Harrison Avenue Elementary School, Harrison NY

Original Research by School Decision on Harrison Avenue Elementary School

Harrison Avenue Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Harrison, a suburban Westchester County community north of New York City. The school enrolls a diverse student body across six grades, with families drawn from a mix of residential neighborhoods, gated communities, and newer housing developments in town.

The school's academic performance is a clear strength. Students score solidly above the state midpoint in math across tested grades, with proficiency rates in the mid-eighties across third through fifth grade. English language arts performance is slightly lower than math but still above state norms, ranging in the low-to-mid seventies at the earlier grades and climbing to the low eighties by fifth grade. Fifth-grade science proficiency is also strong. Overall, Harrison Avenue's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among elementary schools in Westchester County.

The student population reflects the town's character. The school enrolls a substantial majority of white students, with meaningful representation of Asian and Hispanic students and smaller populations of Black students and multiracial students. About one in twelve students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate well below the county and state averages, indicating a predominantly middle-and-upper-income school community. The school's enrollment has remained fairly stable, with slightly more than a handful of students per grade, allowing for traditional class structures typical of suburban elementary schools.

Harrison itself is an affluent residential suburb with a strong commercial presence anchored by corporate headquarters in the Purchase hamlet, including PepsiCo and Mastercard. The town's housing market reflects that affluence, with home values substantially above state and national benchmarks. Rental costs are correspondingly high. New transit-oriented development near the Metro-North station has accelerated housing growth and brought younger families into the district, which is reflected in enrollment pressures that prompted the district to seek voter approval for a substantial facilities bond in 2023 to expand instructional space and upgrade infrastructure across all schools, with construction underway and scheduled completion in 2027.

That enrollment growth has also begun to strain the district's finances. For the 2024-25 school year, Harrison Central School District exceeded the state property tax levy cap for the first time in its history, requiring voter approval of a budget with notably higher tax increases. This represents a shift from the district's long record of staying within the cap while maintaining programs and class sizes. Families considering the school should note that property tax growth is now a factor in the district's budget outlook.

No information was available about the school's special education population, English learner enrollment, or school discipline practices. The school website was not provided in the data. For those seeking specifics about school programming, specialized services, or day-to-day operations, direct contact with the school would be necessary.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 386%

School 86% · District 72% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 487%

School 87% · District 79% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 74% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 65% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 71% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 72% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 75% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 5100%

School 100% · district not reported

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

This schoolHARRISON 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-income67%Higher-income76%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income72%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income80%Higher-income85%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income90%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income67%Higher-income88%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income100%Higher-income83%17 pp gap