The report from the State Education Department came over the summer holidays and must have been music to the ears of Westbury school board members, the faculty and staff of Westbury Middle School and of course the students and the parents of those attending the school.

There is good reason to be smiling because not only has Westbury Middle School met the state standards and performing index for English Language Arts (ELA), but the students have also recorded the highest percent increase in Nassau County - a total of 22 points. Fifty-six percent or 116 students scored in the average to above average range compared to 22 percent or 63 students last year.

The enigma that could be aptly described as the "middle school syndrome" that affects middle school students all over the country, and has been confounding educators for a while, i.e. the dip in grade performance at this level, has not escaped Westbury Middle School. Now it seems that the cycle has been broken.

This is even more important since students are feeding into the middle school from Powells Lane Elementary School, a Blue Ribbon school and a National School of Excellence. I have contended that particular attention must be paid to this part of the continuum - the middle process - because if the ball is dropped here we stand to lose the gains of the elementary schools and thereby ultimately affect the quality of those students entering the high school.

Whatever is responsible for this fantastic showing - academic intervention, additional resources or whatever other combinations - must be preserved and maintained so that we may repeat this performance over and over again. I must note that this showing isn't particularly new to the middle school. At least eight of the current seniors at the high school came up from the middle school with up to four Regents credits under their belts.

Congratulations are therefore in order for the principal, Mary Ellen Haynes, and the hard working faculty and staff at the middle school. Kudos to the Westbury Board of Education for providing the necessary resources. Hats off to the students for applying themselves to the max.