Cairo-durham Middle School, Cairo NY

Original Research by School Decision on Cairo-durham Middle School

Cairo-Durham Middle School sits on Route 145 in Cairo, a rural town in southern Greene County at the edge of the Catskills. The school serves grades six through eight within the Cairo-Durham Central School District, a small rural district that also operates an elementary school and a high school. The middle school's enrollment is modest for its grade band, drawing from a community that publicly reported sources describe as a suburban-rural mix: forested terrain, a small Main Street with a handful of local businesses, a Hannaford supermarket, and a seasonal tourism economy that has defined the area since the nineteenth century. Most families own their homes, and a meaningful share of long-term residents are retirees. The Round Top area has attracted second-home buyers from New York City, adding some seasonal dimension to the community's character.

On state testing, the school's results come from the New York State Testing Program and place it in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency when compared to the other districts in Greene County. That is worth stating plainly. In English language arts, sixth graders reached proficiency at a rate that falls well below the majority of tested students statewide, with seventh and eighth graders performing somewhat better but still below what most families would consider a strong benchmark. Math results follow a similar pattern: seventh grade was the strongest year, while sixth and eighth grade proficiency rates were lower. Eighth-grade science came in just above half of students reaching proficiency. Grade five results carry zeros and no tested counts, which reflects the fact that this is a middle school and the fifth-grade data in the file appears to be a data artifact rather than a real tested cohort. Social studies assessment data in the file dates from more than a decade ago and is not current, so we left that aside. Multi-year trend data was not available in the dataset, so it is not possible to say from these materials whether results have been improving or declining. A parent who wants to understand how performance has moved over time would want to ask the school directly.

A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a community with meaningful economic need. The racial and ethnic composition is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest group and smaller numbers of students identifying as multiracial or Asian. Data on special education rates and English learner populations was not available in the dataset.

On the facilities side, the district completed a voter-approved capital project that, publicly reported, delivered renovated science classrooms, a new media center, expanded distance-learning spaces, and a single secure entry point at the middle and high school building. Those are lasting physical improvements families would experience directly. A second capital project was proposed for a December 2025 community vote, addressing foundation work, roof replacement, aging ventilation, fuel oil tanks, and an auditorium renovation, meaning the campus could be in another multi-year improvement phase. District tax levies have risen across recent budget years, driven by salaries, benefits, and growing special education and transportation costs, which is relevant context for homeowners evaluating the community.

Housing in the Cairo area is priced meaningfully below the New York State median, making it accessible compared to much of the state, though prices have grown modestly year over year. Rental data was not available for this zip code. Cairo is car-dependent outside the hamlet center, and Greene County Transit provides weekday bus service connecting Cairo to Catskill and surrounding towns for residents without personal vehicles.

Program offerings at the middle school level were not available in the dataset beyond what state testing covers. A family evaluating the depth of electives, arts, sports, or enrichment programming would want to contact the school or district directly. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available, which is a gap worth noting given that attendance patterns at the middle school level often signal how engaged a student community is day to day.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 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
Math	13	100.0%
Science	11	100.0%

Math

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 66% · ▼ 66 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 48% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 59% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 6 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 69% · ▼ 69 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 36%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 49% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

even with state median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 52% · ▼ 52 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 18 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 864%

School 64% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median

This schoolCAIRO-DURHAM 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 6Lower-income25%Higher-income59%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income52%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income44%Higher-income57%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income78%46 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income66%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income43%0 pp gap