Division Avenue High School
Division Avenue High School is a four-year public high school in Levittown, New York. It is one of two traditional high schools in the Levittown Union Free School District and one of four high schools in the hamlet of Levittown in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County on Long Island. It opened in 1948 as Division Avenue School. It was expanded in 1955 and renamed Division Avenue High School. Its first graduating class was in 1960. It is one of the original school buildings in the district.
| Division Avenue High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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120 Division Avenue , , 11756 United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°43′55″N 73°31′38″W |
| Information | |
| Type | Comprehensive school |
| Motto | Latin: Sans egal ("Without equal") |
| Established | 1955 |
| School district | Levittown Union Free School District |
| CEEB code | 332798 |
| NCES School ID | 3617160[1] |
| Principal | John Coscia |
| Faculty | 93.5 FTEs[1] |
| Grades | 9 through 12 |
| Enrollment | 961 (as of 2018–19)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 10.3:1[1] |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Blue and gray |
| Mascot | Blue Dragon |
| Nickname | [Blue] Dragons Lady Dragons |
| Newspaper | Dragon Tales |
| Yearbook | Harambium |
| Website | www |
John Coscia is the school's principal. There is one assistant principal, Sam McElroy[2]
As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1043 students and 97.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.3:1. There were 137 students (13.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 69 (6.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Awards and recognition
In 2008, Newsweek ranked the school 1,127 on the list of the top 1,300 US schools.[3] In 2007, it was ranked 873.[4] In 2006, it was ranked as 1,059.[5]
The New York State Education Department named DAHS a Reward School for 2015-16.[6]
Extracurricular activities
Division has over 60 after-school clubs available to students:[7]
- Anti-Racist Alliance (Disbanded)
- Art Club
- Art Honor Society
- Author Club
- Broadcast Club
- Chamber Choir
- Chemistry Club
- Chess Club
- Cooking Club
- DECA
- Division Peer Pals (formerly Best Buddies)
- Drama Club
- Engineering Club
- Fashion Club
- Foreign Language Honor Society
- Unity Club (Formerly Gay-Straight Alliance)
- History Club
- Humanitarian Club
- International Physics Olympiad
- Jazz Band
- Key Club
- Marching Band
- Mathletes
- Michael State Club
- Model Congress
- MSG Varsity Club
- National Honor Society
- Newspaper Club
- Obama Club
- Peer Leaders
- Photography Club
- Robotics Club
- SAAD
- Science Olympiad
- School Store
- School Piece
- Student Council
- Tri-M Music Honor Society
- World Language Honor Society
- Yearbook Club
Sports
Division has over 25 varsity and junior varsity level athletic teams. They include badminton, baseball, basketball (boys' and girls') bowling, football, lacrosse (boys' and girls'), soccer (boys' and girls'), softball, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.
The Division Avenue football team were the 1996 New York State Rutgers Cup champions.[8] Division has also racked up many accomplishments in other sports. In recent years, the girls' bowling team has won two county titles, and the wrestling, girls' soccer, and girls' volleyball teams have won conference titles. The baseball, boys' and girls' lacrosse, and softball teams have all advanced to the county semifinals or beyond in the past few years as well. In boys' lacrosse, Division has produced 13 All-Americans, including Maryland's all-time leading goal scorer, Bob Boniello. They were also 2010 Conference B Champs, tied with Garden City and Wantagh for first place.[9] The Division cross country team won back-to-back New York State Class C Championships in 1969-70. The baseball, girls' basketball, and both the boys' and girls' lacrosse teams play in the top conference of their respective classes. During the 2009-2010 school year, both the girls' soccer and girls' basketball teams went to the Nassau County finals. The girls' basketball team defeated Lynbrook for the first county title in the program's history. The Lady Dragons went on to claim the Class A Long Island Championship. In the 2017 season, Division Lady Dragons girls lacrosse was ranked number one in their conference, winning the conference championships.
Pressbox/bleacher fire
According to arson/bomb squad detectives, the Levittown Fire Department responded Sunday January 3, 2010 at 2:50 p.m. with five trucks and 50 firefighters to a 911 call for smoke in the vicinity of the concession stand at Division Avenue High School's football field.
The blaze, deemed suspicious, caused "extensive damage" estimated at more than $200,000 to the bleachers, gym equipment, rubberized track, and concession stand. There were no reported injuries. The football field and school were unoccupied at the time of the inferno.
An investigation by the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office, arson/bomb squad and Eighth Squad was completed in April 2010. The students responsible, who were between the ages of 11 and 13, were reprimanded, and the costs to the property were delegated to the families of the children.
The cause of the fire was ruled as arson with gasoline.[10]
Notable alumni
- Sterling Morrison (1942–1995, class of 1960), guitarist for rock band The Velvet Underground.[11]
- Brandon Reilly (born 1981, class of 1999), lead singer and guitarist for rock band Nightmare of You
- Moe Tucker (born 1944, class of 1961), drummer for rock band The Velvet Underground
- Len Wein (1948–2017), comic-book writer and editor[12]
References
- School data for Division Avenue Senior High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2020.
- Levittownschools.com - Staff
- Newsweek: America's Top Public High Schools
- MSNBC - Newsweek Education Front Page Archived May 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- The 1,200 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com
- School and District Accountability Designation Reports
- P12.nysed.gov
- Division Avenue News- Championships
- NY Section 8 Boys' Lacrosee - History Archived July 11, 2012, at Archive.today
- Newsday, January 3, 2010: Officials: Suspicious blaze at Division Avenue High School
- Gamboa, Glenn. "LI Sound: Velvet Underground Experience explores legendary band's LI roots", Newsday, October 26, 2018. Accessed November 23, 2020. "There's a shot of guitarist Sterling Morrison graduating from Division Avenue High School in Levittown with his friend Jim Tucker, the brother of Velvets’ drummer Maureen Tucker."
- Lovece, Frank (September 12, 2017). "Len Wein, 'Wolverine' comics co-creator, dies; ex-Levittown resident was 69". Newsday. New York City/Long Island. Retrieved September 12, 2017.