School Board meeting: Recognizing the Class of 2026
At the June 9 Board of Education meeting, Guidance teacher Alyssa Prior shared some significant statistics about the 18 students who make up this year’s graduating class:
• All 18 took one or more advanced placement and/or classes that gave them college credits while still in high school.
• The average grade point average for class members was 91.38.
All 18 receeive diplomas with 6 receiving Regents diplomas; two Regents diplomas with career and technical endorsement; 9 Regents diplomas with Advanced Designations; and one a local diploma.
• Graduates filed 169 applications to colleges or institutions of higher learning in technical programs, averaging 9.38 applications each.
• 9 of the 18 graduates participated in oral presentations.
Beacon of Excellence Award
Tech teacher Chris Conrardy is the final recipient of the Beacon of Excellence Award for the 2025-26 school year. He is being honored for inspiring students and engaging them in technical programs. In presenting the award to him, Personnel Director Todd Gulluscio noted Mr. Conrardy is the only staff member to be honored with the award twice, for taking on efforts outside of his direct responsibilities.
“He just never says no” to anything asked of him, said Board of Education President Kathleen Lynch. She added that she was on the committee that interviewed Mr. Conrardy for his position and said what she saw in him at that time has remained, whether it’s serving students and staff at school or in the community that reaches out to him to involve his students in projects.
Art program
Art teacher Catherine Brigham presented the activities her students have been doing. With pictures of the work the students produced, the Board and attendees at the meeting got an appreciation for Ms. Brigham’s ability, people said, to free students’ imaginations to develop remarkable work.
A group of 75 students created art work that was sold, contributing all money received to the Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation (CAST), which helps provide services and nourishing food for people in need on Shelter Island and in Southold.
A case for winter track
Some students and parents spoke about instituting a winter track team.
The students are motivated to brave cold weather and to train and compete and give the sport their enthusiasm it takes, and wanted to know if there wasn’t some way the Shelter Islanders couldn’t combine with another area school district to form a team. Not having a team likely limits their ability to qualify for athletic scholarships and even admission to schools based on their athletic abilities.
Athletic Director Todd Gulluscio told them costs of winter track are higher than other sports.
If you don’t offer the sport, some students might leave Shelter Island to attend a school that offered winter track, one speaker said.
Administrators and members of the Board of Education made it clear they understand the reasoning, but can’t immediately restore winter track. It appeared there will be some hard thought about the subject, which was not on the meeting agenda, but arose at the end of the meeting when public comments were invited.
