The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Science. The lowest is 50% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Burton Street Elementary School
Burton Street Elementary School serves students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Cazenovia, a small historic lakeside village in Madison County within a short drive of Syracuse. The school sits within a walkable downtown where the public library, parks, and civic buildings cluster around the village green and Albany Street commercial district. Cazenovia Lake anchors the community, and the local economy centers on education, hospitality, and food service. The district operates schools on adjacent Emory Avenue and Burton Street, close enough to walk from the downtown core, and recently opened a new athletic complex in 2024. The village is experiencing major redevelopment as the former Cazenovia College campus—closed since 2023—is being converted into mixed-use housing and office space, which will bring growth and change to the community over the next several years.
The school's enrollment sits at about four hundred seventy students spread across its six-grade band, with the largest cohorts in kindergarten and fourth grade. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with very small populations of students identifying as Hispanic, Asian, Black, or multiracial. Data on English learners and students with individualized education plans was not available.
Recent state testing shows mixed results. In math, students in both third and fourth grade achieved proficiency rates in the range of roughly fifty-eight to sixty percent. English language arts proficiency was lower, with third graders near fifty-four percent proficient and fourth graders closer to forty-five percent. Science data from 2021-22, the most recent reported, showed much stronger performance, with fourth graders at a proficiency rate above ninety percent. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Madison County, though this masks the softer performance in reading. A parent may want to look into what literacy supports and instruction the school offers, given the gap between ELA and math results, and what the more recent science results reflect about current teaching conditions.
State testing participation rates across subjects and grades have been high, ranging from roughly ninety-three to ninety-six percent. The school's engagement with assessment is consistent.
The district has faced fiscal strain in recent years, with two consecutive budget cycles (2024-25 and 2025-26) in which voters initially rejected proposed spending plans because they exceeded the state tax cap. This reflects rising costs and the district's below-average state aid due to the community's combined wealth exceeding state average. Revised budgets with lower levy increases eventually passed. The district has established a tuition-free, full-day universal pre-K program aligned with the elementary school calendar, a meaningful offering for families with young children. The March 2022 voter-approved capital project funded the athletic complex that opened in 2024, adding synthetic turf fields and expanding physical education access—a durable facilities improvement that will affect what elementary students can access as they move through the grades.
Cazenovia itself is walkable, with a well-defined downtown, historic character, and a farmers market that draws community participation. Housing values are moderate relative to regional benchmarks. The village is in early stages of significant change as the college campus redevelopment moves forward, which may bring new residents and economic activity. For a family looking at Burton Street Elementary, the setting offers a small-town, integrated downtown experience, consistent state testing participation, and solid performance relative to county peers, alongside some softness in reading that warrants direct conversation with the school about approach and support.
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