______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
CoMMUNItY UPDAtE Infections as of May 31
8485
Infections as of May 24 8479
$1.00
HERALD
local helps create cyberbullying law
New eatery opens on Rockaway
NY Naval Cadets come to V.S.
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Vol. 32 No. 23
JUNE 3 - 9, 2021
Memorial Day observed in V.S. Village honors those who fought and died for their country By JESSICA M. SEMINS jsemins@liherald.com
Jessica M. Semins/Herald
ChIEf NAVAl AIRCREwMAN William G. Hartig, this year’s grand marshal, with Valley Stream Mayor Ed Fare.
Ninety-six names were read aloud at a somber and reverential Memorial Day ceremony in Valley Stream on Monday: the service members from the village who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. They were the names of the heroes who didn’t make it back home to their loved ones — the soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave the last measure of devotion to preserve Americans’ freedom. Members of the community placed carnations
on the Veterans Memorial in their memory. “Your presence here, and that of the people gathering all across America, is a tribute to our lost troops and to their families,” this year’s grand marshal, Chief Naval Aircrewman William G. Hartig, said. “It is a way to say we remember. For those who gave their lives — the soldiers who shivered and starved through the winter at Valley Forge, the doughboys crouched in the muddy trenches of France, our boys at Kasserine Pass, the platoon who Continued on page 3
District 13 board meeting reveals more diversity hiring data By NIColE AlCINDoR nalcindor@liherald.com
At a livestreamed meeting on May 25, Valley Stream schools Superintendent Dr. Constance D. Evelyn and District 13 Board of Education trustees discussed a variety of efforts the board has made to implement changes in diversity hiring, and the results of their initiatives. “Our board is working to make staff more representative of our student body,” Evelyn said. “It’s important that we bring diversity to our staff to promote growth and increased achievement for our students
in the district.” According to Evelyn, the district focuses on hiring diverse candidates. The board, she said, is careful to be inclusive, and not exclusive, in the resume screening process. It has specific interview questions, she explained, that have been reviewed by the district’s teacher committees and a rubric to show the best answers they expect from applicants. The district looks for intrinsically motivated teacher candidates who are culturally aware and thoughtful, Evelyn said. Trustee Dr. LaRocca Antoine said that every year since 2014, District 13 has had more
diverse candidates applying for jobs, and more have been hired. One was recently hired to be the director of special education. “In 2014, we had six diverse employees … We cur rently have 17 diverse faculty members,” Antoine said. In 2014, she added, two of the six were Black, three were Hispanic and one was Asian. In 2016, the district had a 15 percent diversity hiring ratio. Of the 13 people hired that year, 11 were white, one was Black and one was Hispanic. In 2017, the ratio rose to 22 percent — seven white and two Black new hires. In 2018, the
rate was 37½ percent: five of the eight people hired were white, and one was Black, one Hispanic and one Asian. In 2019, the percentage of diverse candidates hired was 46 percent. Seven of the 13 new hires were white, one was Black, two were Hispanic, one was multiracial and two were Asian. “During 2020, the pandemic
year, we didn’t do a lot of hiring,” Antoine said, “however, we still managed to hire one more Black candidate, and the hiring process is still going on.” In 2021, of the 17 diverse faculty members in District 13, eight are Black, five are Hispanic, one is multiracial, and three are Asian. There are also Continued on page 13