Marching Knights honored; parents urge HBCU outreach and question heavy iPad use

At the Nov. 24 meeting the SEWANHAKA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT recognized the Marching Knights for finishing second in New York state’s Large School 3 category with a score of 80.95, and district leaders thanked directors John Smykowski and Matt Pavelloni and a long list of student performers.

In public comment, Claudine Hall, civic president from Jamaica Square (Elmont), thanked district leaders and urged the district to host an HBCU/Divine 9 event next year after a successful community gathering on Nov. 17. Hall described the previous event as standing-room-only and asked the district to continue outreach.

Parent Farrah Akbar raised concerns about instructional technology at New Hyde Park Memorial, saying her seventh-grade son “is relying on the iPad for his education” and that she has seen little use of traditional textbooks or worksheets. The chair and staff noted the district has a weekly "No Tech Tuesday" intended as a tech-free day and said staff would follow up on the concern.

The recognitions and public comments underscore community engagement around both extracurricular achievement and instruction methods. The board did not make policy changes on instructional device usage at this meeting but directed staff to follow up with concerned parents.

What was said about the band: an administrator said the marching band’s season was “another tremendous success,” listing competitions and noting the band finished second in New York state in its class with a score of 80.95. Certificates were presented to named student performers during the meeting.

Next steps: Staff will follow up with parents on device-usage concerns; community members encouraged the board to plan a district-hosted HBCU outreach event.