Herricks Union Free School District

The Herricks Union Free School District is a school district located in western Nassau County on Long Island, in New York State. The district lies within the Greater New Hyde Park area and serves a number of communities including Herricks, Garden City Park, Manhasset Hills, Searingtown, North Hills, Williston Park and Albertson.

History
This 1873 map shows the location of the school in District No. 9 (Herricks). It is the only school in the district and it is in a location close to the current community center (West of Herricks Road and South of Shelter Rock Road).

The school in Herricks was established in 1813, making it one of the oldest in Nassau County. It was named for Herricks Path, a path that existed as early as 1659.[1] By 1898, the Herricks School was one of Nassau County's last single-room schools.[2]

The Herricks Community Center is located just south of the High School. It once served as the junior high school before the current one was built.

Herricks High School stands on Watermelon Hill. The land near the area was a burial ground for the Pearsall family starting in the 17th century, but the burial grounds were later removed.[3]

The High School opened in 1958 and had its first graduating class in 1960.[4]

Known as the "Herricks Prayer Case, Engel v. Vitale," in 1959 the Herricks School District a.k.a. Union Free School District #9 was sued by five district property owners. "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country," was recited as a daily procedure on the recommendation of the NY State Board of Regents. This case was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court, which ruled the prayer unconstitutional in 1962.[5] [6]

Schools
  • Herricks High School
  • Herricks Middle School
  • Denton Avenue Elementary School
  • Center Street Elementary School
  • Searingtown Elementary School
  • The Herricks Community Center (1925 - 1948) was the junior high school building before the current.

References
  1. Aronson, Harvey, ed. Home Town Long Island. (Newsday, 1999). ISBN 1-885134-21-5.
  2. Weidman, Bette S. and Linda B. Martin. Nassau County Long Island In Early Photographs: 1869-1940. Dover Publications Inc., 1981. ISBN 0-486-24136-X
  3. What Do You Know About Herricks?, What's in Your Backyard Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine. Roslyn News, November 7, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  4. Alumni Newsletter - Winter 2009 Archived 2009-09-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  5. "Education: The Offensive Prayer". Time. March 9, 1959. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  6. ThisNation.com-Engel et al. v. Vitale et al.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.