thedrifter
08-04-08, 06:42 AM
August 4, 2008
Mom fought to have military-bound grads noted
Randi Weiner
Journal News columnist
Nicholas Ruggiero goes to Parris Island, N.C., in early September to start his basic training for the Marine Corps.
The 2008 Tappan Zee High School graduate knows that he'll probably be sent to Iraq, but he knew that when he signed up.
"I see it as more of a steppingstone to a career in law enforcement," the 18-year-old Blauvelt resident said. About the Marines: "It just was the one branch that stuck out to me."
Joining the military right out of high school was a private decision he made, but it was acknowledged publicly during his graduation ceremony, something he said was a "nice gesture."
His mother, Diane Ruggiero, said it took a lot of hard work to make that gesture become reality, and it took weeks of discussion and appeals to local and state politicians before it happened.
"I think the children that are doing this deserve recognition," she said. "Maybe Tappan Zee High School will set an example and more schools will do it."
There is no state policy that tells high schools how to set up their graduation ceremonies, although tradition dictates a lot of it. Usually, the highest-ranking academic students give speeches, as does the class president. School administrators or school board members speak, and occasionally there is a guest speaker.
Acknowledging student achievement outside of academics is done in different ways. Some schools hold special assemblies to honor student athletes, those who have won scholarships and those who are entering the military. Others print those accomplishments in the graduation program or post them on school hallways. Some announce it or give out awards during graduation. It depends on what's been done before, usually.
Diane Ruggiero said she felt that the four students from Tappan Zee High School who were going into the military - three were bound for the Marines, one for the Air Force - should be acknowledged in some way by the district. The district doesn't traditionally do that before graduation, she found out. She called the principal and requested that it be done at graduation.
She said her initial request didn't get the response she had hoped for - she was told, essentially, that it couldn't be done - so she appealed to the superintendent, who set up a meeting that had to be canceled, then to her local politicians, from the county executive to Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-Middletown.
Several politicians sent the district letters or called, saying they felt that acceding to Diane Ruggiero's request would be a nice thing for the district to do.
"My staff called the school district and asked if they could accommodate her and they did," Morahan said. "Sometimes in academia, they shy away from anything with the military."
A small number of the county's public high school students opts for the military each year upon graduation. In the 2005-06 school year, the last year for which information was easily accessible, 16 Rockland students went from public high schools to the military.
That year, North Rockland had five students go into the armed forces, Nanuet had three, Clarkstown South and Ramapo high schools had two each, and there was one each from Clarkstown North, Nyack, Suffern and Tappan Zee high schools.
Diane Ruggiero said that she felt the students choosing the military these days ought to be recognized.
"First of all, they're putting their lives on the line to support their country and I feel they should get support from their school," she said. "They can't go into the military without a high school diploma, so I saw a connection there."
She said she spoke with several other parents about her desire to have the military-bound students acknowledged during graduation and said she got a lot of support from them. But sympathy from the district wasn't as assured.
As graduation approached, she still wasn't sure whether the school would acknowledge her son and the other students.
"Thursday was graduation," she said. Schools Superintendent "Dr. (Joseph) Zambito got up and they gave out the diplomas and he said all four names and they stood up and they were applauded."
Joining the military, she said, "is a very selfless act, especially in today's world."
"It was definitely worth the effort," she said. "It went exactly how I believed it should have gone and I hope that kids in years to come and at other schools ... do get that recognition."
Ellie
Mom fought to have military-bound grads noted
Randi Weiner
Journal News columnist
Nicholas Ruggiero goes to Parris Island, N.C., in early September to start his basic training for the Marine Corps.
The 2008 Tappan Zee High School graduate knows that he'll probably be sent to Iraq, but he knew that when he signed up.
"I see it as more of a steppingstone to a career in law enforcement," the 18-year-old Blauvelt resident said. About the Marines: "It just was the one branch that stuck out to me."
Joining the military right out of high school was a private decision he made, but it was acknowledged publicly during his graduation ceremony, something he said was a "nice gesture."
His mother, Diane Ruggiero, said it took a lot of hard work to make that gesture become reality, and it took weeks of discussion and appeals to local and state politicians before it happened.
"I think the children that are doing this deserve recognition," she said. "Maybe Tappan Zee High School will set an example and more schools will do it."
There is no state policy that tells high schools how to set up their graduation ceremonies, although tradition dictates a lot of it. Usually, the highest-ranking academic students give speeches, as does the class president. School administrators or school board members speak, and occasionally there is a guest speaker.
Acknowledging student achievement outside of academics is done in different ways. Some schools hold special assemblies to honor student athletes, those who have won scholarships and those who are entering the military. Others print those accomplishments in the graduation program or post them on school hallways. Some announce it or give out awards during graduation. It depends on what's been done before, usually.
Diane Ruggiero said she felt that the four students from Tappan Zee High School who were going into the military - three were bound for the Marines, one for the Air Force - should be acknowledged in some way by the district. The district doesn't traditionally do that before graduation, she found out. She called the principal and requested that it be done at graduation.
She said her initial request didn't get the response she had hoped for - she was told, essentially, that it couldn't be done - so she appealed to the superintendent, who set up a meeting that had to be canceled, then to her local politicians, from the county executive to Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-Middletown.
Several politicians sent the district letters or called, saying they felt that acceding to Diane Ruggiero's request would be a nice thing for the district to do.
"My staff called the school district and asked if they could accommodate her and they did," Morahan said. "Sometimes in academia, they shy away from anything with the military."
A small number of the county's public high school students opts for the military each year upon graduation. In the 2005-06 school year, the last year for which information was easily accessible, 16 Rockland students went from public high schools to the military.
That year, North Rockland had five students go into the armed forces, Nanuet had three, Clarkstown South and Ramapo high schools had two each, and there was one each from Clarkstown North, Nyack, Suffern and Tappan Zee high schools.
Diane Ruggiero said that she felt the students choosing the military these days ought to be recognized.
"First of all, they're putting their lives on the line to support their country and I feel they should get support from their school," she said. "They can't go into the military without a high school diploma, so I saw a connection there."
She said she spoke with several other parents about her desire to have the military-bound students acknowledged during graduation and said she got a lot of support from them. But sympathy from the district wasn't as assured.
As graduation approached, she still wasn't sure whether the school would acknowledge her son and the other students.
"Thursday was graduation," she said. Schools Superintendent "Dr. (Joseph) Zambito got up and they gave out the diplomas and he said all four names and they stood up and they were applauded."
Joining the military, she said, "is a very selfless act, especially in today's world."
"It was definitely worth the effort," she said. "It went exactly how I believed it should have gone and I hope that kids in years to come and at other schools ... do get that recognition."
Ellie