SCHOOLS

The history of the East Islip School District begins before 1857. At that time there was a one-room building. East Islip's one-room school was situated on land given by the Nicoll Estate and was located at a point near the southern end of the present Timber Point Elementary School property. In 1858, a two-story building was erected which had only two rooms. In January 1885, $8100 was appropriated for a three room building and $500 for two acres of land on South Country Road (today's Main Street). Between 1892 and 1902 additional rooms were added so that by 1905 it had grown to a nine-room school. As time went on, the enrollment of the district increased. Through the generosity of Mrs. W. Bayard Cutting, the playground area was increased to ten acres. In 1924 the taxpayers of the district approved the construction of the present three-story building. The cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1925. It was with the opening of these new facilities that East Islip began to offer a full four-year high school program. The district escaped the early blows of the post-war building boom, however, the impact of home development eventually caught up with East Islip. By 1950 the need for added space was obvious. A proposal for renting temporary quarters was approved. This was only a stopgap means of solving the growth in enrollment, and an appropriation for a new addition was voted upon. This addition was no sooner occupied than it became apparent that the pressure of Long Island's population growth was making itself felt in East Islip. Land was purchased in Islip Terrace for the construction of an elementary school, and in 1957 this school was opened with a capacity for 935 students.