Port Jervis City School District, NY

Original Research by School Decision on Port Jervis City School District

Port Jervis City School District serves students from pre-K through grade 12 across a mid-sized enrollment spanning several small communities in Orange County, New York. The district's academic profile shows proficiency results below the median for Orange County districts, with particular pressure in middle grades and some strength in eighth-grade science.

In elementary grades, math proficiency runs in the middle-to-upper range, with third graders posting their best results and a decline visible by fifth grade. English language arts proficiency is lower across grades 3-5, with third grade ahead of the later elementary years. Fifth-grade science proficiency lags substantially. By middle grades, the pattern shifts: sixth-grade proficiency in both math and ELA drops further, then partially recovers in seventh grade before stabilizing in eighth. Eighth-grade science proficiency is a relative bright spot. The testing participation rates across grades remain solid, suggesting the attendance data reflects actual student performance rather than gaps in assessment administration.

The district's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among Orange County districts, a meaningful position that reflects the cumulative picture across tested subjects and grades. Chronic absenteeism runs substantially above the county median, at a rate that suggests attendance barriers or engagement challenges warrant investigation with the district. Per-pupil spending sits in the upper-middle range for the county, so resource allocation is not visibly constrained relative to neighbors.

The district has undergone a structural reorganization. A century-old former middle school building on East Main Street was gutted, renovated, and expanded to become a K-5 elementary school. Simultaneously, the middle school grades (6-8) relocated to the Anna S. Kuhl campus, which now houses both middle and high school students on a single secondary campus. This consolidation of grades 6-12 on one site creates shared programming opportunities but also represents a lasting change in the built environment families will navigate based on their child's grade.

Recent district initiatives include the adoption of Heggerty phonemic-awareness instruction, DIBELS reading assessment, InterReading, and the Leader in Me framework for elementary students, signaling a shift toward structured, phonics-based early reading. In 2023 voters approved a Phase III capital project funded by bond authorization to continue improvements to district facilities and athletic fields, and shortened walking-distance thresholds for transportation eligibility, effective immediately for elementary and secondary students.

The student body reflects Orange County's demographic composition: a substantial White majority, a meaningful Hispanic population, smaller Asian, Black, and multiracial communities, and very few American Indian or Native Hawaiian students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch rates and English learner counts were not available in state reporting. The district's enrollment is stable across grade bands, ranging from about a hundred seventy to two hundred students per grade in the tested ranges.

A parent or resident considering the district should view it as a place where elementary literacy instruction is becoming more explicit and structured, secondary grades are now co-located with shared resources, and the academic baseline sits below county-wide norms, particularly in grades 6-8 and in early ELA. The chronic absenteeism rate suggests this is a district where attendance support and engagement may warrant early conversation. The physical reorganization is complete and operational, so families can plan around the current building configuration.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

2,435

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 23%

Black 9%

White 59%

Asian 2%

Two+ 8%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

By economic status

Percent proficient by grade, as reported

Economically disadvantaged

Not disadvantaged

ELA

Gr EOC

85%

—

Gr 3

41%

58%

Gr 4

38%

41%

Gr 5

41%

52%

Gr 6

26%

51%

Gr 7

38%

55%

Gr 8

31%

62%

Math

Gr EOC

46%

—

Gr 3

48%

68%

Gr 4

48%

60%

Gr 5

38%

54%

Gr 6

23%

38%

Gr 7

29%

48%

Gr 8

29%

51%

Science

Gr EOC

69%

—

Gr 5

29%

34%

Gr 8

44%

76%

Social studies

Gr EOC

93%

—

Schools in this District

4 schools are officially reported under this district.

ANNA S KUHL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PORT JERVIS MIDDLE SCHOOL

N A HAMILTON BICENTENNIAL SCHOOL

PORT JERVIS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

56%

Grade 3

52%

Grade 4

43%

Grade 5

29%

Grade 6

37%

Grade 7

38%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

48%

Grade 3

39%

Grade 4

45%

Grade 5

36%

Grade 6

45%

Grade 7

44%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

30%

Grade 5

57%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$321,690

Year-over-year change+0.0%

Range across 8 ZIP codes$285K to $426K

vs. state typical0.63x

vs. national typical0.87x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (8 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
12729	Cuddebackville	$291K	-1.1%	21.5%
12780	Sparrow Bush	$341K	+0.4%	20.2%
12746	Huguenot	$326K	-0.6%	20.1%
12785	Wurtsboro	$334K	+2.2%	13.3%
12771	Port Jervis	$313K	-0.1%	10.4%
12790	Wurtsboro	$285K	-0.7%	8.2%
12777	Forestburgh	$387K	+1.7%	6.1%
10963	Otisville	$426K	+1.7%	0.1%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$1,746/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (1 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
12771	Port Jervis	$1,746	—	10.4%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$1,623/mo

Home price / national median income3.8x

Annual rent / national median income25.0%

Rent exceeds est. mortgage by$122/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$510,449 (+5.0% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.