William A. Shine Great Neck South High School

Campus history and school facilities

In 1949 the School District acquired the 124-acre (0.50 km²) South complex in Lake Success from the former estate of Henry Phipps, Jr., steelmaster and one-time partner of Andrew Carnegie. His mansion and 9 acres (36,000 m²) were given to the district by the Phipps heirs; the mansion is now the Phipps Administration Building. The rest of the property was purchased for $279,000. In 1957, South High School was built on property surrounding the administration building. When the estate was donated, there was a stipulation that part of it be kept in its natural state. That condition was met during construction.

In 1958, Great Neck Senior High School was renamed Great Neck North High School to differentiate it from the district's new Great Neck South High School. Prior to 1979, Great Neck South High School included Grades 10 through 12. But in 1980, Grade 9 was added to the high school. Today the school has 75 classrooms. In 2006, the school was renamed to honor Dr. William A. Shine for his respected status in the Great Neck School District.

In 1980 Great Neck South added the 9th grade. As of 1988 Great Neck South has open campus privileges. Great Neck South has more restrictions on its open campus than Great Neck North. Rona Telsey, a spokesperson for the district, said that while Great Neck North is near a major shopping center, Great Neck South is further away. In addition, she said that a student would need to use a car to go off-campus for lunch. Prior to 1980, all students had open campus. In 1980, the school decided that younger students at Great Neck needed more restrictions than older students. Beginning in 1980, only 11th and 12th graders at Great Neck South had open campus privileges.

Mascot flag history

Great Neck South High School first opened in 1958 and adopted a school mascot. The school elected a “Confederate battle flag and a rifle-toting soldier.” For decades the flag was an integral part of school spirit. Great Neck South’s Quarterback David Gurfein from the class of ‘82 recalled, “The [battle] flag was on our school ring burned into metal. We wore it in our jackets. We would go down to Middle Neck Road waving these confederate flags. We had so much team spirit, so much unity, so much energy.” While the flag has ties to the Confederate South, the school and town alike did not identify it with this history but rather saw it solely as a representation of their school and spirit. A former student remembering his time at South said, “We were sort of in a Great Neck bubble.” Soon enough that bubble erupted when a lynching occurred in Alabama in 1982. Shortly after learning about this incident and gaining a better understanding of the flag’s history, Gurfein attempted to have the flag removed from the school. Gurfein quickly learned that others had previously attempted the same task but the student body as a whole would not agree to the removal. Gurfein realized that he needed to take a different approach and redefined the concept of a “Rebel”. The new rebel fought tyranny and injustice, inspired by the events surrounding the Revolutionary War. With the new rebel, the student body supported this change and the battle flag was removed from Great Neck South.

Academics

Newsweek ranked Great Neck South High School 49th out of 500 in its 2011 list Best High Schools in America (the school has been cited in Newsweek's public school rankings on several other occasions). Students are offered honors (H) and accelerated courses as well. One of the Advanced Placement physics courses tested the audience response technology which was successful and the Great Neck School District has expanded the technology to other schools.

The majority of South High students (more than 87%) achieve a B average or better. However, only a small percentage of South High students (12%) were recognized as finalists or received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. 98% of recent South High School graduates entered college.

Special education programs

Great Neck South is a comprehensive public high school. Therefore, it is required to meet the needs of students who are at-risk of failing academically. These programs listed below are designed for them. Some students who are at-risk may be asked to leave Great Neck South to attend a special education school, special class operated by another school district or other in-district special education program. Parents are urged to look at these programs to determine if these are in the best interest of their child. If Great Neck South fails in providing the best interest for the child, parents are urged to use their "due process procedures" to challenge the school for not providing a "Free Appropriate Public Education" that is guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Asian Culture Society

One of the most popular events at Great Neck South is Asian Night, where students put on a two-hour extravaganza of Asian art, theater and dance.

Blazing Trails-4-Autism

Great Neck South has hosted the Blazing Trails-4-Autism on their campus. In 2009 the Run/Walk was selected to be a part of the USATF-Long Island Grand Prix of Long Island Road Races.

Demographics

The student body in the 2014–2015 school year consisted of:

The student population at Great Neck South is predominantly Asian American, with a large White majority and smaller Hispanic and Latino Americans and African American minorities. Approximately 128 students (11%) will be classified as Special Ed. Approximately 103 (8.7%) students will be receiving TESL services.

Great Neck South's total population is currently 1,198 (53.5% male, 46.5% female).

From the 2016 senior class, 318 students graduated, while 4 students did not. However, 4 students graduated during the summer of 2016.

Notable alumni