United with Farmingdale: Students, teachers across Long Island wear green
There was olive green, emerald green and forest green.
From kindergartners to high schoolers, students across Long Island on Tuesday donned all shades of green, the color of Farmingdale schools, to show support for that community after a crash last week killed two educators and injured dozens of high school students en route to a band camp.
Many adults joined in as well.
Some wore black shirts that spelled out “DALERS” in kelly green. Students, teachers and administrators in photos formed hearts with their hands. Some held up signs that read “SENDING SO MUCH LOVE.”
Band members from Bellmore to Centereach showed up in light and dark green.
“Music kids tend to be very, very close with one another,” said Allison Bush, a music teacher at Centereach High School. “So when you hear something like this, it rocks the whole music world on the Island.”
Tuesday’s wear-green campaign was part of an Islandwide effort led by school leaders to demonstrate solidarity with Farmingdale. Superintendents sent out letters over the weekend to encourage their staff and students to don green.
Students, parents and teachers have posted photos of children and adults wearing green on social media with #dalerstrong. Levittown schools on Tuesday changed the color of its district name on its website from its typical blue to green.
Some local businesses, including an amusement park in Farmingdale and a fitness center in Massapequa, also posted photos of staff and customers wearing green.
Here’s a sample of photos taken at some of the schools Tuesday.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.