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The
Hewlett-Woodmere School District is located on the South Shore of
Long Island, New York, about 25 miles from New York City. To the
west, the city's sophisticated cultural offerings are conveniently
accessible by train, as are the unspoiled Long Island parks and
beaches to the east. Hewlett-Woodmere has a population of about
20,000, its residents being primarily business and professional
people.
Find out more about our schools and our
community!
The Hewlett-Woodmere School District ranks
among the best in the New York Metropolitan area and beyond when it
comes to academic achievement. With innovative and often unique
programs, superior leadership and staff, dedicated parents and a
student body of motivated achievers, Hewlett-Woodmere's proven
excellence is not surprising.
The district is comprised of
five schools: Franklin Early Childhood Center, Hewlett Elementary
School, Ogden Elementary School, Woodmere Middle School and George
W. Hewlett High School. Together with the Woodmere Education Center,
which houses administrative offices and meeting rooms, plus
additional classrooms, these buildings serve about 3,200 students in
grades pre-K through 12 who live in Hewlett, the major part of
Woodmere, and all or part of the incorporated villages of Hewlett
Bay Park, Hewlett Neck, Hewlett Harbor, Lynbrook, Woodsburgh and
Valley Stream.
Hewlett-Woodmere
Schools are among the very best on educationally excellent Long
Island. In 1999, ninety-seven percent of George W. Hewlett High
School graduates went on to college, more than 18 percent to Ivy
League schools. Half of the 160 members of the Class of 1999 had
unweighted averages above 90 percent.
Hewlett-Woodmere
students appear on almost every list of nationally recognized award
winners. In 1998-99 alone, a Hewlett-Woodmere education
produced:
3 Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists
6 National Merit Scholarship finalists
National awards for the staff of the high school literary
magazine, a middle school essayist, a high school poet and an
outstanding student in English
Mean SAT combined verbal and math scores for all students of
1,110
A percentage of students enrolled in Advanced Placement
college-level courses that puts the district in Long Island’s top
ten.
In 1998,
the Hewlett-Woodmere School District observed its 100th anniversary
with a year of community celebration and learning.
Early
settlement of our Five Towns communities took place in the
mid-1600s, making them among Long Island's oldest. Samuel Wood and
the Hewlett family were the foremost developers of the area. The
inhabitants were fishermen, farmers, clam diggers, millers and
oysterbed tenders.
In 1898, Union Free School District No. 14
was created by the New York State Legislature. Over the years,
Hewlett-Woodmere's facilities have grown from a one-room schoolhouse
in 1850, through several incarnations of the Woodmere Education
Center as the district's only school in the early 20th Century, to
rapid postwar growth that saw the building of four more schools
between 1949 and 1961.
Before
being appointed Hewlett-Woodmere's superintendent, Dr. Charles
Fowler headed Nassau BOCES, New York State's largest regional
agency, representing the State education commissioner with Nassau
County's 56 school districts. He also served as superintendent of
schools in Sarasota County, Florida; Fairfield, Connecticut; and
DeKalb, Illinois.
Among Dr. Fowler’s many honors and awards
are:
Educator of the Year, New York Association for Curriculum
Development
Educator of the Year, St. John’s University chapter, Phi Delta
Kappa educational fraternity
Medal of Honor awarded by Surgeon General’s Office for work in
support of school children with AIDS
Children’s Champion Award from the Coalition for Child Care of
Nassau County
Dean’s Award for Service to Education presented by New York
Institute of Technology.
He is the author of more than 50 books, monographs and articles
published in journals and the national press, including the New York
Times and the Wall Street Journal.
A
seven-member Board of Education, elected by residents of the
district, oversees the district's policy-making, facilities and
financial planning, student services and performance, and staff
selection. All residents are welcome to attend work meetings and
formal meetings of the board, held on the first and second Thursdays
of the month, respectively. Other open meetings are held as needed,
and the board welcomes participation by parents and other members of
the community.
A Bridge Committee of volunteer residents
serves the district as a special liaison between the Board of
Education and the surrounding community. The Committee regularly
hosts Community Forums that provide exchange between residents and
the board on important issues. For more information, call Susan
Pratt, director of curriculum and staff development, at
374-8111.
The Hewlett-Woodmere Educational Foundation (HWE)
is a fund-raising organization whose members are parents and members
of the community. The hwe offers grants to teachers for creative and
enriching educational initiatives that cannot be financed by the
district's annual budget. Donations may be sent to: hwe Foundation,
960 Railroad Avenue, Woodmere, NY 11598. For more information or to
volunteer, call the superintendent's office at 374-8100.
The
Five Towns Community Center, Inc. sponsors on-site before and after
school programs for students at Hewlett and Ogden Elementary
Schools, from 7 - 8 a.m. and 3 - 5:45 p.m. The program, including
snacks, homework help, arts and crafts and recreation, costs $40 for
the first child and $24 for each additional sibling.
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