W a Olmsted Elementary School, Harpursville NY

Original Research by School Decision on W a Olmsted Elementary School

W.A. Olmsted Elementary School is a small public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Harpursville, a rural hamlet in northeastern Broome County. The school enrolls a small student body in a dispersed, car-dependent community where civic and school life form the primary institutional anchor.

The school's enrollment is around mid-size for its grade band, with roughly even distribution across grades. About half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly white, with very few students of color; specific counts for students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the data. The community itself is flat-to-declining in growth, with the town reporting minimal new residential or commercial development in recent years and housing activity focused on rehabilitation rather than new construction. Home values in the area are moderate, roughly mid-range relative to national benchmarks, and the local economy is built on small retail, convenience stores, and gravel mines rather than major employers beyond the school district itself.

State testing results from 2024-25 show that the school faces real academic challenges. In mathematics, proficiency ranges across grades, with third grade around one-fifth of students proficient, fourth grade around two-fifths, fifth grade nearly three-fifths, and sixth grade around two-fifths. English language arts proficiency is even lower, with third grade at one-fifth, fourth grade around one-quarter, fifth grade around one-half, and sixth grade around one-quarter. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested, is stronger at roughly two-thirds of students proficient. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the county's districts, a position that should prompt families to look into what the school is doing to address these gaps and what support strategies exist for students who are not yet meeting standards.

Participation rates in testing are high, with most grades at full participation, indicating the school is consistently assessing student progress. The data does not include information about attendance rates, discipline, special program offerings, staffing levels, or program variety beyond the standard curriculum.

The district recently completed a capital project referendum approved in February 2025, which will fund long-term facility improvements at both district schools. This represents a modest, lasting addition to property tax bills for families in the area.

For families choosing between schools in this rural area, Olmsted serves a genuine community-anchor role in a small, dispersed hamlet with limited alternative schooling options. The school's modest proficiency results reflect academic challenges that are real and measurable; whether the school's response plan and support systems align with a family's expectations and the child's needs is a conversation to have directly with school leadership.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 22%

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 41%

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

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 55% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 39% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 22% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 46% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 27% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 61% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 595%

School 95% · district not reported

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

This schoolHARPURSVILLE 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-income8%Higher-income50%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income22%Higher-income33%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income44%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income38%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income16%Higher-income38%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income67%37 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income63%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income58%36 pp gap