Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy visited the Gotham Avenue School in Elmont and named it the School of the Month in the Fourth Congressional District for April.

The Gotham Avenue School has received a high honor recently when it was awarded the 2003 Pathfinder Award for outstanding educational improvement. The Business Council created the Pathfinder Awards to recognize schools that show the most improvement from one year to the next as measured by the state's new academic standards.

The Business Council gives Pathfinder Awards each year to at least two public schools in each of 12 different regions across the state. This year, the Gotham Avenue School was one of 24 schools in New York State chosen our of a total of 2,900 eligible elementary schools.

Congresswoman McCarthy congratulated Elmont School Superintendent Dr. Maria Palandra, Gotham Avenue School Principal Marshall Zucker and Elmont Board of Education member Joy Madera, who all greeted the congresswoman Tuesday morning and welcomed her to the school.

"Gotham Avenue was one of only two schools in my district to receive the 2003 Pathfinder Award for outstanding educational improvement. In my opinion, the business community rightfully recognized the school's remarkable academic improvements in math and reading," said McCarthy.

The congresswoman spoke to a gymnasium filled with students, telling them that she herself had learning disabilities as a student, but managed to overcome them. "I did not give up on myself. Do not give up on yourself," she said. "You have the ability to be the best that you can."

McCarthy also urged the students to study and do their homework. "Each and every one of you can make a difference," she said.

For the Gotham Avenue School, the students have made great strides in test scores. In 2000-2001, on the fourth grade English Language Arts test, 54 percent of the students tested scored at or above grade level. In math, 68 percent of those students tested scored at or above grade level.

However, in 2001-2002, on the fourth grade English Language Arts test, 88 percent of students tested scored at or above grade level. In math, 94 percent of the students tested scored at or above grade level.

"This is a lovely achievement for the district. This is something that we are fortunate to receive, but this is something that reflects what all six schools have been doing," said Principal Zucker. "I'm proud of everything having to do with the school district. We want to reach every single child. This is very important to us. We don't want to deal with children as statistics. We want children to move away in the very best possible way."

One of Dr. Palandra's major initiatives in her five years of superintendent of the Elmont schools is targeting any school that is not on par with the others in the district and increasing performance so that all the schools have high expectations and are working to achieve optimum performance.

If the Gotham Avenue School was at one time struggling in its academic performance, that no longer seems to be the case. "This award brought to light the good work that has been going on in the district for years. The results of good teaching, good curriculum and high expectations for students and staff are seen every day in the classrooms in the schools. They're are also beginning to reflect on the test scores," Dr. Palandra said.

Although Dr. Palandra doesn't place a lot of emphasis on the tests and doesn't feel schools should be compared with each other, she was pleased at the Gotham School being honored for improvement.

The school's improvement is even more impressive when one considers the obstacles the Elmont schools must achieve in order to succeed. For one, there are the fiscal restraints. Elmont spends the least amount of money per pupil than any other school in the district. Also, many of the children in the district do not start their education in Elmont since the community is extremely transient with many students moving in and out of the schools during the course of a year. "These are children who have had different exposure to education. Some of them have had a very successful educational life, but most don't," said Dr. Palandra.

In many cases, the Elmont schools also must overcome language barriers since there are over 70 different languages spoken in schools with students attempting to learn English for the first time.

Yet, Elmont is now competing with districts that have a lot more resources. Elmont's achievement in academics comparable to other communities with great advantages is a tribute to Elmont's educators and administrators, said Dr. Palandra.

The improvement in Gotham's academic performance can also be attributed to some initiatives that were put in place, according to Dr. Palandra. The Elmont School District has a curriculum map, spanning kindergarten through sixth grade, which acts as a road map for student expectations in each of the grade levels, common lesson plans and mentors who help teachers new to the district.

"Each school has strengths in our district. It was a way of getting the best that every school could offer," said Dr. Palandra.

The initiatives were put in place at all the schools in the district to get students performing at a higher level. Students as well as teachers were challenged by the district, setting high standards for its children and faculty.

"When our children leave this district, they are prepared to go to high school," said Madera. "We have very high standards for our teachers and in turn, they expect from the children."

Elmont's test scores may suffer from testing a large population of students with special needs. However, test scores may not be as important as giving children of all backgrounds, the tools necessary to succeed. "If you don't give children what they need as children, you can't expect them to be fulfilled and productive individuals as adults. That hurts society in the long run. Maybe we have to do a little extra, maybe we have to go the extra yard, but in the long run, I feel that that makes for a better world. That's what we're here for," said Madera.