Best School Districts In Suffolk County Ranked In New 2027 Study

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Half Hollow Hills Central School District was ranked the best school district in Suffolk County in Niche's newly released 2027 Best Schools and Districts rankings — and its two high schools also took the top two spots among the county's public high schools.

The Dix Hills-based district earned an A+ overall grade and ranked No. 1 in Suffolk County, No. 13 in New York and No. 59 nationwide. The district has 7,302 students in pre-K through 12th grade and a student-teacher ratio of 12 to 1, according to Niche.

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Niche gave Half Hollow Hills grades of:

Half Hollow Hills High School West was separately ranked the No. 1 public high school in Suffolk County, followed by Half Hollow Hills High School East at No. 2. West also ranked No. 6 among New York public high schools and No. 32 nationally, while East ranked No. 18 in New York and No. 155 nationwide.

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District ranked second among Suffolk districts, followed by Three Village Central School District, Harborfields Central School District and Mount Sinai School District.

The top 30 school districts in Suffolk County and the letter grades assigned by Niche

1. Half Hollow Hills Central School District, A
2. Cold Spring Harbor Central School District, A+
3. Three Village Central School District, A+
4. Harborfields Central School District, A+
5. Mount Sinai School District, A+
6. Hauppauge Union Free School District, A+
7. Commack Union Free School District, A
8. Northport-East Northport Union Free School District, A
9. Elwood Union Free School District, A
10. Smithtown Central School District, A
11. Sayville Union Free School District, A
12. Westhampton Beach Union Free School District, A
13. South Huntington Union Free School District, A
14. Bayport-Blue Point Union Free School District, A
15. Port Jefferson Union Free School District, A
16. Lindenhurst Union Free School District, A
17. Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District, A
18. Shoreham-Wading River Central School District, A
19. East Hampton Union Free School District, A
20. Deer Park Union Free School District, A-
21. Southampton Union Free School District, A-
22. Connetquot Central School District, A-
23. Bay Shore Union Free School District, A-
24. Islip Union Free School District, A-
25. Kings Park Central School District, A-
26. West Islip Union Free School District, A-
27. West Babylon Union Free School District, A-
28. Huntington Union Free School District, A-
29. Brookhaven-Comsewogue Union Free School District, B+
30. Southold Union Free School District, B+

South Huntington also posted a strong showing in the new rankings. Walt Whitman High School ranked No. 5 among public high schools in Suffolk County, moving up three spots from the previous ranking and improving its overall Niche grade from an A to an A+.

"I couldn't be prouder of my staff and my students to be able to be among the very elite of school districts or high schools in not only the county but on Long Island and in the state," Walt Whitman Principal Dr. John Murphy said. "Education used to be one-size-fits-all," Murphy said. "But every student is different and education can't be just one way. We work hard to find where the strengths of all our students are, make sure we're playing to those strengths, and supporting students where they need it the most so they find success."

South Huntington school district ranked No. 5 for diversity among Suffolk school districts, while Whitman ranked No. 7 among Suffolk high schools, according to the district. South Huntington also ranked No. 68 statewide.

"We are incredibly proud of the hard work done across our district and at Walt Whitman High School, and we are thrilled to be recognized for these efforts," District Superintendent Dr. Vito D'Elia said. "Ultimately, you must evolve with the times, because if you aren't changing, you're falling behind," D'Elia said.

The top 30 public high schools in Suffolk County

1. Half Hollow Hills High School West, A+
2. Half Hollow Hills High School East, A+
3. Ward Melville Senior High School, A+
4. Cold Spring Harbor High School, A+
5. Walt Whitman High School, A+
6. Harborfields High School, A+
7. Northport Senior High School, A+
8. Commack High School, A
9. Mount Sinai High School, A
10. Smithtown High School West, A
11. Hauppauge High School, A
12. Elwood-John H. Glenn High School, A
13. Sayville High School, A
14. The Bridgehampton School, A
15. Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, A
16. Westhampton Beach Senior High School, A
17. Smithtown High School East, A
18. Bayport-Blue Point High School, A
19. Islip High School, A
20. Lindenhurst Senior High School, A
21. East Hampton High School, A
22. Southampton High School, A-
23. Comsewogue High School, A-
24. Bay Shore Senior High School, A-
25. East Islip High School, A-
26. Connetquot High School, A-
27. Deer Park High School, A-
28. Babylon Junior/Senior High School, A-
29. West Islip Senior High School, A-
30. Shoreham-Wading River High School, A-

Niche's private-school rankings put The Stony Brook School at No. 1 in Suffolk County.

The first nine ranked private high schools in Suffolk County

1. The Stony Brook School, A+
2. Ross School, A+
3. The Knox School, A+
4. Saint Anthony's High School, A+
5. Our Savior New American School, A
6. St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School, A
7. Smithtown Christian School, A
8. Victory Christian Academy, A-
9. Upper Room Christian School, B+

Niche said its 2027 district rankings are based on an analysis of statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents, using data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality and district ratings. Niche removed SAT and ACT scores from this year's rankings, citing the broader move away from standardized test scores in college admissions.

The methodology for individual public high schools similarly considers state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality and school ratings, while Niche's private high school rankings also consider factors including student-teacher ratios and the colleges students consider.

Nationwide, the top five school districts were Glenbrook High School District 225 in Illinois, Roslyn Union Free School District in New York, Syosset Central School District in New York, New Trier Township High School District No. 203 in Illinois and Scarsdale Union Free School District in New York.