A recent article in the Tribune ("Division Avenue High School is a Focus of Concern", March 13) has proved to be a disservice to the Levittown Public Schools and its community, and has caused consternation among students, staff, and parents. The article reported on the concerns raised at the March 4 board meeting by a few parents regarding the progress of students in a specific science class, and related concerns about differences in student achievement between the district's two high schools. The article took an unnecessarily negative tone, reporting only negative opinions and comments, and omitted many positive facts and opinions which were also presented during the meeting.

All of the Levittown Schools maintain a serious commitment to continuous progress and improvement. Unfortunately, the press and the State Department of Education too often interpret a school district's attempts to improve as some sort of indication of inadequacies or substandard performance. That kind of attitude only discourages improvement, and encourages schools to follow the safe middle road of adhering to the status quo.

All of Levittown's schools, including Division Avenue, have for a long while rejected the status quo, and student academic achievement has increased dramatically as a result. Division Avenue High School has much to be proud of in this regard.

During the past dozen years, the percent of Division Avenue students who are enrolled in Regents courses has more than doubled. Likewise, the percent of Division Avenue students who go on to college has increased more than twofold. These rates of progress have not even been approached by the vast majority of most schools in Nassau County. The teaching staff at Division Avenue High School has proven it can deliver higher standards of student achievement in all areas, and have joined the administration and the board in extending that commitment by implementing a Regents-only standard for all students.

The teaching staff and students at Division Avenue continue to garner praises and awards that are too frequently overlooked by the media. Recently, for example, Division science teacher Carl Laterza was selected as the New York State and one of the National Science Teachers of the Year. Division students have consistently earned science congress medals, and, for the second year in a row, Division has placed first in the Newsday Stock Market Competition. These are achievements that any school would be proud of. These are the events and accomplishments that should appear on page one of the newspaper rather than the hastily formed opinions of a few people speaking at a board meeting.