Jeffrey Ratner-robert Seaman Elementary School, Jericho NY

Original Research by School Decision on Jeffrey Ratner-robert Seaman Elementary School

Jeffrey Ratner-Robert Seaman Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Jericho, a built-out residential suburb on Long Island's North Shore about thirty miles east of Manhattan. The school sits in an affluent area dominated by single-family homes, where median home values are high and the share of families qualifying for free or reduced-price meals is small. The surrounding community is notably diverse, with a large share of Asian residents and a substantial foreign-born population.

The school's academic performance stands out. In math proficiency, students in grades three through five tested at very high levels, with nearly all students in grades three and four meeting or exceeding state standards and all fifth graders meeting them. English language arts proficiency was similarly strong across the grade band, with students in grades three, four, and five all posting high rates of proficiency. In science, fifth-grade students achieved solid results. When placed against other districts in Nassau County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the top quartile.

The school enrolls a small-to-moderate total population with an even distribution across grades. The student body is predominantly Asian, followed by a substantial white enrollment, with smaller numbers of Black, Hispanic, and other groups. Fewer than a small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community. The enrollment figures suggest no data was reported for students with IEPs or English learners, so the extent of specialized services is not visible here.

Jericho Union Free School District, the parent district, has been entirely debt-free since making a final bond payment about a decade ago and now funds capital improvements directly from reserves. This approach keeps the tax structure stable but concentrates facility costs into annual budgets. The district has pursued voter-approved capital-reserve propositions funding bathroom renovations, window replacements, ceiling and lighting work, and other upgrades across its elementary schools and secondary buildings. At the high school level, the district has expanded dual-enrollment and career-oriented pathways, including a new Clinical Healthcare course tied to clinical rotations and EMT certification through a partnership with local hospitals.

The housing market in the area is strong and actively listing. Home values are high for the region and have appreciated in recent years, and the median rent is correspondingly elevated. Commutes to Manhattan are long; in some Jericho neighborhoods, a substantial share of workers report commutes exceeding an hour one-way. The hamlet itself has no traditional downtown but rather disperses retail and civic life along Jericho Turnpike and in office parks. Cantiague Park and the Jericho Public Library serve as community anchors, and public transit is bus-based with some residents commuting by rail from the nearby Hicksville LIRR station.

The school sits within a stable, established district where a high-performing elementary program feeds into a secondary system that has recently emphasized college and career pathways. This setting suits families drawn to a suburban, affluent community with strong academic standing and limited population churn.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 395%

School 95% · District 92% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 495%

School 95% · District 94% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 5100%

School 100% · District 90% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 395%

School 95% · District 84% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 493%

School 93% · District 90% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 596%

School 96% · District 89% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Science

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 84% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 27 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-income71%Higher-income100%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income100%Higher-income90%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income100%Higher-income96%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income71%Higher-income100%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income100%Higher-income94%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income100%Higher-income100%0 pp gap