Trustees Approve School Name Change

Huntington School Board members voted unanimously to change the name of Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School to Jack Abrams Intermediate School, effective July 1.

Last September, trustees approved a reorganization of the Huntington School District’s intermediate grade level schools and programs effective in the 2026/27 school year. Implementation will begin with fourth graders in September 2026.

Superintendent Beth McCoy said the plan is “forward thinking, inclusive and ambitious. We are building an intermediate program that will be a model for districts across the state This programming allows us to raise the bar for all students, while providing innovative opportunities for every learner to learn and grow.”

Woodhull Intermediate School will retain its name since it already accurately reflects the grades and academic programing currently occupying and occurring in the building.

Jack Abrams

A legendary teacher and principal, Jack Abrams, founded Huntington UFSD’s School Heritage Museum to preserve artifacts and share the history of the district and later became an essential component of that same history.

Beloved by students, staff and alumni, his more than half-a-century record of service to the community was recognized when the Huntington School Board voted to rename Huntington Intermediate School in his honor, effective July 1, 2008.

The formal dedication came during a ceremony held in September of that year. A crowd of about 300 gathered in front of the building to pay tribute to a man who gave his heart to the Huntington School District.

Born during the Great Depression, Mr. Abrams attended Andrew Jackson High School in St. Albans, Queens. After serving in the U.S. Army Special Service and Signal Corps in Korea and graduating from New Paltz Teacher’s College with a B.S. in Education, he began his career at the Newbridge Road School in North Bellmore before joining the Huntington school family in 1955. Along the way he added advanced degrees from Hofstra and Columbia universities.

The first of many assignments saw Mr. Abrams work as a sixth grade teacher at Woodbury Avenue Grammar School. As the years unfolded, his Huntington career included stints as elementary science coordinator and principal of Nathan Hale, Woodbury Avenue, Washington, Village Green, Toaz/Finley’s sixth grade school and Woodhull.

In 1975 Mr. Abrams initiated the unique sixth grade outdoor education program that annually sees hundreds of students trekking to Camp Greenkill for four days and three nights of hands-on educational activities. He even spent a year teaching fifth grade in Great Britain with the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. Another year was spent as a third grade teacher in Northport while on a sabbatical from Huntington.

Mr. Abrams served the last six years of his career as principal of Jefferson Elementary School before officially retiring in 1987. It wasn’t long before he was busy establishing the district’s museum, which today is filled with more than 1,500 items.

After a 57 year association with the district, Mr. Abrams decided it was time to slow down a little bit and stop pushing himself so hard. He retired from his part-time curator post in June 2012. He had a winter home in Florida along with his permanent residence in East Northport and he wanted to enjoy both without the demands of the School Heritage Museum post. He later moved to Nevada to be near one of his daughters. He passed away in the late spring of 2020.