Best School District in Suffolk County (Huntington, Smithtown: sale, buying, college)

[Beenoj]

Originally Posted by nymom

I live and work in the Three Village School District and I have to say it is pretty good. I work with very competent and caring teachers. I also believe Port Jefferson School District is excellent (not to be confused with Comsewogue which is in Port Jefferson Station). Other good ones are Smithtown, Shoreham/Wading River, Miller Place, Rocky Point and Sachem-just to name a few. I don't know much about Eastern Suffolk.

Live in Engand and am moving to suffolk county with my family, both of my children are bright, and due to the change in educational curriculum I am specifically looking for the most highly acieving high schools in the suffolk county area, is there a steady top 5 high schools in suffolk that I should be looking towards?

[OvertaxedOnLI]

Originally Posted by Beenoj

Live in Engand and am moving to suffolk county with my family, both of my children are bright, and due to the change in educational curriculum I am specifically looking for the most highly acieving high schools in the suffolk county area, is there a steady top 5 high schools in suffolk that I should be looking towards?

Ward Melville High School, in the Three Village district, is consistently in the top 5 (some might even say the top 3) of the public highschools.

You probably already know that "public school" in the USA is actually the opposite of what's meant by that term in the UK. So in order for your children to attend Ward Melville High School, you would have to live within the Three Village school district. Do you have any restrictions on where you will be able to live?

There are also the private (tuition-based) highschools but most if not all of the good ones are parochial schools -- don't know if that would be something you would want, depending on your religious beliefs. I'm thinking here of St. Anthony's High School which is in Huntington. Some people I know speak highly of St. John the Baptist High School also, though I have no idea how it compares to St. Anthony's. There is also a prep school in Stony Brook called The Knox School (non-sectarian, I believe) which is supposed to be very good.

It doesn't matter where you live, if your child attends a private school, although you may well need to supply the transportation yourself.

[Relayer85]

Being a graduate of northport school district, it is one of the best school districts by far. fabulous music program, outstanding math teachers, and it has a variety of kids who do so many different things. yes you have your typical ivy league goal-oriented kids and then you have the kids who go down to nicaragua on their spring break to build houses for those who live down there and raise over $10,000 to help build them and bring down supplies, and you have the kids who struggle, you have the music nerds, the science nerds and you have the kids who will go out into the world and make a difference, all because of the fabulous teachers and support from everyone in the community and the school district. if you want to send your kid to a school district where they will be challenged to think and challeged to learn, northport is the place to go to.

[Rachael84]

what you described is found in every school district.

[eastli84]

Originally Posted by megankru

What about eatern suffolk county?

This may be a little too east for you, but I went to Montauk School for K-8 and then to East Hampton High School.

Montauk School is the quintessential small town school. 30-60 kids per grade divided into two or three classes and everyone knows each other. Annual holiday performance and spring performance. Most of the teachers have been there for decades, although newer ones are starting to infiltrate.

Montauk is not a "keeping up with the Jonses" kind of town. It is very blue collar and middle class. The school does a great job teaching the fundamentals and instilling a sense of community pride and self respect that many schools fail to teach nowadays. Excellent gifted and talented program, music and art programs...just about everything you could think of MPS has for everyone. In the late 90's the school was about 75% white and 20% hispanic. Lots of surfers, skaters, etc. What you would expect for a small beach town.

East Hampton HS is the high school for Montauk, Amagansett, Springs, Wainscott, and East Hampton students. The school has a little over 1,000 students, and is pretty standard. If you get the right teachers, the AP and honors classes are challenging and rewarding. The regents-level courses are nothing to brag about, probably like most other public schools. From personal experience, more experienced teachers are great at controlling a classroom and teaching you, whereas newer, young teachers are pretty much awful. However, there are lots of excellent teachers there and most of the athletic teams are competitive.

You'd think schools in the Hamptons would be extremely pretentious and affluent, but the opposite is true. Most locals there are middle class, lived there for generations, and have great pride in their town. The schools there, in my opinion, are like schools you would find in small, all-American towns that place great value on education. It's only the people who come in the summer who are rich. Hope you found this information relevant and helpful!

[sseligson]

Commack is an excellent school with excellent rputation in a great community.

[novakd]

I have two boys in grade school. The teachers and staff are great and caring. The problem is that there isn't any afterschool help. I find that in the city the schools provide after school care and assistance. The math tutor is currently there 1 1/2 day a week and is assisting only 3rd graders. I find a lot of pressure to pay for tutors. Many of the parents pay teachers to tutor thier child after school at the library. The school does not even have high school kids helping struggling students. In the end the school statistics look great but the story behind the story is that parents are paying out of pocket to educate the kids.

[New2LI]

Originally Posted by novakd

I have two boys in grade school. The teachers and staff are great and caring. The problem is that there isn't any afterschool help. I find that in the city the schools provide after school care and assistance. The math tutor is currently there 1 1/2 day a week and is assisting only 3rd graders. I find a lot of pressure to pay for tutors. Many of the parents pay teachers to tutor thier child after school at the library. The school does not even have high school kids helping struggling students. In the end the school statistics look great but the story behind the story is that parents are paying out of pocket to educate the kids.

My friend moved to Franklin Square from Bayside, Queens. She complains about the same thing. I'm baffled...with the high taxes in LI, there should be help for students who need a little assistance.

[Chella]

Well somewhat yes... but where you live is just as important.

I totally believe the PARENTS are the ones who can make or break the child's education. You must be involved. It's not up to the teachers to do everything.

I know opinions vary on school districts and some people may have had experiences when they went to school as to why they may or may not want to send their children.

Is private or public better? Sometimes the private school teachers do not get paid enough so are they giving it their all?

I just don't know.

I want my children to be exposed to a school district that has many options. I want teachers and staff to NOTICE if my child is NOT doing well or needs special attention. I do not want my children lost in the shuffle.

I'm finding that this school district decision is the hardest one yet.

There is always that motto... better school...better drugs..

as much as I hate hearing that YES it sticks to me.

A child can come across the wrong crowd no matter what district.
As long as both parents are involved I think that is the MAIN decision as far as education for your child.

[Chella]

Hi Kelly...

A national honor society student with extraordinary grades that has a well rounded lifestyle from ANY school on LI can get into any ivy league school or private school they choose. People want their less than extraordinary child to get into a great school based on the public school district reputation, well guess what? Even if it works, now you've got a kid that can't survive in that setting because they don't have the ability to learn at that level.
Put your kids in any school on LI (there are a couple that can be excluded) and be a class parent, chaperone the trips, participate in the PTA, get to know the teachers & your kid's friends, take your kid to the public library & local museums. Stop running them around to fifty activities everyday after school & sit together as a family & eat a home cooked dinner at a table, play ball with your kids on the lawn TOGETHER for FUN! Teach your kids to volunteer, have compassion & be kind.
I would bet any parent that does this in ANY district on LI gets a kid that turns out GREAT!

I want to teach my children tolerance, love and what it means to work. My kids have all the gadgets & brand name clothes, but they also mow the lawn & rake leaves.
I can't believe how unprepared the children of some parents(especially the wealthier people) are for reality. How many people on this island could survive if we had a disaster that knocked out electric, ability to get cash, fuel & other essentials? Most people here are completely dependent on industry....how very sad & have no idea have to survive as humans should....these kids are even more unable.

Stop relying on STRANGERS aka the employees of a school district to make your kid into something special!