Valley Stream Central High School is a public 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 ...

(grades 10–12) in the village of

Valley Stream Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census. The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on the South Shore of Nassau County. It is part of 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 ...

. Dr. Joseph Pompillo has been the Principal since 2001. According to U.S. News & World Report Central is the top performing High School in the District with the ranking of #103 in New York State compared to North's #138 and South's #131. Central has a graduation rate of above 95% and was recently recognized by New York State for having one of the highest graduation rates among men of color.

Performing arts program

Valley Stream Central High School is the only school in the

to house a performing arts program. The program, which is led by the District's "Fine and Performing Arts Department" director Adam Erdos offers students across the District grades 9–12 to take courses such as Theatre Arts, Dance, Voice Theatre, Dance Theatre, Acting, Musical Theatre, and Video Technology. The program is offered to students at

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 ...

Valley Stream South High School Valley Stream South High School (VSSHS) is a combined public junior and senior high school located in South Valley Stream, New York, in southwest Nassau County on Long Island. The school was established in 1955. The high school is one of three h ...

and Valley Stream Memorial Junior High School as well as Central students. To enter the program, you must fill out an application, which is provided on the District's website. Students from the other three schools are at Central for a portion of their day and then are either bussed or walk to their home school for the rest of their academic classes. The Performing Arts Program often puts on Dance Concerts and Showcases at Central's Bert Keller Auditorium, these performances are at night and are open to the public.

Career prep program

The

offers a wide variety of Career Prep Programs to its thousands of students, but similarly to Performing Arts, some of these programs are exclusively offered at Central. For example, Central is the only school in the district to house the Culinary Program and the Cosmetology Program. Other Career Prep Programs that students can take are Business and Technology classes and some Central students are a part of the Nassau County BOCES program, which provides vocational training at a different location.

Notable alumni

* Richie Alan, drummer *

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, actor and comedian *

Bruce Blakeman Bruce Arthur Blakeman (born October 2, 1955) is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the 10th County Executive of Nassau County, New York. He was elected in the 2021 election, defeating Democratic incumbent Laura Curran. He ...

, politician and lawyer *

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, producer, director *

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, NFL football player *

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, actor *

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, actor and comedian *

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, actor and film director * Conrad Cardinal, Major League Baseball player *

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, actress *

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, NBA basketball player, Univ. of Cincinnati *

Fern Fitzgerald Fern Fitzgerald (born January 7, 1947 in Valley Stream, New York) is an American actress, best known for her recurring role as oil cartel businesswoman Marilee Stone in the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'' from 1979 to 1989. She guest-starred ...

dancer (Broadway) and actress (Dallas, Seinfeld) *

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, Associate Judge,

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* Tom Gorman, MLB baseball player * Steve Hytner, actor *

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, football player for

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and NFL

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, television executive & former CEO of

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* Victor Ochi, NFL football player *

Steve Orich Steve Orich (born October 20, 1954 in Valley Stream, New York) is a composer, orchestrator and musical director. Professional work Steve Orich was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations in 2006 for his work on ''Jersey Boys'' wh ...

Broadway orchestrator and composer * Vincent Penna, actor and voice talent * Edward J. Renehan Jr., Writer and publisher * Martin Rosen, writer, producer, director *

Dom Starsia Dom Starsia (born April 21, 1952) is an American lacrosse coach. He is the former head coach of the University of Virginia men's lacrosse program, with whom he won four NCAA national championships, in 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2011. Previously, he ...

, lacrosse coach * Greg Smith, Bassist / Vocalist (Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Rainbow) * Martin Kove, American actor. * The Aquatones, 1950's Doo Wop group

References

External links

school's official webpage
{{authority control Valley Stream, New York Public high schools in New York (state) Schools in Nassau County, New York Magnet schools in New York (state) 1928 establishments in New York (state)