East Moriches Elementary School - East Moriches, NY

The East Moriches Elementary School was nominated for the Blue Ribbon Award by the New York State Education Department. The school earned that nomination because it has taken a leadership role in New York State through progressive and assertive approaches in aligning its curriculum to the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and by using scientifically driven instructional methods to assist students in mastering those standards in preparation for college and careers. The school has developed an in-depth community outreach program to educate parents about the CCLS and the instructional strategies used at East Moriches to meet those standards. The East Moriches faculty is open and receptive to new initiatives. In the past five years, they have worked to adopt the New York State Common Core Curriculum and have implemented a Response to Intervention (RTI) plan that provides intervention strategies to struggling learners and students with disabilities and/or limited English proficiency. The faculty has instituted a data collection and monitoring system to ensure that student progress is on grade level in reading and mathematics, and they have implemented flexible grouping and other instructional strategies to address the needs of individual learners. All these initiatives and many more have occurred to meet the demands of increased rigor. At East Moriches Elementary, educational excellence is truly a personal experience.