Giving to the community
Lawrence school district earns music
To celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, Rock Hall Museum is hosting a series of lectures and exhibits that examine the Revolutionary War from multiple perspectives including the difficult question many colonists faced: Which side would you choose? Rock Hall pre-dates the United States, being built in 1767 making the semiquin-
centennial not only a marker for the country but for an anniversary of everything at Rock Hall.
Titled “Which Side Are You On?”, the exhibit, which opened on April 26, will examine the choices faced by colonists in the 1770s, when loyalty to the British Crown clashed with growing calls for independence.
“We have not only information on Long Island’s role in the revolution but in particular the division between Loyalists and Patriots,” said Amy Vacchio, director of Rock Hall
Museum. “The Martin family’s story is unique because it’s a story that’s often not told because it’s about their loyalty to the king as a Loyalist family.”
— Melissa Berman
Tim Baker/Herald
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Lawrence strikes the right notes with national music honor
By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
The Lawrence School District has once again earned national recognition for its commitment to the arts, being named a 2026 Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation — an honor it has received every year since 2017.
Now in its 27th year, the award recognizes districts across the country that demonstrate outstanding achievement in providing music access and education to all students. Lawrence is among a select group of districts acknowledged for prioritizing music as part of a well-rounded academic experience, with evaluators reviewing areas such as funding, curriculum, participation and community support.
Superintendent Ann Pedersen said the recognition reflects a districtwide effort.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our music educators, administrators, students and the entire Lawrence community,” Pedersen wrote in a statement. “We believe that music is an essential component of student development, fostering creativity, discipline and collaboration.”
Lawrence’s music program includes band, orchestra, chorus and general music instruction at all grade levels, with students regularly participating in regional and statewide performances and honors ensembles.
Here’s
committed to expanding access to music education, ensuring students continue to benefit from a program that has become a point of pride for the Lawrence community.
District Music Coordinator Pamela Gallopini emphasized that the award extends beyond the classroom.
“This really involves everybody — the department, the community, the Board of Education, administration, teachers and students,” Gallopini said. “We have so many opportunities for students to perform, whether it’s in school or out in
the community.”
Those opportunities include concerts, honor society recitals and outreach performances at local venues such as nursing homes in the Five Towns area. Students also take part in drama and dance productions throughout the year, further expanding their exposure to the arts.
District officials said they remain
“We really allow students many opportunities to feel proud, both individually and collectively,” Gallopini said. “And just seeing the students, the progress of the students, and how each student grows — the growth throughout the school year and from year to year — and then coming together to celebrate through performances, it’s a wonderful thing. I’m very proud and happy to be part of it.”
who’s on the May 19 ballot for Hewlett-Woodmere
By AIDAN WARSHAVSKY awarshavsky@liherald.com
While incumbent Trustees Cheryl May and Shari Amitrano are running unopposed this month, they’re doing so with the goal of continuing their commitment to the Hewlett-Woodmere School District.
May, the board’s vice president and longest-serving trustee, has served on the Board of Education for 15 years. Her district r é sumé includes work on the curriculum, extracurricular and policy committees, as well as the Central Council PTA.
Before joining the board, she served as president of the Central Council PTA, Hewlett Elementary School’s PTA and Franklin Early Childhood Center’s PTA.
As she seeks a sixth term, May said she is most proud of helping pass fiscally responsible budgets and complete capital projects, including improvements to the middle school and high school athletic fields. She also pointed to the board’s vote to appoint District Superintendent Dina Anzalone, who she said has worked closely with trustees since arriving last year.
With a family of educators and children who are graduates of the district, May said those connections — along with students — continue to motivate her.
“I’ve always had a passion for education,” May said. “I’ve always felt that giving back to the community is important.
It’s just something that I’ve always done.”
In a statement to the Herald, board President Debi Sheinin said May’s long
tenure has made her an important part of district leadership.
“Her years of service and deep knowledge of the district continue to make her
a valuable asset to the board,” she said. Amitrano, who is seeking a third term, has over 30 years of experience as an award-winning Managing Sales Director, and comes from a family who frequented the district as teachers, students and coaches.
Amitrano said she has worked to strengthen communication between the district and community members while supporting academic and extracurricular opportunities with fellow trustees.
As chair of the Endowment Fund, Amitrano helps organize Arts Below Sunrise. She also said she helped expand middle school athletic offerings by dividing sports into seventh-and eight-grade teams, and advocated for construction of the soon-to-be high school concession stand.
“I’m not doing this for a pat on the back,” Amitrano said. “I want to continue to help elevate our education and community.”
Sheinin wrote Amitrano’s ties to the district and continued service have helped shape her work on the board.
“Not only is Shari a district alumna and current parent, but she also brings a strong personal connection and thoughtful perspective through her continued service.”
In addition to voting for the two trustee seats, Hewlett-Woodmere residents will cast ballots on the school budget and three propositions at the Woodmere Education Center, 1 Johnson Ave.,
Woodmere, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. May 19.
Photos courtesy Lawrence school district
Lawrence High School music department staff members Brian Stabile, music coordinator/band director, left, Andrew Krahm, orchestra director, Pam Gallopini, district music coordinator/middle school orchestra director and Shelly Goldman, chorus director.
Lawrence Primary School music department staff members Clarissa Baquiran, orchestra & general music, left and Miriam Frank, general music at LPS and ECC.
Courtesy Shari Amitrano
Both Cheryl May and Shari Amitrano are committed to decision-making that prioritizes transparency and accountability in the district.
Small Business Week, with eyes wide open
Small Business Week, which runs from May 3 to 9, will bring the usual round of proclamations, ribbon-cuttings and feelgood photo ops. Local entrepreneurs deserve every one of them. They also deserve the truth: The Main Streets of Long Island are under siege, and a week of celebration cannot paper over what the rest of the year has made painfully clear.
Walk down Park Avenue, in Long Beach, or Merrick Avenue, or any commercial corridor from Lynbrook to Glen Cove, and the strain is visible. For Lease signs have not come down in months. Restaurants have cut hours because they can’t find or afford the staff to stay open. Familyowned shops that survived the pandemic now wonder whether they will survive the aftermath. The business owners who anchor our downtowns aren’t asking for sympathy. They are asking, quietly and increasingly, whether the math still works.
The pressures are no secret. Rents for Long Island commercial space have climbed steadily. Costs have skyrocketed, outpacing what owners can charge without losing customers. Wages have risen, as they should, but for thin-margin businesses, every raise is a calculation about how many shifts can be staffed next month.
Energy bills and insurance premiums keep grinding higher. And looming over all of it is the e-commerce machine — Amazon, Temu, Shein and a growing list of online giants whose business model depends on undercutting the shop down the block, capturing the sale, and sending the profit somewhere far from Long Island.
The numbers tell a more complicated story than the celebratory ones we usually hear. In Nassau County, the U.S. Small Business Administration backed more than $207 million in loans last year, supporting roughly 500 businesses and helping create or sustain 2,850 jobs. That is real and meaningful. But SBA lending is also a barometer of need. A community in which hundreds of businesses require government-backed credit just to keep their doors open is not a community where small business is thriving on its own. It is a community where small business is fighting to hold ground.
Matt Coleman, the SBA’s regional administrator, has said that anyone who wants to understand the local economy needs to look past the financial markets and pay attention to those small businesses, embedded in our communities. He’s right. And what those businesses are telling us, if we listen honestly, is that the ground beneath them is shifting faster than they can adapt.
Federal tax relief on tips and overtime will help some workers. Modest tax reductions for small-business owners will help some operators. Neither will reverse the structural forces reshaping retail, hospitality and local service. The playing field is not level, and pretending otherwise does our merchants no favors.
What small businesses can offer is what e-commerce cannot: presence, accountability and a stake in the community. The pizzeria in East Rockaway that sponsors the Little League team. The diner in Seaford that hosts the volunteer fire department’s monthly breakfast. The florist in
NEws bRiEf
HHS
Hewlett High School’s History Bee/Quiz Bowl Club turned in a strong showing at the Long Island Quiz Bowl Playoffs on Wednesday, April 22, with both its varsity and junior varsity teams representing the district with distinction.
The varsity squad, led by captain and club president Aviv Parag and joined by Isabel Ginsberg,
JV
Oyster Bay that decorates the village gazebo for the holidays. None of those things show up on a balance sheet. All of them disappear when the storefront goes dark.
The Herald takes pride in standing alongside local businesses every day of the year. Our reporters tell their stories — the grand openings, the second-generation handoffs, the milestone anniversaries, the moments when local owners step up to feed first responders during a storm. Our advertising and marketing teams work shoulder to shoulder with owners to help them reach customers and grow their brand across print, digital and social channels. We do this because we believe local journalism and local commerce rise and fall together.
Honesty about the challenges is not pessimism. It is the precondition for a serious response. Policymakers should be looking hard at commercial rent pressures, at the unequal tax treatment that favors online sellers, at workforce housing that should allow people to actually live near where they work. Residents have a role, too — a more direct one. Every dollar spent locally is a dollar that stays here, resulting in sponsors for Little League teams, donors for nonprofit events, tenants for local storefronts, and more.
So this week, before clicking “buy now” online, walk into the shop down the block. Order takeout from the family-run restaurant in Island Park. Book the local landscaper from Malverne. Tip generously. The Main Streets of Long Island are not guaranteed. They are chosen, one transaction at a time, by the people who live here — and that choice has never mattered more.
Quiz Bowl takes home second
Ryan Bernstein and Joshua Simms, competed with steady focus and sportsmanship. The team also remained at the event to support fellow competitors during the Long Island Quiz Bowl Championship rounds.
Hewlett’s junior varsity team earned a second-place finish among all JV squads on Long
Island, marking the second consecutive year the program has brought home a trophy from the competition. Team members included captain Jacob Tenenbaum, Jack Reich, Deep Aryal, Joshua Racer and Tamar Bober-Tsafrir.
District officials credited staff members Janice Nolan and Melissa Pantelis for supporting students
throughout the event and helping ensure a smooth experience. With another successful season in the books, Hewlett’s Quiz Bowl teams are already looking ahead to next year, aiming to reclaim the Long Island Quiz Bowl Championship title.
— Melissa Berman
COMING SOON!
Gan Chamesh students count the Omer
The children of Gan Chamesh at Chabad of the Five Towns have been actively engaged in counting the Counting of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot that marks the journey from the exodus from Egypt to the giving of the Torah.
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Through creative, hands-on activities, students are exploring the concept in age-appropriate ways, incorporating patterning, sorting and number recognition into their daily routines. Educators say the interactive approach not only helps children connect to the meaning of the Omer but also strengthens early math skills.
By blending tradition with play-based learning, the program offers young students a meaningful introduction to both Jewish heritage and foundational academic concepts.
— Melissa Berman
Courtesy Keri Naiman
The children of Gan Chamesh at Chabad of the Five Towns have been actively engaged in counting the Counting of the Omer.
HES Student Council stocks shelves, lifts spirits
By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
Students from Hewlett Elementary School are learning that even small acts of kindness can make a big impact, thanks to their ongoing partnership with Angela’s House.
Members of the school’s Student Council recently visited the food pantry to see firsthand how their yearlong fundraising efforts — collecting dry goods, toiletries and other essentials — help families in need across the community.
“It really makes me feel good inside because I know I’m helping people,” said fifth grader Tiffany Levin. “Not everyone always thinks about people who need help, but when you do something, even small, it matters.”
The visit served as a “full-circle moment,” educators said, allowing students to connect their in-school initiatives with real-world impact. During the trip, students met with Angela’s House representative John Coyne, who explained the pantry’s mission and how donations from Hewlett Elementary have helped keep shelves stocked with items like soup, cereal and paper goods.
Student Council at Hewlett Elementary includes representatives from each class in grades two through five and is designed to foster leadership and civic responsibility at a young age. Younger students are selected by their teachers, while fifth graders campaign and are elected by their peers to serve in roles such as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.
“We really try to focus on leadership and giving back in ways the students can actually see,” said teacher and advisor Stephanie Maltz. “In the past, we raised money for national organizations, which is wonderful, but the impact can feel distant. Partnering with Angela’s House allows students to directly see how their efforts help their own neighbors.”
Throughout the year, the council organizes themed drives, including a Thanksgiving food collection, a winter
“Souper Bowl” canned goods drive and a spring effort focused on paper products — a need students learned about during earlier visits.
“They were surprised to learn that items like toilet paper can’t be purchased with food assistance benefits,” Maltz said. “That really opened their eyes and motivated them to help fill that gap.”
Principal Heather Sosnovsky said the partnership has become a defining part of the school’s culture.
“When you walk into Angela’s House, you can actually see signs and reminders of Hewlett Elementary’s contributions over the years,” she said. “It’s something our students take pride in, and it reinforces the values we try to instill — empathy, civic responsibility and kindness.”
Superintendent Dr. Anzalone joined the students on the visit, underscoring the district’s commitment to community engagement and student leadership.
For many students, the experience was eye-opening.
“A lot of kids don’t realize there are people in their own neighborhood who need help,” Sosnovsky said. “This gives them that awareness — and more importantly, shows them they can do something about it.”
Building on the visit, Student Council members plan to continue their outreach efforts and raise awareness, so more families know about available resources.
“It’s not just about collecting donations,” Maltz said. “It’s about building compassionate leaders who understand their role in the community — and that’s a lesson that lasts far beyond elementary school.”
Superintendent of the Hewlett-Woodmere school district Dina Anzalone accompainied the students on the trip and said that servant leadership is what they hope to instill in the students.
“I think it is important even at an early age for students to see themselves as changemakers and leaders,” Anzalone wrote in an email. “It’s why positions on the student council are so important.”
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Courtesy Gerard Petrocelli Student members of Hewlett Elementary School’s Student Council visited Angela House as part of their partnership.
