Berner High School

Alfred G. Berner Middle School is a middle school that serves Massapequa, New York since 1987 after the conversion from Berner High School. The school was named after Alfred G. Berner, who served on the Board of Education from 1945 to 1954. The campus currently serves 7th and 8th grade students that matriculate to Massapequa High School and will start to serve 6th graders as well starting in September 2017.

History

Berner High School opened in January 1962 as a junior high school under principal Donald Woodworth. Half of that year's 9th and 10th grade students attending Massapequa High School were assigned to Berner High School for the 1962-1963 school year and the school's enrollment peaked in the early 1970s. After a decline in district enrollment from a high of 17,000 students in 1970 to 7,800 by 1986, Berner High School closed in 1987.^[1]

There is currently no talk of returning the middle school's status to a high school, though it is possible that many of the schools in the Massapequa Union Free School District system may exchange uses, due to the rising adolescent population in both Massapequa and Massapequa Park.

All four of the Baldwin brothers are Berner alumni.^[2]

Campus

The former high school's athletic facilities, including a track, football field, and tennis courts, have mostly fallen into disrepair. In summer of 2016, the Massapequa Board of Education elected to renovate the athletic facilities at Berner due to the disrepair of the facilities over the years. The north soccer field is still often used by the Long Island Junior Soccer League for the Massapequa Soccer Club's travel teams, but the south soccer field is often torn up due to constant use by middle school students during the soccer and football seasons. It is also used heavily for adult leagues and unsanctioned soccer games during the weekends. The tennis courts have recently been torn down and they have built a new softball field there instead.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Berner holds one state football record: second place (tie) for most field goals in a single football game, set by Richard Pierce in 1983 with 4 field goals in one game.^[3]

Robert "Bob" Reifsnyder, an All-American player at the U.S. Naval Academy and who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, was the varsity football coach for the Berner Bisons for many years as well as a math teacher at the school. Reifsndyer, the 1957 recipient of the Maxwell Award for College Player of the Year, coached at least two of the Baldwin brothers, Alec and Daniel.

Under Reifsnyder, the football Bisons won the South Shore (Long Island) championship in 1971 and made it to the Nassau County Conference I-II championship game in 1974 (lost to Syosset).

The Berner football team went undefeated in 1966.

Thomas Cappelluzzo, a cross-country runner, won the New York State (NYSPHSAA) Cross-Country Championships - Class A race - in November 1971, posting the fastest time of three class races held, while also setting a course record. He won the mile run in the New York State Indoor Track & Field Championships in March 1972.

2009 Enrollment

As of 2009 Berner Middle School had an enrollment of approximately 1,600+ students.

Notable alumni

• Neil Rubbens, Band Spoof (1977)
• Alec Baldwin (1976)
• Daniel Baldwin (1979)
• William Baldwin (1981)
• Stephen Baldwin (1984)
• Bob Nelson (1976)

References

1. ↑ Schmidt, Catherine (1986-08-03). "If You're Thinking Of Living In; Massapequa". The New York Times.
2. ↑ Sottili, Carol (2001-08-15). "Tawkin' 'Bout My Generation: The Long Island Star Factory". Washington Post: C02.
3. ↑ NYSPHSAA Record Book Archived December 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.

Coordinates: 40°40′23″N 73°26′01″W / 40.67306°N 73.43361°W / 40.67306; -73.43361