Ocean Avenue School, Northport NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ocean Avenue School

Ocean Avenue School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Northport, a small maritime village on Long Island's North Shore. The school draws from a community centered on a working harbor and walkable downtown, where families tend to stay for generations. With fewer than four hundred students across five grade levels, it is an intimate elementary setting.

The school's recent test data shows solid proficiency in math, where fourth graders performed well and third graders reached an acceptable mark. English language arts results are more mixed: fourth graders met the mark, but third graders came in lower, suggesting a need to watch reading instruction as students advance through the grades. The most recent available science result, from a prior year, was strong. Overall math performance places this school above the midpoint among Suffolk County's districts when proficiency is averaged across tested grades and subjects.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. About one in eight students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating moderate economic diversity within a community where housing is valued at mid-to-upper range. Special education enrollment data and English learner counts were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support services.

Northport-East Northport as a district underwent significant reorganization: two elementary schools closed in 2021, consolidating the elementary footprint and moving fifth graders into middle school. Ocean Avenue is one of the four remaining elementary buildings, so the school remains stable operationally. However, families should be aware that a major factor shaping the district's budget and property taxes is a long-term power-plant settlement. The Northport Power Station's tax payments are phasing down through 2026-27, gradually shifting a large tax burden onto homeowners. New York State has enacted legislation to establish a reserve fund to cushion this transition, but the underlying tax pressure on the district is real and affects the broader question of school funding stability.

For a family choosing Northport, the community itself is a draw: the village offers a pedestrian-friendly downtown with shops, galleries, and restaurants along Main Street, and summer concerts and festivals at the harborfront park. Most employment is in small local businesses, healthcare at the VA Medical Center, and the power station. The area is fully built out, so growth is incremental, made up of scattered new construction rather than large housing developments. LIRR commuter rail service is available at a nearby East Northport station, though with limited frequencies.

Ocean Avenue is a neighborhood school for young learners in a tight-knit village setting. It delivers solid elementary academics, particularly in math, within a community that values stability and continuity. Prospective families should confirm that the school's English language arts instruction aligns with their expectations and ask the district about any special services or programs. The housing market and property tax outlook are material considerations for families relocating to the area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 57% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 487%

School 87% · District 61% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 57% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 50% · ▲ 23 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 494%

School 94% · district not reported

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

Social studies

Grade 5100%

School 100% · district not reported

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolNORTHPORT-EAST NORTHPORT UNION FREE 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-income33%Higher-income67%34 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income78%Higher-income73%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income74%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income78%Higher-income88%10 pp gap