Last June, upon graduation from Division Avenue High School, I saw it in the best interest of the students and staff of the Levittown SD to write a letter to the Tribune in support of the school system, defending it from the very people looking to belittle it. It just so happens, this letter, aimed primarily at Mr. James P. Ward, also was published at a time when a Newsday education writer labeled our school as "blue-collar," and "low performing." While the letter was not aimed at this writer, I received plenty of thanks from neighbors, involved parents of the PTA and even received a letter from the superintendent thanking me for my letter and its support of the schools. Like Mrs. Neal, I was pleased to return to Levittown for winter break and see that our schools had achieved 100 percent mastery as defined by the State Board of Regents. This achievement, while belittled by Mr. Ward, was definitely an achievement that dedicated staff and administration should be proud of.

I feel that Mr. Ward's letters are not only staged at inopportune times, but are also rude. Mrs. Neal is a very involved parent, whose letter was meant as [congratulatory] to the students and teachers of Levittown. Mr. Ward insists on ridiculing her letter writing skills, while in my opinion his letters are aimed at drawing attention away from the success of the Levittown SD. In a district that, by state standards, is successful, why diminish the importance of our success. Mr. Ward insists on taking notice of the top tier of high school students who perform above 85 percent on these state mandated Regents. An interesting comment Mr. Ward made was that both MacArthur and Division Avenue had 31 percent scoring above 85 percent on the English regents. Yet in that very line, he comments that MacArthur's scores are not bad when compared to Division. He also commented on Hicksville's success over Division, despite that district having 31 percent surpass 85 percent on the English regents, identical to both Levittown high schools. I found interest in Mr. Ward's comments regarding Great Neck, and their influx of Middle Eastern students, speaking Farsi. Middle Eastern, like immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and East Asia, are generally considered being more successful than students of Hispanic and African-American descent. Levittown has had an influx of students speaking only their native Spanish, possibly contributing to lower scores than Great Neck, when coupled with lower income levels.

I find it very counter productive that Mr. Ward would look to compare Levittown with every other school system in Nassau County. Never would neighboring districts like Hempstead and Garden City, or Uniondale and Bellmore-Merrick be compared. Why, as I stated in my first letter, would Mr. Ward continue to be part of the problem, and not contribute to the solution? It's sad that he labels Levittown as unsuccessful, when by state standards, 100 percent of the students passed. Perhaps my 18 years do not give me the wisdom Mr. Ward has accumulated throughout his life, but that just doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps Mr. Ward should concentrate on moving several blocks south to his beloved Wantagh SD, or to Roosevelt, where clearly he could help an unsuccessful district, rather than focusing his time and literary efforts on belittling every success the students, faculty and administration continue to have.