Dalton-nunda Elementary School, Nunda NY

Original Research by School Decision on Dalton-nunda Elementary School

Dalton-Nunda Elementary serves prekindergarten through fourth grade in Nunda, a small rural village in southern Livingston County. The school enrolls roughly two hundred students, with about two-fifths of the enrollment qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with very few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. The school is part of the Dalton-Nunda Central School District (Keshequa), which in October 2023 approved a substantial capital improvement project focused on building systems, instructional spaces, and new academic commons at the elementary, middle, and high schools, with funding from state aid and existing reserves that imposed no additional tax burden on residents.

State test results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that warrant attention. In third grade, about two in five students reached proficiency in both math and English language arts. Fourth grade performance was weaker: roughly one in four students met the proficiency bar in math, and about one in three in English language arts. These results place the school in the top quartile among Livingston County districts when looking at overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, a positioning that reflects strength relative to its county neighbors but does not obscure the fact that in absolute terms, fewer than half the students tested demonstrated grade-level proficiency in core subjects.

Attendance data and information about special education enrollment were not available in the school's public reporting. Science assessment data comes from a decade ago and is not current enough to inform a parent's decision. The school serves only preK through grade four, so there is no graduation rate or secondary program information to evaluate.

Nunda itself is a tight-knit residential community centered on a historic village square with a compact downtown of boutique shops, restaurants, and a pharmacy. The village sits adjacent to Letchworth State Park and the Genesee Valley Greenway, a ninety-mile multi-use trail, which provides outdoor recreation anchors. Housing values in the area are moderate by state standards, and median household income is solid. The village has experienced population decline from its peak in the mid-nineteenth century, but recent focus has shifted toward downtown revitalization rather than new residential construction.

The school's enrollment is stable and draws from a close-knit local area. Parents drawn to this school are typically choosing a small, rural elementary setting in a quiet village with space and countryside, rather than a more densely served or suburban location. The capital investment approved by the district signals commitment to facility improvements, though that project was still in design phase at the time of the most recent data and construction was expected to begin later in 2025.

A parent weighing this school should look into current classroom composition, any specialized instruction or interventions in place to support students working below grade level, and ask the school directly about trends in proficiency and what support looks like for families whose children need additional help in reading and math.

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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

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 23% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 34 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 31% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Science

Grade 476%

School 76% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 593%

School 93% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median

This schoolDALTON-NUNDA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT (KESHEQUA), 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-income39%Higher-income44%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income44%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income23%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income44%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income22%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap