Massapequa High School

History

Massapequa High School's first graduating class, the class of 1956, remained at the elementary school located at Hicksville Road for its freshman year and then spent the next two years at what was to become East Lake Junior High School (now known as East Lake Elementary School). Massapequa High School opened in its own location on Merrick Road in September 1955.

Berner High School opened in 1962 to relieve the growing population of Massapequa High School. In 1987, after a decline in district enrollment, Berner High School closed as a high school and became Berner Middle School, serving 6th–8th grade students in the district.

Massapequa High School underwent an expansion in the northeast corner of the school, with construction of a new wing with eight classrooms completed in September 2007. The school's football and baseball fields, as well as the track, were redone during the spring and summer of 2017; this resulted in the school's tennis courts being relocated towards the south entrance.

Ames Campus

Students in the 9th grade attend the Ames Campus, which is separate from the main campus and is adjacent to Lockhart Elementary School.

Student demographics

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,496 students and 150.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. There were 98 students (6.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 20 (1.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Mascot

The "Chief" mascot and the town's name is in reference to the Massapequa Tribe, which lived on Long Island before the arrival of European settlers in the 1600s.

In 2023, the New York State Board of Regents issued guidance that banned the use of Native American mascots, team names, and logos being displayed in public schools mascot. Districts that fail to comply with this requirement by June 30th, 2025 face losing state aid. The Board of Regents cited research from the American Psychological Organization that continued usage of Native American-related symbols and imagery has a negative effect on all students.

In March 2025, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Board of Regents, dismissing a lawsuit by four Long Island districts including Massapequa that challenged the state ban. In April 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social that he supported the preservation of the mascot. Trump urged Linda McMahon, the Secretary of Education, to intervene on behalf of the district. McMahon visited the district in May 2025, announcing that the New York State Department of Education could lose federal funding or be investigated by the Department of Justice if they did not rescind the ban, and stated that the ban is a violation of civil rights. The chief of the Unkechaug Nation claimed that no civil rights were violated, calling the mascot a "caricature".

Notable alumni

• Ted Alflen (born 1946), former pro football player
• Brian Baldinger (born 1959), former pro football player
• Gary Baldinger (born 1963), former pro football player
• Rich Baldinger (born 1959), former pro football player
• Alec Baldwin (born 1958, class of 1976), actor, member of the Baldwin family
• Billy Baldwin (born 1963, class of 1981), actor, member of the Baldwin family
• Phil Baroni (born 1976), wrestler, professional mixed martial artist, formerly with the UFC
• Matt Bennett (born 1991, class of 2008), actor/singer
• Hope Breslin (born 1999, class of 2017), professional soccer player
• Joey Buttafuoco (born 1956, class of 1974), auto body shop owner best known for having an affair with a 17-year-old girl who later shot his wife
• Mary Jo Buttafuoco (born 1955, class of 1974), motivational speaker, and ex-wife of Joey Buttafuoco
• Candy Darling (1944–1974), transgender Andy Warhol superstar
• Albert DeMeo, son of Gambino mobster Roy Demeo
• Jennifer DeSena, attorney and the 38th town supervisor of North Hempstead, New York
• Kathy Fleming (born 1967, class of 1985), former pro runner
• Jessica Hahn (born 1959, class of 1977), Playboy model, actor, focus of Jim Bakker scandal
• Rex Heuermann (born 1964, class of 1981), accused Gilgo Beach serial killer
• Anthony Ingrassia (1944–1995), playwright, producer and director
• Kristin Juszczyk (born 1994, class of 2012), fashion designer
• Brian Kilmeade (born 1964, class of 1982), television host and author
• Ron Kovic (born 1946, class of 1964), activist
• Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954, class of 1972), comedian
• Brian Setzer (born 1959, class of 1977), musician
• Casey Stern (born 1978, class of 1996), SiriusXM radio personality
• Christie Welsh, (born 1981), former professional soccer player

References

References

1. link. (2021-03-19 ". ''The New York Times''.)
2. "About Our School / About Our School".
3. [https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3618630&ID=361863001688 School data for Massapequa High School], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed May 20, 2025.
4. Crisp, Elizabeth. (April 21, 2025). "Trump backs Long Island town's effort to keep Native American logo".
5. (2025-03-31). "Lawsuit Challenging School's Native American Mascot Ban Dismissed".
6. Fahrer, Casey. (2025-03-31). "Court dismisses four Long Island school districts' case against mascot ban".
7. (2025-05-30). "Trump's education secretary threatens to pull funding from NY over its Native American mascot ban".
8. Scalia, Briana. (2025-05-30). "Massapequa Chiefs: Linda McMahon visits high school over mascot battle".
9. "Ted Alflen profile".
10. {{usurped
11. Mifflin, Lawrie; and Katz, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/07/sports/scouting-nfl-brothers.html "SCOUTING; N.F.L. Brothers"] {{Webarchive. link. (2021-03-19 , ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 7, 1982. Accessed January 3, 2017. "Brian Baldinger said the best was yet to come. The youngest Baldinger brother, Gary, 18, was all-state at Massapequa High School and is now a freshman at Wake Forest.")
12. [[Frank Litsky. Litsky, Frank]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/04/sports/rookie-tackle-pleases-giants.html "Rookie Tackle Pleases Giants"] {{Webarchive. link. (2021-03-19 , ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 4, 1982. Accessed January 3, 2017. "George Martin, the left defensive end, rushes the passer, and Rich Baldinger, playing right offensive tackle, tries to block him.... Baldinger, a 22-year-old rookie from Massapequa (L.I.) High School and Wake Forest, is just learning.")
13. "Phil Baroni UFC Bio".
14. Staff. [http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/massapequa-s-matt-bennett-soon-big-star-1.1832868 "Massapequa's Matt Bennett: Soon, big star"] {{Webarchive. link. (2021-03-19 , ''[[Newsday]]''. Accessed January 3, 2017. "More on Matt: He's 18, graduated from Massapequa High in '08, and ye shall know him in the show by the dummy he carries and the glasses he wears.")
15. (August 16, 2017). "Hope Breslin named top soccer player – Massapequa Post".
16. Kilgannon, Corey. (October 20, 2002). "Son of N.Y. Mafia hit man tells of life on Long Island". [[Baltimore Sun]].
17. (2021-12-01). "Ready to Lead: DeSena Talks About Her Win". [[Port Washington News]].
18. "The Penn Relays – April 25–27, 2019".
19. link. (2021-03-19 , ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 12, 1995. Accessed January 3, 2017. "Copies of The Sachem, as the Massapequa book is called, are scattered throughout the collection. A long-haired Jerry Seinfeld pops out of the pages of 1972. In '74, Mr. Buttafuoco and his wife graduated. There is just one comment under Mr. Buttafuoco's picture. It says, 'I love Mary Jo.' Other graduates of the Massapequa schools include the Baldwin brothers, Alexander, '76, class president; Dan, '79; Billy, '81, and Steven, '84. In Ms. Hahn's Class of '77 were also Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Tim Van Patten, an actor and Brian Baldinger, a professional football player.")
20. Van Gelder, Lawrence. [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/18/arts/anthony-ingrassia-playwright-and-producer-51.html "Anthony Ingrassia, Playwright and Producer, 51"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 18, 1995. Accessed February 1, 2023. "Mr. Ingrassia, who was born in Brooklyn, said he was drawn to theater while he was a teen-ager. 'My weight was always up and down,' he said. 'It was hard being fat in Massapequa High School, but my teachers encouraged my writing.'"
21. Harmon, Brian. [https://greaterlongisland.com/kristin-juszczyks-super-bowl-vest-sells-for-75k-proceeds-go-to-breast-cancer-research/ "Kristin Juszczyk’s Super Bowl vest sells for $75K, proceeds go to breast cancer research"], Greater Long Island, February 11, 2014. Accessed January 18, 2026. "Juszczyk, a 2012 Massapequa High School graduate who lives about half the year on Long Island, has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity since she designed and made a custom-fit Travis Kelce coat that the Kansas City tight end’s girlfriend, superstar Taylor Swift, wore in sub-zero temperatures during a Chiefs home playoff win on Jan. 13."
22. Petrizzo, Zachary. [https://www.salon.com/2021/06/28/fox-news-host-brian-kilmeade-mocked-on-twitter-after-claiming-he-read-mein-kampf-in-school/ "Fox News host Brian Kilmeade mocked on Twitter after claiming he read Mein Kampf in school"], [[Salon.com]], June 28, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2023. "''Mein Kampf,'' an anti-semitic book penned by Adolf Hitler while in prison, was a lengthy diatribe about the Nazi Party, which Kilmeade claims was required reading at Massapequa High School in Long Island, New York, where he attended high school in the 1980s."
23. (15 Aug 1976). "Growing up the hard way". The New York Times.
24. Kornfeld, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/specials/seinfeld/sein89.html "A Single Comedian Is Returning to His Roots"] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-03-08 , ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 23, 1989. Accessed March 6, 2008. "Although he has fond memories of placing second in pole-vaulting for Massapequa High School in a track and field meet during the early 1970's, Mr. Seinfeld, who has made the traumas of childhood and of growing up a major part of his stand-up routines, says growing up on Long Island was ''not too exciting.''")
25. [https://goducks.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/coaches/christie-welsh/540 Christie Welsh], [[Oregon Ducks]]. Accessed February 1, 2023. "A native of Massapequa, N.Y., Welsh led Massapequa High School to the 1997 New York State Championship and earned Parade All-American honors twice."