Rhame Avenue Elementary School, East Rockaway NY

Original Research by School Decision on Rhame Avenue Elementary School

Rhame Avenue Elementary is a small public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in East Rockaway, a residential village on Long Island's South Shore about fifteen miles from Manhattan. The school sits within East Rockaway Union Free School District, which has undergone a marked pedagogical shift toward project-based learning over the past several years. This student-led, hands-on instructional model now frames teaching across the district, representing a substantial change from traditional classroom instruction that families considering the school should understand.

The school enrolls a modest number of students across its grade band. Its student body is diverse: roughly a third Hispanic, a majority white, and smaller shares Asian, Black, and multiracial. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a mixed-income enrollment with some economic need represented.

State test results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that sit below what the field typically sees as strong. In math, proficiency across grades three through six ranges from the low forties to near sixty percent. English Language Arts proficiency is somewhat lower, spanning the mid-thirties to the low forties across those same grades. In fifth-grade science, proficiency is in the mid-forties. When aggregated across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency sits notably below the median for districts across Nassau County, placing it in the bottom quartile among the county's elementary schools. These results reflect real academic gaps a parent may want to discuss with the school in detail, particularly to understand what supports and interventions are in place and how the school measures progress beyond these once-yearly state assessments.

The district has begun a universal pre-kindergarten program for four-year-olds, funded in part by new state aid and available through lottery placement, so families with younger children have a new tuition-free option for early learning within the district. At the same time, the district is actively exploring a structural reorganization of its two elementary buildings—known as the "Princeton Plan"—that would split them into a K-3 primary building and a 4-6 intermediate building, potentially beginning in the 2027-28 school year. Because the district does not provide general student busing, the plan would introduce shuttle transportation between the two buildings, a cost that would fall on taxpayers. This proposal remains under discussion and no final decision has been made, but it would directly affect which building a family's child would attend and warrants close attention for any family currently enrolled or considering enrollment.

Housing in East Rockaway is solidly middle to upper-middle income. Home values are substantial, and rents are correspondingly high. The village itself is walkable along its Main Street and Atlantic Avenue corridors, where shops and restaurants cluster, and it retains a maritime heritage and low-rise character. The LIRR station serves commuters to Manhattan and elsewhere.

For families drawn to the district's embrace of project-based learning and its new UPK program, Rhame Avenue offers a neighborhood elementary setting in a residential community. For families prioritizing strong state test performance and traditional instruction, the school's academic profile and its recent pedagogical realignment suggest a closer look at other options might be worthwhile.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 51% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 62% · ▼ 4 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 3 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 52% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 57% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 45% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 56% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 55% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 5100%

School 100% · district not reported

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

This schoolEAST ROCKAWAY UNION FREE 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-income39%Higher-income43%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income39%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income50%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income37%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income38%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income66%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income54%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income55%43 pp gap