Roy Kelley Elementary School, Lockport NY

Original Research by School Decision on Roy Kelley Elementary School

Roy Kelley Elementary serves children from kindergarten through fourth grade in Lockport, a mid-sized city in Niagara County organized around the historic Erie Canal and its locks. The school draws an enrollment that reflects the community's economic profile: a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white with smaller Black, multiracial, and Hispanic populations.

On state assessments, the school's proficiency rates in math and English language arts run below the county median. In math, third-grade proficiency sits in the lower range, with fourth grade showing somewhat higher performance. English language arts results are similarly measured across the tested grades. Testing data for fifth grade is not available, consistent with the school's kindergarten-through-fourth grade configuration. Participation rates in the assessments remain strong, suggesting reliable results. These numbers sit at the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Niagara County when looking at overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades.

A parent considering this school should understand that academic performance here is below the county average, and a conversation with the school about intervention strategies, classroom composition, and support systems for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards would be warranted. The school's role as part of Lockport City School District carries some context: the district recently ended its facial-recognition security program following a statewide ban, and beginning in the 2025-26 school year is bringing special-needs students back from outside placements into home schools, adding staffing for in-district special education services. That shift may affect how services are delivered if a family has a child with an IEP.

Lockport itself is a city in transition. The downtown, centered on the canal, shows traditional pre-automobile development with brick commercial buildings and residential blocks above storefronts. The city recently won state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, with projects underway to rehabilitate the historic post office and convert older industrial and commercial structures into mixed-use residential and commercial space. Housing values in the area are moderate, and rental rates are modest relative to regional standards. The community is small enough that the school sits within walking distance of compact neighborhoods, though the broader locale data about walkability and street life of the residential areas where Roy Kelley students live was not available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 41%

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

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 42% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 33% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 35% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 37% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 33% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 46 pts below county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 29% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 597%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 2 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 3Lower-income35%Higher-income40%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income45%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income45%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income65%24 pp gap