Unadilla Valley Secondary School, New Berlin NY

Original Research by School Decision on Unadilla Valley Secondary School

Unadilla Valley Secondary School serves elementary through secondary students in grades four through twelve from New Berlin and its surrounding rural area in eastern Chenango County. The school sits on a single campus along State Highway 8, isolated from the village center, in terrain classified as rural and distant. The enrollment is small, around mid-size for its grade band, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The school's academic results are a significant concern. On New York State Testing Program assessments in math and English language arts, proficiency rates across the tested grades (seven and eight) are well below the state norm. In seventh-grade math, roughly three in ten students reached proficiency; in eighth-grade math, about one in four. In English language arts, the picture is weaker still: in seventh grade, around one in five students met the standard, and in eighth grade, about one in eight. In eighth-grade science, proficiency was around one in four. Participation rates in testing are uneven, with eighth-grade science showing notably lower participation than other assessments. Compared to other school districts in Chenango County, Unadilla Valley Secondary School's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. These are substantial performance gaps that warrant close conversation with school leadership about the underlying causes, what supports exist for struggling students, and what pathway changes might be underway.

The district, which operates as a single PreK-12 building, has made recent investments in modernization and student pathways. Voters approved a major capital project in December 2022 focused on roof and HVAC overhaul along with athletics improvements, structured to avoid raising the local tax levy by using state aid and reserves. More directly relevant to secondary students, the high school offers an early-college pathway through which students can earn an associate degree in tandem with their high school diploma, tuition-free or at minimal cost through regional college partnerships supported by state grant funding. This dual-enrollment option is a concrete money-saver for families and expands academic reach beyond traditional high school coursework.

The community of New Berlin itself is a small rural village with a compact, walkable historic downtown centered on Main Street, where the library, civic offices, and businesses cluster. Outside the village core, the town is very low density and car-dependent. Major employment is anchored by Chobani's yogurt manufacturing plant, one of the county's largest employers. Housing values in the area are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, and most residents own their homes, with a notable share of retirees. Recent housing initiatives have focused on affordable-housing rehabilitation rather than new development, reflecting modest population stability. The area offers outdoor recreation through nearby state forests and parks.

For a family considering this school, the draw would likely center on the early-college pathway, the single-building efficiency, and the rural, stable community character. The academic performance data is the critical point to investigate directly with the school before deciding. A parent would want to understand what intervention strategies are in place for students below proficiency, what staffing or resources have shifted, whether participation gaps in testing signal engagement issues, and what the graduation rate and post-secondary outcomes look like for students who do complete the program. The school's location on a rural campus, while removed from downtown village life, may suit families already rooted in the surrounding area.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 50 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

4 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Science	57	61.0%
Ela	55	80.0%
Social Studies	54	65.0%
Math	10	100.0%

Math

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 13 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 35 pts below state median

Science

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 8 pts below state median

This schoolUNADILLA VALLEY 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-income9%Higher-income31%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income15%Higher-income20%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income26%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income36%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income9%Higher-income31%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income10%Higher-income20%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income21%Higher-income46%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income9%Higher-income25%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income30%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income12%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income39%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income20%7 pp gap