Sachem School District
| Sachem Central School District | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| United States | |
| District information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1955 |
| Superintendent | Christopher J. Pellettieri [1] |
| Students and staff | |
| District mascot | Flaming Arrows |
| Colors | |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
The Sachem Central School District is one of the largest school districts by population on Long Island and among all suburban school districts in New York, United States. Founded in 1955, the district now encompasses residents of the Census-Designated Places of Holbrook, Holtsville and Farmingville, as well as some parts of the Incorporated Village of Lake Grove and the CDPs of Lake Ronkonkoma, Ronkonkoma, Nesconset, Bohemia and Bayport.[2] As of 2011, its district office is located in Lake Ronkonkoma at Samoset Middle School.
Enrollment
[edit]As of 2015, Sachem School District has nearly 15,000 students enrolled annually.[3]
School colors
[edit]Sachem School District's colors are red, black and gold. Though each school uses the same fight song which starts out with "Here's to Red, Black, and Gold...", since the split in 2004, Sachem High School North has used black and gold while Sachem High School East uses red and gold as its principal colors. Both schools proudly kept the Sachem team name "Sachem Flaming Arrows".
Reconfiguration
[edit]As voted upon by district constituents in 1999, the district built two new schools and reconfigured its current schools at the start of the 2004-2005 school year.[4] The elementary schools, which formerly housed grades Kindergarten through 6th, are now K-5. Seneca and Sagamore junior high schools (formerly grades 7 and 8) became middle schools (grades 6 through 8). The former Sachem High School South, the 9th and 10th-grade facility, was converted into Samoset Middle School. Sequoya was built as a fourth middle school for the purpose of reconfiguration. Sachem High School North, formerly home to all 11th and 12th-grade students in the district became a 9-12 facility for students in the western and northern portions of the district. Sachem East was built as a 9-12 facility for students in the southern and eastern portions of the district. Sachem East is also the second largest suburban high school in New York state.[5]
District Cuts
[edit]On September 16, 2015, the Sachem School District Board of Education voted to cut custodial staff, athletics, clubs, and other extracurricular activities in order to reallocate $2.5 million for Special Education services and worker compensation costs. The board declined to cut $345,000 in Kindergarten aides. Changes will affect over 14,000 students across the district.
Three months later, on December 17, Sachem School District announced, due to declining enrollment and a $1.3 million budget gap, that it would close down Sequoya Middle School as well as Tecumseh and Gatelot Elementary Schools.[6]
Schools
[edit]Elementary schools
[edit]- Cayuga
- Chippewa
- Gatelot (Closed 2016)
- Grundy
- Hiawatha
- Lynwood
- Merrimac
- Nokomis
- Tamarac
- Tecumseh (Closed 2016)
- Wenonah
- Waverly
Middle schools
[edit]- Sagamore Middle School
- Samoset Middle School
- Seneca Middle School
- Sequoya Middle School (Closed 2016)
High schools
[edit]Unbuilt
[edit]In addition to the schools mentioned above, a number of schools were once proposed, but never built.[8]
Board of education
[edit]As of the 2020-2021 school year, Sachem's school board consists of the following members:[9]
| Board member's name | Position |
|---|---|
| Robert Scavo | President |
| Sabrina Pitkewicz | Vice President |
| Alex Piccirillo | Trustee |
| Matthew Baumann | Trustee |
| Michael Isernia | Trustee |
| Stephanie Volpe | Trustee |
| Laura Slattery | Trustee |
| Vincent Reynolds | Trustee |
| Meredith Volpe | Trustee |
Notable alumni
[edit]- Jumbo Elliott – professional football player
- Douglas M. Smith - New York State Legislator
- Jon Bellion – singer, songwriter
- Marc Sebastian- fashion model, stylist, and activist
- Vince Russo – professional wrestling writer
- Ryan DeRobertis – (A.K.A. Skylar Spence) electronic musician
- Jeff Ruland – professional basketball player
- Neal Heaton – professional baseball player
- Keith Kinkaid – professional ice hockey player
- Maria Michta-Coffey – Olympic race walker
- Dalton Crossan – professional football player
- George F. Winters – Philanthropist, Administrative Director Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences
- Karen Ferguson-Dayes – soccer player[10]
- Joe Scally – soccer player
References
[edit]- ^ "Superintendent's Office". Sachem Central School District. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Long Island Index: Interactive Map". www.longislandindexmaps.org. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ "Sachem Online". sachem.edu. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ Mead, Julia C. (2005-09-18). "Bulking Up, Slimming Down". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ "2016 Largest Public High Schools in New York - Niche". K-12 School Rankings and Reviews at Niche.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
- ^ "Sachem school board votes to close 3 schools | News 12 Long Island". longisland.news12.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-18.
- ^ "Sachem Schools". Sachem Central School District. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Map shows original elementary suggestions | Sachem Report". 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ "Sachem Central School District - Board of Education". www.sachem.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
- ^ Pukalo, Mark (November 12, 1993). "For UConn, Ferguson Finds a Way". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
