Wellwood Middle School, Fayetteville NY

Original Research by School Decision on Wellwood Middle School

Wellwood Middle School serves grades five through eight in Fayetteville, an affluent eastern suburb of Syracuse in Onondaga County. The school sits within the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District, a stable, college-preparatory district that has recently invested significantly in infrastructure and curriculum renewal. The school's enrollment is small to moderate for its grade band, with stable cohorts across the four grades and a student population that is predominantly white, with meaningful smaller populations of Asian, mixed-race, Black, and Hispanic students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch status and English learner identification data were not available.

Academic performance at Wellwood is solidly above the middle of the county's district range on proficiency. In the latest state testing, overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the top quartile among Onondaga County districts. Reading performance is notably strong in grades six and eight, and math proficiency is highest in grade six and shows competence across grades seven and eight. Grade five, the entry cohort, shows lower proficiency in both reading and math than the upper grades, particularly in math, a common pattern in transitions to middle school. Science proficiency at grade five is in the mid-range; grade eight data reflects a smaller tested population. The school maintains strong participation rates in most grades and subjects, with the exception of grade eight, where state testing participation drops notably below other grades, suggesting that some students in that cohort may be taking alternative assessments or pursuing different pathways. A parent may want to ask the school whether this shift reflects students in advanced or accelerated programs taking different assessments.

The broader district context matters here. Voters approved two significant capital projects in recent years. A 52-million-dollar high school modernization began phasing in tax increases in 2024-25, and a separate facilities project addressing aging infrastructure and safety upgrades across all district buildings, including Wellwood, was approved in May 2024. Both commitments underscore that the district prioritizes facility quality and contemporary learning environments. Additionally, the district adopted a science-of-reading-based literacy curriculum, Benchmark Advance, for kindergarten through grade four beginning in 2025-26, with aligned refreshes for grades five and six. This signals active curriculum review and adoption of evidence-based practices, though parents of current sixth graders should clarify how this rollout affects their students' instruction.

Fayetteville itself is a small, walkable historic village core with a recent-era retail corridor at Towne Center, anchored by national retailers and restaurants. The median home value in the area reflects strong demand and constrained supply, consistent with a high-income, education-focused suburb. Housing stock includes custom-built homes and contemporary townhome communities, and the area serves as a base for professionals working in Syracuse's education and healthcare sectors, a short drive away. Green Lakes State Park and the Erie Canal pathways provide recreational anchors, and the Fayetteville Free Library is a community gathering space. The overall environment reflects established suburban affluence with good walkability in the village center and access to higher education and regional amenities.

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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	92	100.0%
Math	82	100.0%

Math

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 77% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 685%

School 85% · District 87% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 782%

School 82% · District 86% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 87% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 82% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 76% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 881%

School 81% · District 84% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Science

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 74% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 78% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 596%

School 96% · district not reported

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

Grade 893%

School 93% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolFAYETTEVILLE-MANLIUS 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-income68%Higher-income81%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income61%Higher-income84%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income59%Higher-income80%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income70%Higher-income85%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income56%Higher-income73%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income72%Higher-income89%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income67%Higher-income88%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income56%Higher-income86%31 pp gap