What You Need to Know
about Manhasset Schools
About Manhasset Excellence
This site serves to educate the Manhasset community about the 6th grade advanced math program and 7th grade double accelerated science program to highlight issues and opportunities. For more information on any topic, click the underlined phrases as you read.
We hope to improve selection accuracy and equity.
We seek greater advanced placement access through additional class sections, modified selection criteria, revised elementary instruction and greater flexibility in existing middle school and high school pathways. None of this requires new funding.
Progress To Date
This website was shared with the Manhasset community in February 2024. Since then we have received over 1,000 unique visitors with average visit time of 10 minutes per visit.
Through a petition that garnered over 300 signatures in a few short weeks, the Manhasset community has made it clear that they support a full review of advanced placement programs. We asked that a committee be formed with the mission of creating flexible pathways that cater to different student needs from elementary through high school while ensuring transparency in placement processes before and after selections are made.
The community coordinated through Zoom sessions, email and text and coordinated a meeting with the administration to discuss options.
Response from District in 2024
On February 27, 2024, Lauren Tallarine, District Director of Math & Business, sent a lengthy email with details about the selection process and curriculum options. Click here to read it. Click here to see areas of concern about this document.
On March 8, 2024, selected parents met with Dr. Gaurav Passi, Superintendent of Schools, and Donald Gately, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction, to present the petition and to make suggestions about how to improve our advanced placement programs.
At that time, Dr. Passi decided that he would NOT form a formal committee to incorporate parent feedback at this time. He offered two reasons:
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He wants to collect 5 years worth of data on the program as is and then to reevaluate the program based on data. However, we feel that we don't need more data to know that the current selection process is failing and that parents want more access and transparency on the process than we have right now.
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He noted pending litigation. However, the pending litigation was based on past violations of policy and did not prevent the district from changing future policy. The litigation was ultimately settled in October 2024.
This contrasts with responses in similar situations from high performing neighboring districts. In 2019, parents in Jericho pursued a similar petition process to improve access to their accelerated science programs. Click here to see the Jericho petition with almost the same number of signatures. The administrators listened and acted. Parents and students are pleased. Jericho Senior High School became a Blue Ribbon School in 2021.
Response from District in 2025
At last the administration has decided to address parent concerns.
Thanks to the unwavering support and strong leadership of key Board members,administrators will be making a presentation on advanced pathways in math and science at the January 16th Board meeting. This meeting will start at 7:00 at 65 High Street in the gymnasium. (This is where the Manhasset-Great Neck Economic Opportunity Council and the Manhasset/Great Neck Head Start Program is located. Note that the advanced pathways will be addressed after a recognition event that is expected to last about 45 minutes.) The board agenda is here.
How Can You Help?
Please come to the January 16th Board meeting in the gym at 45 High Street (NOT the District Office) to learn, speak and/or to show your support.
It can also be watched on livestream here.
Disclaimer
This site is being made available again because contains a wealth of information that was collected from FOIL requests about the 2023 selection process. It also summarizes the history of the revised and failed selection process that began in 2020.
This website has not been updated since Spring of 2024 and does not reflect the process used for selection in the 2024 process. To protect the administrators, the information for 2024 would not be provided by the district. There may be new information or circumstances that are not reflected in this website.
If you have information that you would like to share, please send an email to manhassetmath@gmail.com
About Manhasset Excellence
Manhasset Excellence aspires to ensure excellence in Manhasset Schools by promoting flexibility and transparency in advanced placement programs. We are educating the Manhasset community about the selection process for the 6th grade advanced math program in hopes that a complete understanding about the policy and its implementation will allow parents and administrators to work together to establish better placement processes for all subjects in the future. Information presented is estimated based on available information from the Board, administrators, the math department and parent feedback.