Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, also referred to as Port Jefferson High School, is in the Port Jefferson School District, located in Port Jefferson, New York.
History and overview
The current school building was originally built by the Public Works Administration.[2]
Port Jefferson High School was renamed around 1960 in honor of Earl L.
Vandermeulen, who served as principal from 1923[3] to 1960.
As of 2014, the current student body size (9th - 12th grade) is close
to 400 students.
In the past, the school served a larger student population, including
students from a number of other communities that did not have their
own high schools.[4][5] In 1933, for example, the school was
also accepting students from Port
Jefferson Station, Terryville,
Belle Terre, Miller
Place, Mount Sinai,
Rocky Point, Wading
River, Shoreham,
Middle Island, West Middle Island, West
Yaphank, Ridge, Coram,
Selden, and Stony Brook.[2][6] As surrounding communities began to
open their own high schools with the spread of suburban growth into
Suffolk County, this practice subsided,
and finally ended with the opening of Mount
Sinai High School in 1991. The last graduating class outside Port Jefferson from Mount Sinai graduated in June 1992.
Academics
In 2008, the school was placed 127th on Newsweek Magazine's 1,300 top U.S. high schools list, which placed it first among school ranked in Suffolk County and 20th among schools ranked in New York.[7] According to 2007 data, 98.9% of school graduates earn a New York State Regent's diploma, 78.2 percent of graduates plan to attend 4 year college, and 19.5% plan to attend a 2-year college.[8]
^"10 L.I. School Areas To Discuss Merger". The New York Times. Aug 26, 1956.(reporting that 10 districts considering a merger, Coram, West Middle Island, East Middle Island, Ridge Yaphank, Shoreham, Miller Place, Rocky Point, Sound Beach, and Wading River were currently sending all secondary students to Port Jefferson High School)
