Chestnut Hill Middle School, Liverpool NY

Original Research by School Decision on Chestnut Hill Middle School

Chestnut Hill Middle School serves grades six through eight in Liverpool, a suburban village on the north shore of Onondaga Lake, about six miles from Syracuse. The school enrolls a small, roughly evenly distributed class across its three grades.

About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available.

State test results from 2024-25 show patterns worth examining. In math, proficiency rates vary noticeably by grade: sixth graders sit below half proficient, seventh graders rise above the midpoint, and eighth graders land in between. ELA results are lower across all grades, with no grade reaching half proficiency. Eighth-grade science proficiency falls to around four in ten students. These results place the school above the midpoint among districts in Onondaga County on overall proficiency, a positioning that reflects math strength, particularly in seventh grade, alongside widespread softness in reading and science. A parent may want to look into whether reading instruction and science support have been identified as targets and what intervention or support the school has in place for students at risk.

Participation rates in the 2024-25 assessments ran unevenly. Eighth-grade math and science both show notably lower participation, in the mid-range, suggesting some students did not complete testing; sixth- and seventh-grade rates were higher. This gap in eighth-grade engagement could signal something about test conditions, engagement, or student circumstances worth discussing with the school directly.

The school sits on Saslon Park Drive and is part of Liverpool Central School District, which spans the village and parts of the towns of Clay and Salina. The district is currently navigating significant changes. A major capital project approved by voters in 2022 is remaking five facilities over several years with no stated tax impact. At the same time, the district has announced staffing cuts of roughly eighty positions and a substantial draw from reserves for the 2026-27 budget to address a structural deficit, reflecting pressures from rising transportation and benefits costs. These shifts are likely to touch classroom experience and school culture. The district also completed a mascot change from Warriors to Legends as of July 2025 to comply with state regulations on Native American names.

Housing in the zip code around the school is appreciating modestly; the market in Onondaga County more broadly shows solid demand and tightening supply. Rent and home prices sit below the state and national benchmarks, making the area relatively affordable within New York, though affordability still hinges on household income and mortgage rates.

Chestnut Hill is a traditional public middle school with a grade-band-typical size and mixed state test performance. It fits families seeking a neighborhood-based school in a historic lakeside suburb with lake park access and a walkable village center, though they should expect to have direct conversations with the school about reading and science support, given the proficiency data, and be aware of ongoing district budget pressures that may affect staffing levels and programming in the coming years.

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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
Science	28	100.0%
Math	26	100.0%

Math

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 52% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 772%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 53% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 45% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 46% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 59% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 48% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 878%

School 78% · district not reported

even with state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolLIVERPOOL 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 6Lower-income37%Higher-income46%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income49%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income65%33 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income65%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income68%Higher-income75%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income65%12 pp gap