The Sept. 17 Massapequa board of education meeting began with the first of many big changes, including the announcement of the impending sale of the Carman Road Elementary School building to Nassau BOCES. The district had passed a resolution to sub-divide the building from the athletic fields to move forward with the negotiation of this sale. The public vote will be on Nov. 24, and the proceeds from the sale will be used to lower taxes over the next 8-10 years. Details of this agreement will be further discussed at the next meeting on Oct. 2.
Superintendent Lucille F. Iconis gave a lengthy report on the board’s goals for the 2015-16 school year. Iconis stated that the “end game” always has to be in sight, which is to have students well prepared to compete in this global environment.
“The goals presented are ambitious, rigorous and relevant to this end game,” she said.
The first goal is to continue to provide opportunities through curriculum, instruction, assessment, and technology tools and resources that allow students to 
demonstrate achievement and career/college readiness. The next goal is to promote an environment that fosters respect, ethical behavior and responsible citizenship and finally, the last goal is to effectively utilize district resources and physical assets. Each goal had many objectives attached to it to bring a detailed understanding of the work that is required.
Iconis continued in her presentation with her educational vision for the district. She focused on the first goal and stated that Massapequa is a very good district, but always needs to continuously improve, stating that “If we don’t move forward we will fall back.”
After looking at extensive data and research, Iconis would like the board to consider the following: revive the exploration of the International Baccalaureate program, expansion of th accelerated program in the humanities, a reconfiguration of the middle school, the introduction of foreign language at the elementary level, the fortification of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) instruction at the elementary level and the investigation into the Pre-K program.
The top priority of these initiatives would be moving the sixth grade to the middle school for a true middle school educational experience. This was initially discussed two years ago and the community had three major concerns: social/emotional readiness, fiscal implications and the fear that with declining enrollment, an elementary building will be at risk of closing. Iconis has done extensive research to address these concerns and recommended board of education workshops where the public can attend and discuss all the implications of such a move. She has plans to bring in experts such as psychologists and social workers and have detailed fiscal reports. Iconis would like to visit successful six through eight school models with teams of teachers, administrators, parents and students to report back on the pros and cons of such a configuration. She also proposed focus groups at each of the elementary schools to get more insight on concerns and share her findings.
The superintendent concluded by asking the board and community if they want a fixed mindset or one of growth. She believes there should be a growth mindset because of the many resources Massapequa has and the importance of education to the success of the children.
The board voted 4 to 1 to move forward with these exploration suggestions.
