FARMINGDALE – Members of the Borough Council devoted time during a recent meeting to praise the Farmingdale Public School and its students.
As he delivered the mayor’s report on July 5, Mayor James Daly spoke about the 2017 eighth grade graduation ceremony at the school and called it “amazing.”
“I have gone to a lot of graduations outside of Farmingdale and you do not see the camaraderie the kids have in this school,” Daly said.
In June, 18 students graduated from the Farmingdale Public School. Most of the students who graduate from the borough’s only school spend each grade with the same students. The school educates children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
“As much as I talk about increases in the school budget and things like that, it is a pretty special situation we have,” Daly said.
Council members agreed with the mayor’s sentiments and offered their own praise for Farmingdale’s younger residents.
Councilman George Dyevoich said the school not only produces good students, but “exemplary” citizens.
“What we do better than anybody else, what the school does better than anyone else, it teaches life lessons, it teaches them how to be good people, how to be good citizens,” Dyevoich said.
Councilwoman Patricia A. Linszky said she has never encountered a “bad kid” in 26 years as a resident.
“The children are through our neighborhood all the time, riding their bikes, playing with their friends, walking their dogs. A great bunch of kids. I have never been in a community where all the kids are very respectful, they are respectful of your property, they are respectful of you, they are just good kids,” she said.
Councilman Dr. Don Steinfeld attributed the respect not just to the school, but to the borough itself.
“Well my 2 cents, bigger picture, is that it is not just the school, it is the town,” Steinfeld said. “This is a little town and it is a very human experience and it is special. It is not what most people experience these days.”
Chief School Administrator Edith Conroy said the situation in Farmingdale is “very unique” because of the size of the school.
She said that as a result of having small classes, the children are able to perform community service activities and teachers are able to work with the youngsters to help them become “kind and family oriented” individuals.
Conroy said she believes this is a significant philosophy that everyone in Farmingdale promotes.
“The students grow up together so they are really like family, and there is a camaraderie and an acceptance of the students regardless of their individuality and their unique characteristics,” she said.
Conroy said she regularly tells students who come into her office that “if you remember one thing when you leave Farmingdale, it is to be kind to others.”
