Award-winning week for Warwick School District

Warwick — The Warwick Valley School District was recognized this past week for its efforts on energy conservation and for the way it does business. On Thursday, Anthony Cancro, chief of staff of the EPA Northeast Region, was scheduled to be at the high school to present the principals of Park Avenue Elementary School, Kings Elementary School and Warwick Valley High Schools with plaques for their buildings, distinguishing them as some of the most energy-efficient buildings in the country. The three school building are the first schools in Orange or Rockland County, and three of only 16 schools in all of New York state, to receive this distinction from the agency. Energy prices have become a hot news topic and a major concern for consumers and businesses. In this time of uncertainty in the energy field, and unprecedented price increases for fuel, the Warwick Valley School District had three of its school buildings qualify for Energy Star label status by the Environmental Protection Agency. For more information about the Energy Star program, visit www.energystar.gov. Earlier in the week, the district was awarded the Empire State Silver award by Empire State Advantage, Inc. (ESA). ESA is a public/private partnership formed to help build economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life within New York State. The ESA Excellence at Work program provides a process for developing, assessing and recognizing the effectiveness of an organization’s management system. ESA provides recommendations for improvement in management and quality systems to private businesses, the healthcare industry, government organizations, non-profit groups and the education community. Warwick district administrators hosted an ESA team of reviewers in December. Based on an onsite evaluation, the district was judged to include good leadership, student focus, involved and capable faculty and staff, focus on the future, community responsibility, ethics and operational excellence. “Under the motto of ‘From Good to Great,’ the district’s leaders have made a commitment to reaching and maintaining high levels of student achievement,” said ESA Executive Director George Hansen. “They have developed a strategic plan to reach their goals and engaged people throughout the district in implementing this plan. They have made many innovative improvements to instructional programs and services across the district. They have worked to increase the effectiveness of the district and its people and maintained a favorable cost structure when compared to other school districts, “ Hansen added.