March 2025

Dear South Huntington Community,

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) recently released accountability ratings for school districts and individual schools that measure performance as part of the Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  There are a number of indicators used to measure school and district performance, including NYS assessments and the number of students participating in State tests.  Schools and districts are designated as target schools and target districts if any subgroup of students underperforms relative to similar students in New York State. 

NYSED has designated South Huntington as a "Target District" based on District-wide 3-8 performance on the State tests for our Hispanic students relative to the performance of Hispanic students in other districts across New York State.   In addition, Silas Wood has been designated as a "Target School", based on the performance of our English Language Learners, compared to the performance of English Language Learners in other schools across New York State. 

The designation requires us to develop both a school-wide and District-wide improvement plan, which includes steps to prepare our students to take the NYS ELA, Math and Science tests in grades 3-8.  This is an opportunity to foster a collaborative effort with staff, parents, and students to enhance our strengths and make improvements where needed.   We look forward to working with all of you in this effort, and will keep you informed of our progress. 

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Office of Curriculum and Instruction at 631-812-3107.

Sincerely,

William J. Hender, Ed.D.                                                        Amanda Kavanagh
Assistant Superintendent for                                        Assistant Superintendent for
Elementary Education, P-6                                            Secondary Education, 7-12