In what would be his last meeting as a member of the Mineola Board of Education, the board said good-bye to Dennis Mortensen, who ran an unsuccessful bid for re-election last month. His seat will be filled by Mary Ellen Williams, who won the election over Mortensen and Vivian Rose.

Although Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lorenzo Licopoli has only been with the district for a year, he thanked Mortensen for his service as the board member was presented with a rocking chair, symbolizing his retirement from the board.

Mortensen thanked his fellow board members for allowing him to serve as the board president for the past year, during which the district experienced a major change. During the past year, the board adopted a multi-year reorganization plan with a district mission, core values and goals.

Mortensen appeared gracious in leaving his seat on the board as he publicly congratulated Williams for winning the seat and Rose for stepping up to the plate and running.

"I leave on a high note because of educational reform in the district," he said. "We stopped spinning our wheels and now we have traction."

Mortensen also thanked the community for the trust placed in him during his tenure on the board.

The Mineola Board of Education is in the process of adopting a new Internet policy. However, at last Thursday's meeting, the board tabled the discussion on the new policy.

Part of the reason for a new policy, which will regulate how students will utilize the Internet in a safe manner, is that students will have the capability of using e-mail, which is not covered in the current policy. Once the policy is adopted, students and parents will have to sign a contract agreeing to adhere to the policy.

According to Assistant Superintendent John Jackson, the district is waiting for approval from the New York State Education Department to begin construction on the new school on Willis Avenue. The old school has been completely demolished and the area has been cleared. However, plans for the new school must still be approved by the state.

Jackson said the district still hopes to have the new school up and running by Sept. 2003 for the start of the school year.

At last Thursday's board meeting, discussion also centered on the New York State Assessment results for testing in English Language Arts (ELA).

Testing was done in February 2001 for fourth and eighth grade students for the Mineola School District. For grade four, 157 regular education students took the test with one achieving at Level I (way below state standards), 30 at Level II (below state standards), 98 at Level III (meeting state standards) and 28 at Level IV (exceeding state standards). Also, for grade four, 15 special education students took the test with two achieving Level I, seven achieving Level II, five achieving at a Level III and one achieving at Level IV.

Two English as a Second Language students took the test and both achieved Level III status.

For the eighth grade, 173 regular education students took the test with one scoring at Level I, 76 scoring at Level II, 83 scoring at Level III and 13 scoring at Level IV.

Also in the eighth grade, 26 special education students took the test with three scoring at Level I, 22 scoring at Level II and one scoring at Level III.

Dr. Licopoli believes the challenge ahead for the district is to continue to challenge those who are meeting state standards while improving the reading, writing and comprehension of those who aren't meeting state standards. The superintendent believes the district should not be teaching for the state assessment tests since the tests are only one benchmark for measuring student achievement. Yet, the curriculum should be in line with state standards. However, what may be more important is teaching students to read well, write well and have solid comprehension skills so that they retain what they learn.

One situation the district has identified involves students who aren't ESL students or special education students, yet when they go home, parents speak a different language. One possible way to improve the achievements of these students is through language immersion of both the students and the parents. By immersion into the English language by both the parents and students, it is believed students improve their skills in the English language.