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Community Corner

Commack History: District Changes Amongst Fluctuating Enrollment

Since 1899, Commack has seen increases and decreases in school enrollment.

Most Commack residents remember the days of Commack High Schools North and South, but in the 19thcentury the schools known as North and South in the area were two one-room schoolhouses.

According to Smithtown historian and former Commack High School Social Studies teacher Brad Harris, for decades before 1899 Commack actually had two separate school districts. A small schoolhouse on Commack Road just north of where the Commack Library is located was the South School. A short distance away on Townline Road, north of the Methodist Cemetery was the North School.

According to Harris, an increase in enrollment in 1899 prompted officials to decide to combine the two districts into one large district. The first schoolhouse of the new district was built near the southwest corner of Jericho Turnpike and Commack Road.

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This school was known as the Frame School and was a two-story, wooden frame structure with two classrooms. Just like the North and South School, the new building was for first to eighth graders.

According to the former teacher, enrollment increased to a point where an auxiliary classroom had to be set up at the Commack Firehouse. As a result, in 1923 the Commack Grammar School was built to replace the Frame School at the same location.

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The building was renamed the Marion E. Carll School in 1957 as a thank you to a . It was the only school in Commack until 1958 when the district experienced an increase in enrollment and more elementary schools began to open until there were 15 in 1972.

Commack High School opened its doors in 1962 and in 1968 it became known as Commack High School North when Commack South opened. According to Harris’s research, the end of the 60s found Commack with the second largest school district in Suffolk County and in 1972 there were more than 15,000 students enrolled.

While 1972 saw the opening of and Junior High Schools, the district began to experience a decline in enrollment. This led to primary schools being closed throughout the 70s and 80s.

Harris said that by September of 1986, enrollment in the Commack School district was 6,100. A committee was formed consisting of community members, school staff and Board of Education members to investigate the next step.

After investigating grade level structures and class sizes as well as enrollment trends, it was decided that the school district would consist of four primary schools, two intermediate schools, one middle school and one high school. Through the years 13 out of 21 schools were closed.

In the fall of 1989, north and south came together once again. What was once known as Commack North became the only high school in the district, and Commack South became the middle school. While healthy competition once existed between the two high schools, Harris, who was teaching at the time, said the transition went smoothly for all involved.

A long way from the days of one-room schoolhouses and the big changes of the late 20th century, the buildings that made up the school district in 1989 are still open today for the children of Commack.

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