Liberty Elementary School, Valley Cottage NY

Original Research by School Decision on Liberty Elementary School

Liberty Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Valley Cottage, a residential hamlet in Rockland County about thirty miles north of Manhattan. The school enrolls a modestly sized student body drawn from a community that is largely middle-class and suburban, with post-war single-family homes as the predominant housing stock. The student population is diverse: just under half the enrollment is Hispanic, with white students making up about a quarter, Black students around one in six, and Asian students one in seventeen. About a third to two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a proxy for economic need at the household level.

Academically, Liberty's performance sits in the upper range among Rockland County districts on state assessments. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of county districts when measured across tested subjects and grades. In third-grade math and English language arts, proficiency rates sit in the mid-to-high range. Fourth grade shows stronger performance, with math proficiency noticeably above the third-grade cohort. Fifth grade presents a different picture: both math and ELA proficiency rates decline notably from the fourth-grade results, and science proficiency in fifth grade dips further, sitting at the lower end of the range. This pattern suggests that upper elementary grades, where assessments first occur, may be a place where some students encounter difficulty, and a parent may want to look into what support is available for struggling learners as children approach middle school.

The Nyack Union Free School District, which operates Liberty, has made deliberate commitments that affect the school's daily environment. Facility upgrades funded from district reserves include air conditioning additions and roof and boiler replacements across buildings, tangible improvements that touch classroom comfort year-round. The district has also adopted a science-of-reading approach to early literacy instruction, emphasizing phonics and evidence-based reading practices in kindergarten through second grade, a shift that directly shapes how young children are taught. District voters have approved capital funding mechanisms that avoid new tax borrowing while committing to ongoing building improvements, signaling a long-term orientation toward school conditions.

The hamlet itself is car-dependent, served by major routes including Route 9W and Route 9. Its civic life is dispersed rather than anchored in a single downtown; the nearby Village of Nyack, about four miles away, holds the region's walkable commercial core. Valley Cottage residents rely on local parks, the Valley Cottage Library, and regional bus service for daily life. Housing values in the area are in the mid-to-upper range for the region, with a median home price and affordability metrics reflecting the suburban market character.

Liberty Elementary operates within a district where school tax levies have risen steadily but remain within the state tax cap, a practical consideration for families evaluating the overall cost of residence in the district. The school's small-to-moderate size for its grade band, combined with its diverse student makeup and solid academic performance in elementary grades, makes it a school that works well for families seeking a traditional public elementary program in a stable suburban community with committed district infrastructure investment.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 70% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 81% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 68% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 62% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 74% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 66% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 59% · ▼ 17 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 597%

School 97% · district not reported

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

This schoolNYACK 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-income22%Higher-income74%52 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income62%Higher-income61%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income82%58 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income75%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income56%Higher-income77%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income57%28 pp gap