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What tradition at PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
463
Elementary
DISTRICT 459 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST ISLIP UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 363069004131
PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
25 HIGBIE LN, WEST ISLIP, NY 11795 · (631) 504-5680 · Suffolk County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL463 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
10%
48 students
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 58%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NYS Assessments 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4)English Language Arts
67.0%
NY avg 58.3% . +10.0pp since 2023
Math
71.0%
NY avg 57.4% . -5.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NYS Assessments, New York's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New York schools, those numbers are about 58 and 57. Reading and writing scores are up about 10 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
Source: NYS Assessments. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
64.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.2%
based on NY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% typical for New York schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New York's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
463
+13 (+3%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
was 14.5:1
% White
85%
was 86%
% Hispanic
11%
was 10%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a primary school of mid-tier scale in WEST ISLIP, New York, operated by WEST ISLIP UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, hosting 463 students in grades pre-K through 5.
WEST ISLIP UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT comprises 7 schools with combined enrollment of 3,816 students; PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is among them.
Demographically, PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL logs that nearly all students (85%) are White; the rest is composed of 11% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 66% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully more White than the area baseline.
On the resource side, On paper, PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has 39 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.8:1, putting PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 10% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Suffolk County (around 39%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 71.2%; this one delivers 64.8%.
Around the school, the surrounding county (Suffolk County) shows that median household earnings sit near $130,686, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 343 public schools in Suffolk County (combined enrollment of about 222,439 students).
Nearest neighbor: WEST ISLIP SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. On composite proficiency, PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 58.1%.
The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.
Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has climbed 3%, going from 450 students in 2018 to 463 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 in 2025.
Inside the community feed, members of the PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.
Suffolk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,530,146
Census ACS
Median income
$130,686
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
343
222,439 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WEST ISLIP UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
- WEST ISLIP SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,163 students
- MANETUCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 514 students
- BAYVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 440 students
- UDALL ROAD MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 438 students
- OQUENOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 418 students
- BEACH STREET MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 380 students
Other schools in WEST ISLIP
- WEST ISLIP SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,163 students
- MANETUCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 514 students
- BAYVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 440 students
- UDALL ROAD MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 438 students
- OQUENOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 418 students
- BEACH STREET MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 380 students
Nearby schools
- WEST ISLIP SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL0.2 mi · 1,163
- BEACH STREET MIDDLE SCHOOL0.4 mi · 380
- BABYLON JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL1.0 mi · 662
- BAYVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.2 mi · 440
- BABYLON MEMORIAL GRADE SCHOOL1.3 mi · 490
- OQUENOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.3 mi · 418
Frequently asked questions
About PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow large is PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 463 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is approximately 12.0:1 (39 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Student demographics at PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL are roughly 85% White, 11% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
PAUL J BELLEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by WEST ISLIP UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.