Seaford Harbor School

This wonderful elementary school is definitely worthy of my positive review. My daughter and two sons have blossomed into smarter and more well rounded children thanks to the wonderful memories they made at Mandalay Elementary.

Raising twin boys can sometimes be a challenge and Mandalay Elementary School in south Wantagh was the perfect fit for us. They treated each of my sons as an individual and took the time to help them learn the skills they needed to grow into smarter, responsible little people! The teachers and kind, patient, and well-qualified in their vocation. They have a great balance of both senior teachers with lots of experience, and the newer generation of teachers who bring a wonderful level of enthusiasm.

We became a new family at St. William the Abbot School this September and have been beyond thrilled with our experience so far. We currently have boys in Kindergarten and First Grade, and next year another will be joining them in Pre-K. From the very beginning, we were welcomed with open arms, and there have been so many opportunities to get involved and connect with other families.The principal, administrators, and even teachers outside of our children’s classrooms know the students by name, and the level of personal attention each child receives is truly incredible. The teachers have open communication about class events and upcoming lessons and the Principal sends out a weekly note with all the school's happenings. SWS also offers impressive enrichment opportunities beyond the classroom. Both of our boys joined a variety of clubs this Fall, including: Chess club, Coding club, Sports club, Disney club, and Storybook club. The older grades have even more options, along with exciting opportunities such as trips to New York City and Washington, DC.Our First Grader is enjoying learning the violin, and Spanish instruction begins weekly starting in Kindergarten. Each grade has already had a field trip this year, with another planned for the Spring, along with Field Day in May and special assemblies throughout the year.I would recommend SWS to any parent who is looking for a faith-focused education that combines rigorous academics with a warm, tight-knit community. St. William the Abbot School is truly a special place for children to grow and learn.

The administration communicates poorly and the staff turnover rate is high. We had some teachers that we absolutely loved but they left the school. They claim to be a ministry of the church, but do very little to help foster community among the parents. My child was in care from 6 months old to 4 years old, and we only know a few families because they are adamant about not sharing class contact lists, and they do not really provide opportunities for parents to meet each other, unless it’s in the form of fundraising for their church. We left due to a situation involving our child that the administration handled very poorly, and it has had a lasting impact on how our child feels about school that has been hard to help him recover from. When we started there, it was decent. But the changes occurring since COVID have really brought this place down.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (SEAS) is a private Catholic School for Nursery-8th grade. I currently have two students that attend SEAS. Both of my girls started SEAS at the age of two in the Mommy and Me style “Our Time” Program and have been there ever since. SEAS has become our 2nd family. It’s a smaller school setting that fosters a true sense of community with dedicated and nurturing staff. The teachers at SEAS not only care about academic success, but students spiritual and emotional welfare. Each teacher that my children has had the pleasure of having, has taken the time to get to know my children in detailed way and what their individual needs, strengths, and weaknesses are. They always go above and beyond to let me know how they are doing. I can confidently say that my children are both thriving!! Aside from the importance of our faith and making that a part of their everyday lives, we also felt strongly that the smaller school environment would work better for our children then our current public school option for our neighborhood, where our children would be attending separate schools for their entire educational career and never get to experience school together. At SEAS they see each other all time, in the hallway, and at the many school wide events. They love being together and part of the larger community. Some other highlights that SEAS offers is a variety of after school activities, from sports, to arts, chess club, book club and much more.One my my favorite things about SEAS is that built in culture is teaching kids to take care of each other. The older students are given several responsibilities to work with, watch out for, and be the example for the younger children from prayer buddies, to reading buddies, STEM buddies and more. Our school hosts a ton of school wide family activities throughout the year and to see eight graders giving high fives to kindergarten's because they all know each other is an amazing and heart warming sight.I'm excited for my children to finish out middle school here and continue on the Catholic HS well prepared both academically and spiritually. I highly recommend this school, call and request tour!!