| Eastport-South Manor Central School District | |
| Established: | 2003 |
| Type: | Public |
| Region: | Towns of Brookhaven and Southampton |
| Country: | United States |
| Colors: | Navy Silver |
| Location: | Manorville, New York |
| Mascot: | Sharks |
Eastport-South Manor is a school district that serves parts of both Brookhaven and Southampton towns in eastern Suffolk County, New York. Commonly known as "ESM", the district serves the hamlets of Manorville and Eastport, as well as portions of the hamlets of Speonk and Mastic.
The total enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year is 3,534 students.
The school district was formed in 2000 from the merger of two local districts, Eastport Union Free School District (UFSD) in Eastport, and South Manor UFSD in Manorville.[1]
These two districts, along with several others, participated in a study in the mid-1990s to determine the feasibility of combining the many local districts into one centralized district. Proponents suggested that this would benefit the schools through lower central administration costs, and would allow significantly better programming for students, since a combined district would have a much higher enrollment than any of the individual districts. Further, the area covered in the scope of the study had experienced significant growth, particularly in Manorville, which had doubled the population in a span of only ten years. Finally, neither South Manor UFSD nor East Moriches UFSD (a nearby district that also participated in the study) had high schools of their own, and were paying costly tuition to send their students to other high schools.
Ultimately, only Eastport and South Manor decided to combine to create a new district.
The central administration office is located at 149 Dayton Avenue, Manorville, NY 11949.
Before the merger, Eastport's mascot was the Duck, paying tribute to the large local duck farming industry, due to which Eastport was commonly referred to as "the duck capital of the world". The mascot of the South Manor school district was the Mustang.
Before the two school districts merged, South Street School and Dayton Avenue School were the two schools of South Manor UFSD, serving grades K-9. Eastport Elementary was known as Eastport High School, but served all thirteen grades in one building. It was the only school in the former Eastport UFSD.
The school district is known for its excellence in stage productions. The theater facilities include a black box theater capable of holding 250 audience members, a main stage theater with nearly 1000 seats, state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment, a booth, a lighting catwalk, state-of-the-art rigging system, costume building facilities, dressing-rooms, an orchestra pit, and a scene shop. Several shows are put on in the Black Box stage. Two shows are put on a year on the Main Stage. While the shows are performed by students, the level of dedication from all members give students the impression they are working professionally. Usually, the main stage productions consist of a Fall Drama/Comedy Play and a Spring Musical. However, some years the Fall play has been replaced with the "5 Day Play Challenge", where students write, produce, direct, and act in their own plays; all done in 5 days.
Many students have also received Teeny Awards in various categories for their performances. In addition, many students pursue careers and further education in theater, and some have even made it to Broadway.
Since opening in 2003 the following shows have been put on:
The school is also known for its sports program. The school offers (most for both boys and girls): Lacrosse, Cross Country, Volleyball, Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Track, Tennis, Soccer, Golf, Ice Hockey, Field Hockey, and Bowling.
The Eastport-South Manor school district also provides its students with many extracurricular clubs and activities:
From 2011-2013 at Eastport South Manor Junior-Senior High School, a committee of students, parents, teachers and administrators met to decide on an appropriate manner in which the community could honor the students that voluntarily enter the military upon their graduation from the high school. The ESM community decided to construct a Wall of Honor as a means to express their gratitude to the courageous alumni serving in the United States Armed Forces. This wall is designed to recognize graduates from the first graduation class (2004) to the present. The names of future graduates whom enter the military will also have their names added to the Wall of Honor. In order to support its construction, volunteers raised over $60,000.[7]