Seventy-five Long Island school districts and two schools have been honored for providing equitable access to music education.

The districts and schools are among more than 1,000 nationwide named 2026 Best Communities for Music Education by NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants) for ensuring “equitable access to music learning as part of a well-rounded education,” according to the association.

They were evaluated on factors including instructional time and participation rates in music education, the association said.

“Music education plays a vital role in cultivating vibrant, connected communities,” NAMM president and CEO John Mlynczak said in a statement. “We are proud to recognize their leadership and unwavering dedication to ensuring every student has the opportunity to engage in music.”

Long Island’s designated districts: Amityville; Baldwin; Bayport-Blue Point; Bellmore; Bellmore-Merrick; Bethpage; Brentwood; Carle Place; Central Islip; Cold Spring Harbor; Commack; Comsewogue; Connetquot; Deer Park; East Hampton; East Islip; East Meadow; East Moriches; East Rockaway; East Williston; Elwood; Farmingdale; Franklin Square; Freeport; Garden City; Great Neck; Half Hollow Hills in Dix Hills; Hampton Bays; Harborfields in Greenlawn; Hempstead; Herricks in New Hyde Park; Hewlett-Woodmere; Hicksville; Island Trees in Levittown; Jericho; Kings Park; Lawrence; Levittown; Lindenhurst; Locust Valley; Long Beach; Longwood in Middle Island; Lynbrook; Malverne; Massapequa; Merrick; Miller Place; Mineola; New Hyde Park-Garden City Park; North Babylon; North Bellmore; North Merrick; North Shore in Sea Cliff; Northport-East Northport; Oceanside; Oyster Bay-East Norwich; Plainedge; Plainview-Old Bethpage; Port Jefferson; Port Washington; Riverhead; Rockville Centre; Rocky Point; Sayville; Seaford; Shoreham-Wading River; Smithtown; South Country in East Patchogue; South Huntington; Southampton; Syosset; Uniondale; Valley Stream Central; West Islip and William Floyd in Mastic Beach. The designated schools are Elmont Memorial High School and Smithtown Christian School.

“Recognition like this is not possible without our incredible music teachers,” Cheryl Fontana, director of fine and performing arts for the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, said in a statement. “They are the heart and soul of our program and provide our students with a truly rich musical experience.”

STONY BROOK

Rocketry challenge

Two teams from The Stony Brook School, an independent college preparatory school, placed in the top 100 nationwide in the Aerospace Industries Association’s 2026 American Rocketry Challenge.

The annual competition challenges teams to design, build and launch rockets engineered to reach 750 feet in altitude with a flight duration between 36 and 39 seconds. Rockets also carry an egg that “must survive the flight uncracked,” according to the association.

This year’s challenge attracted a record number of 1,107 teams.

WESTBURY

New principal

Randee Gresge has been appointed principal of Nassau BOCES Career Preparatory High School in Westbury, a special education school.

Gresge, who replaced Easton Hazell, was assistant principal at Nassau BOCES Willet Avenue School in Hicksville since 2022. She has also been a special education teacher and site coordinator for the New York City Department of Education.

“As principal, I am devoted to fostering this school’s culture of excellence, mindfulness, compassion, equity and inclusiveness,” Gresge said in a statement.

SUFFOLK

BNL fair winners

Seven Suffolk County students won first place in Brookhaven National Laboratory’s 2026 Elementary School Science Fair, which included 255 projects by children who won science fairs at their schools. Project ideas ranged from which brand of marker lasts the longest to what surface allows the least erosion, according to the laboratory.

Winners and their schools: Parker Anderson, Brookhaven Elementary School; Bryson Searles, Westhampton Beach Elementary School; Patricia Bean, Forest Brook Elementary School in Hauppauge; River Barrett, Park View Elementary School in Kings Park; Gabrielle Opisso, Cutchogue East Elementary School; Vincent Calvanese, Pines Elementary School in Hauppauge; and Taran Sathish Kumar, Hauppauge Middle School.