South Huntington Wins Nationwide Silver Magna Award

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — The South Huntington School District won a national Silver Magna Award presented by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the school district announced.

The district was recognized for the creation and implementation of its Voluntary Advanced Preparation (VAP) program. The program, created seven years ago, increased diversity among high school students who take Advanced Placement (AP) courses or advanced coursework that leads to college credit.

The Magna Awards have been presented annually for more than 25 years to recognize school districts for their innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to address a district challenge.

"To be recognized for our work and the teachers’ work in making sure that all students, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status, be able to have the same opportunities as everyone else, and know that they can achieve and be successful in advanced level coursework is an amazing thing," Superintendent Dr. Vito D’Elia said in a news release. "It is something that our district is very passionate about."

In South Huntington, where district demographics continue to change, administrators found that many of its students of varying ethnicities, ability levels and socioeconomic backgrounds were not signing up for the more than 35 AP and college level courses offered to Walt Whitman High School students. It meant that a disproportionate number of students were not prepared for the level of work they’d be facing in college, the district stated.

Administrators also felt it was providing an unfair advantage to select groups of students, creating even greater disparities. Studies have clearly shown that students who are exposed to advanced course work are more likely to be successful in their college classes, the district wrote.

The VAP Program starts in the intermediate grade levels by identifying the students who can benefit from the program. Through the hiring of additional teachers, added classes, smaller class sizes, staff retraining, before and after school support sessions, and meetings with parents, students feel more empowered academically to push themselves to complete advanced placement classes when they reach high school, the district stated.

As a result, 2022 district data shows:

• a 42% increase in the amount of AP exams given over the last 10 years.
• a 34% increase in the total number of students taking AP courses/exams.
• the number of Black students taking AP exams has doubled in the last 5 years.
• 30% more Hispanic students taking AP exams in the last 5 years.
• 50% of students are leaving Walt Whitman High School with 6 or more college credits.
• 67% of students receive an Advanced Regents diploma.

In highlighting the success of these programs, the National School Boards Association hopes to provide information and inspiration to school districts across the country that are facing similar challenges.

"We encourage and welcome any district to look at us," D’Elia said. "Especially diverse districts or districts that have students who are below the poverty line or have language barriers. It’s important that we can be a model for other districts to show their students, regardless of what obstacles they may face, that they can be successful and be able to take this college level work at a young age before they leave a high school setting."