A cup of coffee with a napkin that states 2019 Review with a pen.

Below is a 2019 “Year in Review” recapping some of the things that happened over the past 12 months! This list is designed to reflect and look back upon many of the positive things that occurred throughout the past year in the William Floyd School District. They are in no particular order. Enjoy!

1) Student Success: William Floyd students continue to achieve great things! Some examples include: William Floyd High School senior Farihah Chowdhury scored a perfect 36 on her ACT, a feat achieved by less than one third of one percent of test-takers! She was featured on the cover of Newsday! William Floyd High School senior Nathalia Reis earned a full-ride scholarship to Yale through the QuestBridge Scholars program; two NJROTC cadets winning the prestigious Legion of Valor Bronze Cross award in back-to-back years – Xander Shirley, Class of 2019 (click here for Newsday “Extraordinary Senior” feature) and Anthony Auciello, Class of 2020 (click here for Newsday feature); Hailey Loughlin earning the News 12 Scholar Athlete of the Week award and scholarship for her athletic and academic accomplishments; the Youth & Government program continuing its three decade dynasty of dominance (Newsday Youth and Government report); the William Floyd Elementary School “Floydbots” robotics team winning the “Project Presentation” award at the FIRST Lego League qualifier; Moriches Elementary School student Caitlyn Michiels spurring Suffolk County Legislator Rudy Sunderman to create “Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month,” Top 10 students, science research success, science fair winners (example: Tangier Smith) and so much more!

2) The William Floyd High School graduation rate increased to 88.7% (August 2019) (85.1% in June 2019) a steady increase over the past three years and an upward trajectory since the four-year cohort graduation rate has been measured by the state. In 2006-07, the four-year cohort graduation rate was 62%. Under the leadership of the Board of Education and district administration, the William Floyd School District has implemented various factors to continue to raise the graduation rate, including: the implementation of the Floyd Academy, the Career and Technical Education program, the Positive Approach to Student Success program, identifying at-risk students earlier, the creation of the William Floyd Learning Center, the Freshman Academy, credit recovery, attendance mentors, upgrades in guidance protocols, a K-12 focus on college and careers and more.

3) Staff Highlights: Two William Floyd High School science teachers – Victoria Hernandez and Anya Swiss – joined the ranks of NYS Master Teachers! William Floyd now has eight NYS Master Teachers accounting for more than five percent of all Master Teachers in the Long Island region! WFHS chemistry teacher Kristen Drury added to her already-full awards shelf by being named a recipient of the POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) Early Achievement Award for advancing the process and demonstrating an exceptional level of enthusiasm for student-centered learning! She was one of only two to receive this award nationwide. She was also recently selected to receive the Stony Brook University “40 Under Forty” awards joining her colleague Martin Palermo who also earned this honor in 2016. William Paca Middle School is continuing to develop leaders and help ease the transition of incoming sixth graders through the Bridge Crew program, which is in its second year of making a difference! The William Floyd Learning Center introduced their brand new sensory path, an innovative and creative floor layout designed to incorporate movement into students’ daily learning. The new path was featured in a great story and video featured in Newsday! The William Floyd School District also unveiled a brand new, easy-to-use website and app (Long Island Advance story).

4) Board of Education & district operations highlights include the district earning the highest designation on the NYS Comptroller’s financial status report pertaining to fiscal health and management of school district finances. This designation from the comptroller’s office demonstrates the sound and responsible fiscal management of the William Floyd School District Board of Education and district business operations. Two trustees, Robert Vecchio and *Jeananne Dawson, received Nassau-Suffolk School Board awards for distinguished and dedicated service to the district, while trustee Robert Taiani, during his job as an emergency services officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, helped save a woman’s life! The Board of Education also has continuously been advocating on behalf of the district and our community.*Jeananne Dawson, longtime trustee and vice president of the Board of Education, passed away on September 26, 2019. Her legacy will be honored with the ceremonial dedication and renaming of the Jeananne Dawson Memorial Library formerly the William Floyd High School Library on January 23, 2020. The Board of Education also took the proactive step to adopt a sense resolution opposing new state vaccination mandate proposals as they feel that parents, along with their trusted physicians, should make important medical choices involving their children.

image of the Long Island Advance editorial from 10/3/19 - "Floyd Strong and looking good, too"

5) The Capital Project, overwhelmingly approved by voters in October 2017, is moving along! The fully-adaptive playground opened up for students and the community, the new multi-purpose turf sports field hosted homecoming and several exciting playoff games and the high school auditorium was revamped! Infrastructure improvements and more exciting projects are in the works! The Long Island Advance wrote a great article and an amazing editorial on the progress! (pictured at right)

6) Speaking of sporting events, the William Floyd Colonials put forth some great efforts on the fields, courts and tracks, highlighted by the varsity football team (19 consecutive playoff appearances) winning its 12th Suffolk County Championship! The girls’ varsity tennis team made the playoffs again for an astounding 17 times, the boys’ varsity soccer team made it to the semifinals for the first time in program history, the gymnastics team won the League III championship and the girls’ varsity track team continues to put up strong performances. The Colonials made it a priority to keep the student in student-athlete (Field Hockey National Scholars), as many of the teams won NYS scholar-athlete team awards including every team during the fall 2019 season! Student-athlete members of the Class of 2019 also celebrated another Signing Day for college-bound seniors!

7) Music continues to thrive! For the third consecutive year and for the fifth time in district history, the Music department, along with the entire school community, has been designated as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for demonstrating outstanding achievements and efforts to provide music access and education to all students. Students K-12 continually put forth amazing performances at home and at competitions, and continue to bring home awards such as NYSCAME, NYSSMA, LISFA, NYSBDA and more. The department held its second annual Senior Signing Day in which students who will pursue music in college were recognized for their achievements! The music faculty held their annual scholarship concert to raise money for graduating seniors pursuing music in college. It was a great evening of fun and music for a great cause! Student groups from all levels also opened each Board of Education meeting with a performance and this year also saw performing groups from William Paca Middle School and William Floyd High School perform at the White House!

8) Fine Arts going strong! The Fine Arts department also continues to achieve great things! Students achieved top honors at art shows, had their work recognized at public exhibitions, excelled at portfolio adjudications and had their work published in an art anthology! They achieve success at young ages such as the Nathaniel Woodhull art gallery yearly inductions and having their work displayed at local businesses (John S. Hobart), taking center stage at the district’s annual Unity Week and teachers showcasing some of their beautiful works for the students and community to enjoy. Moriches Elementary School art teacher Linda Tucci celebrated her 40th schoolwide pumpkin contest, which is believed to be the longest running elementary school pumpkin contest in the nation and has been a beloved tradition since the late 1970s. This year’s contest was highlighted on CBS News, in Newsday and the Long Island Advance! Two students won awards and monetary prizes from the Shanti Fund and had their work published in the 2019 calendar and art was used to honor veterans at William Floyd Middle School!

9) Career and Technical Education building for the future with eight strong academies – automotive, barbering, business, carpentry, cosmetology, culinary, medical assisting and small engine repair – equipping students with the skills necessary to be career and/or college ready. Students participated in William Floyd’s inaugural CTE Signing Day to celebrate the accomplishments of those who had success in the district’s academies and announced their intentions of entering the workforce immediately after graduation or to pursue advanced technical training in their chosen CTE career path. Students won various awards at SkillsUSA, hosted another successful “Taste of the Town” event, earned the title of Grand Champions at the Disney “Cook Around the World” competition, volunteered to build Habitat for Humanity homes and much more! They also were able to share about their program on LI News Radio 103.9’s “Spotlight on Long Island Schools” with host Robert Vecchio!

10) Miscellaneous…Overall it was a great year in the William Floyd School District with many positive and exciting things happening each day. Additional highlights include a high school science experiment from 1972 that washed up on the waters of Long Island and made waves across the media landscape! Click here to read more about that and for links to the various media reports. The district also announced that all students regardless of income level are eligible to participate in the USDA subsidized Community Eligibility Provision program for one free breakfast and one free lunch each day. New principals were named at Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary School and William Floyd Middle School to continue the success of each of each school. And the generosity of students, staff and the community truly shows what a wonderful school community William Floyd is! Examples include the Floyd Academy raising money for National Stroke Awareness Month and more than $150,000 in scholarships presented by a generous community at Scholarship Night!

Best wishes for a wonderful new year! See you in 2020!

person jumping from one cliff to another with the WF logo and the years 2019 and 2020 displayed
  • Athletics
  • Budget
  • CTE
  • Elementary
  • Fine Arts
  • Floyd Academy
  • Hobart Elementary
  • Main
  • Moriches Elementary
  • Paca Middle School
  • STEM
  • Secondary
  • Tangier Elementary
  • WF Elementary
  • WF High School
  • WF Learning Center
  • WF Middle School
  • Woodhull Elem