Valley Stream South High School (VSSHS) is a combined public junior and senior

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

South Valley Stream, New York South Valley Stream is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 5,962 as of the 2010 census. South Valley Stream is loca ...

, in southwest Nassau County on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. The school was established in 1955. The high school is one of three high schools in the

Valley Stream Central High School District The Valley Stream Central High School District is a public central high school district in New York State that serves about 4500 students in most of the village of Valley Stream, most of South Valley Stream, and most of North Valley Stream as we ...

as well as one of two combined junior-senior high schools which educate grades seventh through twelfth. Students who attend Valley Stream South High School are mainly graduates of the local South Valley Stream elementary schools, including William L. Buck Elementary School, Brooklyn Avenue Elementary School, Forest Road Elementary School, and Robert W. Carbonaro Elementary School which is approximately 600 feet to the junior-senior high school complex. Valley Stream South High School is known to the local population simply as "South".

Valley Stream North High School Valley Stream North High School (VSNHS) is a combined public junior and senior high school located in the hamlet of Franklin Square, New York in southwest Nassau County on Long Island. Valley Stream North High School is one of three high schools ...

was built at the same time. Both schools were originally similar in architecture and were arch rivals in to sporting events. During the 2007–2008 school year, South's athletics division was changed to Division 3 due to the size of the student body. The school has three floors and was originally designed in the shape of a cube with a landscaped courtyard in the center. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,275 students and 91.9 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 13.9:1. There were 282 students (22.1% 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 64 (5.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Valley Stream South High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed December 12, 2016. The school's official colors are red and white. The school's mascot is the falcon.

School ethnicity

Valley Stream South is one of the most diverse public high schools in New York according to

Niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

, ranking 9th most diverse in the state, 5th most diverse outside of New York City, and 98th most diverse in the United States as of 2021. *Hispanic = 29.8% of students *African American/Non-Hispanic = 27.2% of students *Asian/Pacific Islander = 23.8% of students *White/Non-Hispanic = 18.2% of students

Newsweek rankings

South was ranked as one of the top high schools in the country according by ''

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 ...

'' magazine. Since ''Newsweek'' started ranking high schools in 1999, South has ranked as one of the top 300 public high schools in America, until 2012, as well as one of the top 25 public high schools on Long Island. In April 2014, Valley Stream South was ranked as the 16th best public high school on Long Island, but was not one of the top 500 best high schools in America according to ''Newsweek''. South was ranked, according to ''Newsweek'': *41st best high school in America in 1999 *33rd best high school in America in 2000 *152nd best high school in America in 2005 *264th best high school in America in 2006 *294th best high school in America in 2007 *299th best high school in America in 2010 *333rd best high school in America in 2012 *400th best high school in America in 2013

The Falcon Report

The Falcon Report began broadcasting on November 22, 2002, as a 7- to 10-minute student-made weekly TV news report shown school-wide on Fridays at 8:28 during homeroom period (As of 2020, the show is shown at 7:50 AM during homeroom or viewed on the YouTube channel). All activity at South comes to a halt during the broadcast as all students and faculty watch the show. Full-footage news coverage is provided on 4 to 7 issues that are prominent in the mainstream news that week. Other elements typically shown are student-made commercials, a weather report, and a sports segment. Topics frequently covered include school events, recent trips, innovative projects in various classes, and unique happenings at the school. Taping of the show occurs throughout the week. The logo of the program is the symbol and mascot of Valley Stream South High School, a falcon.

Notable alumni

Lon Babby Lon Scott Babby (born February 21, 1951) is an American lawyer and NBA player agent who was named the Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations on Tuesday July 20, 2010. However, as of June 10, 2015, Babby has been moved to the team's senio ...

, president of the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

* Deborah Oppenheimer, Academy Award Winner for her documentary, '' Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport'' *

Gary Portnoy Gary Portnoy (born June 8, 1956) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for co-writing and performing the main theme song of the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', "Where Everybody Knows Your Name". Career In the early 1980s, Gary ...

, singer/songwriter, most notably the performer of the ''Cheers'' theme song, "

Where Everybody Knows Your Name "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", also credited as "Theme from ''Cheers'' (Where Everybody Knows Your Name)", is the theme song from the television sitcom '' Cheers'', as well as the debut single for Gary Portnoy. The song was written by Portnoy ...

" * Larry Miller, comedian and actor, notably in ''Pretty Woman'', ''Law & Order'', ''Boston Legal'', ''Bee Movie'', ''The Princes Diaries'', ''Seinfeld'' and ''10 Things I Hate About You''

References

External links

VSSHS website
{{authority control Public high schools in New York (state) Valley Stream, New York Schools in Nassau County, New York Public middle schools in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1955 1955 establishments in New York (state)