Kelly Fallon Leads First BOE Meeting of School Year

New Superintendent took the reins in her first Board of Education meeting of the school year Monday night, and she begins her tenure with plenty of school accolades.

She lamented to a crowd of about 50 parents and community members that Half Hollow Hills has four semifinalists in the running to receive National Merit Scholarships this school year due to their high achieving PSAT scores. Those students will find out in February if they've been selected as finalists.

On the elementary level, Forest Park was named a by the U.S. Department of Education last week, which honors public and private schools that are either high performing or have improved student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students.

In addition to student's academic success, Half Hollow Hills is leading in the arts and on the fields.

The Hills East field hockey team won its first two games, along with the and the who are also 2-0 so far this season. 

In the arts, 16 students were given All-State honors and Half Hollow Hills was named the second best program in the state by the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA).

As host for the meeting, Principal of , Jeffery Woodberry, detailed the high school's achievements as well. He boasted that the students finished their Regents exams last school year with a 90 percent passing rate in all areas. Earth Science was just a tad behind with 89 percent. In addition to the passing rate, there was a 50 percent mastery level in nearly all subjects with test grades at 85 percent or higher. Also, out of the 1,132 students who took Advanced Placement exams, 83 percent received a grade of three or higher, earning them college credit for the courses.

In regards to the elementary summer school program that was from last year's budget, Fallon said the program went off without a hitch. With 386 students attending, she said the summer courses were a success.

The next board of education meeting is a work session scheduled for Oct. 17 at .

This article has been corrected. Orginally it said that Half Hollow Hills High School East had an 85 percent mastery level on all Regents exams. This has been corrected to reflect a 50 percent mastery level with grades of 85 percent or higher.