Island Park Students Make High School Selections

The majority of middle school students in Island Park have made their choices. Next year, at least 35 of them will be attending West Hempstead High School, while 33 who opted to go to Long Beach High School.

The number picking West Hempstead is "up slightly from last year," West Hempstead Superintendent John Hogan told Patch, saying, "We're excited about that.

Hogan explained that this figure could still fluctuate though. 

"Some have yet to make the decision. They have a few more days," Hogan added, saying he understood why the parents are taking their time weighing their options, which include not only the two public high schools, but also private ones. 

Since the late 1960s, the Island Park school district, which doesn't have a high school of its own, has been sending its students seven miles away to West Hempstead and covering the costs to educate each one. It currently pays approximately $15,000 for every student West Hempstead High School takes.

Then in December 2007, the Island Park Board of Education voted unanimously to become the only Nassau County school district to offer parents and students an option to choose between two high schools. Island Park residents approved a resolution to enter into 5-year contract with Long Beach, instead of renewing the contract annually, the following March.

At the time, Long Beach toyed with the idea of staging a public vote on whether to accept Island Park students, but the district ultimately left the decision in the hands of its school board, which approved it.

Frank Alvarado, then president of the Long Beach Board of Education, said: “We thought that the two communities had a lot in common, and that there are a lot of people in Island Park that wanted to avail themselves to the educational system in Long Beach rather than send their kids to West Hempstead.”