We are the lucky parents of two pre-school aged girls living in New Suffolk. We love the North Fork community and are excited for our kids to begin their formal education and expand their social interactions. One thing has become clear during the recent New Suffolk School Board Meetings and from conversations with parents of both current and past students at the Red School house - the education and social environment does not meet expectations. This is not a reflection on the teachers or the effort put in by administrators, parents, and staff. It is due to the small class size spread throughout all of the elementary school grades.

We are very excited about the solution that allows the school to become a non-instructional school district. This allows New Suffolk Residents to continue to maintain our tax rates as well as preserve a landmark building.

— New Suffolk Residents, parents to 2 pre-school age children

I have two children that have attended New Suffolk school. They each had very different experiences. When my oldest started in Kindergarten, there were approximately 20 students from Kindergarten to 6th grade. The experience was much different than it is now. The number of students made a very big difference toward the social and overall elementary experience. As my first child advanced through the grades, children were graduating out with very few younger students enrolling. Upon her graduation, there were 11 students total. Each year the numbers have continued to decline to the current enrollment of 7. My second child’s elementary experience was the complete opposite of that of my first child. The lack of students has been a major hindrance to his social experience. As the only student at his age and grade, I can only describe the experience as lonely. At this stage, paying tuition to enroll the remaining students in Southold would only be beneficial to the social, emotional and academic growth of the students. The transition in 7th grade is a bit tough for any student, not to mention one coming from a dramatically small environment. My experience in the Southold District with my first child has been extremely positive and I look forward to my son’s transition there next year. The staff and faculty at Southold are amazingly understanding and helpful to my child; there is support from every angle and she can choose from numerous options of people in finding support. Communication with the district has always been easy, informative and helpful. I believe our students deserve equal access to the same resources as other districts.

-Libby Fannon, New Suffolk parent of two, Grades 6 and 10

As you all know, moving to New Suffolk District was special. We were excited for the community and for the small school. What a great intimate space for our young children . Although a super low enrollment was a little concerning, my thoughts were superseded by more one-on-one time with teachers. Over the years we realized that they needed more socialization and we had to enroll the kids in many after school activities and sports just to socialize them and assist them in making new friendships. Unfortunately, New Suffolk School just does not have the resources that the larger schools have. The kids need more in the way of music, art, and physical education at the very least. It is tough to get a steady commitment from local educators. The teachers do a good job creating a fun environment but extra curricular time is lacking for the school's students.

Moving forward, when my older child entered Southold in 7th grade , it was tough for her to make friends . I think the first year was tough for all of our New Suffolk kids. It is my strong opinion for the children of our community to be able to enroll in the neighboring school districts. Thank you for all of your hard work to make this happen.

-Kyra Gantly, New Suffolk parent of two

My children are two of the seven currently attending New Suffolk School. My oldest is an incredibly, intelligent, happy bright little boy whose spark I feel is slowly diminishing due to the very small setting at the school. He wants to be everybody’s best friend but he has yet to find someone his age to relate. This is causing sadness for myself and my family and him. Moving him to a bigger school would allow him the opportunity to flourish, socially and emotionally. He loves sports and would love to be part of a school team. My Pre-K child is four years old. He’s had a rough start as far as he had an IEP for speech therapy since he was 2 1/2. He has come along way and had a long journey and is finally able to hold a conversation. Being the youngest at his school, he’s often laughed at for his speech, which is no fault of his own. This is causing regression, and emotional issues. Tuitioning my boys to a larger school is the hope and prayer that my family needs.

-Sara Wolfe, New Suffolk parent of two, Grades Pre-K and 1

I have experienced two of my children go through the process of transitioning from New Suffolk School to Southold School at different grade levels, one in Grade 6 and one in Grade 7, There is no question that the earlier transition in Grade 6 was much more beneficial; socially, academically and emotionally. This transition was incredibly positive. The opportunity to meet classmates before they all would transition to a new building in junior high and being evaluated academically by the same teachers who are preparing the other students with whom she would go through high school was an academic and social benefit. My daughter was provided the opportunity to take up an instrument of choice and created a connection to be invited to join a sports team being founded by a Southold parent for a South Fork league. Our family had a few tough emotional events throughout the course of the year and my daughter was able to take advantage of the open door policy of the school psychologist and social worker at any point she needed during the school day. New Suffolk students do not have easy and constant access to emotional support environments. Not only were my older daughter's transitional disadvantages enhanced due to COVID, but I've found in both situations that socially things change tremendously from Grade 6 to Grade 7 for all students, no matter what school they attend. I felt my younger daughter had a leg up with the benefit of getting to know her classmates and having them get to know her before the social tension of junior high began as well as having the certainty of her academic status as she transitioned with her classmates to a new, larger building with multiple classes and teachers each day.

-Brooke Dailey, Board Trustee, New Suffolk School Alumnus, and parent of two, Grades 7 and 10

I have a sparkly first grader who joined the school in September. Our daughter loves her teacher and makes the best of her class but she is the only girl and currently her class, which started as a tiny group of four students, has become an even smaller group of three students. Two of those students are brothers.

We are concerned for our daughter’s social development and options to connect with peers her age, especially other girls. Having such a small group makes team sports and group activities close to impossible. The school also does not have resources for clubs, afterschool and enrichment. As I watch the daughters of my mom friends having a very socially and emotionally rich experience with properly sized classes, my heart breaks a little for my daughter. I consider it unfair to the students of the New Suffolk Common School to be forced into a situation that could easily be remediated by tuitioning them out to much more resourced schools in the nearby area. As moving to a non-instructional school district would not affect taxes or the historical schoolhouse building, I see this as an urgent move for the wellbeing of the community's future generations.

-Ania Diakoff, New Suffolk parent of two, 1st Grade and pre-school