Ward Melville Senior High School

Most of the teachers are not very engaged in their job, relying on the students from "rich" backgrounds to keep up the reputation. Administration is very stubborn, uninterested, and unhelpful. On the flip side, still a relatively strong school academically, with success in many major academic competitions. The students are very self-motivated and competitive, though not in a cutthroat sort of way. Unfortunately, more and more is getting cut with each year, and many formerly wonderful programs (i.e. InSTAR, some sports teams) are steadily declining in quality.
—Submitted by a student

Needs better administration; opportunity is provided by the expensive taxes of the district, of which they are not allocating in the right places. Teachers encourage preying on your self - esteem issues with grades and their concern is only limited the few students that do well in class. Also, class sizes are pretty large (30) and bound to increase as they never seem to have enough money for anything.

I am moving to the area from out of state and not sure who has the best school to go to Rocky Pointe ,Miller Place ,Mt Sinai,Smithtown or Three Village and out of all those schools it seems Three Village offers the best choices for students anyone who can help on this problem please comment thanks !
—Submitted by a parent

I taught Biology at Ward Melville for thirty one years. It has always been an innovative school offering courses for all levels of ability. Many interesting electives are available for students to get a look at the kinds of opportunities possible for them after they graduate.
—Submitted by a teacher

My daughter just graducated. I am very proud of what the Three Village Central School District offered my child. She excelled and developed academically,socially,and most of all prepared her well for college to have a successful future. Thank you again..
—Submitted by a parent

Those of you who attend this school and belittle it have no idea as to how many more opportunities you have had by virtue of being in this school district. Having been raised in a blue collar district where we had to fight for programs, I appreciate all that the 3Vs and WMHS has had to offer for my children. There is a degree of friendly competition amongst my oldest's fellow students which made them strive to work even harder. There have been some wonderful teachers who truly care about their students and have a passion for the subject they teach. There have been some who are less than stellar; but one has to ask how much is the teacher vs. the subject matter vs. the group of students in a particular class? I wish I had 1/2 the opportunities WMHS students have.
—Submitted by a parent

Like all High schools Ward melville has its ups and downs. And i dont think the parents can say they think they're kids teachers are bad. All the teachers employed in three village are amazing and care so extremly much about their students, but thats not enough. tudents have to make an effort to, to get the best possible relationship with there teachers. Ward Melville is an amazing school, and fowl language and cliques are in any school. it just happens to show a little more in the three village schools because of the 'rich' family backrounds
—Submitted by a student

There was definitely a distinction between honors students and non. If you were an honors/ AP student, you were pushed to do multiple AP courses. The AP courses are pretty good; there are 22 offered and I'd say well over half are excellent, although a few are complete jokes. However, being an AP student, there was definitely a difference in relationship between the school and students at different levels. At the AP level, teachers were very concentrated on pushing information and us memorizing; however boring and tedious and traditional, though, it was effective and most students at this level received very high AP test scores. Overall, if your student wants to go to a good college, WMHS does get them in. It won't be a good time, though, very cliquey and crowded, but academically strong.
—Submitted by a student

I find that Ward Meville has readily prepared me for college. My moto in life is -- what you put into it, is what you get out of it. I DO feel that Ward Melville H.S. has 'left the mediocre student' in the dark about higher education. Being a strong student-athlete at Ward Meville, I had no knowledge of an AP course (as rudimentary as that may sound). I think that it is NOT the school that pushes the student to be the best that they can be, but it is the over bearing parenting that pushes the child to be at the top of their studies. Although this review may seem as if I am bashing the system, I am simply stating that the validity of the current reviews of Ward Melville should be taken with a grain of salt and the voice of an experienced athlete should be heard.
—Submitted by a student

I find that all the critcism and the compliments are very accurate. Also one of the most pompous attitude high schools.Ward Melville caters to the above average student rather than below or average student. they have very competive AP classes and only a handful of honor classes. Circulia is revolving more around standarized exams. Teachers teach towards an exam and not the student or subject matter. Gives way too much work. If you want to get an A in the class you will only have room to do one of the many extracicular activites.
—Submitted by a student

Some of the previous reviews were just ridiculous. Who cares if the kids dress like the 'dreggs of society,' or smoke, or whatever. I looked like a dirty punk, and ended up at the University of Pennsylvania (thats the ivy league one, not penn state). That was part of the beauty of this school - I had the chance to do whatever I want in my life, with all the course offerings. The teachers actually cared about the students, as long as the student wanted to learn. But if they didn't, since they were given freedom, they would not disturb the students that Did want to learn. That is so important in education - it is impossible to teach somebody who is unwilling to learn. This did not cause any problems - I felt totally safe in school, although a little more freedom might augment this.
—Submitted by a former student

Excellent teachers, electives offered, college courses offered, A/P courses offered, excellent sports programs/coaches.
—Submitted by a former student

This is the stereotypical high school. Providing an excellent education as well as an infinite number of other programs, those who come out of Ward Melville are bound to do great things.
—Submitted by a parent

Pays too much attention to the over achevers and not to the average student
—Submitted by a teacher

School has a very large student body, so if your child isn't very independant, he or she might get 'lost in the shuffle'. The school does offer a wide array of programs, sport options, ect. But in general tends to cater more towards the smarter students. Nice facilities, and many good teachers and staff members. Because the student body is so large, there are many different types of students there, which can be good or bad I guess.
—Submitted by a former student

Large school offering almost unlimited opportunity with 22 AP classes, languages including latin and mandarin, and scores of clubs and sports. Intelligent middle class/upper middle class student body. Students can be very competitive at the honors level. Dedicated teachers. Great school for high achievers, average students can be overlooked.
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent who attended the school as well as my children, the school was well rounded, offered parent envolvement and alot of extra curricular activities. There is a large diversity within the students and teachers and there was always some one there to offer assistance when it was needed for both myself and my children. The school has high acedemic standards that need to be met by our children today in order to succeed in today's work place.
—Submitted by a former student

We moved here from another state and I have to say that I am extreemly disappointed with this school. It doesn't at all live up to it's reputation, it's not even close. The administration and teachers are more interested in the numbers they get from the regents exams than they are in teaching. Bottom line, they teach to the test and not to the students. Security is a joke. Students smoke on school grounds as the securtiy guard drives by in his offical car, the police are call to the school far too frequently, and school policies are not inforced at all. The dress code is horrific and students look like the dregs of society instead of students prepared to learn. The language is so bad that we had to buy our child a MP3 player to take to school so he could drown out the fowl language. Enter at your own risk!
—Submitted by a parent

I ususally describe this school as 'the best and the worst.' Just like the other comments said, we have excellent opportunities for smart kids. The records in AP classes are excellent - the majority of BC and Physics B students ususally achieve 5's on the AP tests, due to excellent teaching. However, there were recently some brawls in the streets after school. Security is a joke - they try so hard, but nothing is effective. Politics here are rediculus - honors classes are always in danger of being cut, due to certain adminstrators who think that smart students should teach students who need more help. Finally, I agree with what was said - if you child will excel, go here. Maybe he'll be an Intel STS semifinalist, like 11 people last year. But all in all, I dont think the school will make any differance, positive, or negative, for a below average student.
—Submitted by a student

I think the first two reviews aptly express my own opinion and that of my friends with children. My two children had few excellent teachers, and they have since retired. Our teachers have it very easy, and have excellent benefits compared to most parents, especially those who are self-employed. Also, it is amazing how people who have contacts get hired despite claims of numerous applicants. I think in general most parents I know do not feel the schools live up tp the reputation the teachers union proposes. That reputation must be outdated and surpassed like our reputation in lacrosse. Other schools have caught up and even surpassed us.
—Submitted by a parent