Jericho school district is named No. 1 in the U.S. in ranking

The Jericho school district is tops in the nation among public school systems in the Niche 2019 Best School Districts ranking, the first time it has achieved that distinction.

Eight other districts on the Island are among the top 100 public systems in the United States in the rankings released Wednesday. This is the fifth year Niche has released the rankings.

“We are honored by the recognition,” said Henry L. Grishman, superintendent of the 3,000-student Jericho system. “I think the district has been very consistent in all the measures. Our kids do really well, our kids love the school district, and our parents and our teachers love the school district.”

In previous Niche rankings, Jericho has made it into the top 10 and top 25 in the country, he said.

Other districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties in the top 100 nationally on the new Niche list are Great Neck, ranked seventh; Syosset, ranked 23rd; Roslyn, ranked 33rd; Herricks, ranked 34th; East Williston, ranked 49th; Manhasset, ranked 58th; the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, ranked 94th; and Harborfields in Greenlawn, ranked 100th.

Niche rankings are based on data obtained from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores and ratings collected from Niche users, according to the Niche website. Many factors influence a district’s ranking, including academics, teacher satisfaction, culture and diversity, parent and student experiences, overall safety, resource availability and the variety of extracurricular activities and offerings.

“We do a lot of research to see when people are searching for the best school district, what that means to them,” Niche spokeswoman Jessica Hair said. “We try to capture the whole experience of going to a school.”

Researchers analyzed 10,758 public school districts, 83,542 public schools and 3,903 private schools, making the Jericho district’s achievement even more significant, Hair said.

Separate rankings on the site show public elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, as well as charter schools, Catholic high schools, private boarding high schools and more.

Eleven Long Island elementary schools are in the top 100 nationally of that category.

In the Jericho district, Robert Seaman Elementary School ranks eighth, Cantiague Elementary School is 10th and George A. Jackson Elementary School is 12th. The Great Neck district’s Lakeville Elementary School ranks 13th, with its Elizabeth M. Baker School at 15th and Saddle Rock Elementary School at 32nd. In the Syosset system, South Grove Elementary School ranks 14th, Village Elementary School is 20th and A.P. Willits Elementary School is 38th.

Meanwhile, in the Herricks district, the Denton Avenue School ranks 84th, and in the tiny Quogue district, Quogue Elementary School ranks 85th.

In the category of Best Public Middle Schools, seven schools on Long Island are in the top 100 in the nation.

Jericho Middle School is 16th and Great Neck South Middle School is 17th, while Syosset’s H.B. Thompson Middle School is 26th and the district’s South Woods Middle School is 41st. Herricks Middle School is 28th, Great Neck North Middle School is 55th, and Roslyn Middle School is 70th.

Two Long Island high schools are in the top 100 nationally in the Best Public High Schools ranking. Great Neck South High School is 28th, and Jericho High School is 34th.

Districts on the Island also grabbed top places in the Niche rankings of 675 public systems across New York. In the top 10, Jericho ranks first, Great Neck second, Syosset fifth, Roslyn sixth, Herricks seventh and East Williston ninth.

In addition, The Stony Brook School in Stony Brook, a private school that serves grades seven through 12, places 56th nationally among Niche’s Best Boarding High Schools in America.