Gillette Road Middle School, Cicero NY

Original Research by School Decision on Gillette Road Middle School

Gillette Road Middle School is a public middle school in Cicero serving grades five through seven, with enrollment across the lower grades only—the school does not include grade eight, so there are no eighth-grade test results. The school sits on South Bay Road in a lakeside suburban town built largely through late-twentieth-century subdivisions, where daily life centers on highway retail corridors and lake-oriented parks rather than a walkable town center.

The school's academic profile shows mixed proficiency across tested grades and subjects. In mathematics, proficiency climbs as students advance: fifth-grade math proficiency is modest, sixth grade shows a solid gain, and seventh grade reaches a stronger level. English language arts proficiency is lower and does not show the same upward trend—it remains modest at both fifth and sixth grades and dips slightly in seventh. Fifth-grade science proficiency is below both math and ELA at the same grade. Testing participation rates are high and consistent, so the results reflect performance rather than engagement gaps.

Placed against other districts in Onondaga County, Gillette Road's overall proficiency index falls below the county midpoint. This is a straightforward academic read: the school's students are not matching county-wide performance on state assessments, and parents considering enrollment should recognize that the school sits in the lower half of its county peer group in tested achievement.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller populations of Asian, multiracial, Hispanic, and Black students. About one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a modestly mixed socioeconomic composition typical of suburban Cicero. The enrollment sits at a manageable size for this grade band, with roughly similar numbers across the three grades.

The North Syracuse Central School District has invested substantially in Gillette Road and its other schools. A capital referendum in 2022 funded safety and security upgrades, infrastructure work at Gillette Road itself, and a multipurpose turf field. An earlier 2021 referendum supported renovations across elementary schools and a new community pool at the high school. These represent meaningful facility improvements, though they come with a cost: the 2026-27 budget proposal carries a property tax increase, with more than half of that increase driven by the local share of these capital projects now coming due. Families moving to the district should understand that earlier "low-tax" capital work is beginning to hit property bills.

The district has adopted a 2022-2027 strategic plan organized around improving graduation rates, ensuring reading proficiency, and building emotional competencies. At the middle-school level, the reading and social-emotional focus has direct classroom implications, though seventh-grade ELA proficiency data suggest results here remain a work in progress.

Cicero itself is on a growth trajectory. The planned Micron semiconductor campus in neighboring Clay, anchored by a multibillion-dollar state and private investment, is expected to reshape the regional labor market and drive substantial residential development in Cicero over the coming decade. New housing developments are underway, and regional planning has emphasized apartment and townhome construction. This growth context means the school may see enrollment pressures and community change, and the Micron project may open new employment pathways for families in the area over time.

A parent or resident weighing this school should read it as a middle performer within its county, with infrastructure now modernized but academic results below county median. The setting is suburban and auto-oriented, the community composition is mixed and growing, and the property-tax trajectory is moving upward as capital debt payments accelerate. Families seeking stronger tested performance may look to higher-performing districts in the county; those prioritizing modern facilities, reasonable class sizes, and a growing suburban community may find fit here.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 53% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 41% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 57% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 26 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 80%

School 0% · District 51% · ▼ 50 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 44% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 41% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 46% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 41% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 39% · ▼ 39 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 35% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 38% · ▼ 38 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 593%

School 93% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolNORTH SYRACUSE 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 4Lower-income39%Higher-income56%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income56%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income61%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income57%30 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income66%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income65%34 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income72%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income49%Higher-income81%32 pp gap