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I don't know exactly when HF moved up in the rankings but HHH has been considered a top district for at least 30 years- probably longer. People of my inlaw's generation never considered HF to be a top district, so to my mind, it's a fairly recent shift.
I grew up on LI and HHH never held any prestige in my eyes. It was just a big school. (Obviously that's just my perception so it means squat.) And it was our realtor who lived in Melville (HHH) who directed us towards SD#6.
We actively looked for well over a year (being that I didn't work, it was my full time job to do research and drive bys) and at the time, our top two considerations where SD#2 and SD#6. They were the top districts. (As I stated previously, Nass was off the table.)
My roommate and closest friend was a teacher at HF and always raved about the district, even before we were looking.
In regards to HF moms not being snooty...LOL. It must be just the ones you know because we have no shortage of snooty moms. I wouldn't want you to be mislead.
Recently started moving up in the ranks? What's your definition of recently? We moved here 13+ years ago (prior to children) and part of the reason we wanted SD#6 was because of their rankings. It was about potential resale for us and long-term just in case we had kids and decided to stay. If anything, I think it's gone down slightly in rank.
In regards to HF moms not being snooty...LOL. It must be just the ones you know because we have no shortage of snooty moms. I wouldn't want you to be mislead.
Actually I didn't say that *I* thought that HHH moms were snooty- I said that's the perception. There are some Huntington moms who have literally groaned at the mention of HHH moms lol. But that has not been my personal experience at all- I just think that perception scares some people away. I am sure these types of moms exist to some degree in all relatively wealthy areas. But I do think that the the north shore of Suffolk does tend to have more generally laid-back moms.
I primarily use S&S in E. Northport or Dix Hills (I take Broadway to Jericho). The Northport S&S is too small for my liking and I use the Waldbaums in Greenlawn as a last resort.
A lot of moms I know use Best Market in E. Northport. Supposedly it has great prices on produce and such. I've never been, so this is just hearsay.
We use a lot of mom & pop shops: Mr. Sausage in HV, R&S meats in HV, Southdown Market, Makinajian (in Elwood area) and of course there's the Diary Barn (or whatever it's called now) in Greenlawn when you need a quick gallon of milk or some bread.
Walt Whitman Mall is overrated (I avoid it like the plague), but easy enough to get to with back roads. Costco is every 3 months for us and it's doesn't take much to jump on Daly Rd to head towards the Commack location.
The new Target in Hunt. Sta. is convenient as well.
So how is Peapod? I used to do Fresh Direct when I lived in the city. Comparable?
In regards to HF moms not being snooty...LOL. It must be just the ones you know because we have no shortage of snooty moms. I wouldn't want you to be mislead.
LOL! I agree. After the open house night at Washington Drive I went out with a bunch of neighbors to have drinks and we were laughing at the snooty moms, so I know I'm not alone!
But there are plenty of us who are nice and down to earth!
So how is Peapod? I used to do Fresh Direct when I lived in the city. Comparable?
I love Peapod- but I still have to go to places like Fairway, Wild By Nature, TJ's, Iavarones, etc for specialty items. Peapod is Stop & Shop, literally. Fresh Direct from what I remember had more gourmet/specialty items while Peapod is a regular grocery store.
I don't know exactly when HF moved up in the rankings but HHH has been considered a top district for at least 30 years- probably longer. People of my inlaw's generation never considered HF to be a top district, so to my mind, it's a fairly recent shift.
It is clear you were unaware of HF's academic prowess for whatever reason. It's excellence is NOT a recent occurrence so you may be dealing with a small circle of folks and not reading the papers the last twenty years or so. Just because you did not know about Harborfield's great reputation does not mean it did not have a great reputation. Sample size issue.
But there are also many folks who write reflexively off all the large Suffolk schools (HHH, William Floyd, Sachem, etc) so you may not be the only less-informed person on school district quality- the point is to learn and you seem to have discovered Harborfields. I myself did not realize HHH's quality until the last four or five years but I do not make the assumption they have only had this reputation for four or five years.
To be fair, I only 'discovered' Harborfields about 15 years ago and ditched my 'high performing" district for this superior district.
To be further fair, I certainly understand the Long Island conclusion jumping that might spring from observing a lean district (no high school swimming pool, no turf fields, no fancy buildings, no full day kindergarten, small administrative staff, largish class sizes, mid-sized gymnasium, 'low' per-pupil spending, etc ) and then assuming it is not a top district. Turns out those may not be the key ingredients to a quality education after all.
Further, if you love flat one-acre manicured lawns you certainly would hate the rambling beachy hills of Centerport and variously sized houses therein so you are making the right choice for you. I won't ramble on about all the other reasons the quality of life in the Harborfields District is so cherished by many of the residents. And the Beach Pub! And HBCA! (And Ruvo, Off Broadway, and Old Fields...)
Last edited by Quick Commenter; 03-12-2014 at 07:51 PM..
Peapod!
We use a lot of mom & pop shops: Mr. Sausage in HV, R&S meats in HV, Southdown Market, Makinajian (in Elwood area) and of course there's the Diary Barn (or whatever it's called now) in Greenlawn when you need a quick gallon of milk or some bread.
-- It doesn't take much to jump on Daly Rd to head towards the Commack location.
I agree the Greenlawn Waldbaums is abysmal but I also shop locally and it literally takes me 10-12 minutes to get to Trader Joe's or Costco. If I'm going to a grocery store I prefer the Commack Shop Rite. It's not that far or inconvenient and I skip Park Ave by taking Cuba Hill to Daly. In the summer I get produce from a CSA or the farm stand on Elwood rd.
It's funny that you think everything is so inconvenient to HF bcs my parents love coming to my house bcs they live out east where there are far less choices! Depends on your perspective.
One thing I do find annoying is the parking situation at Washington Drive and TJL is not much better. But I never go to the mall and I find plenty of local places to spend my money.
It is clear you were unaware of HF's academic prowess for whatever reason. To be fair, I only discovered it about 15 years ago and ditched my 'high performing" district for this superior district. To be further fair, I certainly understand the Long Island conclusion jumping that might spring from observing a lean district (no high school swimming pool, no turf fields, no fancy buildings, no full day kindergarten, small administrative staff, largish class sizes, mid-sized gymnasium, 'low' per-pupil spending, etc ) and then assuming it is not a top district. Turns out those may not be the key ingredients to a quality education after all. Further, if you love flat one-acre manicured lawns you certainly would hate the rambling beachy hills of Centerport and variously sized houses therein so you are making the right choice for you. I won't ramble on about all the other reasons the quality of life in the Harborfields District is so cherished by many of the residents. And the Beach Pub! And HBCA! (And Ruvo, Off Broadway, and Old Fields...)
I'm not sure why you seem to be getting defensive- I'm not arguing that HF is a highly ranked district. It obviously is. I am simply asking what about it makes it a great district, apart from test scores/rankings which aren't always reliable (and according to parents in HF the teachers DO place a huge emphasis on test taking to keep rankings up). I am simply asking what the district is known for- this shouldn't be a tough question to answer. The answer can't simply be that the district is good because it's test scores are high. I want to know what areas the district excels in, what are it's strengths, what are it's weaknesses. In all of the research I did on HF, I could not get any answers to this question (and I can't get the answers on here either). In districts like Syosset, CSH, HHH I had no problem at all finding out which areas each district excelled in. It made me feel very uncomfortable to not have this information on HF. Maybe you feel comfortable choosing a district based solely on rankings, but I do not. To be honest, if I were to get the answers to these questions, I might feel differently about the district and might actually reconsider. To use your words- please tell me about the district's 'academic prowess' without quoting rankings.
I'm not sure why you seem to be getting defensive- I'm not arguing that HF is a highly ranked district. It obviously is. I am simply asking what about it makes it a great district, apart from test scores/rankings which aren't always reliable (and according to parents in HF the teachers DO place a huge emphasis on test taking to keep rankings up). I am simply asking what the district is known for- this shouldn't be a tough question to answer. The answer can't simply be that the district is good because it's test scores are high. I want to know what areas the district excels in, what are it's strengths, what are it's weaknesses. In all of the research I did on HF, I could not get any answers to this question (and I can't get the answers on here either). In districts like Syosset, CSH, HHH I had no problem at all finding out which areas each district excelled in. It made me feel very uncomfortable to not have this information on HF. Maybe you feel comfortable choosing a district based solely on rankings, but I do not. To be honest, if I were to get the answers to these questions, I might feel differently about the district and might actually reconsider. To use your words- please tell me about the district's 'academic prowess' without quoting rankings.
What is HHH and CSH's academic prowess?
I'm assuming Syosset's is science?
I've always thought HF did/does a great job at making sure the students are well versed in all areas. We have CSH teachers who live on our block and they left other districts to have their children educated in the HF district. We also have quite a few HF alumni that chose to raise their families here. That says something to me.
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