Darwin Yanes

2 days ago | newsday.com | Darwin Yanes

Two Long Island school districts have been granted extensions to comply with a ban on Native American mascots, names and imagery — just weeks before the June 30 deadline, state education officials said. The Wantagh school district will now have an additional year to comply with the mandate, while Connetquot’s deadline will be March 1, the officials said. The upstate Avon Central School District in Livingston County has also received an extension through Oct. 1.

2 days ago | newsday.com | Darwin Yanes

SUNY Old Westbury students who need help completing their degree will soon have a new tool to aid them. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week that the SUNY school system will expand its ASAP/ACE program to nine additional campuses, including SUNY Old Westbury, this fall. ASAP, which stands for Advancing Success in Associate Pathways, is meant for associate degree students. ACE, short for Advancing Completion through Engagement, helps baccalaureate students.

1 week ago | newsday.com | Nicholas Grasso |Darwin Yanes

Brian Liu, a student at Richard S. Sherman Great Neck North Middle School, tied for fourth place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. Brian, 13, was one of nine spellers from across the country to compete in Thursday night's Scripps National Spelling Bee finals after successfully advancing through 10 rounds of the competition, starting with Tuesday's preliminaries.

1 week ago | newsday.com | Darwin Yanes

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon will join local officials at Massapequa High School on Friday to announce the findings of an investigation into New York State and the Board of Regents over the Native American mascot ban, according to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's office.

1 week ago | newsday.com | Darwin Yanes

A Great Neck North Middle School student will compete against eight other young spellers from across the country Thursday night in the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals. Brian Liu, 13, survived 10 grueling rounds of the competition, starting with Tuesday's preliminaries and continuing into the semifinals on Wednesday. “The whole family is so happy for him,” Brian’s mother, Shuting Peng, said shortly after the last round ended Wednesday evening.