The Top Ten Rated School Districts on Long Island

There are 127 public school districts with more than 600 schools located on Long Island, spread over Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Many of the school districts are recognized as top ranked the United States Department of Education, New York State Education Department and national organizations. While the island itself is primarily suburban, the educational opportunities rival that of any major urban city. Many of the school districts include the best curriculums and strive to produce the best results for the students who are learning there. The high percentage of awards, scholarship recipients, high national testing scores, abundant scholar programs combined with the best in music, art, athletic and cultural exploration provide top quality education. The proximity of many superior colleges and universities offer graduating high school students varied options for higher education. Several trade colleges also provide top notch experiences for students pursuing careers in any of a number of trades.

Long Island is known for its sports teams and venues; delicious cuisine based on seafood, duck, buffalo and wineries; its contribution to the rock and roll musical culture; its history as an important aviation center for the United States; and its prominence in the pursuit of engineering and scientific research. All of these contribute to its excellent reputation as a place of educational excellence.

In August of 2014, the New York State Commissioner John B. King, Jr. identified 354 high progress and high achieving schools recognized as Reward Schools by the New York State Education Department. The identification process was made in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility Waiver (ESEA) of New York State approved by the United States Department of Education as of 2012.

Reward Schools are identified by New York State as those that have demonstrated high achievement, have shown the highest amount of progress within New York State, and have student achievement without significant gabs between sub-groupings of students within the school. There is a process which schools must follow in order to be identified with the designation of Reward School.

The school must:

• Be part of the top twenty percent of New York State schools in the areas of math performance and English language arts, or be among the top ten percent of New York State schools for performance gains in these areas.
• Have 95% of all student groups participate in mathematics and English language arts assessments, achieving Adequate Yearly Progress for all of the school’s accountable measures.
• Have significantly small gaps in student performance when considering accountability measures for students in accountability groups and for students who are not.

The Department of Education for New York State has designations for categorizing districts and schools into four performance tiers. From the lowest to the highest, these include:

Priority: These are the schools or districts in the state who are part of the lowest 5 percent in English and math which have not improved from the previous school year.

Focus: These are the schools or districts which need to develop plans which provide comprehensive support for efforts aimed at improving student achievement.

Local Assistance Plan: These are the schools or districts which must improve student achievement so that the school will avoid slipping into the Focus category. This is a watch list category, and 49 Long Island schools were categorized with this designation as of the 2012 to 2013 school year.

Good standing: These are the schools or districts which meet New York State educational criteria for adequate performance.

The Reward Schools designation is given to the schools which have made yearly progress for a range of categories in terms of accountability. Elementary and middle schools must demonstrate annual growth in math and English language arts which exceeds the New York State average. Schools must provide for their lowest achieving students so that their gains exceed the New York State average. High schools must demonstrate that their graduation rates achieve a minimum of 80% in order to be designated high achieving. To be designated a high progress school 60% must graduate. The percentage who graduate with an advanced designation Regents diploma or the Career and Technical Endorsement must be higher than the New York State average. Students who entered the school at below proficient levels must have exceeded the New York State average by graduation. As of the 2012 to 2013 school year, ninety-nine Long Island schools had received this designation.

Long Island Reward Schools by District

The following schools listed as top rated have been recognized by several ranking institutions. The first ten have been listed in alphabetical order. Listings are based on how many Reward Schools exist in the particular district. However, many Reward Schools are located on The Island, so all of those listed as of the 2014 report are included as well. All of the Reward Schools in this list are Good Standing, High Performing Schools.

Five Reward Schools:

Massapequa

Massapequa Public Schools includes 9 schools. Five of these have achieved the Reward School designation. The district has earned honors including the School of Distinction award due to the fact that the district’s 30 varsity teams have attained 100% the status of scholar athlete, and a Best Communities for Music Education award. The district consistently produces National Merit Scholars and two of the robotics teams compete in the World Robotics competition.

• East Lake Elementary School
• Fairfield Elementary School
• Lockhart Elementary School
• Berner Middle School
• Massapequa High School

Four Reward Schools:

Half Hollow Hills

The Half Hollow Hills Central School District is comprised of nine schools located in the central area of Long Island. Approximately 8,550 students attend school in the district. Four of the district’s schools were designated as Reward Schools. The district was recognized by the NAMM Foundation for its role as Best Communities for Music Education in American in 2016. The district also has high mastery and proficienty rates on the three New York State Regents exams and math assessments.

• Half Hollow Hills High School East
• Paumanok Elementary School
• Signal Hill Elementary School
• Half Hollow Hills High School West

Jericho

Four of the five schools in the Jericho School District earned Reward School designations. Jericho High School was listed in the U.S. News and World Report as ranking 13th in New York State and 91st nationally as one of the best schools in the country. Jericho Senior High School was also ranked 3rd Best Public High School for 2016 by Niche.

• George A Jackson School
• Robert Seaman Elementary School
• Jericho Senior High School
• Jericho Middle School

Manhasset

The Manhasset School District has an enrollment of approximately 2,900 students over four schools. All four of the schools earned Reward School designations. The district is known for its academics, arts, K through 12 access to computer technologies, ESL program, health education and extra-curricular sports activities.

• Manhasset Secondary School
• Munsey Park Elementary School
• Shelter Rock Elementary School
• Manhasset Middle School

North Shore

The North Shore School District is comprised of five schools, of which, four are Reward Schools. North Shore Senior High School ranked 61st in New York and 529th in National Rankings in the U.S. News Best High Schools list for 2016. The school earned a silver medal. The score card showed that 54.4 of the school’s students were ready for college, with a 90% math proficiency and a 99% English proficiency score.

• Glenwood Landing Elementary School
• Sea Cliff Elementary School
• North Shore Senior High School
• North Shore Middle School

Northport-East Northport

Of the nine schools in the Northport-East Northport School District, four were designated as Reward Schools. The district is distinguished by its International Baccalaureate Diploma program, its Academy of Finance and Academy of Information Technology programs, and a wide array of courses focusing on music, art, science, mathematics and physical education.

• Fifth Avenue Elementary School
• Ocean Avenue School
• Northport Senior High School
• Bellerose Elementary School

Syosset

Of the ten schools which comprise the Syosset Central School District, four are Reward Schools. There are approximately 6,000 students enrolled throughout the district. The three secondary schools, including H.B. Thompson Middle, South Woods Middle, and Syosset High have been recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. Village Elementary holds the distinction of being a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School. The district is noted for its elementary schools which study world languages. Kindergarteners study Russian, First Grade studies Mandarin Chinese, Second Grade studies, Spanish, Third Grade studies French, Fourth Grade studies Italian, and Fifth Grade studies Latin. High school students may also study Japanese or American Sign Language. Syosset Senior High School was ranked 19th in the Best Public High Schools in New York by Niche.

• Baylis Elementary School
• Village Elementary School
• South Woods Middle School
• Syosset Senior High School

Three Reward Schools:

East Meadow

As of the 2014 Reward School announcements, three East Meadow schools were distinguished. The school district recently posted their 2016-2017 results, and East Meadow High School was designated as was W.T. Clarke High School.

• McVey Elementary School
• W Tresper Clarke High School
• East Meadow High School

Garden City

The Garden City Union Free School District is comprised of seven schools. As of the 2014 Reward Schools report, three of those were designated as such. All of the eligible schools in the district have been awarded the Blue Ribbon from the United States Department of Education. In 2015, the high school was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the #1 public high school on Long Island. The students at the high school also has ranked in the top 10% of U.S. schools on the PISA Exam. The school has been distinguished by numerous National Scholars, AP Scholars and Merit Scholarship finalists.

• Stratford Avenue School
• Garden City Middle School
• Garden City High School

Great Neck

Great Neck South High School was ranked 5th Best Public High School in New York by Niche, with high ratings for academics, health and safety, teachers, resources and facilities, extracurricular activities, sports and fitness, and student culture and diversity.

• Lakeville Elementary School
• Great Neck South Middle School
• Great Neck South High School

Port Washington

• South Salem Elementary School
• Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School
• Paul D Schreiber Senior High School

Smithtown

• Smithtown Elementary School
• Smithtown High School-East
• Tackan Elementary School

Two Reward Schools

Bellmore-Merrick Central

• Wellington C Mepham High School
• John F Kennedy High School

Elmont

• Alden Terrace School
• Stewart Manor School

Franklin Square

• John Street School
• Polk Street School

Herricks

• Denton Avenue School
• Herricks High School

Kings Park

• Kings Park High School
• William T Rogers Middle School

Lynbrook

• Waverly Park School
• Lynbrook Senior High School

Merrick

• Birch School
• Norman J Levy Lakeside School

North Merrick

• Harold D Fayette School
• Old Mill Road School

Port Jefferson

• Port Jefferson Middle School
• Earl L Vandermeulen High School

Rockville Centre

• South Side High School
• William S Covert School

Sayville

• Sunrise Drive Elementary School
• Sayville High School

Three Village

• Ward Melville Senior High School
• Paul J Gelinas Junior High School

Wantagh

• Mandalay School
• Wantagh Senior High School

One Reward School:

Amagansett: Amagansett School

Bethpage: Bethpage Senior High School

Carle Place: Carle Place Middle Senior High School

Cold Spring Harbor: West Side School

Commack: Commack High School

East Islip: Timber Point Elementary School

East Williston: Wheatley School

Elwood: Elwood/John Glenn High School

Floral Park-Bellerose: Floral Park-Bellerose School

Harborfields: Harborfields High School

Hauppauge: Hauppauge High School

Hewlett-Woodmere: George W Hewlett High School

Locust Valley: Locust Valley High School

Middle Country: Hawkins Path School

Mt Sinai: Mt Sinai High School

Oceanside: School 9E-Boardman Elem School

Oysterponds: Oysterponds Elementary School

Plainedge: Plainedge Senior High School

Plainview-Old Bethpage: JFK H.S.

Sachem: Sachem High School North

Seaford: Seaford Senior High School

Valley Stream 13: James A Dever School

Valley Stream 30: Forest Road School

Valley Stream Central: Valley Stream South High School

West Islip: West Islip Senior High School