Eighth graders flock to Putnam Valley
Long provided with two public high school choices — Haldane or James O’Neill — eighth-grade graduates of the Garrison School for the last two years have had three.
(Photo by J. Asher)
The latest alternative, Putnam Valley High School, is the top choice for 2024 graduates, according to Carl Albano, Garrison’s interim superintendent. He said 13 will attend Putnam Valley in the fall, which enrolled its first Garrison students in September 2023 under an agreement forged in 2022 between the two districts.
Meanwhile, six Garrison graduates chose Haldane and one chose O’Neill in Highland Falls, said Albano. Haldane will still have the most Garrison students next year in grades 9-12 with 51, compared to 27 for O’Neill and 17 for Putnam Valley, according to the district.
How do Garrison eighth graders choose? Although many parents declined to comment, saying that the decision was a private matter, several parents and students agreed to discuss their choice.
Albano emphasized that the key to selecting is to not look at the data or the test scores but to “follow the process.” That means attending the information sessions that the schools offer for students and parents. Then, he said, each family should decide “what school is best for your unique child.”
The three schools have a lot in common. Each ranks among the top 20 percent of high schools in the state, based on test data, graduation rates and other factors compiled by U.S. News & World Report. All offer rigorous academics and a variety of clubs, athletics and art programs.
At the same time, there are differences among the schools in size and diversity, according to state data. Haldane is the smallest of the three with 314 students, and the least diverse (81 percent of students are white). O’Neill has 424 students and is 58 percent white, while Putnam Valley has 507 students and is 65 percent white.
Putnam Valley
Garrison eighth grader Elsa Minkin said she selected Putnam Valley based on several factors, including the school’s International Baccalaureate program. The school’s IB program “sets us apart,” said its principal, Matthew Mello.
The IB is a series of rigorous college preparatory courses divided into six subject groups: Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Society, Experimental Sciences, Mathematics and the Arts.
Unlike Advanced Placement courses that last a semester or two, IB courses span two years and can lead to an IB diploma. While all Putnam Valley students take IB classes, only 10 percent earn the program’s diploma, which requires, among other things, six college-level courses, according to Mello.
Vincent DeGregorio, Putnam Valley’s IB coordinator, said the program’s classes provide “a philosophical shift in how we approach teaching and how we approach learning for students. It’s inquiry- and problem-based learning. You’re not learning the facts of history; you’re learning a method of inquiry.”
But the IB program was not the only factor for Minkin. Some of her friends attend Putnam Valley and she also liked the school’s facilities, including the large theater and the indoor soccer field. Theater is one of her interests, and she observed a dress rehearsal for Putnam Valley’s production of Rent. “It surpassed my expectations by a lot,” she said.
Amelia McCarthy, whose mother, Courtney, serves on the Garrison school board, was one of two Garrison graduates to select Putnam Valley in 2023, the first year that the school was an option. While the IB program impressed the aspiring pediatrician, McCarthy said she was also attracted to the school’s Science Research program and hopes to do a project related to pediatric medicine.
“Haldane and O’Neill are great,” she said. “I just didn’t think they fit what I wanted.”
Haldane
“I think the reason I chose Haldane is that I knew people who were going there,” said Clara Gelber, a ninth grader at the school, whose father, David, serves on the Garrison school board. “I felt more of a community at Haldane.”
Indeed, “community” is key at Haldane, said Julia Sniffen, the principal. Many students like the Cold Spring setting and being able to walk into the town, said Sniffen.
As a smaller school, Haldane also specializes in “individual support to reach the goals for each learner,” she said. The school’s guidance counselor meets with each family to discuss long-term and short-term goals for students, she said.
She noted that Haldane’s size allows students to easily find extracurricular activities and clubs, and students who want to play sports can almost always do so without the worry of failing to make a team. Sniffen pointed out that the school offers a broad range of Advanced Placement courses directly or through local colleges.
Gelber was particularly attracted to Haldane’s art offerings and is creating and illustrating a book for a course in studio art. “I’m writing about a little memory I have from when I was younger,” she said.
James I. O’Neill
Eleanor Mercurio wants to be an aerospace engineer, said her mother, Jennifer Mercurio. So when Eleanor was weighing which school to attend last year, the “deciding factor” was O’Neill’s AP courses in STEM subjects, said her mother. Five of the school’s listed AP classes are in math or science.
But students don’t just choose O’Neill for academics, said Robin Haberman, its principal. In addition to 13 AP courses, she said, the school offers 34 athletic teams and 34 extracurricular clubs. “We have a tremendous amount to choose from academically, athletically and socially,” she said.
One unique choice at O’Neill is the Junior ROTC program. The program isn’t necessarily a precursor to entering the military, but focuses on leadership, said Haberman. O’Neill has a number of students whose parents work or teach at West Point, and its graduates regularly apply for admission to the academy, she said.
Jennifer Mercurio said she and her daughter were also impressed by O’Neill’s recently completed $24 million capital project, which included new science classrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms and athletic fields.
