Photo courtesy of the Bryant Library Local History Collection. Profile by Mitchell Schwartz- Co-Historian of Flower Hill and Rosly Landmark Society trustees.

The Roslyn–Flower Hill Elementary School opened on January 12, 1953, located at the northern end of Center Drive at the northern tip of the Broadridge at Flower Hill subdivision. It was one of three new schools built by the Roslyn Union Free School District following the approval of a 1949 bond referendum vote.

Like the East Hills Elementary School and the Highland Elementary School in East Hills and Roslyn Estates, respectively (the other two schools built as part of the project), the Roslyn–Flower Hill School was designed by the Manhattan-based firm of Moore & Hutchins. A small but revolutionary “neighborhood” school, its layout was roughly identical to the layout of the Highland School, featuring five classrooms. According to The New York Times, among the first of their type in this area of New York and were designed to be “home-like” to make it easier for younger children to adapt to the classroom environment.

According to classical composer Daniel Dorff, who was a student at the school in the 1960s, the school’s long gymnasium also functioned as its auditorium and cafeteria. The cafeteria tables were built into the gymnasium’s walls and folded out like Murphy beds. Children typically played in the center of the room for their gym classes.

At the school’s opening ceremony on January 12, 1953, a flag donated by parents was raised and during which then-Superintendent of Schools, George E. Bryant (who happened to also be a Flower Hill resident and a village trustee in the 1960s and 1970s) spoke and later met with students.

The school, which was built as a result of the postwar baby boom’s population explosion, closed in 1980 when enrollment totals declined after the baby-boom era. The Board of Education voted to close it 6-to-1 at the March 24, 1980 school board meeting, and the space was soon leased for use as an early childhood center.

When the Roslyn School District was selling the school, the Village of Flower Hill, which often used the school to hold village meetings, attempted to purchase the property to use it as a village park. However the efforts failed because the village’s bid was not the highest one.

Ultimately, the school was purchased in 1982 by the highest bidder, the N & H Development Corporation, for $620,000 (1983 USD), which demolished the school, subdivided the land, and erected the Mashady Estates subdivision, which consists of 8 single-family homes.

As of 2021, parts of the school’s fence remain, along with a sign stating that dog walking is prohibited on school grounds by order of the health department.

Additionally, the landscaped traffic island on Woodland Court, which is on the approximate site of the old school’s ball field, was named Old School Green in 2021 as part of the Flower Hill Historic Trail to serve as a reminder of the school. The site of the school is listed as another stop on the trail and is located at the end of Center Drive where the parking lot was located.