Please Help Me w/ LI Schools (Hempstead, Islip: renting, house, transfer)

[Wes927]

Hello.....I'm moving to Long Island from the Bronx w/ 2 high school aged kids to-be. In the Bronx we had to pay for Catholic school Junior High to keep our kids away from inner city problems:

Please help me and tell me if any of the high schools in the following districts have inner city problems of drugs, crime, gangs, bad discipline in classroom.

Any comments at all would be most welcome!

Nassau:

Herricks
Bellmore-Merrick
Bethpage
Carle Place
East Meadow
East Rockaway
Hicksville
Island Trees
Levittown
Lynbrook
Massapequa
Mineola
Oceanside
Plainedge
Rockville Centre
Seaford
Wantagh

Suffolk:

Babylon
Commack
West Babylon

[primeline31]

"Please help me and tell me if any of the high schools in the following districts have inner city problems of drugs, crime, gangs, bad discipline in classroom."

Sigh... that's a tall order. It's hard to recommend one over the other as the people here are all spread out all over and all pretty much want to speak well of our own districts.

Drugs: They are everywhere, city or suburb, well-to-do neighborhoods and others. I can speak from experience having had one under 21 year-old clean up his act after a few years of pot, cocaine, pills, etc. and a lot of therapy. Having been through "significant-other" (parents, spouses, good friends, etc.) group therapy in a couple of places (and both myself and husband keep a 'dry' house - not even beer) I have seen this affect both the upper middle class, the middle-middle class and the lower-middle class families. All parents have to do the best they can to watch their kids and their kids friends. It's REALLY hard to do. Some start in early middle school.

Gangs: most schools ban hats, jackets, exposed underwear (on girls and boys) and tanktops or muscle shirts. I'm pretty sure all ban shirts with "inappropriate" wording or subjects on them (beer, sex, slander, etc.)

If you want to help them with college, you'll need a home with a relatively low a tax rate.
Nassau County has a section of their website at
Land Record Viewer
where you can check out any particular property (look for the words "property search" on that site) to see what the actual taxes and a great deal more about the house.

Then NY State has it's School Report Cards at
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/reportcard/ (broken link)
You can check out each district's official information regarding the grades earned on the mandatory state tests as well as other items such as the population mix (nationalities and languages spoken), what percent go on to 2 yr and 4 yr schools, the dropout rates and more.

I think you'll want a neighborhood with a lot of children that are near your children's ages so that they will be able to choose good friends (they won't be stuck playing with mean kids) and that you won't have to do a lot of driving them to playdates.

Good luck! We live in one of the districts you mentioned and are happily here for 24 years, raising 3 kids (one grad. college - NYIT, one in college - Farmingdale, and one in high school - 11th gr.)

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by Wes927

Hello.....I'm moving to Long Island from the Bronx w/ 2 high school aged kids to-be. In the Bronx we had to pay for Catholic school Junior High to keep our kids away from inner city problems:

Please help me and tell me if any of the high schools in the following districts have inner city problems of drugs, crime, gangs, bad discipline in classroom.

Any comments at all would be most welcome!

Nassau:

Herricks - very good and has some decent diversity (asian, etc) Might be of interest if you are coming from the city
Bellmore-Merrick - very good
Bethpage - ok
Carle Place- no idea
East Meadow - no idea
East Rockaway -no idea
Hicksville -hear it is worsening, but just hearsay
Island Trees - no idea
Levittown - eh
Lynbrook - I think it depends on the area. Some of the changes in the Valley Stream district have spilled over into Lynbrook (based on a teacher friend's perspective in the district)
Massapequa - very good, expensive taxes
Mineola - I believe I heard this was not a good district due to district busing, but not certain
Oceanside - hear it is worsening, but it has been a good district
Plainedge - no idea
Rockville Centre -very good
Seaford - very good
Wantagh - very good

Suffolk:

Babylon - no idea
Commack - very well regarded district. High tax area though (goes hand in hand sometimes)
West Babylon - Don't know

As the previous poster stated, everyone will have very strong opinions on their district. Best bet is to research the report cards as a start, but then do cross research at great schools .net and other parent centered sites. Then narrow the list and go meet with the school administration. Talk to local parents. And simply visit the school. I tossed in my two cents on the various schools above, but free advice is worth what you pay for it, and I guarantee somebody will refute what I have to say with just as much passion. Best of luck to you, and don't ever feel you are being too picky. It is an important decision.

[clamboy]

Ranking of High Schools in Suffolk County

Its 2001 Suffolk High School data but it doesnt look too far off.

Rank School County Regents English Adv Regents GLHIST AdvTotal

1 Cold Spring Harbor Suffolk 62.0 80.0 142.0
2 Fishers Island School Suffolk 80.0 50.0 130.0
3 Port Jefferson Suffolk 62.2 67.1 129.3
4 Half Hollow Hills High School West Suffolk 55.8 72.1 127.8
5 Half Hollow Hills High School East Suffolk 50.0 68.1 118.1
6 Walt Whitman Suffolk 37.7 60.7 98.5
7 Hauppauge Suffolk 50.9 47.2 98.1
8 Ward Melville Suffolk 43.0 54.4 97.5
9 Harborfields Suffolk 38.1 52.0 90.1
10 West Islip Suffolk 41.6 47.9 89.5
11 Elwood/John Glenn Suffolk 45.2 42.7 87.8
12 Mount Sinai Suffolk 43.1 44.7 87.8
13 Bayport-Blue Point Suffolk 51.1 36.3 87.3
14 Commack Suffolk 46.0 41.3 87.3
15 Rocky Point Suffolk 39.3 46.3 85.6
16 Southold Suffolk 31.7 52.0 83.6
17 Connetquot Suffolk 43.6 39.3 83.0
18 Northport Suffolk 24.0 57.4 81.4
19 East Islip Suffolk 41.8 38.3 80.1
20 East Hampton Suffolk 42.3 37.0 79.3
21 Westhampton Beach Suffolk 41.8 37.4 79.1
22 Smithtown Suffolk 22.9 53.9 76.8
23 Eastport-South Manor Central Suffolk 36.0 40.5 76.5
24 Miller Place Suffolk 46.5 29.9 76.5
25 Kings Park Suffolk 23.3 52.6 75.9
26 Mattituck Suffolk 39.5 35.0 74.4
27 Sayville Suffolk 39.0 34.5 73.4
28 West Babylon Suffolk 27.1 45.5 72.6
29 Greenport Suffolk 31.4 40.0 71.4
30 Islip Suffolk 25.1 45.1 70.2
31 Pierson Suffolk 36.2 33.8 70.0
32 Babylon Suffolk 30.8 38.8 69.5
33 Shoreham-Wading River Suffolk 31.3 36.7 68.1
34 Center Moriches Suffolk 22.1 38.6 60.7
35 Sachem Suffolk 21.8 37.7 59.5
36 Huntington Suffolk 17.0 38.6 55.6
37 Hampton Bays Secondary School Suffolk 18.7 36.5 55.2
38 Newfield Suffolk 29.6 23.9 53.5
39 Lindenhurst Suffolk 23.9 29.2 53.1
40 Longwood Suffolk 26.8 24.9 51.7
41 Comsewogue Suffolk 18.3 31.6 49.8
42 Bridgehampton School Suffolk 17.6 31.3 48.9
43 Bellport Suffolk 22.1 25.5 47.6
44 Southampton Suffolk 25.6 20.7 46.3
45 William Floyd Suffolk 23.0 21.8 44.8
46 Deer Park Suffolk 13.8 30.7 44.6
47 Patchogue-Medford Suffolk 12.6 28.6 41.2
48 Riverhead Suffolk 10.7 27.5 38.2
49 Walter G. OConnell Copiague Suffolk 21.6 16.4 37.9
50 Centereach Suffolk 13.0 24.8 37.8
51 North Babylon Suffolk 21.9 15.6 37.5
52 Shelter Island School Suffolk 28.0 7.7 35.7
53 Bay Shore Suffolk 12.8 21.8 34.5
54 Amityville Memorial Suffolk 10.1 20.2 30.4
55 Brentwood Suffolk 5.9 17.3 23.2
56 Central Islip Suffolk 8.2 9.6 17.8
57 Wyandanch Memorial Suffolk 6.2 3.9

[clamboy]

1 Jericho Nassau 76.3 73.8 150.2
2 Great Neck North Nassau 76.5 70.3 146.8
3 Great Neck South Nassau 79.8 66.3 146.1
4 Garden City Nassau 61.4 84.5 145.8
5 Wheatley School Nassau 75.8 66.1 142.0
6 Manhasset Nassau 69.8 65.1 134.9
7 Syosset Nassau 62.3 72.7 134.9
8 Plainview-Old Bethpage/Jfk Nassau 61.1 66.7 127.8
9 Roslyn Nassau 55.4 69.8 125.1
10 Carle Place Middle Nassau 52.3 71.5 123.8
11 John F. Kennedy Nassau 50.0 73.1 123.1
12 Herricks Nassau 65.9 56.7 122.6
13 Wantagh Nassau 57.6 63.1 120.7
14 Locust Valley Nassau 43.6 74.1 117.7
15 Oyster Bay Nassau 49.5 60.4 109.9
16 Paul D. Schreiber Nassau 50.7 55.3 105.9
17 George W. Hewlett Nassau 53.0 49.5 102.5
18 Lynbrook Nassau 44.0 57.5 101.6
19 Gen. Douglas Macarthur Nassau 55.0 44.0 99.0
20 Division Avenue Nassau 43.1 54.7 97.9
21 North Shore Nassau 52.0 45.6 97.6
22 Seaford Nassau 42.3 54.6 96.9
23 Lawrence Nassau 54.5 41.9 96.4
24 Wellington C. Mepham Nassau 39.1 48.2 87.4
25 Sanford H. Calhoun Nassau 39.5 47.7 87.2
26 Valley Stream South Nassau 41.1 41.0 82.2
27 Baldwin Nassau 42.9 38.2 81.1
28 Hicksville Nassau 52.3 28.2 80.5
29 Village School Nassau 36.4 42.9 79.2
30 New Hyde Park Memorial Nassau 31.2 47.5 78.7
31 East Meadow Nassau 40.7 36.9 77.6
32 Oceanside Nassau 37.5 39.9 77.4
33 Floral Park Memorial Nassau 33.9 42.5 76.4
34 Long Beach Nassau 29.3 45.4 74.7
35 Island Trees Nassau 42.5 31.6 74.0
36 Bethpage Nassau 32.1 41.4 73.5
37 Valley Stream North Nassau 35.7 36.6 72.3
38 W. Tresper Clarke Nassau 35.6 35.0 70.6
39 H. Frank Carey Nassau 21.9 46.5 68.4
40 Massapequa Nassau 30.2 37.7 68.0
41 Plainedge Nassau 42.2 25.1 67.4
42 West Hempstead Nassau 34.6 32.7 67.3
43 Valley Stream Central Nassau 33.7 33.5 67.2
44 South Side Nassau 25.4 39.5 64.8
45 Glen Cove Nassau 23.4 39.3 62.7
46 Elmont Memorial Nassau 38.2 20.1 58.3
47 East Rockaway Nassau 17.9 35.0 53.0
48 Sewanhaka Nassau 18.8 33.7 52.5
49 Farmingdale Nassau 22.3 30.2 52.4
50 Mineola Nassau 13.3 37.9 51.1
51 Malverne Nassau 16.1 29.4 45.5
52 Freeport Nassau 12.8 20.6 33.4
53 Uniondale Nassau 9.2 22.7 31.9
54 Westbury Nassau 1.6 10.2 11.8
55 Hempstead Nassau 5.6 6.2 11.7
56 Roosevelt Nassau 8.0 0.7 8.

[clamboy]

I cant remember who was kicking Rocky Point before either JrProf or SeanSean but so much for that Farmingdale = Rocky Point theory.

Hell if Im reading ths right it looks like RPHS beats Smithtown, Miller Place and Farmingville.
What do I know...2001 was a long time ago.

Any educators care to agree/disagree with these lists?

Again, #s alone never tell the story.

Parents and students do.

C

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by clamboy

So much for that Farmingdale = Rocky Point theory

Hell if Im reading ths right it looks like RPHS beats Smithtown and Miller Place.

What do I know...2001 was a long time ago.

Any educators care to agree/disagree with these lists?

Again, #s alone never tell the story.

Parents do.

C

You need to look at all scores and then research some more.
I tend to also focus on percentage of kids going to a 4-year college, with of course respect for the fact that economics play a role in maybe going to a community college first. RP is around 44%, lower than Longwood. It bothers me to think of a classroom where less than half of the kids are considering a 4 year degree as an option (and that is 2006). If my kid tells me their regents diploma is their ticket, I'll kill 'em..or insist they get a job in the Suffolk County PD...and then their mother will kill them. For me, it is not acceptable. We could debate the merits of a college degree, etc, but that is something that we personally put a lot of emphasis on when looking into districts. Just one of the things that made us comfortable. It takes a whole picture, and you can not do enough research. Especially if the poster is transferring their children as they enter the high school years. That is a rough transition socially let alone academically. The district debate is very personal. I do not envy the effort that will be required by the poster to come to a conclusion...

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by Jrprofess

You need to look at all scores and then research some more.
I tend to also focus on percentage of kids going to a 4-year college, with of course respect for the fact that economics play a role in maybe going to a community college first. RP is around 44%, lower than Longwood. It bothers me to think of a classroom where less than half of the kids are considering a 4 year degree as an option (and that is 2006). If my kid tells me their regents diploma is their ticket, I'll kill 'em..or insist they get a job in the Suffolk County PD...and then their mother will kill them. For me, it is not acceptable. We could debate the merits of a college degree, etc, but that is something that we personally put a lot of emphasis on when looking into districts. Just one of the things that made us comfortable. It takes a whole picture, and you can not do enough research. Especially if the poster is transferring their children as they enter the high school years. That is a rough transition socially let alone academically. The district debate is very personal. I do not envy the effort that will be required by the poster to come to a conclusion...

Oh boy is your Fairfield County upbringing is starting to show JrProf.
Dont you snob out on us now ; ).
You can skew the data any way you want to justify those taxes but per the numbers,RPHS looks pretty good to me.

Parenting has everything to do with a childs College decisions.
Despite RPs blue collar underpinning, Im confident my kids will still find a way to make it happen.

I think the metric to really consider here is % of Free Lunch.
When we were looking at CT we found that to be the most telling aspect of all.
Poverty is generally the culprit of every troubled district.

For the record, Id have no issue sending my kids to Longwood.
I know MANY happy parents there.
Numbers dont always tell the whole story

C

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by clamboy

Skew it any way you want to justify your taxes but per the numbers..
RPHS looks pretty damn good to me.

Parenting would have alot to do with a childs College decisions.
Im relatively confident my kids will find a way.

Another metric to consider is % of Free Lunch.
Ive often found that to be the most telling in any district.

Poverty is generally the culprit.

C

I think you know by now I respect your posts, so I will ignore the tax dig (and you are doing the same skewing I am).

My taxes are 8100, which by today's standards somehow seems reasonable and are something I can fortunately afford (relative to size of home/lot, etc). My beaches are private and every city (or is it hamlet Mr. Greenspan?) in the Town is nice. Its why I made my choice, along with the schools. I agree that increasing poverty is a culprit. And in the spirit of message posting civility will leave out the statistical similarity between Farmingdale and Rocky Point in that particular category.... (though I did send a note to the 4 Sean's guy)

Peace,
JRProf

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by Jrprofess

I think you know by now I respect your posts, so I will ignore the tax dig (and you are doing the same skewing I am).

My taxes are 8100, which by today's standards somehow seems reasonable and are something I can fortunately afford (relative to size of home/lot, etc). My beaches are private and every city (or is it hamlet Mr. Greenspan?) in the Town is nice. Its why I made my choice, along with the schools. I agree that increasing poverty is a culprit. And in the spirit of message posting civility will leave out the statistical similarity between Farmingdale and Rocky Point in that particular category.... (though I did send a note to the 4 Sean's guy)

Peace,
JRProf

As I do yours.

I think youre a Hamlet but you better check with Wally G


Peace Fairfield.

Keep the debate lively

C