Original Research by School Decision on Frank J Carasiti Elementary School
Frank J. Carasiti Elementary serves kindergarten through second grade in Rocky Point, a coastal hamlet on Long Island's North Shore. The school sits on Rocky Point-Yaphank Road, away from the small downtown commercial district along Broadway and Route 25A that anchors community life. It is one of four schools in the Rocky Point Union Free School District, which serves Rocky Point, much of Sound Beach, and a pocket of Ridge.
The school enrolls a modest number of students, with kindergarten, first, and second grade classes distributed across the building. About a third of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and smaller numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. The school did not report data on the share of students with IEPs or English learners, so those figures are not available.
State assessment data from a recent year was suppressed, meaning the numbers were too small to report publicly under New York's privacy rules. This is typical for early-elementary schools where tested grades (third grade and above) generate reportable proficiency numbers, but K-2 schools sit outside that testing framework. No multi-year academic trend data was available in the records reviewed.
The locale brief describes Rocky Point as a tight-knit, family- and retiree-oriented community shaped by residential neighborhoods with winding hilly roads. The hamlet sits along Long Island Sound about seven miles east of Port Jefferson. Population growth peaked in the late 20th century as neighborhoods like Culross and the Tides were developed; growth is now constrained by limited space, lack of sewers, and land-use protections tied to the Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest, a large NYSDEC-managed preserve south of the hamlet with hiking and mountain-biking trails. The downtown, while small, has been the subject of a long revitalization effort, funded through local, state, and county dollars for pedestrian improvements and streetscape work.
Housing values in the area are substantial. Homes in Rocky Point's zip code are valued well above state and national benchmarks, with a median listing price in the range where most families are financing with mortgages carrying typical late-2020s rates. Pending listings have declined notably over the past year, suggesting a slower market. The broader Suffolk County housing market shows moderate supply and modest demand conditions.
The district has pursued strategic planning and structural changes in recent years. A five-year strategic plan adopted for 2023-2028 set priorities across curriculum, school climate, belonging, and wellness. One pedagogical shift that emerged from that process was a "Nine Period Day" for secondary schedules, a structural change to how the school day and course access are organized. Voters have also approved consecutive capital reserve referendums beginning in 2022, funding building and grounds projects such as electrical reconstruction without new debt. In May 2024, voters approved a small recurring property tax to support the Hallock Homestead Museum on behalf of the Rocky Point Historical Society, a tax change that would add a modest annual cost to homeowners' bills.
For families considering this school, the key context is that Carasiti serves only the earliest grades. The K-2 configuration means students transition to the intermediate school (grades 3-5) at Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate on Route 25A before moving to the middle and high schools. This is a distinct pathway from some other districts where K-5 or K-6 elementaries create longer tenure in one building. The school sits in a residential community marked by strong sense of place and outdoor recreation, with constrained growth and limited public transit; most families rely on cars. Housing costs are high relative to national norms, placing the area in an affluent suburb category. State testing data for the K-2 band is not available because those grades are not tested under New York's assessment system, making academic performance difficult to assess from state metrics alone.
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