Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Encyclopedia
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District is the central high school district of the Long Island
hamlets of Bellmore, North Bellmore, Merrick
, and North Merrick, New York
. More than 5000 students, grades 7-12, attend the Bellmore-Merrick secondary school
s. There are three high schools (grades 9-12) and two (previously four) middle school
s (grades 7-8) in the district.
150 freshman students entering high school in September 1935, studied with five faculty members in a renovated six-room school house on Bedford Avenue. The principal was Sanford H. Calhoun. Wellington C. Mepham High School opened in 1937 with 741 students.
Jerusalem Avenue Junior High School and Merrick Avenue Junior High School were opened in 1954. In 1958, the Sanford H. Calhoun High School and the Grand Avenue Junior High School were opened. In 1963, an addition was placed on the Mepham High School. Brookside Junior High School opened in September 1964. The John F. Kennedy High School opened in September 1966. By then, there were over 10,900 students in the district. Today, there are approximately 6,100 students in the district.
The rental of Jerusalem Avenue to Nassau BOCES, and the rental of space in Brookside that the district doesn't use generates additional income for the district. In addition, the schools' sports programs require the use of more than one gym for practice, as there are usually two sports requiring a gym in a given season. Therefore, students from Grand Avenue will sometimes practice at Jerusalem Avenue and students at Merrick Avenue will sometime practice at Brookside.
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
hamlets of Bellmore, North Bellmore, Merrick
Merrick, New York
Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 22,097. The name "Merrick" is taken from Meroke, the name of the Algonquian tribe formerly indigenous to the area...
, and North Merrick, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. More than 5000 students, grades 7-12, attend the Bellmore-Merrick secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s. There are three high schools (grades 9-12) and two (previously four) middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s (grades 7-8) in the district.
History
The district was officially established November 1, 1934 by the State Commissioner of Education. Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District was known as C.H.S.D. 3 until May, 1973 when is adopted the name reflecting its geographic location. This change was required of all districts by the state education department.150 freshman students entering high school in September 1935, studied with five faculty members in a renovated six-room school house on Bedford Avenue. The principal was Sanford H. Calhoun. Wellington C. Mepham High School opened in 1937 with 741 students.
Jerusalem Avenue Junior High School and Merrick Avenue Junior High School were opened in 1954. In 1958, the Sanford H. Calhoun High School and the Grand Avenue Junior High School were opened. In 1963, an addition was placed on the Mepham High School. Brookside Junior High School opened in September 1964. The John F. Kennedy High School opened in September 1966. By then, there were over 10,900 students in the district. Today, there are approximately 6,100 students in the district.
List of schools
- High School (Grades 9-12):
- John F. Kennedy High School (Bellmore, New York)
- Sanford H. Calhoun High School (Merrick)
- Wellington C. Mepham High School (Bellmore)
- Middle Schools (Grades 7-8):
- Grand Avenue Middle School (Bellmore)
- Merrick Avenue Middle School (Merrick)
Closed schools
The following junior high schools were closed in a consolidation effort in 1986:- Brookside Junior High School (now used for the district offices and partially rented to other tenants). Brookside also houses the Meadowbrook Alternative Program the district's alternate learning program, for grades 10-12, one of the few in the United States.
- Jerusalem Avenue Junior High School (now a center for Nassau BOCESBocesBoces is the second album by Mercury Rev, released in 1993. The band has explained the title as being inspired by the name of the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services in New York State, a vocational school system in the band's home state....
)
The rental of Jerusalem Avenue to Nassau BOCES, and the rental of space in Brookside that the district doesn't use generates additional income for the district. In addition, the schools' sports programs require the use of more than one gym for practice, as there are usually two sports requiring a gym in a given season. Therefore, students from Grand Avenue will sometimes practice at Jerusalem Avenue and students at Merrick Avenue will sometime practice at Brookside.