With the start of the 2003-2004 school year, the Mineola School District proudly ushered in a new era in Mineola early childhood education, with the opening of the Willis Avenue School. While the first floor of the two-story building was designed specifically to meet the needs of pre-kindergartners and our new Full-Day Kindergarten program, which began this fall, Willis Avenue also provides a new home for central administration. This combination creates an abundance of instructional space in our other schools.

The school was officially dedicated to the children of our community in a gala ceremony held on Sunday, October 19. The event was heavily attended, and the packed house heard praise for the school from Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, State Senator Michael Balboni, Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, and Mayor Jack Martins. Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi sent a Citation to the district for its pursuit of academic excellence. The Mineola High School String Ensemble wowed the audience with their impressive performance, demonstrating just what our students are capable of. The ribbon was cut, the dedication plaque unveiled, and a time capsule containing student artwork and modern artifacts was sealed to mark the occasion for future generations.

The Willis Avenue School is not the only place in the Mineola Schools where dedication to academic excellence is evident. Improvement planning is under way in all of our schools. As we plan, we are focused on several goals aimed at achieving the district's mission. The main goal is to improve student achievement. With the new graduation requirements and mandates for statewide testing, all students in New York State must achieve certain performance levels in order to graduate. We are applying a number of educational strategies to ensure that all of our students are performing at their best.

Each of our schools is challenged with the task of developing a school improvement plan that is focused on supporting and improving student learning and performance. We in the Mineola School Community will demonstrate that learning is important for all of us-students, parents, teachers, administrators and the community as a whole. When we walk together with this purpose, we are likely to encounter the destiny we seek.