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Old 06-22-2016, 01:42 PM
 
29 posts, read 40,575 times
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I have lived in Smithtown for 19 years. My oldest graduated from Smithtown West last year and my youngest is a rising eighth grader. My husband has also, for many, many years, commuted into the city. Although I've never needed special education services, over the years, I've routinely heard that if you need those services, move to Commack or 3V. Interestingly, I've heard this from parents, 2 friends of mine who practice education law and another friend who is a speech pathologist who conducts evaluations for various school districts. I will say that I've been happy with the education my children have received. My oldest attends a very competitive private college and she tells me that she was way more prepared for college than many of her peers. In terms of the commute, 3V is a really rough deal if you're going to the city. Depending on your budget, I would consider Commack, Greenlawn, Northport and possibly Kings Park. If you didn't have the special needs consideration, I would tell you that you couldn't really go wrong in any of the districts that have been discussed. Good luck!
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Old 06-22-2016, 03:52 PM
 
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Seeing as you have a 3 year old, please understand that 3v does not provide free PreK. It just started a PreK at Nassakeag Elementary that is run by SCOPE; however, the tuition wasn't competitive, we didn't get a great vibe from it and thought that Playgroups offered a better environment. Another issue you need to understand is that you will be provided with an abundance of special ed services for your child because he's CPSE right now. Be prepared though, because as soon as he ages out and become a CSE student, the county no longer foots the bill for the majority of those service, and the district is then responsible for 80% of those costs. What does that mean? It'll mean that districts will attempt to take away services, especially with "mild"/"borderline" autism cases. Hopefully, by the time that happens, your child will have outgrown the diagnosis from the services given at a young age.

Contained classroom students attend Arrowhead Elementary, while mainstreamed classroom children generally attend the elementary school assigned to them based on zoning. However, if your child is not in contained, but may need other services, some students are bussed to the elementary school that houses those particular programs. Last year that school was Mount, this year it was Nassakeag.

In my opinion, the biggest downfall in 3v is that five elementary schools pool into one high school, whereas Smithtown has two high schools. I'd also say that the area really doesn't have a sense of community like Port Jefferson or Saint James does. Yes, there are nice neighbors everywhere. But I'm speaking of a sense of community. And you don't get that in 3v or Nesconset. I see it in St. James, though.
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Old 06-23-2016, 07:08 PM
 
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I used to live in St. James and I went to Smithtown schools and did college coursework in them as well. I am slightly biased but Smithtown would be the better choice (in my opinion) after being on both sides of the fence. If you can get into the Mills Pond or St. James Elementary to Smithtown HS East school feeder, then you will be fine.

As far as special education services go, Smithtown generally has the special education teacher push into the general education classroom for half of the student's day. This really prevents the students from figuring out who that extra teacher is there for and no student feels like they are left out on the elementary level. When it comes to MS and HS, the student may either have an extra period for a subject or again, the special education teacher will push in. This is all dependent on the needs of the child. When it comes to gifted and talented, these are typically pull out for X amount of minutes on the elementary level by a gifted and talented teacher.
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Old 06-23-2016, 08:45 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,567,429 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaverso View Post
I used to live in St. James and I went to Smithtown schools and did college coursework in them as well. I am slightly biased but Smithtown would be the better choice (in my opinion) after being on both sides of the fence. If you can get into the Mills Pond or St. James Elementary to Smithtown HS East school feeder, then you will be fine. What is wrong with the elementary schools which feed into HSW?

As far as special education services go, Smithtown generally has the special education teacher push into the general education classroom for half of the student's day. This really prevents the students from figuring out who that extra teacher is there for and no student feels like they are left out on the elementary level. When it comes to MS and HS, the student may either have an extra period for a subject or again, the special education teacher will push in. This is all dependent on the needs of the child. When it comes to gifted and talented, these are typically pull out for X amount of minutes on the elementary level by a gifted and talented teacher.
I've read that Branch Brook Elementary is being closed and the children are being split up between Mount Pleasant and Tackan. Both of these schools feed into Great Hollow MS BUT when it comes time for HS, the students attending GH get split up between HSE and HSW. Didn't Smithtown close Nesconset elementary not too long ago?

LoveBeingAMommy cited that Smithtown has two high schools compared to 3V's one HS. Smithtown E & W have approximately 860 students combined graduating this year. IIRC, Smithtown had mothballed one HS years back due to declining enrollments, and then reopened it again.

While I like certain parts of Smithtown (Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor) the population density of the district seems to have an impact on the school population and with it, the schools and whether they will be open or closed. In the 20 odd years I've lived in 3V there has been 1 redistricting with 0 school closures.
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Old 06-24-2016, 12:00 AM
 
1,580 posts, read 1,976,835 times
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Originally Posted by OhBeeHave View Post
Yes, I do believe IG is 4-6.

Another point to make is that IG students do not attend their home elementary school, unless their home elementary school is the one in which the IG program is housed. Once they move up to junior hs, they will be reunited with their friends from their home school.

Worth noting is that 3V has the 7-9 JHS configuration with a 10-12 grade HS. It is one of a very minute number of school districts within NYS which haven't moved over to a 6-8 middle, 9-12 HS.

I still think it's beneficial to have two smaller high schools vs one large HS. 3 v is large enough by the time the elementaries pool into the junior high schools that it becomes another huge adjustment/pooling for the kids in high school. The education is fantastic in 3v, but good luck getting your child on a team sport with those numbers.

As an aside, some middle schools start at 5 the grade. Too young! I also think 9th grade is sometimes too old for junior high. But that's all subjective. A lot of the 9th graders are bussed to Ward Melville for one reason or another, it really boils down to space that they've got 9th graders in the junior highs.

If it truly boils down to SpEd, most advocates/attorneys will tell you 3v vs. Smithtown. However, seeing as your child is mildly autistic, you're going to have to fight the fight in any district. Mild autism is a very, very difficult diagnosis to get services for. Been there, done that. As a mom to a child with very similar needs, I'd strongly suggest you engage your child in as many play dates as possible, and befriend parents. The socialization is key.

Last edited by LoveBeingAMommy; 06-24-2016 at 12:14 AM..
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Old 06-24-2016, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Kings Park, NY
1,441 posts, read 2,740,926 times
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Originally Posted by NYC2LI2016 View Post
Thank you, ydsavaged for your reply! I appreciate your suggestions and will add Stony Brook and Kings Park to my search. Do you mind elaborating on why you feel the Smithtown Township has more to offer? TIA

@nassau2suffolk - it's great to hear that your family has had a good experience in Smithtown. Do you mind sharing if your review is of either Mills Pond elementary or Tacken? We are looking at houses which are zoned for those elementary schools.

@OhBeeHave - thank you so much for your detailed reply! Do you know if autistic kids are mainstreamed in all elementary schools in 3V or just specific ones? Also do you have a recommendation of an area within 3V that have a good community and perhaps may even see kids playing outside on the street?

Thank you all for your replies! Much appreciate it!

It is a much smalelr township than Brookhaven so it just feels more close knit. Smithtown proper has a good downtown with lots of restaurants, Kings Park is basically a northern extension of Smithtown and also has a small town. I also feel the smithtown waterfront is one of the nicest on the Island. (Kings Park, Fort Salonga, St. James/Nissequogue), along with the parks. Kings park has some of the nicest undeveloped land/parks IMO.

Basically every school district within town of Smithtown is great, so wherever you end up buying will be fine.

Also convenience. It is further west and closer to the City. Sunken Meadow Parkway makes for easier North/south travel and there's nothing else really like it in Suffolk (Aside from Nicolls Road)

I guess it's not really fair to compare though, seeing as Brookhaven is so, so much larger and spans from shore to shore.

Three Village is great and I am in no way knocking it. A beautiful historic area with great schools, just not as much happening as a whole.

I've lived in many places on the Island, Eastern Suffolk's south shore to Northern Brookhaven (near stony brook) and this is by far my favorite area so far.

Good luck!
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Old 06-24-2016, 10:25 AM
 
1,580 posts, read 1,976,835 times
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Originally Posted by ydsavaged View Post
It is a much smalelr township than Brookhaven so it just feels more close knit. Smithtown proper has a good downtown with lots of restaurants, Kings Park is basically a northern extension of Smithtown and also has a small town. I also feel the smithtown waterfront is one of the nicest on the Island. (Kings Park, Fort Salonga, St. James/Nissequogue), along with the parks. Kings park has some of the nicest undeveloped land/parks IMO.

Basically every school district within town of Smithtown is great, so wherever you end up buying will be fine.

Also convenience. It is further west and closer to the City. Sunken Meadow Parkway makes for easier North/south travel and there's nothing else really like it in Suffolk (Aside from Nicolls Road)

I guess it's not really fair to compare though, seeing as Brookhaven is so, so much larger and spans from shore to shore.

Three Village is great and I am in no way knocking it. A beautiful historic area with great schools, just not as much happening as a whole.

I've lived in many places on the Island, Eastern Suffolk's south shore to Northern Brookhaven (near stony brook) and this is by far my favorite area so far.

Good luck!
Great points to make regarding township and convenience to parkways!
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Old 06-26-2016, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Inis Fada
16,966 posts, read 34,567,429 times
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[quote=LoveBeingAMommy;44526348]I still think it's beneficial to have two smaller high schools vs one large HS. 3 v is large enough by the time the elementaries pool into the junior high schools that it becomes another huge adjustment/pooling for the kids in high school. The education is fantastic in 3v, but good luck getting your child on a team sport with those numbers. [quote]


Having gone through the elementary to JHS twice in 3V, I can not speak of any student (that I know of) having an issue adjusting. While the student body grew in size, the classroom sizes did not.

As for sports, that's only an issue if you have a sports-oriented student. To those of us without, it is not relevant.



Quote:
As an aside, some middle schools start at 5 the grade. Too young! I also think 9th grade is sometimes too old for junior high. But that's all subjective. A lot of the 9th graders are bussed to Ward Melville for one reason or another, it really boils down to space that they've got 9th graders in the junior highs.
There is plenty of space for 9th graders in both HS. The reason any 9th graders would take a bus to the HS is for AP courses.
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Old 06-27-2016, 12:12 PM
 
29 posts, read 40,575 times
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If the high school portion is important to you, the rumor in Smithtown is that East will again be closing in 2020 and the 2 high schools will merge into West.
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Old 06-27-2016, 12:13 PM
 
Location: Kings Park, NY
1,441 posts, read 2,740,926 times
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Not to blow up everyone's spot (my own included), but has anyone mentioned to the OP the overwhelming heroin problem the area has? This matters when determining where to send your children to school.
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