The East Rockaway School District had a lot to celebrate during the board of education meeting.

Board members and administrators kicked off the evening by recognizing the winners of this year’s Andrew Stern Memorial Essay Contest. This annual contest honors East Rockaway graduate Andrew Stern, who was killed during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The contest is run by members of the Stern family, who read through more than 700 student responses. This year’s essay topic asked students to reflect on how 9/11 affected the country and why it’s important to continue to remember what happened on that day. The winners of the contest were Madeleine Prucha (high school category), Everett Gamache (middle school category) and Ryan Vining (elementary school category). Before presenting the winners with a certificate and a check, the Stern family invited each student to share their winning essays with those in attendance. 

The celebrations continued as Rhame Avenue Elementary School fourth grade teacher Gail Beyrer was recognized for achieving the National Teacher Certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. She is one of 3,831 new honorees and joins a growing community of more than 125,000 Board-certified teachers across all 50 states.

Board of Education President Keith Gamache was also commended by his fellow board members and district administrators for earning the Nassau BOCES Education Partner Award. He is among 16 honorees to receive this prestigious recognition and will receive his award at the annual Education Partner Awards Gala hosted by the Nassau BOCES Educational Foundation on March 31.