William A. Shine Great Neck South High School (commonly Great Neck South, South High School, or GNSHS) is a four-year

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in the Lake Success village of

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...

. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 and is in the

Great Neck school district Great Neck Public Schools is a public school district serving students residing in specific areas of Great Neck, North New Hyde Park, North Hills, and Manhasset Hills, New York. It is Union Free School District Number 7 in the Town of North Hemp ...

. Great Neck South is one of three high schools in the Great Neck school district, the others being

Great Neck North High School John L. Miller Great Neck North High School or simply "Great Neck North," is a public high school, including grades 9 through 12, in the village of Great Neck, New York, operated by the Great Neck School District. As of the 2018–19 school year ...

and

Great Neck Village High School Great Neck Village High School (also known as Village School or VS) is an American long-established public alternative school. It is a member of Coalition of Essential Schoolshttp://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/Pages/profiles/vsprofile10.pdf Grea ...

. Great Neck South offers its 1,222 students

academic acceleration Academic acceleration is moving students through an educational program at a rate faster or at an age younger than is typical. Students who would benefit from acceleration do not necessarily need to be identified as gifted education, gifted in ...

, along with special education classes for students with disabilities. The school opened in 1958 and was named Great Neck South High School until 2006. As of the 2016–17 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,193 students and 111.56 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.69:1. There were 180 students (15% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 46 (3.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Campus history and school facilities

In 1949, the School District acquired the South complex in Lake Success from the former estate of Henry Phipps, Jr., steelmaster and one-time partner of

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. His mansion and were given to the district by the Phipps heirs; the mansion is now the Phipps Administration Building. The rest of the property was purchased for $279,000."This is Great Neck", (''The League of Women Voters of Great Neck'')."Lucky 7", (''Match, Richard''). In 1957, South High School was built on property surrounding the administration building. When the estate was donated, there was a stipulation that part of it be kept in its natural state, a condition that was met during construction. One of the final remaining intact portions of the

Long Island Motor Parkway The Long Island Motor Parkway, also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway, Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, or Motor Parkway, was a roadway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It was the first roadway designed for automobile use only. The parkway ...

, the first road in the United States built solely for automobiles, runs through the campus of the High School. In 1958, Great Neck Senior High School was renamed

to differentiate it from the district's new Great Neck South High School. Prior to 1979, Great Neck South High School included grades 10 through 12.Schools Split on 'Open Campus' - The New York Times
URL accessed November 2, 2009. In 1980, grade 9 was added. In 2006, the school was renamed to honor Dr. William A. Shine for his respected status in the

Great Neck School District Great Neck Public Schools is a public school district serving students residing in specific areas of Great Neck, North New Hyde Park, North Hills, and Manhasset Hills, New York. It is Union Free School District Number 7 in the Town of North Hemp ...

. Great Neck South has more restrictions on its open campus than Great Neck North. Rona Telsey, a spokesperson for the district, said that while Great Neck North is near a major shopping center, Great Neck South is further away. In addition, she said that a student would need to use a car to go off-campus for lunch. Prior to 1980, all students had open campus. In 1980, the school decided that younger students at Great Neck needed more restrictions than older students. Beginning in 1980, only 11th and 12th graders at Great Neck South had open campus privileges.Saslow, Linda.
Schools Split on 'Open Campus'
" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. October 23, 1988. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.

Mascot and flag history

Prior to the early 1980s, South High School used a

Confederate battle flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

as part of its logo, along with a gray Confederate rebel representing it as a mascot. Great Neck South quarterback

David Gurfein David Gurfein is an American military veteran. He retired as a U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. Gurfein is currently the CEO of the American nonprofit organization United American Patriots (UAP). Early life Gurfein attended Great Neck South ...

, from the Class of 1983, recalled, “We would go down to Middle Neck Road waving these confederate flags. We had so much team spirit, so much unity, so much energy.” While the flag has ties to the Confederate South, the school and town alike did not identify it with the flag's history, but rather saw it solely as a representation of

school spirit School spirit is the sense of identity and community shared by members of an educational institution. This can apply to any type of school, from elementary schools to universities. Members of a school can manifest spirit in the exhibition of sc ...

, and a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

of it being Great Neck's "southern" high school rather than any purposeful ill intent. After the 1981

lynching of Michael Donald The lynching of Michael Donald in Mobile, Alabama, on March 21, 1981, was one of the last reported lynchings in the United States. Several Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members beat and killed Michael Donald, a 19-year-old African-American, and hung his b ...

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

and being made aware of the flag's history seeing contemporary pictures of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

with it in the background, Gurfein regretted the mascot and flag use, and lead a successful effort to replace the Confederate flag and soldier with a more generic

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

rebel and

Betsy Ross flag The Betsy Ross flag is a reconstructed early design for the flag of the United States, which is conformant to the Flag Act of 1777 and has red stripes outermost and stars arranged in a circle. These details elaborate on the 1777 act, passed earl ...

Academics

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' ranked Great Neck South High School 49th out of 500 in its 2011 list Best High Schools in America. (The school has been cited in Newsweek's public school rankings on several other occasions). Students are offered

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

, honors, and accelerated courses as well.https://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/cms/lib/NY02208059/Centricity/domain/22/profiles/shsprofile20.pdf Great Neck Public Schools Web site, PDF document titled "Great Neck Public Schools: South High School", accessed August 9, 2020 Great Neck South’s disabled students attend special education classes. One of the Advanced Placement physics courses tested the audience response technology which was successful and the

has expanded the technology to other schools. The majority of South High students (more than 90%) achieve a B average or better. 98% of the South High School Class of 2019 entered college. 19% were recognized as finalists or received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Events

Cultural Heritage

One of the most popular events at Great Neck South is Cultural Heritage Night, where students put on a two-hour extravaganza of multicultural art, theater and dance.

Blazing Trails-4-Autism

Great Neck South has hosted the Blazing Trails-4-Autism on their campus.Run/Walk
URL accessed November 6, 2009. In 2009 the Run/Walk was selected to be a part of the USATF-Long Island Grand Prix of Long Island Road Races.

Enrollment

Demographics

As of the 2018-2019 school year, the student body consists of:http://data.nysed.gov/enrollment.php?year=2015&instid=800000049053 Great Neck South High School, accessed December 29, 2015 * 0 American Indian or Alaska Native students or 0% of the student body * 18 Black or African American students or 1% of the student body * 94 Hispanic or Latino students or 8% of the student body * 719 Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students or 59% of the student body * 367 White students or 30% of the student body * 25 Multiracial students or 2% of the student body The student population at Great Neck South is predominantly

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

, with a large

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

minority and smaller

Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

and

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

minorities. Approximately 128 students (11%) will be classified as Special Ed.http://greatnecksouth.weebly.com/uploads/7/1/3/8/7138539/data_summary_15_16.pdf Data Summary for 2015-16, accessed November 15, 2016 Approximately 103 (8.7%) students will be receiving TESL services. Great Neck South's total population, as of 2015-2016, is 1,198 (53.5% male, 46.5% female). *Grade 9: 290 (2015: 271) *Grade 10: 287 (2015: 302) *Grade 11: 307 (2015: 299) *Grade 12: 314 (2015: 328) From the 2016 senior class, 318 students graduated, while 4 students did not. However, 4 students graduated during the summer of 2016.

Notable alumni

Dan Ahdoot Dan Kamyar Ahdoot ( fa, دن آهدوت ; he, דן אחדות) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is known for his TV appearances on Netflix's ''Cobra Kai'', Disney's '' Kickin' It'', Showtime's ''Shameless'', and the Seeso series ' ...

: comedian, star of ''

Super Fun Night ''Super Fun Night'' is an American sitcom that aired from October 2, 2013, to February 19, 2014, on ABC. The series was broadcast during the 2013–14 television season on ABC in the Wednesday night 9:30 pm (ET/PT) slot after ''Modern Family''. ...

'' *

David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technolo ...

: biologist https://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/Page/7483 ;Famous Alumni, URL acceded April 23, 2021. * Earl Beecham:

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

player *

Danielle Bernstein Danielle Bernstein (born May 28, 1992) is an American fashion designer and the founder of the fashion blog and brand WeWoreWhat, which she started when she was a sophomore in college. She has collaborated with numerous brands and has launched ...

(born 1992, class of 2010): fashion designer and social media influencer *

Nikki Blonsky Nicole Blonsky (born November 9, 1988) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and internet personality. She is known for playing Tracy Turnblad in the film ''Hairspray'' (2007), for which she won two Critics' Choice Awards and received nominati ...

: actress who starred as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version of ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' participated in South's theater program. *

Peter de Sève Peter de Sève is an American artist who has worked in the illustration and animation fields. He has drawn many covers for the magazine ''The New Yorker''. As a character designer, he worked on the characters of ''A Bug's Life'', '' Finding Nemo'' ...

: illustrator and animator *

Quinn Early Quinn Remar Early (born April 13, 1965) is a former professional American football player who was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 1988 NFL Draft. A 6'0", . wide receiver from the University of Iowa, Early played in ...

(born 1965, class of 1983): National Football League player"Famous Alumni From The Eighties and Nineties"
''Great Neck Public Schools''; URL accessed August 8, 2020. *

Stuart Ewen Stuart Ewen (born 1945) is a New York-based author, historian and lecturer on media, consumer culture, and the compliance profession. He is also a Distinguished Professor at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, ...

: author *

Jamie Gorelick Jamie S. Gorelick (; born May 6, 1950) is an American lawyer who served as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States from 1994 to 1997, during the Clinton administration. She has been a partner at WilmerHale since 2003 and has served on ...

: former Deputy Attorney General of the United States. *

Mark J. Green Mark Joseph Green (born March 15, 1945) is an American author, former public official, public interest lawyer, and Democratic politician from New York City. Green was New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and New York Ci ...

(class of 1963): politician *

: U.S. Marine Corps

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and CEO of nonprofit organization United American Patriots *

Mark Kelman Mark Kelman (born August 20, 1951) is jurist and vice dean of Stanford Law School. As a prominent legal scholar, he has applied social science methodologies, including economics and psychology, to the study of law. He is one of the most cited law ...

: Stanford Law School professor * David Miner:

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning executive producer of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'' *

Roy Niederhoffer Roy Gary Niederhoffer (born 1966) is an American hedge fund manager.George Loomis"NYCO: renaissance for a victim of the financial crisis" ''The Financial Times'', January 29, 2016 He graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude in 1987, with a ...

(class of 1983): Founder and President of R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Investments, Inc., and Chairman of the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

Bruce Paltrow Bruce Weigert Paltrow (November 26, 1943 – October 3, 2002) was an American television and film director and producer. He was the husband of actress Blythe Danner, and the father of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and screenwriter/director Jake Paltrow ...

: writer, television and movie producer, husband of Blythe Danner, and father of

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

David Seidler David Seidler (born 1937) is a British-American playwright and film and television writer. He is most known for writing the scripts for the stage version and screen version for the story ''The King's Speech''. For the film, he won the Academy ...

: playwright *

Sarah Sherman Sarah Sherman (born March 7, 1993), also known professionally as Sarah Squirm, is an American comedian, actress, and screenwriter. Sherman is known for using surreal and body horror comedy. She became a featured player on the NBC sketch comedy ...

: comedian, current cast member on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' *

Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire (née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress who played roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' films and Adrian Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''The Godfather Part II'' and ''Rocky'', Shire ...

: actress, starred in Rocky *

Bob Simon Robert David Simon (May 29, 1941 – February 11, 2015) was an American television correspondent for CBS News. He covered crises, war, and unrest in 67 countries during his career.Gottlieb, Hooper. Shearer, Benjamin F. ed., ''Home Front Her ...

: TV correspondent *

Helen Slater Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She played the title character in the 1984 film ''Supergirl'', and returned to the 2015 TV series of the same title, this time as Supergirl's adoptive mot ...

: actress, singer, songwriter (transferred to the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was m ...

) *

Dawn Steel Dawn Leslie Steel (August 19, 1946 – December 20, 1997) was an American film studio executive and producer. She was one of the first women to run a major Hollywood, California, Hollywood film studio, rising through the ranks of merchandising ...

: movie studio executive *

Jon Taffer Jonathan Peter Taffer (born November 7, 1954) is an American entrepreneur and television personality. He is best known for hosting the reality series ''Bar Rescue'' on Paramount Network and '' Face the Truth'' on CBS with Vivica A. Fox. He is als ...

(class of 1972): member of the bar & nightclub hall of fame, star of

SpikeTV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was or ...

's ''

Bar Rescue ''Bar Rescue'' is an American reality television series that airs on Paramount Network (formerly Spike during the first five seasons). It stars Jon Taffer, a long-time food and beverage industry consultant specializing in nightclubs, bars and pu ...

'', and inventor of NFL Sunday Ticket. * Charles Williams (class of 1965): Former major league baseball pitcher for the New York Mets (1971) and the San Francisco Giants (1972–78). Traded from the Mets to the Giants for Willie Mays. *

Alexander Wissner-Gross Alexander D. Wissner-Gross is an American research scientist and entrepreneur. He is a fellow at the Institute for Applied Computational Science at Harvard University. Education At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he researched na ...

(class of 2003), research scientist and entrepreneur"Zachary Wissner-Gross wins Hertz Fellowship"

Hertz Foundation The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation is an American non-profit organization that awards fellowships to Ph.D. students in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences. The fellowship provides $250,000 of support over five years. Th ...

, November 30, 2007. Accessed January 5, 2017. "Wissner-Gross graduated in 2003 from Great Neck South High School, Great Neck, N.Y., where he was a National Merit Scholar."

References

{{authority control Great Neck Peninsula Public high schools in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1958 Schools in Nassau County, New York 1958 establishments in New York (state)

Campus history and school facilities

Mascot and flag history

Academics

Events

Cultural Heritage

Blazing Trails-4-Autism

Enrollment

Demographics

Notable alumni

See also

References