Cantiague Elementary School, Jericho NY

Original Research by School Decision on Cantiague Elementary School

Cantiague Elementary sits at the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade entry point into the Jericho Union Free School District, a small, affluent Long Island suburb about 30 miles east of Manhattan. The school itself is a regular public elementary, not a charter, not a magnet, and carries no Title I designation, which aligns with the community it serves.

Academic results on the New York State Testing Program are a genuine strength. Math proficiency across the tested grades runs from the high eighties to the upper nineties, with third and fourth graders performing especially well and fifth grade remaining well above typical statewide benchmarks. ELA results, while slightly lower than math, are still notably strong, with fourth and fifth graders proficient at rates in the upper eighties and third grade in the upper seventies. Fifth-grade science proficiency lands in the low eighties. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts across Nassau County, which is a competitive field of over five dozen districts. That is a clear, data-backed position.

The student body skews heavily Asian, reflecting the demographic makeup of Jericho more broadly, particularly the Jericho South neighborhood where Asian and foreign-born residents make up a large share of the population. White students are the next largest group, and smaller shares of Hispanic and Black students attend. Just under a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a relatively low rate. Data on English learner status and students with IEPs was not reported in the data provided, so families with those interests would want to ask the district directly.

Enrollment puts Cantiague at a size typical for a suburban elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Grade sizes vary somewhat, with second grade the most populated level in the current enrollment picture.

The school feeds into a district that, publicly reported, carries no bonded debt and funds capital improvements out of reserves rather than bonds. Families have seen ongoing facility work across all district buildings, including bathroom renovations, window and ceiling upgrades, and paving. That financial approach means capital costs land in the annual tax levy rather than being spread over time, which shapes what homeowners pay each year but also means the buildings reflect sustained upkeep investment. At the high school level the district has been expanding career and dual-enrollment pathways, including a clinical healthcare course tied to hospital partnerships and new AP business coursework, though those offerings are years away for a current elementary student.

The housing market in Jericho is expensive by nearly any measure. Home values in the zip code sit well above the New York state median and substantially above national medians, with prices continuing to climb year over year. Rents are high as well, with the rent-to-income burden well above what is typically considered affordable. Homes move relatively quickly, with median days on market in the spring of this year in the high thirties. Inventory has grown compared to a year earlier, but demand remains active. Buying into Cantiague's attendance zone means buying into one of the higher-cost suburban markets on Long Island.

Jericho itself is a built-out, car-dependent suburb. There is no walkable downtown, and commercial life clusters along Jericho Turnpike in shopping centers rather than a Main Street. Cantiague Park, a Nassau County facility adjacent to the school, offers tennis, swimming, ice skating, and golf, making it a genuine neighborhood asset, particularly for elementary-aged children. Commuter rail to Manhattan is available from the Hicksville station in the neighboring hamlet, not from Jericho itself.

Multi-year academic trend data was not available in the dataset, so it is not possible to characterize trajectory. Social studies testing data available in the dataset is from an earlier assessment cycle and not current enough to draw conclusions. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data do not apply to an elementary school and were appropriately absent from the comparison set.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 393%

School 93% · District 92% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 496%

School 96% · District 94% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 585%

School 85% · District 90% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 84% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 490%

School 90% · District 90%

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

Grade 589%

School 89% · District 89% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 84% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 5100%

School 100% · district not reported

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

This schoolJERICHO 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-income67%Higher-income84%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income89%Higher-income90%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income92%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income96%Higher-income92%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income90%Higher-income98%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income65%Higher-income91%26 pp gap