Harrisville Junior-senior High School, Harrisville NY

Original Research by School Decision on Harrisville Junior-senior High School

Harrisville Junior-Senior High School serves a small rural enrollment across grades seven through twelve in a consolidated hamlet in the foothills of the Adirondacks. The school is one piece of a tight-knit community where dissolution of the village into the town of Diana has consolidated civic life, and where a major capital referendum approved in early 2026 signals the district's commitment to replacing aging infrastructure and renovating student spaces.

The school's academic profile is modest. In the most recent state testing data available, seventh-grade math and English proficiency were each at about the midpoint; eighth-grade performance was somewhat stronger, with math and science proficiency in the mid-to-upper range and English near the midpoint again. State testing does not yet include the high school grades served by this school, so data on college-preparatory performance is not available. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Lewis County, and a parent may want to ask the school directly about course breadth, AP offerings, dual-credit pathways, and achievement trends at the high school level, which do not appear in state test data.

Enrollment is small, numbering around that size across grades seven through twelve, with roughly similar cohort sizes from year to year. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white; Hispanic students make up a small share, and other racial and ethnic groups are minimal. The school did not report counts for students with IEPs or English learners, so a parent seeking clarity on special education and language support capacity should contact the school directly.

Harrisville is a quiet rural settlement of less than a square mile, centered on a small business district along two state highways, with civic anchors including the free library, historical museum, town offices, and churches. The area sits within or near the Adirondack Park, and outdoor recreation around the Oswegatchie River and state forests shapes community life. Population has declined modestly over recent years, and there is no fixed-route public transit to or within the hamlet. A family considering this school is choosing a small, geographically isolated setting where most daily travel requires a car.

Housing in the area is substantially below the state median; local home values and estimated mortgage costs are modest. The regional economy is anchored by manufacturing, dairy farming tied to Kraft's cheese operations, and forestry, with larger employers concentrated in nearby county towns rather than in Harrisville itself. Employment in the county is stable.

The district recently approved a major capital project replacing original infrastructure from the school's construction era, with work including new water and sanitary systems, HVAC upgrades, an emergency generator, and renovation of student spaces. The project will result in a tax levy increase beginning in the 2027-28 school year, a lasting financial change for homeowners. The state will reimburse a substantial portion via building aid.

For a family drawn to a small school in a rural, tight-knit community, Harrisville offers a setting where school and town are woven together. That same isolation and small size means limited program breadth relative to larger schools, and standardized testing indicates students are working somewhat below the performance level of peers in nearby districts. Parents should gather specifics on college preparation, elective offerings, sports and extracurriculars, and how the school supports students with learning needs or those pursuing competitive post-secondary paths.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 35 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

4 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
Ela	33	88.0%
Science	25	84.0%
Social Studies	25	100.0%
Math	23	96.0%

Math

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 31% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 30 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 50% · ▼ 50 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 18 pts above state median

Science

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 39 pts above state median

This schoolHARRISVILLE 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 6Lower-income42%Higher-income62%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income59%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income100%54 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income31%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income65%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income58%Higher-income83%25 pp gap