Emmet Belknap Intermediate School, Lockport NY

Original Research by School Decision on Emmet Belknap Intermediate School

Emmet Belknap Intermediate School serves students in grades five and six in Lockport, a city in Niagara County that has been undergoing downtown revitalization through state development funding. The school sits on High Street in a community where the Erie Canal and its locks remain central to the city's identity, and where compact pre-automobile commercial and residential development define downtown character.

The school has a student body of about five hundred fifty. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is predominantly White, with meaningful shares of students who identify as multiracial, Black, or Hispanic. Special education and English-learner enrollment counts were not available in the data provided.

On New York State assessments administered in the most recent school year, the school's proficiency results sit below the midpoint for districts in Niagara County. In math, about one-third of fifth graders and about two-fifths of sixth graders scored proficient or above. In English language arts, results are closely aligned: roughly one-third of fifth graders and about two-fifths of sixth graders met the proficiency standard. Science proficiency is lower, with roughly three in ten fifth graders proficient. Student participation in testing has been nearly universal across subjects and grade levels. The school's overall proficiency index places it below the median among the county's districts.

No current data on chronic absenteeism or other student support metrics was available. The parent district, Lockport City School District, is beginning in the 2025-26 school year to restore special education classes within its home buildings, bringing students back from outside placements and adding instructional positions. The district is also moving Universal Pre-Kindergarten to a new addition at an elementary school building, a shift in where young children in the system will attend.

Housing in Lockport is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks. The Lockport area is experiencing economic development activity anchored by historic building renovation and mixed-use projects funded through the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative, including adaptive reuse of commercial structures and retail space.

The school's attendance and program data, as well as any information on staff, course breadth, or specialized offerings at this level, were not included in the data available. A parent seeking to understand the school's daily environment, instructional approach, or extracurricular offerings would benefit from a conversation directly with school staff.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 33% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 40% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 890%

School 90% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

This schoolLOCKPORT CITY 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-income27%Higher-income53%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income64%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income19%Higher-income52%33 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income60%36 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income59%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income34%Higher-income72%38 pp gap