Franklin Square/Elmont Herald 06-09-2022

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HERALD $1.00

Student Fellows celebrated

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VOl. 24 NO. 24

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Fallen veterans remembered

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JUNE 9 - 15, 2022

Schools look to the future

DEI plan, My Brother’s Keeper seek inclusive classrooms ist environments. To that end, and to counter historical inequities, it crafted a DEI policy. Two years after the Elmont Battle-Burkett said the plan Union Free School District took rests upon a foundational agreeaction to create more diverse, ment: “All children deserve to inclusive school environments, have equal opportunities regardcurriculum and opportunities less of the color of their skin, for students following the nation- their gender, sexual orientation, wide reckoning spurred by the their languages, sexual orientapolice killing of tion, ethnicity.” George Floyd, the Phase I of the d i s t r i c t ’s f o u rplan, which was phase Diversity, under taken in Equity and Incluearly to mid-2021, sion program and focused on outits implementation reach to the of the My BrothElmont communier’s Keeper proty and district staff gram are in full to discuss policies swing. that might require DR. TAMEKA “We must have change. Phase II, the conversation BATTlE-BURKETT which took place at about how we can Elmont school board the end of last celebrate diversity year, included a and how we can closer examination provide equity in of the culture and climate of disall our buildings,” Dr. Tameka trict schools and an assessment Battle-Burkett, vice president of of ways to promote equity in the district Board of Education, teaching and learning. said, stressing that open disPhase III, which is now undercourse about diversity and equi- way, focuses on assessing teachty, and pursuing those goals in ing and learning and features a schools, is necessary. curriculum review that will In November 2020, the district address the impact of race and released a statement condemn- ethnicity on how students are ing racism and affirming that its schools were equitable, anti-racContinued on page 5

By ROBERT TRAVERSO rtraverso@liherald.com

A

Tim Baker/Herald

RESIDENTS, STUDENTS, COMMUNITY leaders, elected officials and other parade participants marched from the Alva T. Stanforth Sports Complex to Gate 5 of Belmont Park.

Marching to a new norm

Annual Elmont Belmont parade held after recent Covid-19 cancellation, changes By ROBERT TRAVERSO rtraverso@liherald.com

The 14th annual Elmont Belmont Paul Sapienza Parade was held outdoors and without restrictions on June 4 for the first time since 2020, signaling a return to pre-pandemic norms for Elmont. The parade is named for the late owner of Sapienza’s Bake Shop, an Elmont civic leader, and serves as the traditional kickoff for the Belmont Stakes.

The event was canceled in 2020 because of the onset of the pandemic, and was held indoors last year at the Floral Park Memorial High School auditorium, with Covid-19-related adjustments. This year, the parade returned to its traditional route down Hempstead Turnpike, ending at Belmont Park in Elmont. After the parade, there was a community celebration at the park for the first time since 2019. Sapienza was a former

president of the Elmont Chamber of Commerce who died unexpectedly in December 2020. “Paul was just one of a kind, a fixture in this community,” said Pat Boyle, executive director of Gateway Youth Outreach, which serves the students of Elmont. “He was the kind of guy who would step in and do anything for Elmont. It’s altogether fitting that we honor his memory as a community every Continued on page 4

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Franklin Square/Elmont Herald 06-09-2022 by Richner Communications, Inc - Issuu