Families,

  In a few weeks, the New York State Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Tests will be administered to students. The ELA exam will be administered on April 2^nd and April 3^rd and the Mathematics exam will be administered on May 1^st and May 2^nd.

  Over the past few years, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has instituted several encouraging changes to the annual ELA and math testing program that I would like to share with you. Below you will find a summary of the changes that were made to the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests as well as Teacher and Principal Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) over the past several years.

  Changes to the NYS Testing Program

  • Fewer testing sessions and questions. Last year, the Grades 3–8 ELA and Math Tests were reduced from three test sessions per subject to only two sessions per subject, meaning each subject originally designed to be 90 minutes in length on each day is now designed to be the same length over two days. The tests now have fewer questions, lessening fatigue for students and better enabling them to demonstrate what they know and are able to do.
  • Despite their design, the tests continue to be untimed so students who are still working on their exams will be allowed to continue to work at their own pace.
  • Test questions were reviewed and written by New York State Teachers, not a testing corporation. Hundreds of New York State educators were involved in creating and reviewing questions for 2019 Grades 3-8 ELA and math Tests and selecting the questions for the test forms.

  Changes to Teacher and Principal Evaluation/APPR

  • Student performance on the 2019 Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics Tests will have no employment-related consequences for teachers and principals evaluations. This means the evaluations of teachers and principals in New York State public schools will not be affected by the results of the 2019 Grades 3-8 ELA and math Tests.

  Release of Test Questions and Instructional Reports

  • Test questions and instructional reports will be released before the end of the school year. This means teachers and principals will review all relevant data from the tests to help them evaluate current instructional programs and practices as well as address students’ needs during the last month of school. This same data will continue to be used in September by students’ new teachers.

  The demands of today's world require that our students learn and master many skills. Today’s students are learning and growing in an ever-changing knowledge-based, highly technological world which necessitates that students master higher-order thinking skills and that they are able to see the relationships among seemingly diverse concepts. In the Island Park UFSD we pride ourselves on offering students many instructional, extra-curricular, and recreational opportunities to practice and hone in on these crucial 21^st Century skills. In addition, we focus on other important skills needed for college and the workplace such as teamwork, collaboration, and character building, traits that cannot be measured by traditional tests. 

  As a school district, we also acknowledge the need to measure student achievement, growth, and progress using multiple measures of student performance rather than a test score on a single assessment.  We understand and value the approach of using multiple measures of student performance and use the scores from the NYS Testing Program as only one of the several measures used to help us gauge each student’s performance, achievement and to measure the impact of our instructional programs and practices.

  How Test Data Are Used

  Data from the NYS Testing Program is only one of several measures used by the District to assess student performance as well as the effectiveness of instructional programs and practices. Test questions and instructional reports will be released by NYSED on or around June 1. This early date gives teachers and principals time to use the information before the end of the school year in the following ways:

  • Teachers and the principal identify achievement gaps that exist among different student populations.
  • Teachers and the principal examine current district curricula to identify achievement gaps and the resources required to fill each gap.
  • Teachers learn about each student’s strengths and for the purpose of individualizing instruction.
  • Teachers determine strategies that are working well and those which are not.
  • Teachers identify the skills that individual students and groups of students have mastered and, therefore, do not require re-teaching; in this way, instructional time can be spent targeting skills that are still developing.
  • Student data is stored in our Instructional Data Warehouse (IDW), the district’s repository for student data collected from multiple sources and organized for analyses and reporting. The IDW provides a wide variety of reports for all NYS assessments so that students’ longitudinal growth can be measured over several years’ time. In this way, trends that emerge over time can also be corrected.

  How Parents Can Use the 2019 Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Test Results

  We anticipate NYSED will make test results available in August along with redesigned score reports. Shortly after the release of the results, parent reports will be uploaded into the “Student Portfolio” section of Parent Portal.  The Commissioner says the updated reports will be easier to understand and provide more information about what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. We encourage parents to use these reports in the following ways:

  • Use your child’s score report as one measure to guide a discussion with your child’s teacher(s) about additional supports that may be helpful in school, as well as ways to support your child’s learning at home.
  • See State test results as just one measure of your child’s achievement. Use the information from the reports to compare progress and achievement against report card grades which are cumulative (based on many factors over time, including attendance, work habits, class participation, homework, quizzes, tests, and other instructional activities) and establish the picture of a child’s true academic achievement.
  • Use the information to compare your child’s performance to other students across the State, especially with respect to specific skills and concept areas. For example, the ELA report gives scores for both reading and writing; the math report gives scores for the key math concepts for your child’s grade level.

   Academic Intervention Services (ELA & Math Lab)

  Beginning September 2019, we have redesigned our ELA and math Lab practices. ELA and math Lab teachers will predominantly spend their time assisting students within the confines of the students’ regularly scheduled ELA and math classes in lieu of pulling students out to receive additional support.

  Thus, based upon the changes made by NYSED to the annual Testing Program and the District’s approach to using the data produced from these assessments, we are encouraging our families to have their students in grades 3- 8, participate in the ELA and Mathematics tests scheduled in the spring of 2019.

  Respectfully,

  Rosmarie Bovino 
  Superintendent of Schools            

  Vincent Randazzo
  Assistant Superintendent

  • Letter From Superintendent NYSED Testing Program(1).pdf
  • Parents Frequently Asked Questions about NYS Annual Grades 3-8 ELA and Math tests.pdf
  • The 2019 Grades 3-8 NYS Assessments-What Parents Need to know.pdf
  • What Parents Need to Know About the NYS Assessments.pdf

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Little Doctors Lend Helping Hands

  Student Council members from Island Park’s Lincoln Orens Middle School eagerly took on jobs that made a difference on Jan. 31, during the district’s annual blood drive. The group of “Little Doctors” volunteered hours of their time to support the New York Blood Center by escorting participants, writing thank you cards and distributing snacks and juice to donators.   

  As a result of the students’ efforts and community’s participation, 30 pints of blood were donated – equivalent to 90 lives saved. The Little Doctors Program is organized by the New York Blood Center and is designed for faculty members and students at elementary and middle school levels to increase their knowledge and understanding about the science of blood and the body’s circulatory system as well as to learn about volunteerism and community service.

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Transportation Application Private and Parochial School Students

  To the Parents/Guardians of

  Private and Parochial School Students: 

  Residents of the Island Park School District with children that will be attending a private or parochial school during the 2019-2020 school year, must submit a transportation application to the Transportation Department on or before April 1, 2019. Island Park residents must use our application as we will not accept any private/parochial school’s applications.  An application is enclosed with this letter.  It is also posted on the District’s website, www.ips.k12.ny.us and copies may be picked up at the Transportation Office.  The top of the form must be completely filled out by a parent/guardian.  The application must then be completed and verified by the school the student is attending.  Please do not delay in submitting this form, a delay in response from the school will not change a missed deadline.  

  FAILURE TO SUBMIT THE TRANSPORTATION REQUEST FORM ON OR BEFORE THE DEADLINE OF APRIL 1, 2019 WILL RESULT IN THE STUDENT BEING INELIGIBLE FOR DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR.  IN THOSE CASES, THE COST AND THE ARRRANGMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION WILL REST WITH THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN.

  Please be advised that enrolling a student in a school after the April 1^st deadline does not constitute a reasonable excuse for the failure to submit a timely transportation request to our office. If you are awaiting acceptance from a school(s), you should complete an application prior to the April 1^st deadline for each school that your child might attend.  Transportation authorization is not automatic or continuous from one school year to the next.  A request must be filled out for each individual child, each school year. (Example: If 4 children in the household are attending, then you must submit 4 applications each year).  All new residents and students who move within the Island Park School District must prove residency.  Mrs. Paula Di Lorenzo can be reached at (516) 434-2618 if you have any questions concerning the registration procedures.

  Transportation is not provided for schools over 15 miles from the student’s home.  It is understood that transportation will not be provided on the following days: Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, the day after Christmas, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day.  In addition, each general election day and any day appointed by the President of the United States or by the Governor of New York may be declared public holidays.  There will be no bus service for orientation days that are prior to the Island Park School District’s opening date.  If the Island Park School District is closed for inclement weather, there will be no transportation provided for any school and that will include any private/parochial schools. If the District is operating on a delayed opening schedule all schools will be on this delay.  School closing information can be found on the District website, Facebook page and Channel 12 News.  Please refer to the District calendar for further information.

  If you have any questions, please contact this office at (516) 434-2607/2608.

  Sincerely,

  Mrs. Kelly Angelo
  Transportation Supervisor

  • Letter transportation application 2019.pdf

  Island Park Public Schools
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  Summer Recreation Programs

  An important message from the Superintendent of Schools

  Re:  Summer Recreation Programs 

  Alternate Summer Recreation Programs may be planned as the District moves forward with planning the summer construction projects.    It is likely that the summer recreation program will not run during the summer of 2019.  Alternate arrangements are being planned and definite information will be provided to parents within the next two weeks.  If you have any questions, please contact the Superintendent’s Office at 434-2610.

  Island Park Public Schools
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  12/14/18: Settlement between LIPA and Brookhaven Town have Implications for Island Park

  A settlement agreement between LIPA and Brookhaven Town was reached in mid-December. It includes a reduction in taxes LIPA pays for its Port Jefferson power station of approximately 50% over nine years, beginning  

  2OI9-2020. This means LIPA’s annual taxes will go from $32.ó million to just over $1ó.8 million. Thus, the tax burden of $15.8 million will gradually shift to property owners. 

  The implication is that the State Supreme Court will rule similarly on LIPA’s cases with school districts, including Island Park.  We anticipate a decision will be rendered on Island Park UFSD’s lawsuit with LIPA in early February.  An appeal by the district is planned.  

  Discussion on the issue will take place with the district’s legal counsel, Robert H. Cohen, Esq of Lamb & Barnosky LLP at the Board of Education Meeting on Monday, January 28 at approximately 7:20 PM (after Students of the Month are recognized) in the Conference Center at 99 Radcliffe Road. 

  Read the article attached, “State judge OKs Brookhaven – LIPA tax settlement.” 

  • State judge oks Brookhaven - Ll PA tax settlement.pdf

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  Harbor Isle Cleanup

  See attached: Letter to Mr. Nick Acampora - Division of Environmental Remediation

  • Letter to Mr Nick Acampora-Division of Environmental Remediation.pdf

  Island Park Public Schools