Over the past 10 years, an influx of new groups has brought greater ethnic diversity to North Shore schools, and administrators are working to foster a climate of acceptance and tolerance.
The Great Neck, Manhasset, Roslyn, Port Washington, Herricks, Mineola, Sewanhaka, East Williston and New Hyde Park-Garden City Park school districts have all seen populations of minority students increase from the 2005-06 school year to the 2014-15 school year, according to state education department data. A sharp increase in enrollment by Asian students has been seen in several districts.
The Herricks School District has seen the biggest change in student demographics, with the Asian population now totaling more than half of the student body.
In 2005-06, the white population made up about 50 percent of the student body, but that number has since decreased to 35 percent.
The Asian student population, which accounted for 45 percent of the student body in 2005-06, now accounts for about 57 percent.
The Hispanic/Latino student population has increased from 4 to 6 percent, while the African-American population has remained the same at 1 percent.
Herricks Superintendent Fino Celano said that students have a lot of “empathy and respect” for each other because of the district’s diversity.
“I think that’s a byproduct of the fact that we have a wonderfully diverse community,” Celano said. Kids are going through the experience of having classmates of different ethnicities and different religious beliefs and it really fosters a spirit of acceptance and tolerance and respect, which is a wonderful thing.”
He said that the district devotes “a lot of time and energy” to social-emotional learning in every grade from kindergarten to 12th grade.
As well as the school community, Celano said the local community and families play a large role in students’ accepting other ethnicities and cultures.
He also said that there are many benefits to living in a multicultural society and having students attend diverse schools.
“In order for students to be successful, students have to be able to be open-minded and welcoming,” Celano said. “At the workplace, for example, be able to collaborate and work with others. Not only that but just in general, in terms of living and being a contributing member of society, I think, requires a lot of empathy and concern for one another.”
The Great Neck School District has also seen a steep increase in Asian students attending its schools.
In 2005-06, white students made up 71 percent of the student body, whereas now they make up only 55 percent. The Asian population has seen the biggest increase, with the percentage of Asian students rising from 20 percent to 34 percent.
Evidence of the increase of Asian students was seen this year, when the Board of Education announced in March that it would begin recognizing the Lunar New Year in the 2016-17 school years.
“We often speak of the richness and value that we place on diversity on our community and also on family,” the school board president, Barbara Berkowitz, said in March after the announcement. “This decision shows the respect that we place on both.”
Lawrence Levy, the executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, said the growing Asian population on the North Shore can be attributed to its close proximity to Flushing, where large numbers of Chinese and Korean people reside.
“There’s a great comfort level there, yet the suburbs offers beautiful homes that more and more of the Asian community can afford, communities with some of the best schools in the country that are also among the safest and least congested,” Levy said.
In Great Neck, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students has increased from 7 to 8 percent, but the percentage of African-American students has decreased from 2 to 1 percent.
Efforts to reach the Great Neck school superintendent, Teresa Prendergast, were unavailing.
The East Williston and New Hyde Park-Garden City Park school districts have also seen their Asian student populations grow.
In the East Williston School District, Asian students made up only 7 percent of the student body in the 2005-06 school year, but that number has since risen to 19 percent. The Asian student enrollment in the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District rose from 35 percent in 2005-06 to 44 percent in the 2014-15 school year.
East Williston’s white student population dropped from 85 percent to 74 percent, while its Hispanic/Latino population increased from 3 percent to 5 percent. African-American student enrollment has remained the same at 1 percent.
The New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District’s white student enrollment dropped from 53 percent of the student body to 36 percent.
Hispanic/Latino student enrollment increased by 5 percentage points to 16 percent, while the African-American student population increase from 0 to 1 percent.
The Mineola School District has seen an increase in Hispanic/Latino students, with student enrollment increasing 7 percentage points to 24 percent in the 2014-15 school year.
The Mineola school superintendent, Michael Nagler, said the increase in Spanish-speaking students led the district to implement a “dual language” program about three years ago, beginning in kindergarten and lasting until fourth grade.
Nagler said it is an “interesting process” to watch children grow through the dual language program.
“That’s a tall order, but we’re meeting great success with it,” he said. “You have English speaking kids learning Spanish at a much faster rate than they ever would in a Spanish class … and the converse is true also.”
The district had slight increases to its Asian population, growing from 9 percent of the student body to 12 percent, and the African-American population, growing from 2 percent to 3 percent.
White student enrollment has decreased from 72 percent of the student body in 2004-05 to 66 percent in 2014-15.
Nagler said the district this year joined students between fifth and 12th grade for a multicultural night to celebrate its diversity.
The Port Washington School District’s demographics haven’t changed drastically, said the school superintendent. Dr. Kathleen A. Mooney, but the minor diversification that’s occurred over the last 10 years has made the school community very appealing to potential students.
From the 2005-06 school year to last year, the Hispanic/Latino population in the school district has risen from 14 percent to 19 percent—the district’s only increase. The Asian population fell from 12 percent to 11 percent, and the white population dropped from 71 percent to 66 percent. The black population remains at 2 percent.
“We’re considered a very diverse community,” Mooney said. “The diversity is very attractive to incoming and existing families. Our Latino population has risen and we’re proud of that.”
The school district hopes to see a more equal representation of all ethnicities, Mooney said, and has been implementing programs to bring students together and teach them that everyone can get along.
In October, the district is celebrating Unity Day, an event that’s focused on students “exploring the concept of togetherness,” Mooney said. The day focuses on accepting everyone and ending bullying by educating students on bully prevention and being nice and open to everyone, she said.
“The district seems to be very desirable,” Mooney said. “We’re a public institution and we welcome and accept all students and we want to educate them to our best ability.”
Homeland Security places international students in the school district through its Study in the States program, Mooney said, which allows international and domestic students to learn about cultures outside of their own.
In January, some Port Washington Board of Education members questioned the large increase of students enrolling. Mooney said that it’s normal for an increase of 60 students, but at the start of the 2015-16 school year, there were 112 new students.
Trustee Alan Baer in January said that “there is more going on than simply normal classes moving up.” He said that the district would investigate the influx of students, and said that he even wanted the overcrowding of houses in Port Washington to be investigated, because the district’s bus list showed multiple students living in homes.
At the time, Mooney said that the district noticed a large increase in students who speak English as a second language.
Mooney said that situation is no longer being discussed and that the district continues to welcome all students.
The Sewanhaka School District has seen minimal increases to its Hispanic/Latino and Asian student populations.
But the district remains one of the more diverse on the North Shore.
African-American students make up 26 percent of the student body, the same as in the 2004-05 school year.
Asian students have increased from 14 percent of the student body to 19 percent. Hispanic/Latino students have increased 4 percentage points to 17 percent of the student body in the 2014-15 school years.
White students have decreased from 47 percent of the student body to 37 percent.
The Sewanhaka school superintendent, Ralph Ferrie, said students in the district embrace the various cultures and that the diverse student body contributes to academic success.
Ferrie said diversity is emphasized in the types of literature students are required to read and what they study in social studies courses.
The Manhasset School District has seen minimal growth in minority students since the 2004-05 school year.
White students, who made up 80 percent of the student body, now make up 73 percent of the student body.
The Asian student population has increased by 4 percentage points to 17 percent, while the Hispanic/Latino student population increased by 3 percentage points to 6 percent.
Black student enrollment decreased from 4 percent of the student body to 3 percent.
The Manhasset school superintendent, Charles Cardillo, said he can’t explain the difference in distribution of ethnic populations compared with other districts, but said Manhasset is seeing a growth in minority populations, specifically with students learning English as a new language.
“There still has been an increase of [new language] students,” Cardillo said. “I would say that this is true for many districts throughout Long Island, and especially in Manhasset our program has strengthened. We have more teacher support these days to address the needs of [new language] students.”
He said that students who come from other countries or speak different languages are embraced and accepted by the district’s students and that school clubs have also helped integrate those students into the schools.
“I’ve seen in the last few years the clubs that foster a great sense of community and family, and making activities more inclusive,” Cardillo said. “I think that’s something that they put a high value on.”
The Roslyn School District’s student demographics have remained similar between the 2004-05 school year and 2014-15 school years.
White students made up 80 percent of the student body, but now make up 75 percent. African-American students declined from 4 percent of the student body to 3 percent.
Hispanic student enrollment increased from 4 percent to 6 percent, while the Asian student population increased 4 percentage points to 17 percent.
Roslyn Superintendent Allison Brown said in a statement, “The most significant demographic change in Roslyn in recent years has been a very gradual increase in both the Asian and Hispanic student populations. As the district that has long been committed to diversity and to meeting the needs of every child, these slow shifts in population have not resulted in significant changes in educational programs. We find that the overwhelming majority of our students of all backgrounds are eager to participate and excel in our ever-expanding academic offerings.”
“Where we have endeavored to change is in the sensitivity of our faculty and staff to an increasingly diverse population,” Brown said. “For example, out of respect for our Asian-American families, we now designate the Lunar New Year as a day of religious observance (which means there are restrictions on testing and school activities). We listen attentively to all of our parents to ensure that we are addressing their concerns.”
