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Hi everyone, We (wife & I) have been house-hunting on LI for a few months & have finally settled on 2 houses that we really like. One house is in East Williston & the other in Syosset. Both houses are very comparable in price, size & taxes which leaves the neighborhood & the school district as the only major differences. Can someone please tell me how these 2 neighborhoods and school districts stack up against each other? Is one of them more desirable than the other? Which neighborhood would you choose if you were in my shoes? We have 2 children (ages 6 & 3) & we are of Indian origin, if that matters. Thanks & looking forward to your feedback.
Go to the search bar above the posts (near log out on right side). Type in East Williston and you can read several posts re: both districts. Then type in Syosset.
FWIW. If like population is important to you, Herricks is now 62% Asian/Indian and is and excellent distrit also.
I did go through many of the threads on East Williston & Syosset but there was none comparing the two of them side by side, so I wanted to get some feedback from people who are familiar with the two towns & their school districts. We are aware of the Herricks school district but we don't find it necessary for our kids to be in schools with large indian populations. As long as there's some diversity, we are comfortable with it.
EW has a sizable and growing Asian population but, anecdotally, that seems to be almost exclusively East Asian.
The schools in both districts are exceptional, though the EW district is arguably underrated because of its size (i.e. fewer overall Intel finalists and Nat'l Merit Scholars, but much higher per capita).
To add to the previous posts, if this is important to you, East Williston does not have a town with shops. Local shopping is just over the train tracks in Williston Park and Mineola along Hillside Avenue and Jericho Turnpike and cross streets. You cannot go wrong with either school district - both excellent. There is diversity in both, but Syosset would be more diverse of the two. East Williston is minutes from a wealth of shopping along Old Country Road/Roosevelt Field Mall.
You are in an enviable position in that you can't really make a bad decision with either district. A friend teaches in Syosset and my sister lives in EW. Since both suit your needs, one thing that might sway you either way is that EW has 3 schools one k - 4, one 5 -7 and one H.S. I can tell you that almost everyone knows your name as the kids all move through the same 3 schools. This can be viewed as a plus or a minus. Syosset has seven k-5, two 6 - 8, one H.S. There are about 1/3 the students in EW that there are in Syosset.
I can only confirm that in the past foreign language was not part of the curriculum in the lower grades in EW, currently that may have changed but I am not sure, whereas foreign language begins in kindergarten in Syosset and progresses through the grades. They learn Russian, Chinese, and latin in addition to the more traditional foreign languages.
As I said, it is a great position to be in. I would also suggest calling the Superintendents of each school and ask for an appointment to schedule a visit, so you can judge which environment your child will thrive in.
Is there an advantage/disadvantage of being in a smaller school district like East Williston compared to a bigger one like Syosset? I've been told that Ivy league & reputed colleges only accept a limited number of students from a particular school district. Is that true? & if so, EW would have an obvious advantage.
Also, reading comments on some of the threads about Syosset, I get the impression that kids in Syosset tend to get pretentious & develop a "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude whereas those in East Williston tend to be more down to earth. Is that a fact or am I reading too much into that?
Is there an advantage/disadvantage of being in a smaller school district like East Williston compared to a bigger one like Syosset? I've been told that Ivy league & reputed colleges only accept a limited number of students from a particular school district. Is that true? & if so, EW would have an obvious advantage.
Also, reading comments on some of the threads about Syosset, I get the impression that kids in Syosset tend to get pretentious & develop a "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude whereas those in East Williston tend to be more down to earth. Is that a fact or am I reading too much into that?
I am not in a position to comment on how college admissions are done with any authority. If it is determined on a pro rata basis, in which case there may be fewer students from EW accepted given the size, then your child might have a better chance in Syosset if they accept a greater number. That said, the larger the number the greater the competition.
My Syosset teacher friend has kids in school in the k - 5 grades but not in EW or Syosset. Her kids are elementary age and her comment was in comparison to her own home district which is more closely aligned number wise to EW. She stated that she knows the education is phenomenal in Syosset but the school has a "big" feel to it and she likes that her kids are a known entity to the principals and teachers.
You can take that FWIW and of course it is just her opinion, but one I would at least consider as she is a teacher in Syosset.
I don't want to appear to be snarky so please don't take this the wrong way, but your kids are babies, worry about the IVY League school when it is time appropriate. So many things can and will change by then including what your kids may be interested in doing in 10 years. It is not like you are picking two districts that are diametrically opposed to each other quality wise.
thanks nuts2uiam & your point about Ivy league schools is well taken! I agree, as parents, we tend to think too much at times!
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