Commack Students Chosen for Old Westbury Institute

Three students from and one from were named the Long Island Young Scholars of Mathematics by the Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented at SUNY Old Westbury. 

Lindsay Eller, Scott Massa, and Ryan McCaffrey of the middle school, and Erika Slepian, of the high school, were chosen out of 75 students chosen Island-wide, from a pool of 850 students nominated by various school districts. Being selected means that a student is among the top one-tenth of one percent in math of all students on Long Island in their grade, and they will pursue a course of mathematical science applications at the institute.

Acceptances were based on five criteria: a rigorous entrance exam, nomination, school transcript, recommendation of student's last math teacher and a brief statement written by the student.

Each student is expected to spend 60 hours in class during 20 Saturday mornings on related outside projects. The curriculum will cover mathematical topics from algebra, geometry, and number theory not included in the standard courses of study.

Middle School Math Chair Robin Rann said the students are very deserving of this honor. 

"This is very exciting! Out of all the schools on Long Island, four of our students have been chosen for this prestigious honor.  Lindsay, Scott, Erika, and Ryan possess a great deal of passion for mathematics and curiosity about its myriad of connections to the world. I hope to see them eventually pursue math-related fields of study, because I think they have the potential to invent, to cure, and even to change the world," Rann said.