ALBANYThe Business Council and various regional chambers of commerce around the state have scheduled six more ceremonies in the weeks ahead at which schools around the state will receive the first annual "Pathfinder Awards." Pathfinder Awards have already been presented at five similar events.
The Business Council created the Pathfinder Awards this year to recognize schools that show the most improvement from one year to the next as measured by the state's new academic standards. The Council began presenting the awards early in November; by January, 27 schools around the state will have received Pathfinder Awards.
Award ceremonies scheduled: The following six award ceremonies have been scheduled:
- Dec. 7, 8 a.m., Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury, Long Island, sponsored by the Long Island Association. Recipients: Willow Road School of Valley Stream # 13 School District and Frances X. Hegarty School of Island Park Union Free School District. Local contacts: Mitch Pally, Long Island Association (631/493-3002); Howard Mankes, Willow Road School (516/564-5420); and Gloria Maffettone, Frances X. Hegarty School (516/431-4740).
- Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m., El Carrib, 5945 Strickland Avenue, Brooklyn, sponsored by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Recipients: C.S. 21/Crispus Attucks Elementary School (Community School District # 16) and P.S. 146/Brooklyn New School (Community School District # 15). Local contacts: Kenneth Adams, Brooklyn Chamber (718/875-1000); Renee Young, Crispus Attucks Elementary School (718/574-2388); and Anna Allanbrook, Brooklyn New School (718/923-4750).
- Dec. 8, 8 a.m., the Bartlett House, Olean, sponsored by the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce. Recipient: North Hill Elementary School, Olean. Local contacts: George Schanzenbacher, Greater Olean Chamber (716/372-4433); Maureen Donahue, North Hill Elementary School, (716/375-4453).
- Dec. 8, 7:30 a.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Horseheads, Chemung County, sponsored by the Chemung County Chamber of Commerce. Recipient: Gardner Road Elementary School. Local contacts: Janet Kennedy, Chemung County Chamber (607/734-5137); Steve Monks, Gardner Road Elementary School (607/739-6347).
- Dec. 13, noon, Lockport Locks and Cruises, Lockport, Niagara County, sponsored by the Eastern Niagara Chamber of Commerce. Recipient: Thomas Marks Elementary School, Wilson Central School District. Local contacts: David Kinyon, Eastern Niagara Chamber (716/433-3828); Elaine Moon, Thomas Marks Elementary School (716/751-9341, ext. 118).
- Dec. 21, 7 p.m., Rochester Board of Education meeting, 131 West Broad Street, Rochester, sponsored by the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce. Recipients: Pinnacle School # 35 and The Children's School of Rochester, both of the Rochester City School District. Local contacts: Wyoma Best, Greater Rochester Chamber (716/263-3679); Robert Kuter, Pinnacle School # 35 (716/271-4583); and Edward Witaszek, The Children's School (716/262-8830).
Previous award ceremonies: The following Pathfinder Award presentations took place in recent weeks:
- The Longfellow Elementary School of the Mount Vernon Central School District and the Park Avenue Elementary School in the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District, presented Nov. 30, sponsored by Texaco Inc. and the County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
- Jefferson Elementary School, Massena, presented Nov. 29, sponsored by the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce. Additional local sponsors include Alcoa and the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.
- Whitehall Elementary School, Washington County, presented Nov. 28, sponsored by the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce. Additional local sponsors include International Paper, the Whitehall School Board, and the Whitehall PTA.
- The John F. Hughes Elementary School, Utica, and the Harts Hill Elementary School, Whitesboro, presented Nov. 15, sponsored by the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce.
- P.S. 217, Roosevelt Island School and P.S. 59, the Beekman Hill International School, presented Nov. 8, sponsored by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.
How schools become eligible for Pathfinder Awards: To be chosen for the award, a school must meet two criteria. First, at least half of its students must meet or exceed state standards on the fourth-grade English Language Arts test. Second, a school must also have shown more improvement over its record the previous year than other schools in the region.
The English Language Arts test results were used to determine this year's awards because this measure was the first statewide assessment available that provided data on each elementary school's improvement compared to the year before. As broader test data become available in future years, these results will be added to the award criteria.
Each year for the next three years, Pathfinder Awards will be given to at least two public schools in each of 12 different regions across the state. These regions are the state's judicial districts; the awards are being made by district because appointments to the state Board of Regents are based on those regions.
In some regions, if more than two schools show nearly identical levels of improvement, more than two will be recognized. This year, four schools will be honored in one region and three in another. In the other 10 regions, two schools will be honored.
Schools that attain this honor will receive $1,000 for the school's programs and a trophy in recognition of their achievement. Awards will be presented in local ceremonies organized by The Council along with local chambers of commerce and/or local businesses.
Companies that have contributed to date to support the Pathfinder Awards include Corning Incorporated, Texaco, Con Edison, Fleet Bank, the Pike Company, Frontier Communications, the Golub Corporations, and KeyBank.
Background on The Business Council's advocacy on education: The Business Council in recent years has forcefully advocated policies to strengthen the performance and accountability of the state's public schools.
For example, The Business Council's research affiliate, The Public Policy Institute, used state data to design the prototype of the state's new school report cards. Today school report cards are released annually to give schools, teachers, parents, and students a sense of how their schools are doing compared to schools in similar circumstances and their own performance of the previous year.
The Council has also been a strong proponent of the state's new, tougher academic standards, as well as tests based on those standards to measure the performance of students, teachers, and schools.
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