The Stony Brook School

1 Chapman Parkway

Stony Brook, NY 11790

9 Reviews

School District
Grade

7-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by student on September 14, 2024

Im a freshman here, and I had my doubts about this school. But most of the negative reviews are about overworking students and forcing people to convert to Christianity. Most of these allegations are dated. I myself am not Christian but they are perfectly fine with that. This school has changed a lot in the past ten years, and the administration is much more tolerant and forgiving than maybe several years ago. The untucked shirt thing is not true, all of my friends and I don’t tuck my shirt in every day and I haven’t gotten in trouble ever. The detentions may seem scary, but they have loosened up. One thing I love about SBS is the people, because they are so nice and friendly, and the activities and boarding life.
Submitted by parent on August 12, 2024

Excellent education, Good School !! “CHARACTER BEFORE CAREER“
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2023

Many of the teacher aren't qualified to teach. The academic program is not good. They discriminate against other religions. If you are caught with your shirt untucked, students take unnecessary detention on a Saturday. Since this school has a lot of sports activities and give lots of homework, the students are constantly tired and sleepy. This, of course, affects academic performance.
Submitted by parent on November 05, 2021

A wonderful experience for my kids. The education is top notch and the teachers are kind, attentive, and capable. The college counseling is especially strong and students consistently get into top schools. Leadership is competent and communicative.
Submitted by other on September 30, 2021

As an alum of this school, I can say it was an incredibly judgmental, discriminatory environment where students are manipulated by faculty and staff to subscribe to their very particular view of Christianity. They’ll take tuition money from anyone, but the non-evangelical Christian students are constantly picked on by teachers and made to feel wrong and less-than. While the actual education provided (in certain subjects) is above average, it is not worth the mental and emotional well being of your child.Furthermore, I'll echo what other reviewers have mentioned - multiple teachers at this school are not qualified to teach their subjects, or teach at all. This is not a relative statement - the teachers literally do not have the necessary degrees. I had multiple teachers in the Math department who were Kinesiology majors, and virtually none of them had their Education certificates. Seemingly the only qualification to teach here is to be a college graduate who subscribes to an evangelical Christian worldview.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2020

This school not only prepared our two children for college but prepared them to enter as thought-leaders. The work is challenging but the curriculum is dynamic, innovative and engaging. This is also the most loving and diverse environment we have ever experienced.
Submitted by parent on November 30, 2016

My daughter is a Sophomore at the school and loves the school. She is a day school student and enjoys every aspect of the school. The teachers are top notch and truly care about the students. This year they created a mini course program to allow students to explore their interest outside their core subjects. I think that is a very innovative and truly helps students figure out their interests prior to applying to colleges. As a day school student, she has the opportunity to participate in all the activities offered to the Boarding School students which is a great perk. The students come from all over the US and the world which offers my daughter the opportunity to learn new cultures. Overall, we are very happy with Stony Brook School.
Submitted by student on June 29, 2016

This school is terrible for multiple reasons. Number one- Many of the teacher aren't qualified to teach what they teach. Number two- they discriminate against gay or bisexual people. Number three- they disliked me because I was Catholic and not Christian. Number 4- This school give an insane amount of homework, and its just busy work and doesn't benefit you as a student. Number 5- Rules make no sense i.e if you are caught with your shirt untucked you will get 90 minutes of detention on a Saturday. I mean really! Also, if you say the word shut up in class they will make you do 10 pushups in front of the entire class. I would most certainly not recommend this school to anyone who cares about their son or daughter. I was severely depressed during my whole time at this school. I developed binge eating disorder do to my overwhelming depression and it is something that I will never forget. I was also bullied at this school on several occasions and I never felt accepted because I was a little bit different then everyone else.
Submitted by other on October 26, 2012

I am an alumnus of the school, and even though I am a Christian and take Christianity seriously, I disliked the school's requirement that its students attend chapel 5 times a week and take a class about the Bible every year. The curriculum and the chapel talks inevitably repeated countless times, and I believe that such repetition is counterproductive because it makes Christianity boring. The school's motto "Character before Career" reflects their emphasis on character development. However, too often their method is by forcing the students to do work that they are not eager to do. The consequence of disobedience is even more work, and it was not uncommon for students to receive 13 hours of detention for being absent to a class. The school likes to use sticks rather than carrots. On the other hand, the academic program is good, and the teachers care about the students. The small size of the school and the boarding environment make it easy to build relationships with the teachers. It is this fact that offsets the somewhat oppressive environment of the school. However, the small size of the school also means that there are not as many academic opportunities.