The Waverly Avenue School first opened its doors to students in 1929. As part of the Holtsville School District, it housed children in grades one through eight with only two to four children on each grade level. The building consisted of two classrooms, the office, a nurse’s room, and a library.
There were boys and girls bathrooms and an auditorium. The bottom floor housed the boiler room and a player area where mothers made soup and sold it for two or three cents per cup. The basement also housed Sachem Board of Education meetings for a number of years.
Growth in the area began just after the centralization of schools in 1955 with the construction of the first housing developments. Several additions were added to Waverly through the years.
Sachem’s 2004 Reconstruction Project added needed classrooms, including ones for kindergarten, art and music. The library was expanded and essential services such as the main office and nurse’s room were centralized. The results have led to a dramatic improvement in the benefits offered to students and parents alike, and are a reflection in the pride felt in the school and district.