LIBERTY, NY — Liberty Elementary School (LES) celebrated its senior class on June 24 with the annual Moving Up ceremony. It was a time to celebrate accomplishments, offer advice and take a look back at the previous five or more years.
Principal Robert England welcomed families and guests, and talked about how Liberty Elementary supports and encourages students, helping them find success.
As the awards portion of the ceremony began, he thanked Rony Gomez Franco and Yiling Ouyang for being the junior student liaisons on the Superintendent’s Committee.
The following awards were presented:
American Citizenship Award
This award, sponsored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, recognizes students who participate in school and community service activities, show a positive attitude towards classmates and peers, display an understanding and appreciation of civic responsibility and possess the strength of character and courage to be role models for others. Honored were Raphael Avellino, Brittney Cruz Reyes, Amelia D’Agata, Panth Desai, Rony Gomez Franco, Juliana Padilla and Stephany Reyes Lazo.
President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement
The President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement recognizes students who have shown outstanding educational growth, improvement or commitment in their academic subjects. These students work hard, give their best efforts and demonstrate tremendous commitment to learning: Manuel Aldana Pena, Kobi Debrosky, Pari Desai, Scarlett Llano Luciano, Ian Marquez, Marcos Mateo Gutierrez, Keira McPhillips, Ryan Panchana, Stephany Reyes Lazo, Eliana Soriano, Alexander Torres and Joel Williams-Mejia.
President’s Award for Outstanding Educational Excellence

The President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence recognizes students who have achieved academic success in the classroom. These students have received 3s and 4s on New York State tests in Math and ELA, above-grade-level scores on universal screener assessments, and 3s and 4s in all subject areas on their report cards, as well as demonstrating motivation, integrity and leadership qualities.
The top 10 recipients of the Outstanding Academic Excellence award are as follows:
10. Leyvi Eli Banegas Cortes
9. Amelia D’Agata
8. Jean Valdivieso Cajamarca
7. Sevyn Straker
6. Jaxen Husted
5. Madelyn Hook
4. William Martin
3. Yiling Ouyang
2. Makayla Kolarik
1. Eli Grossman
The NYS Attorney General’s Triple ‘C’ Award
The award recognizes students who display Courage, Commitment and Character. This year’s recipients are Rony Gomez Franco and Yiling Ouyang.
NYS Comptroller’s Award
Each year, the NYS Comptroller’s Office recognizes one deserving student from the school who demonstrates leadership potential through involvement in activities that improve the school and/or community. Earning the award was Anthony Owens, who served in the Safety Patrol, LES Video Club, choir, band and the LES production of “101 Dalmatians,” as well as volunteering with the PTA at community events and was a “positive role model who leads with kindness, responsibility, and integrity,” Mr. England said.
The fourth-grade certificates were presented after the awards.
The ceremony also marked David Philips’ final ceremony; he is retiring this year. Philips was presented with an award for his dedication to the students in the classroom and as a coach, and for creating the fourth-grade videos for the past two decades.
The ceremony concluded with a short video honoring Philips and showed the video he produced, which looks back at the fourth-graders’ time at LES.