Eastchester reports gains in math and ELA scores, expands AP access and pilots enrichment program

Dr. Meyer, district administrator, told the Eastchester Union Free School District Board of Education on Sept. 9 that the district recorded notable stability and growth on state math and ELA measures and has expanded access to Advanced Placement coursework while piloting a new elementary enrichment program.

The presentation summarized three years of math proficiency that district staff described as "stable" (around 81% overall) and said cohort analysis shows rising proficiency in elementary grades tied to a multi-year rollout of the Reveal Math curriculum. Dr. Meyer said one sixth-grade cohort that had three years of Reveal Math scored 91% proficiency. He also credited literacy investments: the district's wider use of the Mossflower reading and writing program was described as linked to double-digit gains in several grades, including a 14-point jump in third grade and a 15-point increase in seventh grade.

The nut graf: District administrators said the data reflect sustained curriculum investments, expanded instructional coaching and new department-chair roles that together are raising student performance and preparing more students for advanced coursework.

More detail: Literacy coaches Marilena Barbudo, literacy coach at Greenvale, and Dana Orlando, literacy coach at Ann Hutchinson, described coaching cycles — four- to six-week partnerships with teachers involving co-planning, modeling, co-teaching and targeted small-group work — and said coaches used assessment data to design differentiated instruction. Barbudo and Orlando said coaching supported rollout of reading-and-writing workshop models and guided-reading programs that teachers used across the day.

At the secondary level, district presenters said AP participation has grown sharply. Mr. Welsh, district administrator, reported a 25% increase in AP enrollment over recent years and said 65% of the Class of 2025 took at least one AP course. He highlighted large enrollment increases in AP Psychology (about 137 students, a roughly 155% increase from historical levels), AP Computer Science A (39 students), and AP U.S. History (about 100 students). The district also noted high AP performance rates in expanded courses: for example, 93% of Eastchester students in AP Calculus AB scored a 3 or better, versus a 62% state mean cited in the presentation.

Dr. Gilson, district administrator, reviewed the AP appeals process and access work. He said 93 students requested overrides into AP classes last year and 82 were granted entry; of those applicants, 71 earned scores of 3 or better on AP exams. Gilson and Welsh emphasized that broader access had not reduced performance in the courses they cited.

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