Elmont Union Free School District

A sense of pride filled the bustling gymnasium at Covert Avenue School on Nov. 18, when the Elmont community convened for the board of education meeting to recognize local veterans from American Legion Post 1033, recent retirees and English Language Learning scholars.

Under the direction of Covert Avenue music teacher Sheryl Turk, scholars in the school’s show choir opened the meeting with a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” 

Superintendent of Schools Marlon Small welcomed attendees to the celebratory meeting, thanking the Elmont community for their unwavering support in the annual Veterans Day parade and offering words of appreciation to the veterans in attendance. 

“On Tuesday of last week, on the 11th, our nation set aside this special day to thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice to our nation,” Mr. Small said. “We are often reminded that we live in a free nation, but we also know that that freedom is not free. It is paid for by the service, the leadership, the courage and the sacrifice of those brave men and women who serve in our armed forces, and also their families who support them during their time in service.”

Covert Avenue School Principal Alison Gunn continued the meaningful appreciation for the veterans. “Your courage, commitment and service inspire us all. At Covert Avenue, we work hard to teach our students what it means to serve others, to be kind, respectful and responsible citizens. Veterans Day gives us a powerful opportunity to show these lessons in action and to remind our students that freedom and community come with responsibility and gratitude.” 

In a touching tribute, the show choir sang once more, delivering a performance of “To Those Who Serve.” Along with a beautiful eagle display, created by the entire Covert Avenue school community, the show choir presented handmade cards to the veterans as a token of gratitude.  

Following the tribute to the veterans, retiring staff members were honored in a heartfelt, bittersweet acknowledgment of their service to the district. Together, they have contributed over 54 years of dedicated support to students, staff, faculty, administrators and families. Anna Barbagallo, Timothy Cleary and Arlene Wong were congratulated on their retirement and recognized with deep gratitude for their unwavering commitment to the district.

The district then welcomed American Heart Association Community Impact Director Jeremy Leiss, who presented a donation of six CPR in Schools With First Aid Training Kits and six AED trainers. The training equipment will be distributed across all six buildings, ensuring that students, teachers and staff members have access to hands-on instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator operation.

Attention turned to the students in attendance, as Interim Director of ENL Services Rita Johnson recognized the remarkable milestone achieved by 85 multilingual scholars from across the district. These students scored at the Commanding level on the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test, an annual assessment designed to evaluate students’ abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. Achieving the Commanding level represents a student’s mastery of fluency in English. 

Scholars from each building were called to the front of the gymnasium, where they were congratulated and received a Certificate of Recognition for their incredible accomplishment.