Felix Festa Character Middle School, West Nyack NY

Original Research by School Decision on Felix Festa Character Middle School

Felix Festa Character Middle School is a regular public middle school serving roughly the middle grades in West Nyack, part of the Clarkstown Central School District. The school sits on Parrott Road and enrolls students primarily from grades six through eight, with an enrollment heavily concentrated in seventh grade at present, suggesting the school is currently at mid-capacity for a middle school of its type.

The student body is diverse. White students make up roughly half the enrollment, while Hispanic students account for a quarter; Asian and other students together represent the remainder. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this school in a community where economic need is moderate rather than severe. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status were not provided in the available records.

State testing results show mixed performance. Seventh-grade proficiency in math stands at near-three-fifths, and seventh-grade English language arts proficiency is near-three-fifths as well, with participation rates in the high sixties. Sixth-grade testing data for both subjects shows no reported results, which likely reflects low or zero test participation at that grade level. Eighth-grade science testing shows no reported results; the state changed the science assessment criteria between years, so comparability is uncertain. Eighth-grade social studies data from 2009-10 showed strong proficiency, but no recent eighth-grade assessment results are available. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts in Rockland County. A parent may want to look further into what instructional approaches or supports the school is using in response to these results, and whether sixth-grade testing is planned to resume.

The Clarkstown Central School District has approved a substantial capital bond for building improvements across elementary schools and Birchwood School, with construction set to begin in the coming years; that work is structured as tax-neutral. District budgets have passed with voter support in recent years, though they include modest steady tax levy increases that families should factor into overall cost of living in the area.

West Nyack itself is a suburban hamlet roughly eighteen miles north of Manhattan and a couple miles west of the Hudson River, functioning as a quieter bedroom community for people who work in the city. The housing market reflects that position: median home values in the zip code are in the mid-to-high six figures, above national benchmarks and somewhat below comparable Westchester County prices, with the price-to-income ratio suggesting affordability challenges for many local households. The area is auto-oriented, shaped by major highways including the Palisades Parkway and Route 59, though recent public construction is adding sidewalks and a new bus stop along West Nyack Road in an effort to make the hamlet center more walkable. Growth is incremental rather than booming, with the dominant current activity being the multi-phase West Nyack Hamlet Revitalization, which is addressing chronic flooding with new stormwater infrastructure alongside streetscape and parking improvements. The Palisades Center mall is the area's largest employer, alongside health care, education, and retail sectors. Schools are on separate campuses rather than in the hamlet center itself.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 63% · ▼ 63 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 759%

School 59% · District 59% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 62% · ▼ 62 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 68% · ▼ 68 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 892%

School 92% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolCLARKSTOWN 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-income71%Higher-income84%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income61%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income49%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income79%Higher-income89%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income63%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income13%Higher-income19%6 pp gap