Liberty Middle School, Liberty NY

Original Research by School Decision on Liberty Middle School

Liberty Middle School serves grades five through eight in the village of Liberty, a small Catskills community with a compact, historically intact downtown and a car-oriented regional setting. The school is part of Liberty Central School District, which has kept its property-tax levy flat for multiple consecutive years—a sustained stability factor for families considering the area.

The school enrolls a student body that reflects the village's demographic composition: a substantial majority are Hispanic, with White, Black, and multiracial students making up the remainder. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating economic hardship in the community. English learner and special-education enrollment data were not available. The school participates in state testing in mathematics, English language arts, and science across its grade band, though data completeness varies by grade.

Academic proficiency is low across all tested subjects and grades. In mathematics, students show higher proficiency in grade five and decline sharply in grade six, with modest recovery in grade seven; grade eight results were not reported. English language arts proficiency is similarly limited, ranging from the low to mid-range across grades five through eight. Science proficiency in grades five and eight is modest. When compared against other districts in Sullivan County, Liberty Middle School's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among county peers. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, including what support systems are in place, whether recent curriculum work—the district is pursuing alignment of its PreK-12 curriculum to New York State standards and adopting a curriculum management platform—is beginning to show results, and what academic interventions exist for students not yet meeting grade-level standards.

State testing participation was generally strong, with most grades achieving participation rates between ninety and ninety-seven percent, though science testing in grade eight showed lower participation. This suggests either fewer students took the science exam or fewer students in that cohort were enrolled.

The district's recent capital investments and flat tax levy provide a backdrop of fiscal stability. A major capital project approved in January 2024 includes mechanical, electrical, and HVAC upgrades across all school buildings, plus athletic facility improvements; a second phase adds cooling to the elementary school to meet state temperature standards. Both projects are expected to complete by fall 2027 with no additional tax burden. These facility improvements may benefit the middle school over the coming years.

Liberty village itself offers nearby civic anchors including a recently expanded public library, parks, and notably robust public transit for a rural county. The regional economy centers on health care, education, and hospitality, with major employers including a hospital system, two colleges, and the regional resort trade. Housing costs have been rising, though they remain moderate relative to national benchmarks. The community is pursuing affordable and workforce housing development to keep options open for families across income levels.

Liberty Middle School's low proficiency results reflect challenges that merit careful conversation with the district about how academic support is structured, what progress has been made or is expected from ongoing curriculum work, and what instructional strategies are guiding students toward grade-level competence.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	128	35.0%
Science	27	96.0%

Math

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 30 pts below state median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 25% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 37 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 17 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 25% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 21% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 6 pts below state median

This schoolLIBERTY CENTRAL 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 5Lower-income37%Higher-income38%0 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income36%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income24%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income23%Higher-income51%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income44%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income24%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income32%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income9%Higher-income8%1 pp gap