Chautauqua Lake Elementary School, Mayville NY

Original Research by School Decision on Chautauqua Lake Elementary School

Chautauqua Lake Elementary School is a small public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Mayville, a village in Chautauqua County that sits on the northern shore of Chautauqua Lake. The school enrolls a small student body and draws from a rural, lakeside community shaped by county government, seasonal tourism from the nearby Chautauqua Institution, and a declining population over the past decade.

The school's academic profile shows mixed performance. In math, third-grade proficiency is below the midpoint, while fourth, fifth, and sixth grades perform substantially stronger. Fifth-grade math stands out with solid proficiency, and sixth-grade math is particularly strong. English language arts is more uneven: third-grade proficiency is notably low, fourth and fifth grades recover to solid levels, but sixth-grade proficiency dips again. Fifth-grade science proficiency is respectable. Across the school's tested subjects and grades, the overall proficiency index places the school in the top quartile among the county's district elementary schools, a meaningful strength in the local context. Testing participation rates are high, and teachers generally reach their students for assessment.

About half the school's enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a substantial share of families experience economic pressure. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with very small numbers of students of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Special education and English learner enrollment data were not available in the public reporting, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the scope and nature of these services.

The school occupies a single campus at 100 North Erie Street alongside the district's middle and high schools—there is no separate elementary building. This shared campus was significantly upgraded through a voter-approved 2020 capital project. That work included new athletic facilities, window replacement, HVAC upgrades, a renovated kitchen and cafeteria, and an expanded technology suite housing an updated wood shop. These improvements benefit the elementary grades as well as the secondary program.

The district emphasizes Project Lead The Way in elementary and has built a STEM and career-technical orientation at the secondary level, with engineering and science pathways, culinary and welding electives, and hands-on manufacturing and club experiences. This curricular emphasis shapes the overall learning environment for families who enroll in the district.

Mayville itself is a small village serving as the Chautauqua County seat. Its civic core is compact, with government offices, the library, and a modest commercial district along Erie Street. Lakeside Park, with its beach, boat launch, trails, and year-round community events, anchors recreational life. The Rails to Trails walking and biking path connects through the village. Recent public investment has focused on waterfront revitalization—new kayak and canoe launches and multi-use trails—rather than major new housing development. The local housing market shows modest activity with sales inventory and listing prices somewhat below the state benchmark. A parent relocating would find this a quiet, tight-knit lakeshore community with public amenities centered on water access and seasonal events, not a place of rapid growth or development.

The school serves families for whom a small, stable, locally embedded elementary experience with hands-on learning pathways and a shared district campus are appealing. A parent seeking a separate elementary building, more diverse peer enrollment, or higher early-grade test performance may want to explore other options in the county.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 54% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 495%

School 95% · District 95%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 690%

School 90% · District 88% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 660%

School 60% · District 57% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 581%

School 81% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolCHAUTAUQUA LAKE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income48%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income67%Higher-income90%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income89%32 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income77%Higher-income52%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income62%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income94%Higher-income95%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income80%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income82%Higher-income93%11 pp gap