Upon the occasion of my retirement, I would like to thank the children, residents, and employees of the Levittown School District for the privilege of having served as its superintendent during what has been the golden era of the Levittown Public Schools.
Very few school superintendents have enjoyed a more successful and rewarding career than the children, parents, and employees of our school district have provided me for the past 30 years.
The commitment to continuous progress that we have maintained for over a quarter of a century is itself a remarkable achievement for any community, and the results have been legendary, transforming the Levittown School District into one of the best school districts in Nassau County, New York State, and the entire nation.
I especially thank every Levittown student, every parent, every administrator, every teacher, every support staff member, and over 50 different Board of Education members for allowing me to share in a seemingly endless list of milestones of achievement and progress, including:
• Increase in college attendance rates from the mid-30 percent to over 90 percent, an increase from the bottom quarter to above the average in Nassau County;
• Increase in Regents diploma rates from 30 percent to over 90 percent, an increase from the bottom quarter to above the average in Nassau County;
• Increase in Advanced Placement enrollment from zero to over 40 percent, which is now among the highest participation rate in both Nassau County and in the nation;
• Increase from 10 percent to over 75 percent in the percent of students taking S.A.T. exams;
• Increase in college attendance of vocational education students from 5 percent to over 80 percent;
• Intel science research semi-finalists and finalists;
• S.A.T. Merit Scholar semi-finalists and finalists;
• Multi-year budget process resulted in passed budget for the last 18 years; with lower annual tax increases than any prior period in the history of the school district;
• First school district in New York State to implement Regents-only curriculum standards;
• First school district in New York State to fully integrate special education curriculum and IEP’s with Regents-only standards;
• First school district in New York State to fully integrate vocational education curriculum with Regents-only standards;
• Increased student performance on state tests in all subject areas and at all grade levels from the bottom quarter to above the average in Nassau County.
The children of Levittown will forever reap the benefits of the quality of education that has resulted from the dedication and support that the Levittown community has given and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of Levittown’s golden era.
Herman Sirois
Superintendent of Schools
