My son attended LISG for during their middle school, which is 4th-6th grade, and it is absolutely true that the staff is very nice and the teachers (for the most part) were caring. I have many good things to say about the overall atmosphere of the school, but the middle school curriculum just could not accommodate a PG kid. My son was in the highest level math class and bored. The science class was a joke, with the teacher barely able to control the class and little to no learning going on. Social Studies was short on factual analysis and big on special projects like subject-related recipes and art & crafts, which would have been more appropriate for elementary kids. And the most disappointing thing was that my son just didn't connect with the kids, he kept saying over and over that most of them hated school and didn't want to learn. But even if he had cultivated a bunch of friendships, it would have tough to keep them going, as the student body comes from all over: Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens. It was not easy to schedule social outings and get-togethers.
I feel it is also important to note that during my son's second year, his social studies teacher (whom he had for two years) was arrested on child pornography charges. I absolutely do not hold the school responsible, as it was clear that they could not have known about this teacher's behavior in advance. But I was absolutely appalled at how the administration handled the aftermath. Parents were told very little information, and were made to feel uncomfortable if they wanted more answers. They didn't even inform parents ahead of time. All I received was a letter in my son's backpack saying that I might hear a teacher mentioned on the news and that the school was going to talk to the students about it the next day. And there I was thinking that someone had won a national teaching award! Instead, I found out what really happened when my 10-year-old son called me at work and said his teacher was on TV and had been arrested for a sex crime. The school found absolutely nothing wrong with that series of events. In fact, the overall vibe was: If you don't like how we handled things, leave. We have a waiting list of folks ready to take your place.
That said, it was an isolated incident, and it shouldn't be seen as a reflection of the rest of the instructors. But I think it speaks volumes about how the administration operates. Other teachers were fine, with a few stellar standouts (his language arts teacher was a true gem, the kind of teacher that changes lives). Overall, I wish we had found the school earlier, as most parents whose kids had been there for the lower school years were very happy with how the school handled early education. The fact is, though, that families tend to abandon ship in the middle school and high school years. A lot of that has to do with the fact that there are many secondary school choices for gifted kids on Long Island, but a lot of families also feel that the school just isn't able to do for older kids what they do for the younger ones.
