The top reported proficiency rate is 100% in Social studies. The lowest is 55% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Paul J Bellew Elementary School
Paul J. Bellew Elementary School sits on Higbie Lane in West Islip, a South Shore hamlet on Long Island's Great South Bay. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within the West Islip Union Free School District, and its enrollment puts it in a comfortable range for an elementary school of its grade band. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
West Islip is a car-dependent, largely built-out suburb of single-family homes. There is no walkable downtown; commercial life runs along Montauk Highway past Good Samaritan University Hospital, and the nearest commuter rail is in adjacent Babylon, reachable in a short drive. The neighborhood around Bellew is quiet residential street grid, and the school itself sits near the West Islip Public Library on Higbie Lane rather than in any commercial cluster. Families moving here should expect to drive for most errands.
On the New York State assessments, the picture at Bellew is genuinely mixed and worth reading carefully. Third-grade students performed well in both math and ELA, with strong majorities reaching proficiency. Fourth-grade math results were similarly solid. Fourth-grade ELA, however, showed a noticeable drop from the third-grade ELA result, and fifth-grade math and ELA both came in at roughly half the tested group reaching proficiency, a meaningful slide from the earlier grades. Fifth-grade science tracked similarly. These are not catastrophic results, but the pattern across third, fourth, and fifth grade in both subjects is a downward one. Relative to other districts across Suffolk County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the top quartile of the comparison set, meaning that despite the fifth-grade softness, the school as a whole compares favorably among its county peers. Still, a parent with a fifth-grader should ask the school directly about what drives that dip and what supports are in place.
Participation rates in testing deserve a mention as well. Fifth-grade math and science saw fewer than two-thirds of students sitting for the exam, which is low enough that the proficiency figures for that grade should be read with some caution. Lower participation can shift results in either direction.
The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up roughly a tenth of enrollment and smaller shares of Asian and multiracial students. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a relatively low-poverty population by state and national norms. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not available in the source material, so parents of children who may need those services should ask the district directly.
A few district-level facts are relevant for families considering Bellew specifically. Pre-kindergarten in the district has moved entirely to the South Shore Children's Center, is capped by state grant funding, and now requires a lottery. Families who hope to start their child in the district's pre-K program are not guaranteed a seat. The district has publicly reported a consistent pattern of passing budgets within New York's tax-levy cap, with capital projects funded through a community-approved reserve rather than bond issuance. The most recent voter-approved capital spending covers security upgrades at the high school.
Housing in West Islip sits well above both the state and national medians. Home values in the zip code are substantially higher than the New York statewide benchmark, and the Suffolk County market overall carries median listing prices in premium territory. The county market has seen active listings increase year over year while pending sales have pulled back sharply, suggesting less urgency than a year ago, though prices have continued to rise modestly.
Trend data across multiple years was not available, so it is not possible from this data to say whether Bellew's results are improving, holding, or declining. Civil rights data and chronic absenteeism figures were also not reported, leaving gaps a parent may want to raise with the school.
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