ESSA distinction

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Sheboy recently announced that James I. O’Neill High School was one of four schools in Orange County and one of 234 public high schools in the state to be recognized as a New York State Education Department “recognition school”.

“These are schools that are identified as such because they are among the top under the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for performance; student growth and/or graduation rate; having met or exceeded either school or state measures of interim progress for English language arts and mathematics; rate of Chronic Absenteeism; and College, Career, and Civic Readiness,” Sheboy said, adding that they also have met the federally required 95 percent participation rate in the English language arts and mathematics assessments.