South Huntington school officials hosted Assemblymen Steve Stern and Michael Benedetto, the chair of the Assembly’s education committee, on a tour of district schools.
Benedetto visited to learn more about the district’s Voluntary Advanced Preparation (VAP) program, which is designed to increase diversity in the population of high school students who sign up for AP courses or advanced coursework that leads to college credit since it was implemented eight years ago. South Huntington has seen an increase in the number of students at the poverty level, as well as an increase in the population of students with diverse ethnic backgrounds in the last decade. The VAP program has been recognized by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) with a national Silver Magna Award.
The assemblymen took a look at other school programs, including use of 3D virtual dissection tables in the high school’s anatomy and physiology classes, and advanced research classes that allow students to conduct independent research in the sciences. They also visited the Stimson life skills classroom.
Stern, Benedetto, Board of Education trustee Sidney Joyner, and Superintendent Dr. Vincent D’Elia