Yet again the word elite has been used in a very negative context to describe the Manhasset School system. When you look up the word elite in a Thesaurus, among the positive terms that are synonymous with elite are upper echelon, privileged few and cream of the crop. Who in the community would or could deny that Manhasset is a town that attracts the cream of the crop, the most successful people in their professions? And who can deny the fact that they moved here because Manhasset is an elite community that provides superior services as compared to almost any community in the United States and, in fact, in the world? My father and mother moved here from Massachusetts because of exactly the reason why most people in Manhasset moved here. In almost every area of living, including the school system, Manhasset provided a superior environment as compared to most towns in the area. This is the basis of why most people moved to Manhasset then and move here now.

So why is the school system being accused of being elitist as if this is some sort of virus that must be stamped out? In fact, we are elitist and I actually admit as a teacher and coach here for the past 31 years I am proud of the fact that we can provide services that most school systems can only dream about. Isn't this to be expected from a town that is full of some of the most successful individuals in the United States? Don't people want a school system that matches the accomplishments of its "cream of the crop" population?

Certainly when you use the term elite to describe a military force, a college or a type of business most people would react in a very positive way. Then why do a few choose to use it in a negative way when they describe our school system? The facts are that any rational person living in Manhasset knows they live in an elitist community, one mostly populated by the privileged few who have achieved success that most people can only envy from the outside. Just take a quick drive by the Miracle Mile and look at the names of the companies housed there if you don't believe in Manhasset's elite status. There is a reason why those stores are in Manhasset and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the answer. The Manhasset school system is an integral valuable part of this elite community and should provide elite services commensurate with the town's stature. To denigrate the school system as being elitist is to deny the pedigree of the town of Manhasset. People who do this seem hypocritical to me. Perhaps we should coin a new term, "selective elitism," to allow for elitism in only the elite things we like and yet allow criticism of the elite things we don't like.

Robert Rule