Oyster Bay High School

Oyster Bay High School
Oyster Bay High School in June, 2005
Location
150 East Main Street Oyster Bay, New York United States
Information
Type	Public School
Established	1929
School district	Oyster Bay – East Norwich Central School District
Vice Principal (7th & 9th)	Mrs. Lara Gonzalez
Vice Principal (10th – 12th)	Mr. Timothy McCarthy
Faculty	69.1 FTEs
Grades	7th through 12th
Enrollment	759 (as of 2014-15)
Student to teacher ratio	11.0:1
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Purple and Gold
Mascot	The Baymen
Newspaper	www.obharbourvoice.blogspot.com
Website	http://obenschools.org/high_school/

Oyster Bay High School is a high school located in Oyster Bay, New York. The school is a part of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District. A more comprehensive history may be found on the school's website.

As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 759 students and 69.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 115 students (15.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 18 (2.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

The first schoolhouse in Oyster Bay was built before the American Revolutionary War by Thomas Youngs, a short distance up Cove Hill from his homestead in Oyster Bay Cove. It was replaced in 1802 by the Oyster Bay Academy on East Main Street, led by the Reverend Marmaduke Earle. The first public school began in 1845, in a small wood building on South Street where Valley National Bank is currently located.

It is no mistake that a street on the hill near St. Dominic’s Church is called School Street; its name was changed from Petticoat Lane when a much larger public schoolhouse was built in 1872. By the 1890s it too had become overcrowded forcing some classes to meet in the dank basement and even in private homes. This led to the construction of Oyster Bay’s first high school completed in 1901 on Anstice Street.

The present high school building was built to replace the older one, and was completed in 1929. Though this school has been primarily used as a high school it was originally built to house grades K through 12. This imposing brick and stone building with its Art Deco styling, has some interesting details in the original facade. See if you can find the gargoyle-like eagles and the letters “B” and “G”. These letters indicate separate doors for the girls and boys to enter the building. In February 1929, the children did just that, carrying their books and personal belongings from the old school building to this one. The new school had many modern features, including classroom loudspeakers, an auditorium with a balcony and projection booth, a central vacuuming system, and one of the most modern gymnasiums in Nassau County.