Superintendent: A Message for Parents

As a new school year commences and I begin my tenure as Superintendent of Commack Schools, I look forward to working on many new and exciting initiatives to further support and forward the community's expectation of educational excellence. Commack is a wonderful place to raise a family, offering many opportunities and challenges for our students as they prepare for successful futures.

Academically, the Commack School District continues to be a leader in New York State, with a graduation rate of 99.5%, and an unprecedented 98.84% of the Class of 2010 earning Regents Diplomas.

More than 70% of our graduates earned Advanced Regents Diplomas and Advanced Regents Diplomas with Honors.  Further, the International Baccalaureate program available to our high school students awarded 141 diplomas, and nearly all of our graduates (97%) went on to attend college.

Over 3,800 college applications were processed by our counseling center, and 270 of our graduates received more than $20,500,000 in scholarships.

Although Commack is a premier school district, the Board of Education and our team of staff and administrators continue to work together revising curriculum and making program improvements that will benefit our children at every level.

As the State imposes even greater demands and again raises testing standards, there will be a renewed focus on the mastery of core subjects.  The practice of "teaching to the test" is not acceptable here in Commack. Therefore, our teachers continue to teach all subject areas in a manner that engages our students and prepares them for success as they move through each grade. In this way, students both enjoy and internalize the concepts they need to truly understand and to be successful in our program, as well as on standardized tests.

The improvements to our facilities provided by the EXCEL grant are progressing very smoothly, with the completion of a new roof at Sawmill Intermediate School, installation of solar panels at the high school, middle school, Burr and Sawmill, and the soon to be completed installation of interactive white boards in every classroom in the District.

The EXCEL grant from New York State was sufficient to cover virtually 100% of the cost of these projects. Ceiling tiles and new lighting fixtures have also been installed where needed, as well as more energy efficient HVAC units. Work on a new boiler and roof at the Hubbs administration building are slated to begin this fall. Many of these upgrades will help us to create a cleaner and "greener" environment by substantially reducing our energy consumption.

One of my main goals is to increase communication within our schools and with the community. I would like all district residents to be informed partners in the education of our students. There are many opportunities for everyone to participate, and I continue to meet many families who live in Commack during my "First 100 Days" as Superintendent. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes and organizations. I have received valuable insight regarding your concerns as well as many terrific suggestions for further improvements in our schools.

I anticipate a very successful year, and welcome you to attend the many school-sponsored events and activities, as well as our monthly Board of Education Meetings.  

Further, I have a continued interest in meeting as many families as possible in our district in an effort to build an understanding of the community's perceptions of our schools and to better understand the successes and concerns that exist.  

The primary focus of these meetings is to hear the voice of the district's constituency; this can be done in a variety of ways including public and neighborhood meetings hosted by interested community members and service organizations.  

Anyone interested in attending an open meeting or hosting a neighborhood gathering should contact Debra Virga at dvirga@commack.k12.ny.us.  

This promises to be an exciting school year, and I wish you and your families much success.  Please know that you can contact me directly at any time.  My e-mail address is djames@commack.k12.ny.us. 

- Dr. Donald James, Superintendent Commack Union Free School District