The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in Math. The lowest is 70% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Fort Salonga Elementary School
Fort Salonga Elementary School serves students in pre-kindergarten through third grade in Northport, a small historic maritime village centered on Main Street and its working harbor on Long Island's North Shore. The school enrolls a small group of students across its grades, with the largest cohorts in first and third grade. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller representation from Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial families; a small portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Specific data on students with disabilities or English learners was not available.
In the most recent testing year, third-grade students at Fort Salonga showed proficiency rates in the mid-to-upper range on New York State assessments. About four-fifths of tested third graders met proficiency in math, with a similar solid majority meeting proficiency in English language arts. Among the county's districts, the school's overall proficiency index ranks in the top quartile. These are genuine strengths in early elementary achievement, though the school serves only the youngest grades and does not have state testing data for higher grades, so they offer no window into outcomes for students as they progress through the elementary span or beyond.
Northport itself is a fully built-out village with incremental, scattered new construction rather than large-scale growth. The housing market reflects Long Island's broader pattern: home values are substantial, and the area is positioned well above national benchmarks. New listings have been modestly increasing, supply has expanded from historically tight levels, and median days on market have compressed, indicating somewhat easier movement for sellers than in the prior year, though the market remains competitive. The community is characterized by long resident tenure, a walkable downtown anchored by Victorian-era architecture, small independent retail and dining, and a strong civic focus on the waterfront parks and harbor. Employment is concentrated in small downtown businesses and two large institutional employers: the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Northport Power Station.
The school is part of Kings Park Central School District, which has experienced a sustained enrollment decline over the past decade, particularly acute at the middle-school level. To manage this contraction, the district reduced middle-school team staffing for the 2025-26 school year, including the excessing of four teachers. The district's annual budget continues to grow modestly within New York's tax-cap constraints, driven by insurance, salaries, and inflation. For a family considering this area, the enrollment decline signals both the need to understand the district's longer-term trajectory and the likelihood of ongoing pressure on class sizes and program breadth as enrollment shrinks, though Fort Salonga's own enrollment appears stable within the early elementary years.
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