Wantagh M.S. Named ‘School To Watch’ By State Association

WANTAGH, NY. — Wantagh Middle School has been named a “School To Watch” by the Essential Elements Schools To Watch program, a designation signaling that the school maintains high standards in academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, organizational structure and social equity. The distinction was first awarded to Wantagh in 2023, and was reassigned this year in what district officials call, “a testament to the work of school administrators, teachers, support staff and students.”

In a 46-page application for the redesignation, Principal Anthony Ciuffo and
Assistant Principal Rachel Quattrocchi pleaded their case for the award, speaking to the ways Wantagh had surpassed standards in each of the four areas, and highlighting the improvements the school has made since first being named a School To Watch in 2023. That award named areas where there was for improvement in the school, including its teaming model, social-emotional learning curriculum and the use of data to inform decision-making.

“That list of recommendations helps us to form our vision for the next three years,” Ciuffo said. “Now, we look for the future and we’ll continue to make our school stronger and offer more and more for our students.”

When speaking to the teaming model, Ciuffo and Quattrocchi said the school had added team leaders and assigned all teachers in ‘special areas” of the school to join a team. The teams, they said, meet twice weekly and highlight student achievement before going over areas students could improve. That practice, district officials said, is known as “glows and grows.”

When it came to the use of data, the administrators said that they had implemented a tiered support system, using a research-driven approach to ensure each student receives the needed level of support. Two coordinators from that support system meet with teams to discuss the data, which district officials said is gathered through assessments, observations and anecdotal evidence. The end result, district officials said, is an individualized instruction plan for every student in sixth, seventh and eighth grade.

Finally, in the realm of social-emotional learning, the principals said that their program had become more unified in recent years, led by two coordinators with a monthly and daily plan to emphasize social-emotional learning in advisory periods, which the administration said arms students with tools to improve their emotional wellbeing.

Also included in the schools to watch program was a site visit from other educators, which included a building and classroom tour, as well as discussions with administrators, teachers, student services professionals and students.

“It was an opportunity for them to walk the building and also to check in with all
stakeholders to get their view on all of the changes that we’ve made,” Quattrocchi said.
“A lot of our goals were based on the original Schools to Watch designation process. The driving force behind the program is continuous improvement.”

While the state accolades are nice, Wantagh administrators said the most valuable thing they get out of the designation program is connection with administrators from other districts.

“We have a network around the state of all other Schools to Watch that we can reach
out to for resources and ideas,” Ciuffo said. “We’re part of this group of middle schools
around the state that are looking to support each other.”