The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Science. The lowest is 60% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Robert R Graves School
Robert R. Graves School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Port Ewen, a small Hudson River hamlet in the Town of Esopus. The school sits within the Kingston City School District and enrolls a student body that is majority white, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic diversity of this mixed residential and commercial community along the Route 9W corridor.
The school's academic profile shows a split picture worth examining carefully. In mathematics, third-graders performed solidly, with a majority meeting state proficiency standards. Fourth graders saw a sharper drop, with fewer than half meeting proficiency in math. In English language arts, third graders landed closer to the middle of the range, and fourth-grade performance was similarly below the midpoint for the state assessment. Science testing data from a few years back showed very strong results for fourth graders. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Ulster County, a meaningful signal that despite uneven grade-level results, the school's tested performance stands above the county median.
A parent looking at these numbers might want to dig deeper with the school about what is happening in the fourth-grade math and ELA classrooms, why the fourth-grade cohort's results differ from the third-grade group, and what intervention or support strategies are in place for students who are not yet proficient. Testing participation rates are good, so the snapshot is real. The data do not reveal whether this is a cohort effect, a teaching transition, or something else; the school can answer that directly.
The district recently implemented Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts, a Science of Reading program, across all K-5 classrooms. This is a comprehensive, curriculum-wide shift that directly shapes how early reading is taught. The district also passed a major five-year capital project focused on HVAC, air-conditioning, and building upgrades, a multi-year investment in facility quality that will affect learning environments here over time.
Port Ewen itself is a quiet, close-knit hamlet with a small-town character. The community has a waterfront orientation toward the Hudson River and Rondout Creek, with local parks, trails, and recreational anchors including George H. Freer Memorial Beach. The Town of Esopus Library on Broadway serves as a civic hub. Housing in the area is a mix of older homes and newer construction, with modest infill development such as the Lakeshore Preserve apartments. The hamlet center is oriented around the Broadway corridor and US Route 9W, a car-oriented setting with local commerce and restaurants rather than a dense downtown. In December 2025, Ulster County transit added a new Port Ewen Loop service, expanding local connection options.
Home values in the Port Ewen zip code are moderate for the region and have risen modestly year over year. Monthly housing costs are in the range that requires a substantial household income to carry comfortably, though the area sits below state and national benchmarks. The environment is residential and family-oriented, with schools and civic life intertwined in a small-town fabric rather than isolated on a campus.
The school is a regular public school without charter or magnet designation. Data on special education enrollment rates, English learner enrollment, chronic absenteeism, and staffing details were not available. The school's science performance three years ago was notably strong, and the recent curriculum adoption in literacy suggests the district is actively working on reading instruction. For families considering this school, the combination of strong county-relative performance and a fourth-grade dip in proficiency suggest a school worth visiting and asking about in detail, particularly around support systems and classroom practice.
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