Robert E Bell School, Chappaqua NY

Original Research by School Decision on Robert E Bell School

Robert E. Bell School is a middle school serving grades five through eight in Chappaqua, an affluent residential hamlet in northern Westchester County. The school sits on its own campus rather than in the compact downtown, which centers on the train station, library, and shops along King Street and South Greeley Avenue.

State test results from the most recent year show strong performance across most subjects. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from near nine in ten students in grade five to well over nine in ten in grade six, with solid results in grades seven and eight. English language arts shows similarly high performance, with over nine in ten proficient in grades six and eight and near nine in ten in grades five and seven. Science proficiency in grade five reaches about four in five students, though data for grade eight science was not reported, which may reflect a change in the state testing schedule or the science course structure at that grade level. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the county's districts.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller populations of Asian, multiracial, and Hispanic students. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic character of the Chappaqua area. Special population data such as special education enrollment and English learner counts were not available in the reporting received. The school enrolls approximately mid-range numbers for its grade band, with roughly similar cohort sizes across fifth through eighth grades.

The Chappaqua Central School District recently passed a major facilities bond in 2022 covering infrastructure improvements across all schools, including roof replacements, network upgrades, and additions like air conditioning to gyms and cafeterias. The district is also implementing a Science of Reading approach to elementary literacy, moving toward structured phonics instruction, though this change affects the elementary schools rather than Robert E. Bell itself. The district's high school, Horace Greeley, feeds from the two middle schools in the system.

The surrounding Chappaqua area is highly affluent with substantial home values and rents well above state and national medians. The town is predominantly residential and wooded, with a walkable downtown core but car-dependent neighborhoods. Metro-North rail service connects to Manhattan, and the area serves as a bedroom community for commuters. Housing development in recent years has added mixed-income and affordable units alongside market-rate townhomes and apartments, partly through adaptive reuse of the former Reader's Digest campus (now Chappaqua Crossing).

The data provided does not include information on program offerings, staffing, discipline, attendance, graduation rates, or the school's specific approach to middle school curriculum beyond the district's literacy initiative. A parent or resident seeking a fuller picture of academics, extracurriculars, or school culture would want to visit the school's website and speak directly with administration.

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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	149	96.0%
Science	149	93.0%

Math

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 89% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 694%

School 94% · District 95% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 793%

School 93% · District 94% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 888%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 90% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 690%

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

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 791%

School 91% · District 88% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 893%

School 93% · District 90% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Science

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 75% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 599%

School 99% · district not reported

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 897%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolCHAPPAQUA 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 5Lower-income60%Higher-income91%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income60%Higher-income91%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income55%Higher-income94%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income69%Higher-income95%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income60%Higher-income92%32 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income100%Higher-income94%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income56%Higher-income95%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income92%46 pp gap