ALBANY—Elementary schools in Albany, Erie, Oswego, Queens, the Bronx, and Delaware counties will receive The Business Council's 2004 Pathfinder Award in separate ceremonies in late March and early April. The award honors schools that show high improvement from one year to the next as measured by their students' scores on state tests. Twenty-four schools around the state will receive the award. See the complete list of winners on page 2, below.

The schools scheduled to receive the awards are:

P.S. 28, the Triangle Academy, of the Buffalo City School District in Erie County will receive its award Wednesday, March 24, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Margaret Boorady at 716-828-4777. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 8, which includes Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties.

P.S. 121, the Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts of Queens Community School District in Queens, will receive its award at a ceremony Wednesday, March 24, at 10 a.m. The event will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Henry Somers at 718-738-5126. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 11, which includes all of Queens.

Roxbury Elementary School of the Roxbury Central School District in Delaware County will receive its award at a ceremony Thursday, March 25, at 12 p.m. The event will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Lynn New at 607-758-4130. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 6, which includes Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Madison, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties.

P.S. 32, the Belmont School of Global Studies of the Bronx Community School District in the Bronx will receive its award at a ceremony Friday, March 26, at 1:15 p.m. The event will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Ester Schwartz
at 718-584-3645. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 12, which includes all of the Bronx.

P.S. 156, the Laurelton School, of the Queens Community School District in Queens, will receive its award at a ceremony Thursday, April 1, at 6 p.m. The event will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Doreen E. Little at 718-528-9173. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 11, which includes all of Queens.

Arbor Hill Elementary School, of the Albany Central School District in Albany County will receive its award at a ceremony Wednesday, April 7, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Robert White at 518-462-7166. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 3, which includes Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties.

The Williamstown Elementary School of the Altmar Parish-Williamstown Central School District in Oswego County will receive its award at a ceremony Thursday, April 8, at 2 p.m. The event will take place at the school. For further information, contact school principal Jeanne Brown at 315-625-5280. This school was selected from all public elementary schools in the state's judicial district 5, which includes Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties.

Background on the Pathfinder Award: The Council awards the Pathfinder Award to two or more schools in each of 12 regions of the state. Winning schools are chosen by The Council based on a range of criteria, including improvement in scores and the number and percentage of students tested. In addition, at least half of a school's students must meet or exceed state standards on the fourth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) and math tests before the school can qualify for the award. Two awards are given in each of 12 different regions across the state. These regions are the state's judicial districts because those regions are the basis of appointments to the state Board of Regents. The program is in its fourth year.

Schools that win the award receive $1,000 for the school's programs and a trophy in recognition of the achievement.

Here is a complete list of the 2004 Pathfinder Award winners:

Employers that have supported the Pathfinder Awards include Anheuser-Busch, Inc.; Apple Computers; Buck & Pulleyn; CH Energy Group; ChevronTexaco; Consolidated Edison, Inc.; Corning Incorporated; Fleet Bank; Frontier Communciations; Golub Corporation; HSBC; KeyBank; KeySpan; Metropolitan Life; Pfizer; The Pike Company; The Pioneer Development Company; Racemark International; Security Mututal Life Insurance Company, and State Farm Insurance Company.

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