The New York State Education Department has designated Miller Avenue Elementary School and Prodell Middle School in the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District as 2013-2014 Reward Schools for their outstanding performance and progress, respectively. They are two of only 353 schools in New York State to receive this distinction from Education Commissioner John King.

“Our district continues to place primary emphasis on supporting student reading comprehension and their ability to apply math to a wide variety of real-world problems,” said Alan Meinster, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment. “Students who are prepared to apply what they have learned to diverse situations are also well-positioned to apply these skills to the types of questions demanded by the Common Core and on the new state assessments.”

Miller Avenue is currently among the highest-achieving schools within the state, while Prodell ranks among the top 10 percent in the state in terms of academic gains between school years. Furthermore, 90 percent of the graduating class of 2013 has gone on to pursue higher education at two- and four-year colleges, earning more than half a million dollars in scholarships.

“We will continue to examine data from the state assessments to help inform us of where future attention may need to be focused,” said Meinster. ”This will ensure that our students remain able to demonstrate their understanding.”