A J Schmidt Elementary School, Angola NY

Original Research by School Decision on A J Schmidt Elementary School

A.J. Schmidt Elementary sits on Lake Shore Road in Angola, a small Lake Erie village in southwestern Erie County about twenty miles southwest of Buffalo. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade within the Evans-Brant Central School District, publicly known as Lake Shore. Angola itself is a compact, residential community with a walkable downtown core on North Main and Commercial Streets, a short distance from the Lake Erie shoreline. The village's population has been gently declining in recent years, though a state-backed downtown revitalization effort is underway: Angola was named a Round 3 NY Forward winner in early 2025, and the state has since announced a set of transformational projects tied to that award, including plans to reopen the historic Angola Theater as a downtown anchor. The area draws seasonal visitors for lakefront recreation, with Evans Town Park and Evangola State Park both within reach.

The school's enrollment is small to moderate for its grade band, and a majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community where economic need is present and real. The student body is predominantly white, with American Indian and Alaska Native students and Hispanic students each making up a meaningful share of enrollment. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in the data we reviewed, which is a gap parents of children with those needs may want to follow up on directly with the school.

On the New York State Testing Program, A.J. Schmidt's results across third through fifth grade in math, ELA, and science fall below the midpoint when placed against districts in Erie County. Math proficiency is somewhat stronger than ELA across the tested grades, and both are considerably stronger than fifth-grade science, where fewer than a third of tested students reached proficiency. Fifth-grade participation rates in math and ELA were also noticeably lower than in third and fourth grade, which is worth asking the school about, as lower participation can affect how reported results should be interpreted. The data covers only the most recent school year; trend data was not available, so there is no way from what we have to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline. A parent who wants a fuller picture of trajectory should ask the school or district directly.

The district itself has several developments worth knowing. A large capital improvement project, approved by voters in 2023, is upgrading facilities across the district, including classroom renovations, district-wide air conditioning at the high school, new LED lighting, and a rebuilt athletic campus with multi-sport turf fields. The district reports that this work carries no additional tax impact, funded through state building aid and expiring debt service. Separately, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the district moved to strict attendance zone enrollment, meaning new students enroll at the school assigned to their zone, and younger siblings of students who had previously attended outside their zone are now required to enroll in their assigned building. Families considering the area should verify which building their address maps to before assuming continuity. The district has also added a free full-day Universal Pre-Kindergarten program in partnership with the Southtowns YMCA, which families with four-year-olds would want to explore.

Housing in the area is priced well below the New York State median and below the national median as well, which makes Angola and the surrounding Evans-Brant zone meaningfully more accessible to buyers than most of the state. Erie County's broader market has seen a notable rise in new listings recently, with homes still moving relatively quickly. Rent index data for this specific zip code was not available.

Program-level detail for A.J. Schmidt, including specifics on arts, enrichment, or any specialized instruction beyond the core curriculum, was not in the data we reviewed. Families interested in what the school offers beyond tested subjects should request that information from the building directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 52% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 44% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 49% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 48% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 43% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 42% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 34% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 598%

School 98% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolEVANS-BRANT CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT (LAKE SHORE), 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-income35%Higher-income47%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income35%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income39%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income70%47 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income47%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income57%24 pp gap