Mineola High School

We have been in this school district for a few years now and I think it's great. One of my kids is "gifted" and they get lots of enrichment opportunities and extra work so they are not bored. One of my other kids had an IEP and we always felt supported and like his needs were being taken into consideration.

I find it horrible that students who are advanced do not get opportunities to excel. This school has resources for struggling students, but none for those who are advanced. They focus on Math and ELA so much (for the tests I think), and then they cut social studies and foreign language. My children have social studies once a month on average. They have a geography worksheet in the beginning and a couple of readings on current events (from Time for Kids) and that's it. They take 4 days to teach students to write 1 paragraph by giving them templates and forms instead of explaining the thinking behind writing. They don't learn decimals until 5th grade. Its very poor.

I have had two children go through the Mineola school district in recent years. I've seen the changes with the consolidation of schools, and I believe the students ended up well-adjusted. The class sizes are decent. The teachers we have encountered are caring and competent. The district is really building the STEAM programs, always a plus to encourage students in these areas. There are numerous AP classes offered at the HS to make the kids more competitive in the college application process. The students also learn another language early on. Everyone gets an iPad in the district and much of the learning uses this tool to engage the students. They are also investing in their science research programs. The Fine Arts departments are magnificent, students are taught instruments early on and encouraged to join music clubs. There are many sport teams. The district is everything one would expect from the suburbs: small classes, caring teachers, homecoming, a sense of community. Another plus is the diversity of the student body. We wanted our children to be in a school district with different races and ethnicities, and Mineola certainly has this.