Scott Matthew Eckers was born in New York City and grew up in East Meadow, a large town on Long Island. At the age of three, Scott started to attend Gan Katan Nursery School. Some of the friends he met there he is still friends with to this day, almost twenty years later.

In 1985, Scott began Barnum Woods Elementary School. In elementary school, Scott became very involved with the Student Council and became Vice President in the fifth grade. He helped organize a tremendous letter-writing campaign to soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). In third grade, Scott played the recorder and was a part of the Recorder Band under the direction of Mr. Stuart Croland. This fueled Scott's interests in music, and he joined the band in fourth grade under the direction of Mr. Frank Bonasera, playing the trumpet. Scott would like to thank Mr. B. for being the subject of many hours of ridicule as "Music Führer" in Mrs. Brice's fifth grade classroom. Scott also joined the chorus under the direction of Mrs. Lark ("better and better, thank you") and Miss Cavallo. Scott had wonderful teachers in Barnum Woods, especially Mrs. Orson, his first grade teacher. Thanks also to Mrs. Fellows, Mrs. Naval, Mrs. Brodsky (Seligman), Mrs. Holz, Mrs. Brice, Mr. Novarro, and Mrs. Rugiero. In 1991, Scott graduated and received the Superintendant's Award, the school's highest honor for scholarship and service. Scott was the first full class to graduate in the fifth grade instead of the traditional sixth grade since the school opened its doors in 1953. [Barnum Pics] [Barnum Woods Official Website]

In 1991, Scott started Woodland Junior High School. Technically, Woodland became a Middle School that year, with grades six through eight. However, sixth grade was shielded from the rest of the school through its cluster system. Scott was very fortunate to have been placed in Cluster One, with some of the best teachers he has ever had - Mr. Richard Santer [Rich Santer's Website], Mrs. Glick, Mrs. Grace Siciliano, and Mrs. Kavett. For "Quest", Scott had Mrs. Cindy Fine. A big controversy that year was the laying-off of Mrs. Fine for financial reasons. Our parents all had what to say about it, but their efforts did not keep Mrs. Fine on the payroll. That year, we wrote a Legal Brief and went to court in New York City. The most interesting part of my sixth grade career was the Japanese program. Michiyo Kato, a twenty-something "exchange teacher", came to the United States to teach some basic Japanese culture and language classes in Woodland. We became the host family for Michiyo, and she lived with us for several months. It was an amazing experience, and Michiyo really became part of our family that year. Unfortunately, a tragic bus accident on the Northway occured in April 1991. A busload of Woodland seventh and eighth grade members of the Foreign Langauge Club were on their way home from Montréal after a weekend away. A combination of driver irresponsibility and icy roads caused the charter bus to go off the road and tumble down a fifty-foot embankment, claiming the lives of two students and injuring others, including Michiyo. It was quite a year. In December 2000, we received a letter from Michiyo with a picture of her husband and two sons.

After a brief career at the Woodland Warrior (newspaper), Scott became involved in many clubs, such as the Student Council, Computer Club, Renovation and Innovation Needed for the Betterment of Woodland (RAINBOW) Club, and other activities. In 1992, the Woodland Drama Club was revived after decades of hibernation, and Scott became a founding (and possibly most active) member. Under the direction of Ms. Linda Braun, Mrs. Galligher, and Mrs. Gruenfelder, Bye, Bye, Birdie was performed (left). Scott played Hugo Peabody. Marc Weiser was Albert, Jennifer Budnick was Kim, and Alyssa Kimbrell was Rosie. Of course, Birdie was a smash hit. The next year, Scott appeared as Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music, which was wonderful, yet famous for its intermission-style scene changes (right). Scott was in Chorus all three years, under the most capable direction of Mr. Albani, Ms. Linda Braun, and Mr. Doug March. In Middle School, Scott became extremely interested in stage lighting and completely re-wired and eventually re-designed the stage lighting setup in Woodland's thousand-person auditorium. To this day, Scott is frequently called to maintain this system. Scott graduated in 1994, once again receiving Dr. Frank Saracino's Superintendant Award for scholarship and service, Woodland's highest honor. Scott was a founding member of the Woodland Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society that Spring as well. In recent years, Scott has volunteered to help the Woodland Drama Club with staging and tech. In 1998, he designed the lighting for Grease; in the Spring of 2000, he helped to produce You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (left). [Woodland Pics] [Woodland Middle School Official Website]

Go on to East Meadow High School (1994-1998)